Between Porkhand and Oni+Inspector, I’ll choose the latter any day of the week. Not going to have any spells for next turn, which is a bit of a bummer. But, as player 2, I could afford midband Oni…
I’ll build tech 1 early despite not having card draw next turn, just to keep HolyTispon on his toes.
STARTING HAND
Time Spiral
Neo Plexus
Tinkerer
Temporal Research
Hardened Mox
WORKERS
Plasmodium
Tinkerer
NextHand
Temporal Research
Forgotten Fighter
Time Spiral
Nullcraft
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($6)
Worker - ($5)
Mox - ($2)
Neo Plexus - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 2, reshuffle, draw 4
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician: Neo Plexus 3/2
Lookout:
In Play:
Battle Suits
Hardened Mox 2/1
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 3
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 6
Thoughts
Instead of building tech 1, I’m going to go for pressure. Teching Now! to help increase the pressure and becuase I don’t have a tech 1 building yet. He may see through it and block it with a newsman so I’ll throw in an Origin Story that can help move Oni if he chooses to go for him strongly this game.
Since HolyTispon hasn’t built tech 1, I’m guessing, based on previous games, that he teched Now!s. And since Battlesuits in already in play, I’ll go ahead and play Newsman on $1.
So I have Newsman protecting Aven from Now!, Aven protecting Inspector from Nullcraft, and Inspector to keep tech 1 expensive.
I’ll tech Brave Knight for the card advantage, and Hound to kickstart a potential Truth Plan. With luck, I’ll use next turn to tech up and play either Knight or Hound+hero.
…
After the draw: no such luck… I might play a hero and MTruth something into an Aven, we’ll see.
STARTING HAND
Temporal Research
Nullcraft
Time Spiral
Forgotten Fighter
Fading Argonaut
WORKERS
Plasmodium
Tinkerer
Time Spiral
NextHand
Temporal Research
Neo Plexus 3/2
Now!
Origin Story
Stewardess of the Undone
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($6)
Worker - ($5)
Prynn - ($3)
Forgotten Fighter on the Newsman - ($1)
Mox kills inspector
Tech 1 - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 3, draw 2, reshuffle, draw 3
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: L1 Prynn 1/3A @4
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Battle Suits
Hardened Mox 2/1
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 4
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 7
Thoughts
He reads me like an open book and blocks the 1$ to make sure I don’t use Now!. Fortunately (ironically), I don’t have Now! in hand so I can do a few things to throw him off. I can play Prynn to distract him and also potentially use Origin Story next turn if it’s useful. I bounce the newsman without using Now or playing geiger - maybe he’ll replay the newsman for a different number? also I have to choose what to tech. Sentry is good because it’s anti-air and he just played an Aven that I can’t deal with right now. I can also tech an emblem but I already have Now! in circulation and I don’t know that he’ll have lots more illusions.
I’m teching Stewardess that’s good against mirrors and the Aven, as well as an Argonaut that can maybe help keep the pressure.
Didn’t account for FF… but at least it’s the Newsman that got bounced rather than Aven?
I’ll tech up and bring in a hero and Traffic Director, just to have some bodies on board.
I don’t see much point in hitting anything with Aven, so I’ll patrol him in lookout to discourage a Stewardess bounce, and to protect Director from Nullcraft. And I’ll stash MTruth for a possible double-Aven kill on Prynn, or a fake Brave Knight bounce.
STARTING HAND
Origin Story
Now!
Stewardess of the Undone
Temporal Research
Neo Plexus 3/2
WORKERS
Plasmodium
Tinkerer
Time Spiral
Neo Plexus 3/2
NextHand
Origin Story
Forgotten Fighter
Fading Argonaut
Nullcraft
Argonaut
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($7)
Prynn fades to 3
Midband Prynn - ($4)
Prynn and Mox kill Bigby, Prynn levels and goes to 4
Max Prynn to heal - ($3)
Pop the Aven, Prynn to 2 - ($2)
Worker - ($1)
Float ($1)
Discard 4, draw 4, reshuffle, draw 1
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Battle Suits
Hardened Mox 2/1
L7 Prynn 3/5 @2
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 5
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 1
Workers: 8
Thoughts
Plan 1: skip worker, origin story Bigby, pop the aven with a stewardess and deal 3 damage to tech 2.
