I really like that musketeer buff of yours. Probably it’s too strong against nullcraft, but this Oni start effectively neglects a proper imp start for black, which is huge. Thanks for testing these things out!
Sometimes you just have to go ham
P1T2
Tech StartingHand Workers
TECH
Elite Training (Sneaky good buff with new Musketeer being strong)
Boot Camp (Card draw and unit buffing sounds good)
STARTING HAND
Reputable Newsman
Spectral Aven
Jail
Manufactured Truth
Porkhand Magistrate → Worker (Too expensive vs StW)
WORKERS
Building Inspector
Porkhand Magistrate
NextHand
Spectral Aven
Lawful Search
Reputable Newsman
Boot Camp
Jail
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($5)
Worker - ($4)
Midband Oni, kills Jandra, takes 3 - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 4, reshuffle, draw 5
Board Info:
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader:
- Elite:
- Scavenger:
- Technician: Traffic Director 1/1 [Untargetable]
- Lookout:
In Play:
- L5 General Onimaru 3/1 [Frenzy 1]
Buildings:
- Base HP: 20
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 5
- Deck: 4
- Disc: 0
Gold:
- Gold: 0
- Workers: 6
Thoughts
Options are to play Jail and go passive, play Aven and MT then trade Oni to kill Jandra, or delay Tech I to midband Oni and murder Jandra. Actually I don’t hate that last one. Got to watch about being low on units but Elite Training will be a real threat and I get three soldiers next turn if I max Oni. Boot Camp and Elite Training are both fine. Worst case I can Max Oni and Boot Camp a soldier of mine, or Newsman or sth.
It can’t hit Nullcraft because of the “without flying” clause. Last thing I want to do is break the Blue Purple matchup!
Indeed, even against Blue in a mirror it doesn’t turn into an Aven killer. Good solution I think
Game 5 Player 2, Turn 2
Current balance patch changes in effect
Starting Hand
Graveyard
Summon Skeletons
Poisonblade Rogue
Skeletal Archery
Thieving Imp
Events of Turn:
Upkeep:
- Get Gold (6+1float)
- Tech 2 Cards in (except on turn 1)
All Teched Cards
Crypt Crawler, Sickness
Main:
- Thieving Imp, discard #1 of 5 (4)
- Worker (3)
- Tech 1 (2)
Workers
Poisonblade Rogue, Pestering Haunt
- Patrol as below
- Discard 3 rs Draw 5
Board Info:
Buildings:
- Base HP: 20
- Tech1 HP: 5
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader:
- Elite:
- Scavenger: Thieving Imp (2/2)
- Technician:
- Lookout:
In Play:
- nothin
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 5
- Deck: 4
- Disc: 0
Gold:
- Gold: 2
- Workers: 7
End of Turn Hand
Sickness
Jandra, the Negator
Sacrifice the Weak
Skeleton Javelineer
Graveyard
End of Turn Discard
My Thoughts
Gonna save my 2g for next turn and a possible Orpal maxband or sickness + tech up. We’ll see!
Yes exactly!
I also thought it made some narrative sense with the flavour text (“downed man”-> not flying, “following orders” → needs paid) and the art since he doesn’t have as much of a blunderbuss style musket as Careless Musketeer
P1T3
Tech StartingHand Workers
TECH
Scribe (card draw, synergy with Oni spells)
The Art of War (part of my win condition)
STARTING HAND
Reputable Newsman → Discard
Jail
Lawful Search → Arrest
Boot Camp
Spectral Aven → Worker (liability vs Sickness + Orpal, anti-synergy with Oni Spells)
WORKERS
Building Inspector
Porkhand Magistrate
Spectral Aven
NextHand
Bluecoat Musketeer
Elite Training
Manufactured Truth
Lawful Search
The Art of War
Tech 2 card(s)
Imp Discard
Get Paid - ($6)
Lawful Search, draw a card, look at your hand - ($5)
Worker - ($4)
Tech I - ($3)
Maxband Oni, Soldiers - ($0)
Oni readily kills Imp, takes 2, you get 1g
Float ($0)
Discard 3, draw 3, reshuffle, draw 2
Board Info:
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader: Soldier 1/1A [Sparkshot]
- Elite: Traffic Director 2/1 [Untargetable]
- Scavenger: Soldier 1/1 [Sparkshot]
- Technician: Soldier 1/1 [Sparkshot]
- Lookout: L8 General Onimaru 4/3 [Frenzy 1, Resist 1]
In Play:
*
Buildings:
- Base HP: 20
- Tech I HP: 5
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 5
- Deck: 5
- Disc: 0
Gold:
- Gold: 0
- Workers: 7
Thoughts
Well his hand would have been perfect to neuter with Newsman, shame that he’s just been discarded!
