Thanks, and thanks for the games!
I felt like that was my best game so far in terms of actually making the smart play instead of letting my instincts run amok. Drawing some of the best possible hands at crucial times didnāt hurt at all, either. With my last hand, there was nothing you could have done to prevent MoLaC. And my next was Glider + Mad Man, so it wasnāt going to be pretty.
I learned that Arg+Nautical Dog is probably as good as Drakk+Dog. I was regretting it at the time, because it made my spells more expensive. But the main threat of Drakk+Dog is midband for a 3/1 1-cost. Arg does that cheaper and makes him 3/2; he doesnāt bring his own 2-damage like Drakk does, but that just keeps me from being too aggressive. And the wisp adds defense that Drakk lacks.
I think my tendency is to get favorable board states at the cost of my hand and econ (which, admittedly, Red does quite well). But I think you might be on the other end: just a little too unwilling to go down on cards?
On T1, if youād played Oni+TM+Tenderfoot instead of Oni+Turtle, I would have had a much harder time breaking through the defense two turns later. If youād have skipped Oni and played Flagbearer (say, Scav) + Tenderfoot (SQL), I would have had to trade the NDog into Tenderfoot and hit it with Arg to take it out, because Argās midband would have been attracted to the Flagbearer.
Of course, thereās no way you could have known I had no Mad Man in my second hand (and I did have Rambaster, and BRO+Charge). The problem is, even if I had Mad Man, playing him and midbanding Arg (to take out SQL Tenderfoot) would have prevented me from playing Tech I that turn. And thatās a trap I might well have fallen into.
I donāt have a lot of experience beating aggro, but I do have a lot of experience losing as aggro, and generally it happens when Iām forced to overextend to get the board state I want. And if I donāt overextend, and weāre both just building up behind walls, that tends to favor my opponents, who can usually put down beefier non-hasted units that I either canāt break through or that can wipe my board and survive to some extent.
On T4, once you saw Blood/Growth, if youād have guessed MoLaC was coming out you might have played more aggressively to kill my units before they could attack. (Iām not sure it would have helped; again, my draws were pretty great.) But you could have traded both Virtuosos into the Crashbomber, or gone down further on cards to trade TM and Fencer with Crashbomber. It would have slowed down MoLaC, maybe by a whole turn.
I thought the T5 sickness to take out all my units and debilitate ARG was pretty awesome. I had been hoping to get some runes with some of them, and if I hadnāt drawn the hand I had, I might not have gotten MoLaC going that turn.
The more I think about it, the more I think you should be trying out Rook, Grave, or Vandy for your third hero (though Iām not sure if theyād be as effective in other match-ups). Your struggles have really been early-game, and Rook and Grave offer more efficient defense at the Tech I/Hero level; Graveās cheap midband, Rambasa, and Sparring Partner to put more runes on Orpal seem especially tempting. Vandyās cheap levels mean sheās also good defense, and you get the Meta threat and the mono-Black econ bonus.
I donāt know if Iām being at all helpful! And it could just be that my deck is somewhat strong against yours? I donāt feel experienced enough to really know, so Iād seek outside advice. But River and Orpal are two of my favorites, so I really want to see your deck do its thing, whatever that ends up being!
[I]Squad Leader[/I]:
[I]Elite[/I]:
[I]Scavenger[/I]:
[I]Technician[/I]: Orpal Lvl.1 (1/3)
[I]Lookout[/I]:
Base HP: 20
[I]Squad Leader[/I]:
[I]Elite[/I]:
[I]Scavenger[/I]:
[I]Technician[/I]: Orpal Lvl.1 (1/3)
[I]Lookout[/I]:
Base HP: 20
[I]Technician[/I]: Argagarg Garg, Lv. 5 (1/5)