Standard start, Cala in Lookout so she canāt be Withered this turn, hide Prospector from Spark. This line pushes him towards some combination of chump blockers
Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid - ($5)
Worker - ($4)
Tenderfoot - ($3)
Cal - ($1)
Float ($1)
Discard 3, draw 5
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Tenderfoot (1/2)
Elite:
Scavenger: Cal (2/3, lvl1)
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
*
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 0
Disc: 3
Gold:
Gold: 1
Workers: 6
Thoughts
green starter is soo weak in a multitude of situations. but as P1 with a guaranteed MP in the opener itās just plainly awesome!
I choose to offer cal for a suboptimal kill for him. I assume heāll take it with skipping tech1. Iām not entirely sure whether my calculations until t4 are 100% correct, but this line ended up better in most worst case scenarios compared to lines without playing a hero now, hence my willingness to make that sacrifice.
Iām happy that he went for midband and 5 cards in hand instead of FF and down to 4 cards for the SL kill. Now letās see how accurate my calculations wereā¦
post draw: dough!!! that puts me deep into troubled watersā¦
Rampant Growth
Sparring Partner ā Discard
Tiger Cub ā Worker (Tree is way more needed against a fellow Present player)
Verdant Tree
Spore Shambler ā Discard
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($6)
Rampant Growth Calamandra - ($4)
Discard 2 cards, Calamandra breaks Tech I, your base to 18
Tech I - ($2)
Worker - ($1)
Float ($1)
Discard 1, draw 3
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
L5 Calamandra Moss 4/5 [My units have Resist 1]
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 3
Deck: 1
Disc: 7
Gold:
Gold: 1
Workers: 7
Thoughts
9g on turn 3 is not a good indication for where this matchup is going. I have to threaten his board or just die to a Tech rush. My options are (1) exhaust Cala and summon a Stalking Tiger / Rambasas or (2) go a bit wacky and use Cala stealth +RG to break his Tech I.
I think the latter seems like the most fun, and gives me two turns where he should be highly disrupted. Ideally I would also worker to give me the chance of a tech lead, but in that instance Iāll have no patrol so I need to math out his Tech break chancesā¦
ā¦he needs to have two of Brick Thief, Bloom or Messenger to counter break my Tech I and if Iāve done my maths right he has essentially a 40% chance of drawing into any two of them (he needs Geiger so canāt exhaust him for draws). Those odds seem ok for me, certainly worth a punt on a game thatās getting out of hand otherwise. Of course, if heās teched Now! I might just die but I donāt see why he tech that way and then immediately patrol Geiger.
The other line mostly seems like a loser too, especially is heās teched in Fencers, so letās gamble on a ~60% chance of keeping Tech I!
Wow, thatās a ballsy move. A single thief in my hand would stop your momentum with a maxband max Tech break, but unfortunately I donāt have a thief in my handā¦
XCAFS23 round 3 part 1 P2T3
P1 [Feral]/Present/Discipline vs. P2 [Finesse]/Feral/Present
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($9)
Worker - ($8)
rebuild tech 1
max suicides into cal
Cal - ($6)
wither your Cal - ($4)
HH - ($2)
Float ($2)
Discard 3, draw 5
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Cal (2/3, lvl1)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
*
Buildings:
Base HP: 18
Tech I HP: 5
Heroesā Hall HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 0
Disc: 6
Gold:
Gold: 2
Workers: 8
Thoughts
I honestly didnāt consider that option when I evaluated his options. lucky me that he has RG instead of FFā¦
Now letās hope he sticks to his dislike of FF from the first two rounds, Iād prefer my Cal to surviveā¦
at least now my bad draw didnāt do much harm (except for the missing thief in hand)
It certainly seems more ballsy now! I actually totally forgot about Geiger Maxband so I had calculated a 60% chance of keeping my Tech I, which seemed worth the risk. Had I realised the truth, I would have played a patroller instead
P1T4
Tech StartingHand Workers
TECH
Hyperion (double down on hasty Tech II)
Temporal Distortion (maximise my burst)
STARTING HAND
Sparring Partner
Young Treant
Playful Panda ā Worker
WORKERS
Rich Earth
Forestās Favor
Tiger Cub
Playful Panda
NextHand
Sparring Partner
Ironbark Treant
Young Treant
Hyperion
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($8)
Worker - ($7)
Tech II Present - ($3)
Tower - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 2, draw 1, reshuffle, draw 3
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: L5 Calamandra Moss 3/2A [-, My units have Resist 1]
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
*
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Tower HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 8
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 8
Thoughts
So it turns out last turn was such a fluke, I should by all rights be out of this. 50-50 chance heās got Bloom in this hand so I need a Tower to keep my tech lead. Would much prefer YT and a gold float here but Max Cala Stealth + Bloom is too strong a threat
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($10)
Worker - ($9)
River - ($7)
Tech 2 - ($3)
messenger + Cal trade your Cal - ($2)
Float ($2)
Discard 3, reshuffle, draw 5
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: River (2/4, lvl3)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
*
Buildings:
Base HP: 18
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Heroesā Hall HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 7
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 2
Workers: 9
Thoughts
yeah well, that tower was the only line that prevented a maxband cal with the threat of tric looming. Iām in front wrt gold, so letās try to capitalize on that and tech expensive units.
I canāt get 5 damage to kill River so I think I need to play and patrol a Hyperion in SQL, leveraging my Tower to make it an effective 5/6 to deal with (and a 4/5 if he Withers it). If I add Grave I have a hoover for any free levels if he tries to trade in River to kill the Hyperion and a threat for next turn if he lives.
