STARTING HAND
Porkhand Magistrate
Manufactured Truth
Lawful Search
Arrest
Spectral Aven
Building Inspector
WORKERS
Jail
Bluecoat Musketeer
Spectral Aven
NextHand
Building Inspector
Flagstone Garrison
Overeager Cadet
Manufactured Truth
Flagstone Garrison
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($7)
Worker - ($6)
Tech II: Peace - ($2)
General Onimaru - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 5, draw 2, reshuffle, draw 3
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: L1 General Onimaru (2/3A) Frenzy 1
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
Buildings:
Base HP: 19
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Peace)
Tower HP: 3
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 6
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 8
Thoughts
In hindsight, I should have switched up to a Scavenger for the Newsman… but then, I didn’t know how much board pressure I’d be facing this turn. I’m happy to see the Tower doing so much work for me.
Bone Collector
Skeletal Archery
Thieving Imp
Dark Pact
Events of Turn:
Upkeep:
Get Gold (7)
Tech 2 cards in (except turn 1)
All Teched Cards
Metamorphosis, Blackhand Dozer
Carrion Curse, Hooded Executioner
Dark Pact, Bone Collector
Main:
Orpal (5)
Carrion Curse, let’s see what’s goin’ on over there… Yup, glad I guessed right. Discard those Garrisons for me please, wouldya? (2)
Raise Haunt from the grave
Worker (1)
Workers
Poisonblade Rogue, Skeletal Archery, Jandra, The Negator, Sacrifice The Weak
Patrol as below
Discard 2 Draw 4
Tech 2 cards before my next turn
Board Info:
Buildings:
Base HP: 18
Tech1 HP: 5
Hero’s Hall HP: 4
In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite: Orpal (1+1/3 lvl 1)
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Graveyard (3hp)
Bone Collector (3/3)
Pestering Haunt (1/1)
Vandy (2/1 lvl 1)
Economy Info:
Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 0
Disc: 5
Gold:
Gold: 1
Workers: 8
End of Turn Hand
Dark Pact
Hooded Executioner
Summon Skeletons
Skeleton Javelineer
End of Turn Discard
My Thoughts
Teching a Meta and Dozer, gotta stack the RS with my win conditions. I’m pretty committed to the idea that what Neko’s trying to do here is set up a Garrison + OC/Flagbearer on turn 4 here with this early Technician he did (it’s what I would have tried) so I’m locked into Orpal + Curse. If I hit, he probably kills Orpal in response, but that ain’t no thang. I can stall for a turn that way while I get my economy where I need it to setup the Meta or Tech2 gambit I usually do.
If I’m wrong… well, I might be in trouble lol. But I don’t think I am.
…
Lucky me, I was right. This should hurt bad enough to be worth the relative inaction of my offense this turn.
I want my deck stacked with “I win” buttons, so teching a Banefire and Death and Decay for now.
Then the question becomes do I risk going DP for the RS, where I could draw Meta… I mean I’m 5/7 not to, so I think I’ll play the odds and do it. Plan will be either Hoodie Boost and wipe Neko’s board, question just becomes if I want to skip worker to tech up, or wait on teching up. I think I’d rather keep pace on econ, it’s not like I plan to do much besides Meta next turn…
…
Huh, drew exactly what I teched. Normally that might be considered very lucky, in this instance it… kinda is very lucky also? But for exactly the opposite reason (I knew I wasn’t playing them this turn or next turn…)? Lol. Funny. Well plan proceeds then, next turn Orpal + Meta + … Carrion Curse? Or tech up and skip worker? We’ll see I guess!
STARTING HAND
Arrest
Traffic Director
Porkhand Magistrate
Overeager Cadet
WORKERS
Jail
Bluecoat Musketeer
Spectral Aven
Building Inspector
Arrest
NextHand
Reputable Newsman
Traffic Director
Lawful Search
Spectral Flagbearer
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($12)
Worker - ($11)
Tech III - ($6)
Overeager Cadet
Bigby Hayes - ($4)
Float ($4)
Discard 2, draw 2, reshuffle, draw 2
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Overeager Cadet (2/2A)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician: L1 Bigby Hayes (2/3)
Lookout:
Buildings:
Base HP: 19
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Peace)
Tech III HP: 5
Tower HP: 3
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 8
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 4
Workers: 10
Thoughts
Putting Cadet in front so it can’t suicide into Bigby then replay to down the Cadet. If I get an unreasonable amount of luck going forward, maybe I can manage something with this…
Death and Decay, Dark Pact
Banefire Golem, Death and Decay
Metamorphosis, Blackhand Dozer
Carrion Curse, Hooded Executioner
Dark Pact, Bone Collector
Main:
Hoodie trades with SQL
Haunt hits your tech2 to 4hp
Orpal (10)
Metamorphosis, Orpal and Vandy demon out (4)
Vandy kills Bigby, takes 3, you draw 1
Carrion Curse, bummer on now Free Speech or Garrison discards but at least I know they aren’t coming. Discard Lawful Search (1)
Replay Haunt from the grave
Worker (0)
Workers
Thieving Imp, Summon Skeletons, Poisonblade Rogue, Skeletal Archery, Jandra, The Negator, Sacrifice The Weak
Patrol as below
Discard 2 rs Draw 4
Tech 2 cards before my next turn
Board Info:
Buildings:
Base HP: 16
Tech1 HP: 5
Hero’s Hall HP: 4
In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Graveyard (3hp, holding Bone Collector and Hooded Executioner)
Orpal (4/7 lvl 6 invisible readiness)
Pestering Haunt (1/1)
Vandy (6/4 lvl 5 invisible readiness)
Economy Info:
Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 6
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 10
End of Turn Hand
Blackhand Dozer
Metamorphosis
Dark Pact
Deteriorate
End of Turn Discard
My Thoughts
Teching DnD and Dark Pact, know I’m likely to be setting up for DnD next turn and Carrion Curse can snipe Free Speech if needed.