My best plan is still to build Tech I + Maxband Oni, use Oni to kill Imp and patrol him in Lookout. That way my hand recovers and I make board clearing as awkward as possible. He’ll most likely be at Tech II on his following turn, unless he goes all in on maxband Orpal + Sickness but that seems high risk for him given the likelihood of AoW in my deck. I think TD is best in Elite so he’s can’t be sniped with StW. Hopefully means some supporting cast survives to help Oni next turn.
Big Oni energy…
Game 5 Player 2, Turn 3
Current balance patch changes in effect
Starting Hand
Sickness
Jandra, the Negator
Sacrifice the Weak
Skeleton Javelineer
Graveyard
Events of Turn:
Upkeep:
- Get Gold (7+2float+1scav)
- Tech 2 Cards in (except on turn 1)
All Teched Cards
Doom Grasp, Abomination
Crypt Crawler, Sickness
Main:
- Jandra, the Negator (7)
- Orpal (5)
- Worker (4)
- Tech 2 Disease (0)
Workers
Graveyard, Poisonblade Rogue, Pestering Haunt
- Patrol as below
- Discard 3 Draw 4 rs Draw 1
Board Info:
Buildings:
- Base HP: 20
- Tech1 HP: 5
- Tech2 HP: 5 DISEASE
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader: Jandra (3/3a)
- Elite: Orpal (1+1/3 lvl 1)
- Scavenger:
- Technician:
- Lookout:
In Play:
- nothin
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 5
- Deck: 5
- Disc: 0
Gold:
- Gold: 0
- Workers: 8
End of Turn Hand
Crypt Crawler
Skeletal Archery
Deteriorate
Summon Skeletons
Skeleton Javelineer
End of Turn Discard
My Thoughts
Jandra + Tech up looking pretty good, we’ll go with that and tech up. Could get hit by Arrest but probably won’t hurt too bad. Grabbing Doom Grasp as insurance and Abom as… extra crowd control
Well this was a surprise even to me!
P1T4
Tech StartingHand Workers
TECH
Scribe (More card draw!)
Insurance Agent (Cheap, even moar card draw!)
STARTING HAND
Bluecoat Musketeer
Elite Training
Manufactured Truth
Lawful Search
The Art of War
WORKERS
Building Inspector
Porkhand Magistrate
Spectral Aven
NextHand
Scribe
Reputable Newsman
Boot Camp
Jail
Discard
Scribe
Insurance Agent
Manufactured Truth
Elite Training
Lawful Search
The Art of War
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($7)
Manufactured Truth, TD to Jandra - ($6)
Bluecoat Musketeer, shoots armour off Jandra - ($3)
Elite Training on Soldier and pseudo Jandra - ($1)
Elite and standard Soldier trade with real Jandra, 3x Sparkshot kills Orpal, levels whiff
Oni readily breaks Tech II, your base to 18
Pseudo Jandra and remaining Soldier break Tech I, your base to 16
Skip Worker
TD reverts at end of turn, keeps Elite Training till my next upkeep
Float ($1)
Discard 2, draw 4
Board Info:
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader:
- Elite:
- Scavenger:
- Technician: Bluecoat Musketeer 1/2
- Lookout: L8 General Onimaru 4/3 [Frenzy 1, Resist 1]
In Play:
- Traffic Director 2/1A [Untargetable, Anti-Air, Sparkshot]
- Soldier 1/1 [Sparkshot]
Buildings:
- Base HP: 20
- Tech I HP: 5
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 4
- Deck: 1
- Disc: 6
Gold:
- Gold: 1
- Workers: 7
Thoughts
Not often I’ve managed a double tech break on Frozen! I didn’t even need to use AoW either. Only real decision is whether to Worker or not, given that I have a floating gold it’s only really a question of hand size and cycle speed. I think Lawful Search is too useful right now and self cycling, so lets skip and stay at four cards.