With that set up he can clear my patrol and break my Tech II but the hands required are fairly unlikely. About easiest ones are Hyp + 2x Fencer + Two Step or Tric + 2x Now! + TD, all cards I wouldnāt be entirely surprised to see but not likely he has those exact combos in hand. Though that said I completely missed something obvious last time so maybe he just explodes me!
Question now is Grave in Technician or Scavenger? If he clears my board, best case Iād like to have is TD and 1+ Tech II (~36% on 4 cards or ~54% on 5 cards) so I think Technician seems like the way to go
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($9)
Geiger - ($7)
TD Hyperion for Tric, shoots Tech II x3 - ($5)
Tric, shoots Tech II to bits, your base to 16 - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 3, draw 4, reshuffle, draw 1
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Tricycloid 3/3A
Elite: L1 Grave Stormborne 3/3 [Sparkshot]
Scavenger: Tricycloid 4/4 [1]
Technician: L1 Max Geiger 2/3 [Sparkshot]
Lookout:
In Play:
*
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Tower HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 9
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 9
Thoughts
I think Iām about to be exploded by Hyperions/Elephant, hence the max patrol. Not having the gold or tools to take advantage of my Tech rush was not so fun. This is about the best way to limit his aggression and patrol but it feels bad not being able to clear his board. Immortal was the perfect play to ensure he had a big turn even if his Tech II goes down.
Feral Strike
Timely Messenger (1/1)
Immortal (5/5)
Research & Development
Feral Strike
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($14)
rebuild tech 2
max - ($12)
immortal kills SL
maxband river - ($10)
TD immortal into hyperion - ($8)
hyperion kills max, my max to midband, you draw, I draw
brick thief with discount, pings your tech 2, repairs my base for 1 - ($7)
river trades grave, my max to maxband, flickers hyperion
hyperion trades tric, you gain 1, I draw
maxband cal - ($1)
worker - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 5, reshuffle, draw 5
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Brick Thief (2/1)
Elite: Cal (4/5, lvl5)
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Max (3/4, lvl5)
Buildings:
Base HP: 17
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Heroesā Hall HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 9
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 11
Thoughts
thatās been a biggie that he opted to swap hyperion into tric instead of bouncing the other tric, well - Iāll take it!
this is just too tempting, especially with then trics being out of his cycle and max temporarily being out of the picture. I think this should be it.
I think I was right to patrol up with Geiger, even though it was annoying to lose him before I could get properly going. Managed to draw both Hyperions on a turn when I canāt make best use of them but thankfully I also drew into an Immortal, which should hopefully slow him down a bunch and let me try and navigate to a better board state.
Temporal Distortion
Research & Development
Hyperion (4/5)
Helpful Turtle (1/2)
Discard
Behind the Ferns
Research & Development
Feral Strike
Feral Strike
Temporal Distortion
Timely Messenger (1/1)
Tech 1 card(s)
Get Paid - ($11)
R&D, draw 5 - ($9)
feral strike, brings two immortals to the table - ($5)
feral strike, brings a tric and a hyperion online - ($1)
tric shoots Cal down, you draw 1
worker - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 2, draw 4
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Immortal (5/5)
Elite:
Scavenger: Brick Thief (2/1)
Technician:
Lookout: Immortal (5/5)
In Play:
Max (3/4, lvl5)
Cal (4/5, lvl5)
Hyperion (4/5)
Tricycloid (3/3)
Buildings:
Base HP: 17
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Heroesā Hall HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 0
Disc: 6
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 12
Thoughts
letās do what my deck is about: ulti spells. Also I prefer to get rid of Cal over the tech break, as I like my deterministic ādraw my whole deck next turn and wreck havocā over him being a bit more hindered (even though the line of teching two giga is also appealing). I am more afraid of a stealth Max kill than I am of his tech 2 options next turn with āonlyā 10 gold
Temporal Distortion
Young Treant
Immortal
Now!
Rampant Growth
Technician Draw ā Ready or Not
WORKERS
Rich Earth
Forestās Favor
Tiger Cub
Playful Panda
Ironbark Treant
Merfolk Prospector
Young Treant
NextHand
Hyperion
Temporal Distortion
Sparring Partner
Verdant Tree
Hyperion
Tech 0 card(s)
Technician Draw
Get Paid - ($10)
Worker - ($9)
Spartner spars with Immortal
Immortal exhausts SQL
Geiger - ($7)
Ready or Not, Ready Immortal, exhausts Lookout - ($3)
TD, bounce Immortal for Elephant - ($1)
Now! on Elephant, kills Brick Thief, takes 2 you gain 1g, Ready Elephant - ($0)
Elephant kills Geiger, takes 3, my Geiger midbands
Float ($0)
Discard 3, draw 2, reshuffle, draw 3
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: L3 Max Geiger 2/4A [Sparkshot]
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Rampaging Elephant 6/2
Sparring Partner 2/2
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 4 (Present)
Tower HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 10
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 11
Thoughts
Well this game looks over now, best I can do to limit his aggro for a turn but Iām definitely losing Tech II on his next turn and I suspect there will be no way back at that point
Nice aggro turn, unfortunately itās already over:
Immortal #1 kills SL
Hyperion from hand (4), old Hyperion (4), Cal (4), immortal #2 (5) and tric deal a total of 20 to your base, GG!
That gold advantage turned out to be devastatingā¦
This is a tricky one, Iām not sure if itās come up before.
Does Ready or Not affect the second Immortal to be exhausted? Given that the spell āactivatesā once and doesnāt seem to have an ongoing effect, I would tend towards no.
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout: L1 Calamandra Moss 2/3 [Resist 1]
Base HP: 20
so I had calculated a 60% chance of keeping my Tech I, which seemed worth the risk. Had I realised the truth, I would have played a patroller instead
