@zango it’s time for part two. Definitely feeling the pressure now after that pummeling
I’ll kick off with Purple Starter and Finesse
Thoughts for bystanders
I want to take Finesse away from any P1 game plan, while also giving myself the option of it’s really great Tech Is and Tech IIs, so that’s an absolutely locked in choice.
I also want a starter I can trust as P2, and purple really is the best for that. Taking Purple also heavily disincentives Purple heroes and I am glad to bias him away from Present.
My gut feeling would be that a red heavy deck is coming, but zango is always full of surprises. Blue is pretty good vs Purple (I’m still sore from @dwarddd serving my good units with Community payback orders…)
This foundation also gives me so much freedom for the remainder of my choices, given that purple starter doesn’t really need spell support. That’s lets me opt for a two spec monocolour, or a one spec monocolour with a combat hero (if bashing goes untaken).
Some of the theorycrafting possibilities really intrigue me, but I’ll leave the readers to speculate a little on where I might be leaning. While I wait for zango to bamboozle me once more
Sorry @zango, that’s me over this week’s hump of really busy days so I have time to think about this again!
Interesting choices from you for sure. After some thought I will finish off my draft with Demonology and Necromancy, also playing a deck I haven’t played before, an “altmare” of [PURPLE]/Finesse/Demonology/Necromancy
As always, GLHF!
Thoughts for bystanders
So he went with Present after all. Can’t really say I blame him on that given how strong it is as a Tech II. It is a pretty good counter pick too, as Past/Present would be two of my most obvious picks from here.
Interestingly I was kind of initially leaning towards Feral/Balance so he’s also taken that option off the table.
Red starter for hasty units, Calamandra for a combat hero and Geiger for Tech II burst is a pretty strong combination. Behind the Ferns / Ferocity + Argos and Red units also works really really well. He doesn’t have much anti-hero but he’s pretty good across the board otherwise.
Seems obvious that he would pick a red faction, perhaps Fire to give him hasty tech Is and direct damage. Zane might be better though, with a load of disruption combined with haste and stealth off of TD. Blood also works well too, with great aggro spells and even better hasty units to TD into. Finally outside of red, Necromancy must be among the strongest since it let’s him summon Present Tech II on demand and fills that anti-hero niche he’s lacking.
For me, I want to retain my monocolour status so that I can get to Tech II with as little friction as possible. I also need to have answers to early Calamandra play and for very strong and expensive Present tech II units. I can of course stay monocolour with Bashing + any one spec or by choosing any two specs of the one colour.
Bashing + Past is kind of the default choice, good combos with Starter and a combat hero. Potentially very good vs Calamandra with intimidate or Origin Story, and some good utility spells and abilities vs Present. Rewind is also a really good board reset if I have the gold for it.
I think Balance Tech II is very interesting with Nullcraft and vs Present, and even with Feral gone I could choose Bashing/Balance to give myself a combat hero and some of the anti-hero/present utility. I still think I’ll be leaning on Finesse though, and Circle or Life is more costly than I’d like.
Demonology/Necro gives me a different variant of nightmare supported by purple starter. No 1-drop but better 2-drops and some retained value in Mox if I can afford to play it Vandy is of course a great combat hero, and doombuff combos really nicely with Mox and Nullcraft. Also means I have Garth if needed to fetch Guide or Maestro at Tech II. From Necro I will have access to Nether Drain for anti hero and Hoodie for anti-present. From Vandy I will have Dark Pact to accelerate through the deck in place of Temporal Research (so it’s easy to worker out), and Meta as an alternative threat if that set up arises.
I think the alt-mare deck seems the best blend of unique/interesting and strength. Some of the starter/Vandy interactions seem worth exploring and it takes Necro off the table as a set up for Present Tech II.
No worries, life obviously is more important. I’m just stoked on continuing this series
I conclude my draft with - what I hope - another unexpected choice: Truth!