Did we really decide a unit can get multiple “stacks” of sparkshot and do this?? I vaguely remember discussing this before but don’t remember how or why this would have been concluded…
Found this in the rules thread:
from the database:
https://www.codexcarddb.com/ruling/sparkshot/
Sparkshot does stack. A unit with 2 instances of sparkshot will get to deal 2 damage to an adjacent patroller or 1 damage to each of 2 adjacent patrollers. — sharpo, 09/16/16
Guess it’s just on me then lol should’ve thought about patrol a bit more…
Game 5 Player 2, Turn 4
Current balance patch changes in effect
Starting Hand
Crypt Crawler
Skeletal Archery
Deteriorate
Summon Skeletons
Skeleton Javelineer
Events of Turn:
Upkeep:
- Get Gold (8)
- Tech 2 Cards in (except on turn 1)
All Teched Cards
Hooded Executioner, Cursed Ghoul
Doom Grasp, Abomination
Crypt Crawler, Sickness
Main:
- Vandy (6)
- Deteriorate Soldier (5)
- Hero’s Hall (3)
- Worker (2)
Workers
Graveyard, Poisonblade Rogue, Pestering Haunt
- Patrol as below
- Discard 3 Draw 5
Board Info:
Buildings:
- Base HP: 16
- Tech1 HP: 5
- Tech2 HP: DOWN DISEASE
- Hero’s Hall HP: 4
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader: Vandy (2/3a lvl 1)
- Elite:
- Scavenger:
- Technician:
- Lookout:
In Play:
- nothin
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 5
- Deck: 0
- Disc: 7
Gold:
- Gold: 2
- Workers: 9
End of Turn Hand
Doom Grasp
Abomination
Thieving Imp
Sickness
Sacrifice the Weak
End of Turn Discard
My Thoughts
Not great lol… Next turn Doom Grasp hopefully gets us back in the game
P1T5
Tech StartingHand Workers
TECH
Insurance Agent
Free Speech
STARTING HAND
Jail → Worker (Needs lots of ancillary pieces to be good)
Scribe
Reputable Newsman
Boot Camp → Arrest
WORKERS
Building Inspector
Porkhand Magistrate
Spectral Aven
Jail
NextHand
Insurance Agent
Manufactured Truth
Boot Camp
Free Speech
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($8)
Newsman, choose 2 - ($6)
Bootcamp Vandy, draw - ($5)
Oni breaks HH, your base to 14
Worker - ($4)
Tech II Law - ($0)
Musketeer hits Tech I to 4HP
Float ($0)
Discard 2, reshuffle, draw 4
Board Info:
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader:
- Elite: Traffic Director 2/1 [Untargetable]
- Scavenger:
- Technician:
- Lookout:
In Play:
- L8 General Onimaru 4/3 [Frenzy 1, Resist 1]
- Reputable Newsman 0/3 [2]
- Bluecoat Musketeer 1/2
Buildings:
- Base HP: 20
- Tech I HP: 5
- Tech II HP: 5 (Law)
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 4
- Deck: 7
- Disc: 0
Gold:
- Gold: 0
- Workers: 8
Thoughts
This turn I want to cycle at least one card to maximise my draws, so I should play at least one of Scribe or Boot Camp. It also means I can decide between workering Jail or Arrest.
I have the “control” options of Jail, Newsman and/or Boot Camp on Vandy so Oni can break Tech I or HH. I think I probably want to take the risk of boot camping Vandy and breaking his HH as its really disruptive and makes his next turn much more predictable. Presumably he would ideally do something like “cast Dark Pact, cast StW, attack with Vandy, play Tech Is, boost Hoodie if you draw it”
If I break HH, play Newsman to block StW and patrol TD in Elite he would need to draw and boost 2xHoodie and play StW to be able to kill Oni with Vandy. Thankfully that costs a minimum of 12 gold and he only has 11. Untargetable really is powerful vs Black.
After that opening I will be left with 5 gold so I can Worker+Tech II or Worker+Scribe+HH. I think I’m probably best trying to get ahead on Tech as I’ve already teched in one Insurance agent and it makes sense to add a second for more card draw and gold generation. I should be able to cycle really rapidly with all the card draw in deck (6/11 cards if you count Insurance Agents) but I’ll be reliant on Insurance scams to get above 8 gold to spend. That means my other teched card needs to be chosen really carefully.
Sensible options would be: Second AoW, Free Speech, Injunction, a disruptive Tech II card. JJ is definitely the best Tech II unit but it won’t be an immediate impact and it’ll be too expensive without Insurance scams. GotG really sucks vs Black, Constable is way overcosted and while Censorship Council is pretty good vs Black, I need to be careful I don’t run out of patrollers.
On balance I think Free Speech is probably the best card to Tech. Quince plays really well with Justice Juggernauts and it lets me maintain a block on spells while potentially using Newsman for insurance scams.
Did you mean Newsman?
