As P2 this tournament he’s played Ironbark + Prospector, Rook + Cub and Rook + Panda once each.
Rampant Growth + Cal Stealth does give me a way to murder Rook on his backline, but at the expense of dropping to 3 cards unless I get a technician bonus.
The main thing for patrolling to keep in mind Rook midband so I don’t get surprise counter punched.
EDIT: fixed my starting hand to reflect what happens in the rest of the turn, I forgot to update it properly.
P2T1
Thoughts
Rampant Growth is a distinct possibility here, so bringing out a hero is asking for trouble.
I haven’t been reading other matches, but looking at thehug0naut’s deck I can probably expect Present II, accompanied by a lot of aggressive heroes. Maybe Discipline II for Training Grounds, actually. Either way, there isn’t much (anti-air) game, at least not that people usually tech: Sentry is unlikely, Huntresses are good, and after that it’s Dragons.
I think Balance II should be OK here: Potent Basilisk has enough HP to stand up to anything that isn’t a TG-ed hero or a Vigour Adept. Unless Ferocity comes out, of course. Actually, I don’t have much in the way of crowd control, so Murkwood Allies could also be a massive problem. Maybe I go with Blood for Bugblatters, then, they can be helpful against Immortals too.
Starting hand: 5
Merfolk Prospector
Young Treant
Ironbark Treant
Forest’s Favour
Rich Earth
Playful Panda
Young Treant
Sparring Partner
Merfolk Prospector
Verdant Tree
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($5)
Worker - ($4)
Expensive Tech I - ($2)
Rampant Growth Calamandra, safely kills Ironbark, you draw - ($0)
Prospectors trade
Float ($0)
Discard 3, reshuffle, draw 5
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Calamandra Moss 2/3
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 5
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 6
Thoughts
So no Rook but Ironbark in Technician and Prospector in backline. Obvious line for me here is to Tech up, Rampant Growth Cal to clear Ironbark and then trade Prospectors to deny him additional gold advantage. That’s a 4g board cleared for 3g and it keeps Cal at full health. I’m assuming he’s playing for a sudden swing with Drakk+Bloodlust on T3/4 so I’ll need to make sure I build a good board next turn. Workering Ironbark seems sensible, I’m more likely to want a number of cheaper bodies over one large one.
Playful Panda
Tiger Cub
Spore Shambler
Rampant Growth
Technician draw: 1
Verdant Tree
Thoughts
Fine to take the -1g/+1c trade on Treant and Rampant Growth, there.
Unlike the CAMS22 game against Dreamfire, Calamandra makes taking Thunderclap to get through weenies an expensive proposition, so I’ll begin by taking a Tiny Basilisk instead.
Shambler is actually quite dangerous with Drakk. Unfortunately with my draw I don’t have good options to clear it. I definitely need to have at least one Tech I patroller to account for Tiny B with Bloodlust so I probably want Spartner behind another patroller. Looks like the best I can do while maintaining handsize is YT+Spartner, though depending what I draw I’ll either hit back or or play another unit
Well Rampant Growth will do! Now I can clear the 3g Shambler for a bargain 2g and still patrol two units. I’m not even that bothered about dropping cards as it lets me set up my deck better for my next cycle.
Young Treant
Merfolk Prospector
Ironbark Treant
Tiger Cub
Rampant Growth
Thoughts
Not a great hand, I think I try for a good Young Treant draw here. Going for Tech II would leave me too far behind on board.
Teched cards: 2
T2: Bird’s Nest, Tiny Basilisk
T3: Captured Bugblatter, Land Octopus
Get paid - (7)
Young Treant, draw 1 - (5)
Playful Panda
Thoughts
Not great, but I can at least use it to build up a board behind the Young Treant. There can’t be too much aggression after those two Rampant Growths and going down a card, right? Right? Still not risking playing Rook early.
All the best for the upcoming new year. Also I’d like to place a friendly reminder that the current round is already 17 days old and you’re kind of way behind schedule. I hope you’ll be able to speed it up in the next days.
Either I bring out Bird’s Nest and tech up, or I bring out Drakk now, and kill Calamandra with the Tiny Basilisk. Ferocity is a scary threat, but I also don’t want to be dealing with Immortals at Tech I. Bah, I think I just need to thin down that opposing board right now, or I’m going to be seriously behind.
Bit annoyed with my past decisions here, Hyperion or Now! would have let me kill Drakk fairly easily, but at least I get my Immortal into play to set up for a big burst turn with Geiger. Kidnapping is really face up now and probably costs me my Tech II, so I’d better make sure I use Lookout to make it expensive. If I do that and worker up with 3 patrollers I suspect he still might be able to pull off a double Tech break if he draws well and skips worker again, so to be safe I’ll also skip my Worker and add the Prospector. If I get really lucky, maybe he doesn’t draw Kidnapping and my Tech II is safe, but somehow I doubt it.
Spore Shambler
Land Octopus
Tiger Cub
Rampant Growth
Playful Panda
Thoughts
Not looking good, if Geiger or Tricycloid let thehug0naut kill off my board before I get the Bugblatters down then I’m in big trouble.
I’m not sure why the Immortal is in Lookout rather than Squad Leader. hug0 is probably paranoid about Kidnapping, but Immortals are terrible targets for Kidnapping, due to not being able to trade them. I’ve teched one more to deal with leftover Hyperions or Tricycloids.
