In this thread about sealed decks, jojo shares what IMHO is a pearl of wisdom for us rookies:



This came as a big surprise: I usually use no more than 3, maybe 4 cards in the first turn (I tend to relie heavily on mass discount units, like Enlist 4 Infantry) and maybe a speed buff or two in the second turn, and that´s it... I run out of cash. I generally keep several buffs/debuffs/heals for later on, when things get heated up and my cash flows again, buy i never ever play more than half my deck in the first couple of turns.


Seems like I have it all backwards, and that a pumped-up army from the get-go is the way to go, and not a horde of normal units. Hummm...


Thoughts?


(Edit: sp)

I would say you should play about 4-6 cards in the first round so you have some nasty cards up your sleeve (like Airlift or Minor/Major Artillery) In the first round you should play some Enlists and Speed Buffs. On the maps where you have more money you should save some money so you can react better to certain situation (for example air rush or things like that)

Yup... that was more or less what I was thinking (and closer to 4), that´s why I was surprised by jojo´s remark.

BTW: do you find Major Artillery useful? I can certainly see its uses in some situations, but it kinda feels like you need a lot of gold to spare.

ye i dont like the major artillery myself because always if i have the gold i want to use it for something else
but in some situation its really useful and it only was an example there are many other cards the opponent wont expect

Not really. You can build a deck all for Mid-game. Mabye using a few mercs and cheap enlist cards on the first turn.

I disagree, Jojo.

EDIT: For example, using merc units to cap a near-base resource, an Enlist 2 Inf and 2 Recon.

Simple, cheap, efficient.

EDIT REDUX: I would have never beat Solid in the Sealed Qualifier if not for quite a few late-game cards. Double food for thought.

I don´t quite follow your train of thoughts here, mate. I mean, a few mercs (guess 2 or 3?) plus cheap enlist cards (another 2 or 3?) means you are playing between 4 and 6 cards your first turn. Not as high as jojo´s opening hand, but still quite a few cards...


Anyway... enlightened discusion most appreciated, keep it comin´!

I normally send 1-2 merc infantries depending on the number of resources. No speed boosts. I would have saved some money by recruiting rather than making regular units. Then create a few regular units depending on the cards I have and the map I'm on.

the beauty about this game is that there is no right or wrong way to play it, you just have to find the strategies that you enjoy and execute well.

in my main deck i use about 4-6 cards in the first turn or two depending on the map and it usually works well for me.

I use only 2 in first turn, that is maybe why I always lose to jojo

I can sign that!

And still, it´s quite helpful for us beginners to have a frame of reference. And while it seems quite obvious from the replies here that there´s no consensus among the Top Dogs on an optimal quantity (from fewar´s 2 to jojo´s 8!), it seems that:



looks like a useful rule of thumb for designing a deck.


BTW:



Humm... interesting. But isn´t it a waste of money to deploy merc units so early in the game (since there´s a fair chance that they will *poof* out of turns before having a chance to fight)?

If you want to save the cash and you are willing to use a card space, wouldn´t it be better to use a discount Enlist Infantry instead of a merc? (they cost only 15 gp more, and stay until dead)