I’m really curious about this new Nightmare of yours, let’s see how well it synergizes with it’s good cards and how bad you’re going to miss det and stw
XCAFS24 FINALS part2 P1T1
P1 [RED]/Truth/Feral/Present vs. P2 [PURPLE]/Demonology/Anarchy/Necromancy
Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid - ($4)
Worker - ($3)
have dog, play dog - ($2)
Cal - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 3, draw 5
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Nautical Dog (1/1)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Cal (2/3, lvl1)
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 0
Disc: 3
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 5
Thoughts
Nightmare P2 with Fargo as a stalling engine and the constant threat of NC was exactly what I expected when picking my deck. Still I am happy that det, StW etc are not available for him…
At least I have a very good split after that ridiculous split last round. only any form of haste is missing in hand 2, but I won’t complain with this awesome split
Couldn’t really ask for a better units to play T1, though the split was very front loaded with units. Have Fargo play Fargo and get Nullcraft going to limit Cala’s efficiency. Hoping I get Neo in my next hand so I actually have a unit if I want one
P2T2 is always what I find the hardest. There are only so many options that the opponent may have in their hand that it feels like it’s deterministic and you have to calculate everything through, while in later turns the amount of missing information amounts to me being able to easily just do my own thing and to accept that I didn’t calculate everything through properly…
It’s the combination of opponent options, lack of intel and the fact that you also have to think through your own tech plan against that backdrop. Definitely the toughest turn to calculate.
I got there in the end. Thank you for your patience @zango, as always a true gent of an opponent
P2T2
Tech StartingHand Workers
TECH
Nimble Fencer
Nimble Fencer
STARTING HAND
Temporal Research → Worker
Neo Plexus
Battle Suits
Forgotten Fighter
WORKERS
Plasmodium
Temporal Research
NextHand
Tinkerer
Nimble Fencer
Time Spiral
Hardened Mox
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($6)
Worker - ($5)
Tech I - ($4)
Neo - ($2)
River - ($0)
Fargo kills Dog, takes 1
Nullcraft pings Tech I
Float ($0)
Discard 2, draw 1, reshuffle, draw 3
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Neo Plexus 2/2A
Elite:
Scavenger: L1 River Montoya 2/3
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Fading Argonaut 2/2 [Fading 2]
Nullcraft 1/1 [Flying, Haste]
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 3
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 7
Thoughts
The only unit I have in hand is neo so my only other patrol option(s) are a hero, or possibly Garth and a Skele if I want to skip Tech I or Worker (which I really don’t want to do).
My biggest issue with this turn is the threat of Ferocity. I’ve been calculating and calculating and I can’t see much I can actually do about it. In the end I’ve decided I just have to hope he hasn’t teched it. His most obvious other techs are Huntress (for anti-air) and Hound (for value, especially given I don’t have much targeting).
My other observation is that I’m pretty sure I have to kill that dog, otherwise my patrol is just deeply unsafe and I probably just get run over.
With that in mind, say I patrol Neo in SQL and River in Scav, that means he can trade Brogre and midband Cala to clear my patrol, which will Maxband Cala. That leaves him 3g which could be both Huntress+Hound or maybe Rambaster to hit my Tech I to 2HP and Hound to patrol. If no Rambaster then maybe he plays Bombaster as a second patroller. He could also build a HH but I suspect he’ll be more likely aiming at a T4 Tech II to access Present. As scary as Cala is, at least I can patrol heroes without giving away free levels.
I think my best play in response to his most likely T3 will be Vandy Maxband. That gets me targeting which can pop Hound and it lets me send a 4 attack Fargo or a 3 attack Nullcraft at his board, depending how he patrols. She’s also a big body to shift and she threatens meta (even just on her own) to break Tech II. Obviously, this slows my tech II down but I’m under too much pressure to tech up if I don’t find a way to get into a good board position.
