Your hand: unfortunately, you're stuck with the average opener of 4 Apprentice and 1 Militia.
The board: well, that's a lot of Initiates!
- Arha Initiate (H-E - C:1 - 1H - Draw a card)
- Emri, One with the Void (H-V - C:6 - 3H - Gain +4p)
- Yggdrasil Staff (C-L - C:4 - 2H - Once per turn, gain +1p. Once per turn, you may spend 4r to gain +3h)
- Corrosive Widow (M - P:4 - Rw: Gain +3h. Each opponent must put a Contruct he controls into his discard pile)
- Void Initiate (H-V - C:1 - 1H - Gain +1r. You may banish a card in your hand or discard pile)
- Lifebound Initiate (H-L - C:1 - 1H - Gain +1r and +1h)
What do you do? As always, don't forget Mystics, Heavy Infantry and the Cultist!
All card images are property of Gary Games, Inc.
First turn: Buy Void Initiate. Then, unless a 3R card-drawer (Wolf Shaman) or deck-thinner (the +2P banish a hand/discard card) comes up, follow with Arba Initiate. If no 2R card-drawers turn up, buy Heavy Military.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenFirst turn: Buy Void Initiate. Then, unless a 3R card-drawer (Wolf Shaman) or deck-thinner (the +2P banish a hand/discard card) comes up, follow with a Mystic.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenFirst turn: Buy Void Initiate. Then, unless you flip a Wolfshaman, Shade of Blackwatch, Runic Lycanthrope, Seer of the Forked Path, Temple Librarian or antoher Void Initiate, follow with a Mystic. If you buy a 2R card, follow with Arba Initiate, if you buy antoher Void Initiate follow up with an Heavy Infantry
BeantwoordenVerwijderenFirst turn: Buy Arha Initiate. Look at what gets unlocked.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenUnless one of the following cards come up, pick up a Mystic.
1) Temple Librarian. Purchase it and Lifebound Initiate. You're starting up an engine deck. Starting from now you want your deck to grow *at most* +1 virtual card per turn (Temple Librarian counts as a virtual -1 card to your stack) and your priorities are large +draw cards and +honor Lifebound (including Snapdragon). Void Initiate/Shade of the Black Watch are iffy but if no +draw comes up it's better than nothing (but it's more long term, which is bad if you're making a run for the Honor pot). Arbiter of the Precipice is the only Void card you really are going to be happy picking up.
Next turn purchase you hope for a nice 4 (like Arbiter, or audible to Mechana with Reactor Monk maybe) but if you get a 3 like Wolf Shaman or Runic Lycanthrope you'll snap take it. Seriously think of taking Mystic if nothing better comes up (losing the extra rune sucks but it's better to do that than increase your deck size too much by picking 2 Heavies). Runes are better in the early game for the engine deck (they let you get Ascetics, Master Dartha or key 4-cost cards with regularity).
2) Spike Vixen. Purchase it and Void Initiate. Probably going with a Power heavy motif. Think seriously of getting +2 Heavies next turn if nothing good is up.
3) Seer of the Forked Path. Purchase it and either of the other initiates. I would favor Lifebound Initiate myself and trying to assemble the same deck as in 1), but you can switch to 2) based on the board at that point. The lack of early monsters makes 2) less interesting.
4) Runic Lycanthrope/Wolf Shaman. Purchase it. They're a straight up upgrade from Mystic. Trying for a pure Rune deck (value Mechana highly for points, pick up Reactor Monks) or a Lifebound combo with Snapdragon.
5) Burrower Mark II. Think seriously about purchasing it, buy a Mystic and curse about all the points you're probably letting your opponent pick up. ;)
Shade of the Black Watch seems an horrible first turn purchase on this board as there are very few monsters available for the early turns. I dislike the 'banish from hand or discard' cards in the first turns because you're about 50/50 of them not doing anything useful on the first deck reshuffle.
I'd actually buy the Lifebound Initiate and a Mystic on the first turn in hopes of ramping into Emri. The early recursion of said initiate would quicken the pace of the game and make power a more viable strategy.
BeantwoordenVerwijderen2nd turn I would go for the Arha Initiate and another Mystic or the Yggdrasil Staff. Reason being that the Arha+Mystic would provide buy power for Emri while accelerating my deck, and the Yggdrasil would provide a source of power to complement Emri while not clogging up my deck, would also provide a possible 3 honor to quicken the pace of the game if I got dead draws in the early game.
IMO ramping into Emri on turns 3/4 is an unlikely proposition unless you go full runes for starters, in which case he's not going to be that great in your deck. I think of Emri as a midgame card, once you've already assembled some purchase power and a decent draw engine. Otherwise you end up with a deck that routinely gives you 3-4 runes and 3-4 power each turn, leaving you with the only options being lesser cards for both heros/constructs and monsters, while your more dedicated decks will pick up 6s and 7s unchallenged.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenive been really favoring construct heavy strategies and would likely buy the staff, which makes any initiate you draw worth a cultist kill early, and gives you a longterm advantage.
BeantwoordenVerwijdereni also think buying the void initiate, seeing what flips, and buying either a 3 cost lifebound rune card if it appears or a mystic if it doesnt is a solid play. i like focusing on runes early typically in hopes of getting a 6 in turns 3-5, and usually dont buy power heroes in initial turns unless board is very heavy monsters.
Buy Void Initiate, see wether you hit a lifebound guy, if not: Mystic.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI think Steven right above me has the best strat. I would also put Arha Sensei & Shade of the Blackwatch in the category with "lifebound guys"
BeantwoordenVerwijderenWith any of your plays you have to remember all the 1 costs will be gone when you go again so don't plan on buying them next turn.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThat being said, Void initiate is an auto buy here, see what comes out. If the 3 cost cards everyone has mentioned above come out then grab it or else grab the LB Initiate and an Infantry.