Plan 2: midband Prynn, kill bigby with Mox and Prynn, max Prynn to pop the aven, worker.
Plan 3: origin story bigby, midband Prynn, deal 4 damage to tech 2 and leave the aven and director be. I have Nullcraft in hand next turn to break tech 2 if the aven attacks. If it doesn’t, I can pop it with Prynn. he can MT the director into another Aven and kill Prynn though, in which case I can use FF but that’s hero (2)+ff (2)+ NC (2) - 6 gold, won’t allow me to build my own tech 2. The only way he keeps tech 2 in this scenario is if he teched and got Spectral Roc. even if I break tech 2 he may still have Brave Knights etc…
STARTING HAND
Manufactured Truth
Lawful Search
Brave Knight
Spectral Hound
Reteller of Truths
Free Speech (Lawful Search draw)
WORKERS
Porkhand Magistrate
Bluecoat Musketeer
Jail
Manufactured Truth
NextHand
Brave Knight
Building Inspector
Arrest
Reputable Newsman
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($8)
Quince + Mirror - ($6)
Lawful Search your hand, I draw - ($5)
Worker - ($4)
Reteller of Truths - ($2)
Spectral Hound - ($1)
Director pings your tech 1
Float ($1)
Discard 2, draw 3, reshuffle, draw 1
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Spectral Hound (3/3A)
Elite:
Scavenger: Mirror (0/1)
Technician: Reteller of Truths (3/3)
Lookout:
In Play:
Quince lvl 1 (1/3)
Traffic Director (1/1)
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Truth)
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 5
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 1
Workers: 9
Thoughts
Before playing my illusions, I’ll take a Lawful Search to see if I need to worry about targeting spells or extra runes on Prynn. I’ll use Quince to do it, just in case I happen to draw Free Speech.
…
Got the Free Speech, but the only things I have to worry about are FF and Origin Story, neither of which are particularly scary at this point. So Free Speech will go to discard, and I’ll just fill the patrol up with illusions.
I’m expecting HolyTispon to play Argo and possibly tech up next turn, which is fine by me since I’m drawing into Arrest. If he gives me the scav gold, I might even rush to tech 3.
…
After the draw: redrew Brave Knight rather than my Truth cards. Hmm, I could play + copy him if my Mirror survives.
With Prynn gone, I’m going straight for Gryphons. I’d like to keep Quince safe for Mirror shenanigans, but would it be better to play 2X Reteller, Reteller + Knight, or Reteller + Arrest on Argo?
Arrest slightly decreases my chances of drawing a Gryphon, so I’ll avoid that. If I go with 2 Retellers and HolyTispon has a targeting spell in hand, he could pop one, kill the other with NC and Mox, and off Quince with Argo. I don’t trust Director alone to stop that, so I’ll put Brave Knight in SQL instead of the 2nd Reteller. It’s the same stats and bounce effect for just one more gold, and it ensures I get the SQL armor that only Argo can punch through.
Reteller goes in technician to give me one more likely draw, and I can also dig with Lawful Search next turn.
WORKERS
Plasmodium
Tinkerer
Time Spiral
Neo Plexus 3/2
Origin Story
NextHand
Seer
Fading Argonaut
Temporal Research
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($10)
Argo kills the BK
Stewardess, bounce the TD - ($7)
Geiger - ($5)
Now! the Reteller - ($4)
Mox and Nullcraft break your tech 2
Tech 2 Present - ($0)
Starting a turn with 9(!) cards in hand is definitely a first for me. So many options
Luckily, I had Lawful Search to guide my hand…
P2T6
StartingHand Workers
STARTING HAND
Macciatus, the Whisperer
Free Speech
Spectral Aven
Lawful Search
Liberty Gryphon
Brave Knight (bounced)
Traffic Director (bounced)
Reteller of Truths (bounced)
Liberty Gryphon (technician draw)
Reteller of Truths (Lawful Search draw)
WORKERS
Porkhand Magistrate
Bluecoat Musketeer
Jail
Manufactured Truth
Building Inspector
NextHand
Arrest
Free Speech
Spectral Hound
Reteller of Truths
Reputable Newsman
Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid - ($10)
Technician draw
Rebuild tech 2
Skip worker
Lawful Search your hand, I draw - ($9)
Liberty Gryphon #1 - ($6)
Liberty Gryphon #2 - ($3)
Gryphons hit your base for 10 damage
Traffic Director - ($2)
Free Speech - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 5, draw 3, reshuffle, draw 2
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician: Traffic Director (1/1)
Lookout:
In Play:
Liberty Gryphon #1 (5/5)
Liberty Gryphon #2 (5/5)
Quince lvl 3 (1/4)
Buildings:
Base HP: 18
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Truth)
Tech III HP: 5
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 5
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 10
Thoughts
There are just too many things I want to do this turn! Obviously I want to play my Gryphons, but I also want to Mirror-copy them, and protect them with one or more of Reteller/Macciatus/Free Speech.