Given that I don’t expect to be playing any cards next turn, I can just load my deck with Fencers and see what board state I end up facing
thank you for these kind words, but everything else is just out of the question. Life first, codex second and always trying to be kind and understanding is what I’m aiming for
XCAFS24 FINALS part2 P1T3
P1 RED[Truth]/Feral/Present vs. P2 PURPLE[Demonology]/Anarchy/Necromancy
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($6)
Worker - ($5)
midband cal kills SL - ($3)
Bogre kills River, you gain 1, Cal to maxband
hound - ($2)
huntress - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 2, draw 3, reshuffle, draw 1
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger: Huntress (3/3)
Technician:
Lookout: Spectral Hound (3/3)
In Play:
Cal (4/5, lvl5) [resist 1 for all my units]
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 5
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 7
Thoughts
now that’s what I call an awesome feral strike setup. Obviously he can get rid of Cal easy enough in the next two turns, but then my Present tech 2 setup also sounds nice, especially with this board advantage that I have right now
D’oh, I hadn’t thought about Resist 2 Hound, that might change things. If I tech up and use Fargo and Nullcraft to kill Hound I’ll only have 3g leftover, so I don’t think I can really keep it functional. Garth + Skele is extremely exploitable by one of the many hasty cards in the red starter. That leaves Worker + Tower + Vandy + Fencer as my max patrol or skip worker and maxband Vandy as orginally planned to clear his patrol and leave Cala on 4HP (assuming nullcraft ping). I really don’t like the worker skip and giving him gold advantage here so I think I have to bide my time and max patrol. Vandy SQL and Fencer in Scav to give me extra gold if he board clears, hopefully I’ll be able to get Tech II up after only a one turn delay. He’ll likely already be there but he’ll be lacking gold to really shore up or maximise his burst, and hopefully with my Tower I can start to erode his board and take some control. Going with Garth spells here and hoping I don’t draw into them so I can counter punch him the turn after next.
Scavenger: Cal (4/5, lvl5) [resist 1 for all my units]
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
*
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 4
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 0
Disc: 6
Gold:
Gold: 2
Workers: 8
Thoughts
So I’m indeed the first to reach tech 2, nice! Let’s offer Cal at the cost of further staying on tech 1 level and if he doesn’t take the bait, he’ll get steamrolled by feral strike. I like! Only sacrificing Vandy and having Nether Drain in hand gives a bit of both, but then I really like my next hand with a guaranteed hyperion and my ability of easily killing Garth AND breaking a tech building (even though it’s not going to be easy to decide whether tech 1 or tech 2 is the greater threat)
Plasmodium
Temporal Research
Time Spiral
Forgotten Fighter
NextHand
Neo Plexus
Tinkerer
Hardened Mox
Doom Grasp
Discard
Maestro
Grounded Guide
Nimble Fencer
Battle Suits
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($8)
Worker - ($7)
Tech II Finesse - ($3)
Fargo - ($1)
Float ($1)
Discard 2, draw 4
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Fading Argonaut 2/3A [Fading 3]
Elite:
Scavenger: Nimble Fencer 2/3
Technician: L1 Vandy Anadrose 2/3 [Sparkshot]
Lookout:
In Play:
Nullcraft 1/1 [Flying, Haste]
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Finesse)
Tower HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 1
Disc: 4
Gold:
Gold: 1
Workers: 9
Thoughts
Sticking to the plan, patrolling up and hoping I can Garth my way to a better board next turn. Got to put my most enticing patroller kill in Technician to make sure I have both Nether Drain and Doom Grasp in hand no matter how my cycle plays out.
Fargo over Fencer in SQL as I want to keep some mystery about teched cards and what haste I’ll have in hand, may make him play more conservatively
Post discard/draw phase: Hmmm Nether drain bottom decked isn’t the best, just got to hope my plan around him wanting levels from Vandy works as planned.
well, tbh, it feels like the storm is already over before it started for real…
As you do know I only ever skip a worker if I think this skip directly wins me the game, so this worker skip really is a sign
XCAFS24 FINALS part2 P1T5
P1 RED[Truth]/Feral/Present vs. P2 PURPLE[Demonology]/Anarchy/Necromancy
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($10)
Cal kills SL
Feral Strike, search & bring to play: Immortal & Tric - ($2)
Max - ($0)
Huntress trades Vandy, sparkshots Fencer, Max to midband, you draw
Tric kills NC & Fencer, you get 1 gold
skip worker
Float ($0)
Discard 4, reshuffle, draw 5
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Immortal (5/5)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician: Tricycloid (3/3)
Lookout: Max (2/4, lvl3)
In Play:
Cal (4/2, lvl5) [resist 1 for all my units]
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 4
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 9
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 8
Thoughts
aaand another nobrainer for me. It’s just a pity to not use that hyperion in my hand, but I need more tech 2 units in my next cycle, while still using the tech slots for my spells. Either way, I don’t see him coming back into the game after this.
