The Force Will Guide You

[dbmeboy 805]

Check out the new guest article on the main page: The Force Will Guide You.

 

Written by Table Flip co-host Matt Brown (also known as me... shameless self-plug).

[Budgernaut 6,224]

Nicely done. I agree that understanding what your opponent has available and what they need to play to win is crucial. It's so easy to focus on what you need to win, but by playing off of your opponent's actions, you really increase your chances of winning.

 

Also, the points you made in the article make it clear that you really need to have a solid foundation of which cards are in which objective sets so that you can predict your opponent's moves. I took a break from this game for a while and when I came back, there were cards I had never faced before so I had no idea what to expect from them (like a turn-2 win with Attack Pattern Delta vs. my Sith control deck).

[dbmeboy 805]

 It's so easy to focus on what you need to win, but by playing off of your opponent's actions, you really increase your chances of winning.

Yep.  When thinking about what I do on a given turn I first look for any ways that I could win on that turn (generally only relevant late in the game, especially as DS).  Then I look for ways that my opponent could win before my next turn.  Only after considering those is it safe to start thinking about things that get you closer to winning later in the game but not right now.

 

As far as knowledge of the cards, definitely an important skill.  And one that will only become more important (and more difficult) as more cards are released.

[See Threebilbo 50]

Congrats!  I still have a lot to learn, I guess.

[OhBee 2]

I love articles like this. It highlights the brilliant subtly of the game's chess-like depth. More often than not, a game hinges on the moves that AREN'T made. All of this revolves around knowing a certain deck and how you/your opponent plays it.

Again, great article. I hope to see many more like it.

[Ineti 59]

Great article; thanks for posting the link and for writing it! As a new player to the game, I'm daunted by the idea of having to memorize every card and set in the game. I guess that's what separates the hardcore players from the casual players, though, right?

[ScottieATF 2,864]

Great article; thanks for posting the link and for writing it! As a new player to the game, I'm daunted by the idea of having to memorize every card and set in the game. I guess that's what separates the hardcore players from the casual players, though, right?

 

It becomes very organic however.  Think of a set like Renegade Squadron Mobilization.  You really only need to know about 3 cards in it, the Munitions Expert and Renegade Squadron Operative aren't going to figure into any strategic plans of yours.

[See Threebilbo 50]

Thanks; that lets me take heart a bit.

[dbmeboy 805]

The really hardcore players will be able to tell you every card in every commonly-played objective set and have a pretty good idea of the cards in all of the other objective sets.  Some of that just comes with experience.  Some comes from experimenting around with deck building (if you try to use an objective set a few times, you're much more likely to remember what comes with it).  You can make a pretty big difference in how you play if you can remember at least some key cards (know the cards from sets that come with Twist of Fate, for instance).  In the game used as an example in the article, it helped that all of the objective sets my opponent was playing were relatively common sets in the current meta that I had played against numerous times.

 

I don't want to go too far into ways to start picking up the information or what to concentrate on... my wife (who acted as my proofreader before I sent the article in) suggested that that would be a good topic as a follow up article and considering this feedback she's probably right (as usual).

[GroggyGolem 2,824]

Agree, I do.

Yoda talk aside, deck building has been immensely helpful in the memorizing of cards in Objective Sets. 99% of my games have been with 2 of my own decks but that doesn't mean I would remember every card in both decks right off the bat. Reconstructing the decks over and over is what helped me to start memorizing

[See Threebilbo 50]

Well, I do have a short essay to write this weekend, but that shouldn't take TOO long...might have to set aside some time for memorizing, then!  X3