…
Not much to Snipe, but the information and guarantee was worth the 3g easy. Should hopefully be able to get DnD next turn with a 10-deck holding 2 of them and 2 Dark Pacts
…
Well I got one DP at least, let’s hope I can hit with it
Squad Leader: L8 General Onimaru (4/5A) Frenzy 1, Readiness
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician: Reputable Newsman (0/3) $8 blocked
Lookout:
In Play:
Solderi (1/1) Sparkshot
Solderi (1/1) Sparkshot
Solderi (1/1) Sparkshot
Buildings:
Base HP: 19
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 4 (Peace)
Tech III HP: 5
Tower HP: 3
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 3
Disc: 6
Gold:
Gold: 2
Workers: 11
Thoughts
Time to put this 2-hero Meta question to the test. The fact that he still has no Tech II is rather interesting. Best thing I can do right now is provide lots of targets to choose from and make first contact with my patrol count. I would field a backline Quince in hopes of a faux-haste Gryphon attack, but i expect D&D is incoming, and he wouldn’t survive it.
Going to be Carrion Curse after technician again it seems, can you start spoiler tagging it?
Line I'm working, for posterity, will add as separate post after techn revealed
I just want to point out, for the record, this feels a lot harder to me. Idk if you’re feeling better equipped, and I feel like it’s gonna get rough for me on P2.
I just want to point out, for the record, this feels a lot harder to me. Idk if you’re feeling better equipped, and I feel like it’s gonna get rough for me on P2.
Death and Decay, Dark Pact
Banefire Golem, Death and Decay
Metamorphosis, Blackhand Dozer
Carrion Curse, Hooded Executioner
Dark Pact, Bone Collector
Main:
Dark Pact, base to 14 draw 2
Deteriorate Soldier backline
Vandy trades with Oni, blah, tower has detected
Orpal kills Newsie, plague spreads to other soldiers, you draw 1
Carrion Curse, let’s see what you’re up to… Discard the Garrisons I guess, as I fear for me life from Gryphons (7)
Haunt pings your base to 18, replay from grave
Worker (6)
Workers
Metamorphosis, Thieving Imp, Summon Skeletons, Poisonblade Rogue, Skeletal Archery, Jandra, The Negator, Sacrifice The Weak
Patrol as below
Discard 2 Draw 4
Tech 2 cards before my next turn
Board Info:
Buildings:
Base HP: 14
Tech1 HP: 5
Hero’s Hall HP: 4
In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Graveyard (3hp, holding Bone Collector and Hooded Executioner)
Orpal (4/7 lvl 6 invisible readiness)
Pestering Haunt (1/1)
Economy Info:
Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 0
Disc: 5
Gold:
Gold: 6
Workers: 11
End of Turn Hand
End of Turn Discard
My Thoughts
No techs here, it’s all about what I draw with DP but I got plenty to spend gold on…
…
Gut punch, oof… Actually, this is okay? I can clear the board, and provided he doesn’t have 3x of Garrison and Free Speech, I can probably just double DnD next turn? That would be epic AF. Okay let’s see what’s goin on there…
Wow! 2x Patriot. Okay I need to be able to end next turn, but 2x DnD means 6 + 8 (4 buildings) is 14, plus Orpal is 18! Man I might actually take this! Incredible, Orpal you da real MVP dawg!