This is not great…
Game 5 Player 2, Turn 5
Current balance patch changes in effect
Starting Hand
Doom Grasp
Abomination
Thieving Imp
Sickness
Sacrifice the Weak
Events of Turn:
Upkeep:
- Get Gold (9+2float)
- Tech 2 Cards in (except on turn 1)
All Teched Cards
Dark Pact, Metamorphosis
Hooded Executioner, Cursed Ghoul
Doom Grasp, Abomination
Crypt Crawler, Sickness
Main:
- Thieving Imp, discard #2 of 4 (8)
- Vandy kills TD, takes 2
- Maxband Vandy, doom Newsman and Imp (4)
- Hero’s Hall (2)
- Worker (1)
Workers
Sickness, Skeletal Archery, Graveyard, Poisonblade Rogue, Pestering Haunt
- Patrol as below
- Discard 3 rs Draw 5
Board Info:
Buildings:
- Base HP: 14
- Tech1 HP: 4
- Tech2 HP: 5 DISEASE
- Hero’s Hall HP: 4
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader:
- Elite:
- Scavenger:
- Technician: Thieving Imp (4/4 doomed)
- Lookout:
In Play:
- Vandy (5/6 lvl 5)
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 5
- Deck: 7
- Disc: 0
Gold:
- Gold: 1
- Workers: 10
End of Turn Hand
Cursed Ghoul
Hooded Executioner
Abomination
Deteriorate
Sacrifice the Weak
End of Turn Discard
My Thoughts
Could be Art of War rush now… Spose I’ll worker Sickness, and try again on Doom Grasp
Yes sorry I was between two versions of the turn and obviously didn’t proof read it properly
Since it’s your favourite I thought I’d better include it
P1T6
Tech StartingHand Workers
TECH
Justice Juggernaut (diversify my unstoppable attacking threats)
Justice Juggernaut (ditto)
STARTING HAND
Boot Camp → Scribe → Scribe → Insurance Agent
Insurance Agent
Manufactured Truth → Imp Discard
Free Speech
Insurance Scam 1 → The Art of War
Insurance Scan 2 → Elite Training
WORKERS
Building Inspector
Porkhand Magistrate
Spectral Aven
Jail
NextHand
The Art of War
Arrest
Justice Juggernaut
Lawful Search
Tech 2 card(s)
Discard
Get Paid - ($8)
Insurance Agent, insure Imp for absolutely no reason at all - ($7)
Bootcamp Agent, draw - ($6)
Scribe, draw - ($4)
Scribe, draw - ($2)
2nd Insurance Agent, insures Imp again, definitely no scams here - ($1)
Musketeer shoots Imp - ($0)
Musketeer and doomed Newsman trade with Imp, I get 6 gold and draw 2 cards, you draw - ($6)
Oni breaks Tech II, your base to 12
Quince and Mirror - ($4)
2nd Mirror - ($2)
Free Speech - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 2, draw 2, reshuffle, draw 2
Board Info:
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader: Scribe 1/3A
- Elite:
- Scavenger: Mirror Illusion 0/1
- Technician: Mirror Illusion 0/1
- Lookout:
In Play:
- L8 General Onimaru 4/3 [Frenzy 1, Resist 1]
- L1 Sirius Quince 1/3
- Insurance Agent 3/3 [+]
- Insurance Agent 2/2
- Scribe 1/3
Buildings:
- Base HP: 20
- Tech I HP: 5
- Tech II HP: 5 (Law)
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 4
- Deck: 8
- Disc: 0
Gold:
- Gold: 0
- Workers: 8
Thoughts
I probably want to Insure Imp and then kill it with Musketeer and Newsman to maximise my gold. Oni can break Tech II then and I can still summon Quince and cast Free Speech if nothing else. I’ll tech in a couple of Juggernauts as a win condition, since now I’ll definitely remain ahead on Tech, I’ll just need to see how far I can draw through my deck.
OOFT! Quite far it would seem!
Main decision is do I want to worker Elite Training or stay on 4 cards. If I don’t worker I either bank the gold for next turn or make a second Mirror to maximise my chances of ending things quickly with Juggermirrors. Two mirrors is quite tempting, since worst case he can play and boost two Hoodies and that would mean sticking just with Vandy. One hoodie is most likely so this patrol means I get something back if he executes a mirror and doesn’t bother attacking.