I’d like to kill Grave here, and get rid of that sparkshot, but I need to keep defences up so the Immortal can’t just destroy the Tech II. hug0 can’t afford both a Hyperiod/Tricycloid and a maxband Geiger, thankfully, at least if I kill the Prospector or don’t lost Drakk. I think I just need to play Rook instead of a second unit, give him something he has to take out with Immortal or a trained Hyperion. I just hope I don’t draw Bird’s Nest.
Get paid - (8)
Worker - (7)
Tech II Blood - (3)
Merfolk Prospector exhausts for gold - (4)
Tiger Cub, Drakk gives it haste - (2)
Garus Rook - (0)
Tiger Cub kills Merfolk Prospector, takes 1 damage
Drakk kills Grave, you draw, Rook to level 3, Drakk takes 2 damage
Discard 3, draw 5
Rook L3 2/4+1A Wisp 0/1 (Drakk: frenzy 1)
Drakk L6 3/2 (dies: 1 to your base; units have frenzy 1; first unit played from hand gets haste; 2 damage)
Tiger Cub 2/1 (haste; Drakk: frenzy 1; 1 damage)
Merfolk Prospector 1/1 (Drakk: frenzy 1, exhaust: +1g)
Base HP: 20 Tech I HP: 5 Tech II HP: 5 (Blood)
Hand: 5
Young Treant
Kidnapping
Tiny Basilisk
Bird’s Nest
Captured Bugblatter
Deck: 2
Captured Bugblatter
Forest’s Favour
Discard: 5
Crash Bomber
Kidnapping
Land Octopus
Playful Panda
Rampant Growth
Card-count check (opponent-viewable)
Expected: 10 + 8 teched = 18
2 on board
5 in hand
2 in deck
5 in discard
4 in workers
Gold: 0
Workers: 9
5 x start
T1: Rich Earth
T2: Verdant Tree
T3: Ironbark Treant
T5: Spore Shambler
Research & Development (Can’t see how he kills Geiger so let’s go for maximum burst)
Research & Development (ditto)
STARTING HAND
Hyperion
Rampant Growth → Worker (Don’t think it’s needed now but tree might be)
Spore Shambler
Verdant Tree
Technician Draw → Tricycloid
WORKERS
Rich Earth
Ironbark Treant
Playful Panda
Forest’s Favor
Rampant Growth
NextHand
Tiger Cub
Sparring Partner
Young Treant
Verdant Tree
Now!
Tech 2 card(s)
Technician Draw
Get Paid - ($8)
Worker - ($7)
Geiger - ($5)
Tricycloid, guns down Wisp and shoots Tech II twice, you gain 1g - ($0)
Immortal kills Rook, takes 2, Geiger midbands
Spartner trades with Drakk, my base to 19, Geiger maxbands, flicker Tric
Tric guns down Tech II, your base to 18
Float ($0)
Discard 3, reshuffle, draw 5
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Tricycloid 3/3A
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
L5 Max Geiger 3/4 [Sparkshot]
Immortal 5/3 [Indestructible]
Buildings:
Base HP: 19
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 8
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 9
Thoughts
Can’t be having Tech II, so let’s make sure we break that and get in position to hit him hard again next turn. With both Drakk and Rook dead I think I can keep Tric alive if I put it in SQL.
I’ve started the other match, if you have the time!
P2T6
Starting hand: 5
Young Treant
Kidnapping
Tiny Basilisk
Bird’s Nest
Captured Bugblatter
Thoughts
This turn will be the dealbreaker: if hug0 doesn’t break through, I can get both Bugblatters down, and maybe whittle him down. If he does, I’m on a long cycle with no win condition. No time runes on the Tricycloid and Geiger is already at maxband, let’s see what tricks he’s got left.
Research & Development
Huntress
Research & Development
Spore Shambler
Discard
Now!
Temporal Distortion
Now!
Young Treant
Verdant Tree
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($9)
Grave + Midband - ($5)
Now! on Grave, readily kills Tiger, takes 3, Sparkshot hits Treant - ($4)
Geiger kills Midori, takes 3, Sparkshot kills Treant, Grave to level 5, you gain 1g
Maxband Grave, exhaust and chuck sword at Basilisk, you draw - ($2)
Immortal breaks Tech II, takes 1, your base to 16
Worker - ($1)
Spartner - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 2, draw 4
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Tricycloid 3/3A
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician: Sparring Partner 2/2
Lookout:
In Play:
L7 Grave Stormborne 4/5 [Sparkshot, Readiness]
L5 Max Geiger 3/1 [Sparkshot]
Immortal 5/2 [Indestructible]
Buildings:
Base HP: 19
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 4
Disc: 5
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 10
Thoughts
Grave + Now! gives me a straightforward way to clear his board and break his Tech II, only issue is I have to take 3 damage on Geiger which is not ideal, but probably better than chancing 1-2 draws to try for a similar effect. Now regretting the double R&D instead of R&D + Reversal/MM. If Geiger lives I probably win this thing next turn, if he doesn’t it could get ugly.
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
Base HP: 20
Ironbark Treant 1/2+2A (patrolling: -2/+2A)