On my end, the early game still feels extremely oppressive, almost as bad as standard Blue vs. Black, but that pressure lets up somewhat in the mid- to late- game where you would want access to 3 heroes, assuming you haven’t already built an overwhelming advantage. Between that and the extreme mileage you’re letting me get out of my Tower as you conveniently proc my Technician bonus every turn, I feel like I’m barely able to hold on, but it could all come crashing down at any moment with a Death and Decay. I agree Metamorphosis isn’t the game-ender that it was when Garth could get in on the fun, but Vandy’s aggression and Orpal’s suppression have me feeling like I’m completely at the mercy of you and the shuffler. There’s very little in my toolbox that Disease can’t shut down, but if we were to keep playing with you as P1, I’d probably try to spam Justice Juggernauts in a game to bait you into using Plague Spitters and overflow your Graveyard, though I have some doubts as to how effective that would be. Maybe part of why I feel like I might still have a chance to win is that you’ve also been bearing the gold cost of suppression this game, whereas usually I’ve borne it through Free Speech. So far, I feel like this is somewhere between no-Vandy and standard, but closer to standard. I definitely don’t feel better equipped, but I do feel like you’re not hitting as hard as usual this game.
The problem here is how to keep a Gryphon alive. He has enough gold to D&D and then boost his Executioner to kill a Gryphon, and I can only afford to play one of them this turn (and he STILL hasn’t built a Tech II… !!!). However, Vandy just died, and without Garth, that means he’s out of card draw. No reshuffle, so assuming he didn’t already tech 2 copies of D&D, I have a better than 50/50 chance of escaping it, just considering the math… but there’s plenty suspicious about this situation. With an empty deck and no reshuffle, he knows exactly which cards he’ll have next turn, and there must be a reason he’s floating so much gold. Best case scenario, he wants to keep the Executioner available in Graveyard at all costs, so doesn’t want to play any more units, and therefore the Tech II would be rundundant given his Heroes’ Hall and lack of a 3rd hero… so he’s not floating gold for a specific purpose, but just has nothing better to spend it on. If he had one copy of D&D and it was in hand last turn, why would he spend gold on Carrion Curse when he could D&D, then use the Haunt to finish off my Tech II… and save himself a card on Deteriorate at the same time? And why is his Haunt pinging my base when he could be working towards tech supression? Very strange, and I wouldn’t put it past Frozen to bluff being concerned about the Gryphons only to follow up with a D&D/Execution/double-Tech-break. Then again, if he does cast D&D next turn, I’m screwed regardless of what I do, so I’ll gamble everything on the assumption he can’t, bluff or no. Deteriorate is confirmed unavailable, but he still has Orpal midband to take out the Flagbearer; the Haunt and/or Orpal can kill a Mirror, and that clears the way for Executioner to down the Gryphon… which means I need both Mirrors, which means I can’t afford to stash the other Gryphon… and it’ll all be for naught if he has a 2nd Executioner, a StW, or a Sickness in hand. Man, this is rough… there are so many ways it could fail, but if it succeeds, I might have a chance. Teching in Alphas, because they’re the only cards available that won’t evaporate in the face of D&D or Carrion Curse, assuming the game drags on long enough for it to matter. Sure would be nice to have been able to play a Garrison or two… if I’d expected him to go so heavy on Carrion Curse, I would have workered all my starter spells and buildings and only teched in units… then again, if not for the threat of Garrisons, he probably wouldn’t be spending all that gold on Curses, but looking at his excess gold now, I’m not sure it’s worth the card loss for me.
I agree with that assessment from my end. Early game Vandy + DP + BC still gets insane gold and card trades, combined with Deteriorate, Graveyard, and Imp I feel like I have a nearly free board wipe up through turn 5 or so where you’re not even getting a comparable amount back via Scav / Techn.
But when it gets time to setup the “answer Meta or get wrecked” portion of a normal game where I’d get a tech 2 after putting Garth out on Hero’s Hall, I feel I have to start really giving things away to grind out much smaller advantages, and can’t close unless I line up Death and Decay and Carrion Curse well against Garrisons and Free Speech. Tower is definitely your MVP so far, it’s much harder for me to access it.
I might be mistaken but I think this may be a forum-first double death and decay turn, GG WP!
Death and Decay
Skeleton Javelineer
Death and Decay
Dark Pact
Events of Turn:
Upkeep:
Get Gold (11+6float)
no techs
All Teched Cards
Death and Decay, Dark Pact
Banefire Golem, Death and Decay
Metamorphosis, Blackhand Dozer
Carrion Curse, Hooded Executioner
Dark Pact, Bone Collector
Main:
Death and Decay, your Mirrors, Flagbearer, and Quince die, Base to 15, Tower breaks base to 13, other buildings cripple (9)
Death and Decay again, your base to 10, all three tech buildings break to put it on 4hp, Gryphon continues barely staying afloat (1)
Orpal breaks your base, GGWP!
I was simultaneously unlucky last turn to have not draw DnD, but also kinda lucky to be able to safely use a double this turn! Wild finish, on to you for P1!
Squad Leader: L1 General Onimaru (2/3A) Frenzy 1
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
Squad Leader: L1 General Onimaru (2/3A) Frenzy 1
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
Base HP: 19
Base HP: 19
Patrol as below
Base HP: 18
Squad Leader:
Elite: Orpal (1+1/3 lvl 1)
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
I’m holding a cranky baby right now though lol.
