Combat Question: Never engaging a front

[Doc, the Weasel 1,777]

Can you have a combat in which both combatants only create fronts (meaning they play all their units without fighting)?

I can see a case for it in which one side is clearly superior and neither side wants to lose unit cards.

[allenkwest 58]

That could happen.

[scimon 0]

Definitely. If someone plays a strong card you can't trump creating more fronts to try and overwhelm it's combat value and not lose troops is a valid strategy.

[Konradius 0]

Still, why would any side honour an agreement such as this? When the last card is played from the other side, why not kill it without any possible repercussions? You're already at war, else you wouldn't be fighting.

"If you do that I'll make war twice on you!"

 

Btw, this is a good example of a modified prisoner's dilemma. If both agree you both win, but one side has the potential to cheat on the last card. And if you know that why would you not cheat on the second to last card etc.

[scimon 0]

I'm not saying that the combatants would say 'Righto lets not engage on any fronts' because someones still going to lose. I'm saying you don't HAVE to engage on a front when laying a card you can always open a new one and sometimes it can be a tactically strong move.

[Smoo 0]

scimon said:

I'm not saying that the combatants would say 'Righto lets not engage on any fronts' because someones still going to lose. I'm saying you don't HAVE to engage on a front when laying a card you can always open a new one and sometimes it can be a tactically strong move.

Sure, but if the unit you're playing has the strength to kill an opposing unit without taking wounds, I can't see any tactical reason to not do it.

[CapnZapp 0]

We're not discussing WHY you'd want it, we're discussing whether you CAN do it.

 

Not until the CAN is answered will the WHY become relevant.

[Doc, the Weasel 1,777]

Smoo said:

scimon said:

 

I'm not saying that the combatants would say 'Righto lets not engage on any fronts' because someones still going to lose. I'm saying you don't HAVE to engage on a front when laying a card you can always open a new one and sometimes it can be a tactically strong move.

 

 

Sure, but if the unit you're playing has the strength to kill an opposing unit without taking wounds, I can't see any tactical reason to not do it.

You want to win a battle against opponent A to reap the rewards. They have opponent B staring down their capital, so you want to leave opponent A's army intact to defend.

[Smoo 0]

Doc, the Weasel said:

 

You want to win a battle against opponent A to reap the rewards. They have opponent B staring down their capital, so you want to leave opponent A's army intact to defend.

Well played, sir!