Post draw: LOL, if I had to pick a hand out of this mega cycle, I think it would have been exactly these 5 cards… maybe another TD instead of the hound, but that’s definitely game then…
I don’t think this will be enough but denying Feral Strike and killing Geiger seems like the wisest line to take. I also want a 5HP unit in SQL to reduce the value of Immortal. However, I strongly suspect another Present Tech II unit is coming and that will be very bad for me
Awesome turn off yours! I had TD and now in hand for the good old hasted elephant after the immortal attack (which you showed me). So it’s definitely going to last a little longer, but the threat density in my deck is a thing, especially with what I already have on the board.
Let’s patrol such that you probably can break through, but it’s going to be a tough decision whether you can allow yourself an attack or not
XCAFS24 FINALS part2 P1T6
P1 RED[Truth]/Feral/Present vs. P2 PURPLE[Demonology]/Anarchy/Necromancy
Mad Man (1/1)
Temporal Distortion
Now!
Ferocity
Now!
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($8)
Immortal attacks Maestro
MM trades maestro - ($7)
hyperion kills Garth, cal to maxband, you draw, I draw - ($2)
Cal attacks tech 2, takes 1
Tric attacks tech 1, takes 1
hound - ($1)
worker - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 2, draw 4
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician: Spectral Hound (3/3)
Lookout:
In Play:
Cal (4/4, lvl5) [resist 1 for all my units]
Immortal (5/1)
Tricycloid (3/2)
Hyperion (4/1)
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 4
Tech II HP: 5 (Present)
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 4
Disc: 5
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 9
Thoughts
and only when hugo prevented me from casting a feral strike I did realize that there indeed would have been a different card which would have made my last hand even better… lol. But now I’m quite happy that I didn’t have it back then.
I’m still convinced that this game is over, he needs to kill Tric to prevent the double tech break, which will only work with Guide+NC and if he chooses to do that, I don’t see him being able to bring enough troops to prevent me from just storming through and break the buildings in the classical way, completely independent from what I’ll draw. The only real threat that I see is if he has guide+maestro+2 or 3 virtuosos, but even then I can do the double break and then start to get real value from the immortal
Tech 2 card(s)
Technician Draw
Get Paid - ($9)
Guide - ($4)
Fencer - ($2)
Starlet - ($0)
Fencer kills Hound, takes 3, you draw
Starlet breaks Tech II, your base to 18
Skip Worker
Float ($0)
Discard 3, draw 5
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Grounded Guide 5/4A
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Nimble Fencer 4/1
Star-Crossed Starlet 5/3
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 2
Tech II HP: 1 (Finesse)
Tower HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 2
Disc: 6
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 9
Thoughts
Going to have both Tech buildings broken after this turn but at least I got to his. Probably doesn’t much matter with Gieger Maxband / TD as options for him but it might slow him down. I have no answer for Immortal in deck so he gets closer to a win every turn.
LOL, what a finish… Technician drawn scorch settled the deal directly. Otherwise it would have been break all your buildings plus base way way down.
Get Paid - ($9)
Immortal kills guide and resets himself, Fencer dies
Feral Strike, bring MSR & Tric from hand - ($5)
Tric breaks tech 1 & 2, your base to 16
Cal 4, Tric 3, Hyperion 4 (I draw), MSR 3 attack base down to 2
off-color scorch finishes off base - ($1)
GG & WP
Can’t emphasize enough how afraid I was after that t1 of yours that you were going for DP+Fencer to speed up your first cycle and then tech two more virtuosos in order to go for tech 2 in turn 3 for a Maestro fetch in t4 with two virtuosos for free and to then directly break my own tech 2 in t4 with the help of NC.
These games really were a lot of fun and I still don’t really understand why they were so one-sided. Are you up for a round 3 just for the fun of it?
WP and a deserved victory @zango!! Of course I’m up for part 3 just for fun
I actually can’t recall what the logic of the double Fencers P2T2 was I think I was a bit freaked out by my lack of units in hand that turn and I had focussed in on a Maxband Vandy plan so didn’t want to miss having one the turn before.
I hadn’t factored in the double resist from Cala though, so that threw me off my plan
Base HP: 20