Definitely not great lmao
Game 5 Player 2, Turn 6
Current balance patch changes in effect
Starting Hand
Cursed Ghoul
Hooded Executioner
Abomination
Deteriorate
Sacrifice the Weak
Doom Grasp (techn, boo free speech)
Events of Turn:
Upkeep:
- Get Gold (10+1float)
- Draw 1 techn
- Tech 2 Cards in (except on turn 1)
All Teched Cards
Abomination, Plague Spitter
Dark Pact, Metamorphosis
Hooded Executioner, Cursed Ghoul
Doom Grasp, Abomination
Crypt Crawler, Sickness
Main:
- Hooded Exec + Boost, kills scav mirror, you get 1g (6)
- Vandy kills SQL, takes 1
- Orpal + midband (1)
- Worker (0)
Workers
Abomination, Sickness, Skeletal Archery, Graveyard, Poisonblade Rogue, Pestering Haunt
- Patrol as below
- Discard 4 Draw 5
Board Info:
Buildings:
- Base HP: 12
- Tech1 HP: 4
- Tech2 HP: 5 DISEASE
- Hero’s Hall HP: 4
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader: Hooded Executioner (3/3a)
- Elite:
- Scavenger:
- Technician: Orpal (2/4 lvl 4)
- Lookout:
In Play:
- Vandy (5/5 lvl 5)
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 5
- Deck: 1
- Disc: 7
Gold:
- Gold: 0
- Workers: 11
End of Turn Hand
Dark Pact
Crypt Crawler
Summon Skeletons
Metamorphosis
Skeleton Javelineer
End of Turn Discard
My Thoughts
Really not good lol…
GGWP! I know a lot of this win came off that one patrol misplay but it still feels like an accomplishment!
P1T7
Tech StartingHand Workers
TECH
Free Speech (Double up for consistency, not that it matters)
Art of War (Ditto)
STARTING HAND
Lawful Search
Arrest
Justice Juggernaut
The Art of War
WORKERS
Building Inspector
Porkhand Magistrate
Spectral Aven
Jail
NextHand
Reputable Newsman
Traffic Director
Bluecoat Musketeer
Free Speech
Discard
Scribe
The Art of War
Arrest
The Art of War
Free Speech
Lawful Search
Justice Juggernaut
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + Scavenger - ($9)
Arrest Hoodie - ($7)
Agent+1 and Scribe kill Orpal, each takes -2/-2, Quince midbands, you draw
Mirror → Hoodie - ($5)
The Art of War - ($2)
Super Saiyan Oni + Mirror Hoodie + Agent + Quince hit your base for 13 damage DESTROYING IT!
Float ($2)
Discard 2, draw 4
Board Info:
In Patrol:
- Squad Leader:
- Elite:
- Scavenger:
- Technician:
- Lookout:
In Play:
- L8 General Onimaru 6/3AA [Unstoppable, Swift Strike, Readiness, Frenzy 1]
- L3 Sirius Quince 1/4
- Insurance Agent 2/2
- Mirror Hoodie 3/3
- Insurance Agent 1/1 [-]
- Scribe 0/1 [–]
Buildings:
- Base HP: 20
- Tech I HP: 5
- Tech II HP: 5 (Law)
Economy Info:
Cards:
- Hand: 4
- Deck: 4
- Disc: 7
Gold:
- Gold: 0
- Workers: 8
During that game I was thinking a lot about how we might tweak Law Tech II as most options felt unuseable when I was at the point of choosing them. These two changes seem pretty fun:
Card | Change | Thoughts |
---|---|---|
Guardian of the Gates | Gains “Can’t be exhausted or sidelined.” | Maintains uniqueness vs Voidblocker but enhances flavour of being an actual wall that you have to go through. In vanilla it has really bad anti-synergy with Boot Camp but now its a good target for it. Really important that this card is playable with all the other cards in Law Tech II being slow. |
Arresting Constable | Reduce cost to 3g, Increase stats to 3/4 | Just needs to be more efficient to be worth playing. Ability is good but slow so now its a reasonable body to block with and force more advantageous trades. Kept the flavour of lower attack than health. |
Let me know what you think, happy to try one or both of these or repeat without either now you know to be wary of Elite Training.
GG WP! The bad patrol definitely hurt me but you played well on aggro, deserved win
Agree that Constable and GotG are the ones worthy of updates on Law T2, and Insurance Agent is almost worth a nerf…?
I still feel like Constable’s best buff would be Haste. Blue needs more “right now” options and a combat hero shutdown is kinda missing from the whole deck, this would be a major reason to pick Law Tech2.
For Guardian of the Gates I think it should just change from “deals combat damage to a unit” to “is attacked”, it should work on heroes and units, and it should work whether or not it gets -1/-1d. Get rid of it all together or suffer the slowdown IMO