So I think I’ll have to spend a precious gold to Lawful Search and see what I need to watch out for, obviously keeping Prynn’s maxband in mind.
…
Nothing to fear in HolyTispon’s hand. I can prevent Prynn’s maxband either with Free Speech, or by breaking tech 2 and making sure Geiger survives. Hmm, there’s also a slight chance that Temporal Research draws something scary. I’m thinking of either Now! or Tricycloid here. And then there’s Geiger’s midband…
Yeah, I’m going with Free Speech. If there was some way I could make sure I’d have a playable illusion next turn to make my Gryphons unstoppable, I would just go straight for the base. Unfortunately, I drew Reteller on the Lawful Search and I can’t afford Bigby to stash the Aven. Maybe I’ll risk it anyway?
HolyTispon has 12 attack he could bring to bear. Not enough for lethal, thankfully, and also not enough to kill both my tech buildings as well as Quince. If he leaves either tech 1 or Quince alive (or if I redraw Aven or a Reteller), I’m good to go. Fingers crossed…
The Free Speech has probably finished me. I considered killing Quince instead of tech 2 - perhaps it would have been better, though I probably would have then been facing Retellers and Whisperers and whatnot. See if you can finish this…
"P1T7
Tech StartingHand Workers
TECH
Ebbflow Archon
Ebbflow Archon
STARTING HAND
Seer
Temporal Research
Fading Argonaut
WORKERS
Plasmodium
Tinkerer
Time Spiral
Neo Plexus 3/2
Origin Story
I don’t think you could’ve stopped me here: I needed only one of Quince, tech 1, and tech 2 to survive in order make an illusion, to ensure my Gryphons were unstoppable.
P2T7
StartingHand Workers
STARTING HAND
Spectral Hound
Reputable Newsman
Arrest
Free Speech
Reteller of Truths
Reteller of Truths
WORKERS
Porkhand Magistrate
Bluecoat Musketeer
Jail
Manufactured Truth
Building Inspector
Reputable Newsman
NextHand
Macciatus, the Whisperer
Arrest
Spectral Aven
Brave Knight
Lawful Search
Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid - ($10)
Worker - ($9)
Rebuild tech 2
Spectral Hound, making my Gryphons unstoppable - ($8)
Gryphons hit your base for 10 damage and lethal
GG. I couldn’t have stopped you there, I was talking about whether it would have been better to kill Quince in the previous turn. Not sure it would have mattered but I think this was closer and could have gone the other way if I played better.
@holytispon Can I ask why you keep teching seers early game? They are only really useful if you are going heavy into forecast or Remembers, neither of which are your current strategy.
I might also suggest that trying to go heavy on spells against blue is a bad idea. They have several anti spell cards, and very few anti unit cards. Would recommend a much earlier tech 2 (either Past or Future, on Turn 4), as purple really doesn’t have the punching power to do much before tech 2 comes online.
There’s a meta thing going on. If you go heavy on units, Injunctions gives you a really bad day. If you go for heroes, free speech and newsman can make you sad. Whatever you choose, lawful search will tell him.
But yes, I’m really bad at this game and it seems like the more I play, the worse I get. I’m sure you would do better with this match-up - you’ve done expertly with purple in other match-ups.
And Seers - they’re cheap, copying them doesn’t give him anything and they’re almost always useful with Prynn, Omegacron, or Tricycloid. But you’re probably right that I’ve been relying on them too much. I’ll probably double down on Seers just to confuse Dreamfire - we’ll see who ends up more confused!