Written by Jerry from Thundershot Games
www.youtube.com/thundershotgames
ROLL, RESOLVE, AND WIN!
One of the most integral parts of destiny is when to claim. Claiming early and going first the next turn can be more important than that focus showing, resource, or even damage. Each deck has a different priority on claiming, and in turn going first, this can heavily affect its ability to mitigate or even deal damage. Let’s take hero Blue for instance when you go first and roll in this activates cards like Guard, Force Misdirection, Caution, Synchronicity and so on. Learning when it is right to claim and when to string out your actions is a skill learned with time and practice but here’s some things to look out for. There are times when your potential damage or upgrading is worth your opponent claiming first. For example if you accumulated resources throughout the turn and your decks mitigation doesn’t require your dice in the pool then it’s probably better to spend those resources upgrading your characters so you can be faster in later turns. Now once your opponent has the battlefield they will always be 1 action faster than you so claiming earlier than you like is a way to put yourself in the action advantage even if you lose out on your current dice and this is much more effective earlier in the game when characters aren’t as scary. Now when should you claim early, how early, or even should you? This is entirely dependent on the deck you are facing and how fast that deck is. A deck with a lot of ambush and only 2 characters might just be faster than you and it might not be worth trying to claim because they can easily roll out both characters, resolve, then claim. Against a deck that fast change your play style slow down and go for more late game plays like using your defensive cards be it shields or mitigation, then go for upgrades so your characters become too big for them to take on. If you are similar speed then that’s when claiming becomes more important. Roll out and get unlucky? Well if your opponent rolls out and gets what they are looking for then they resolve try claiming instead of discarding to reroll then next turn you get the jump on your opponent. This action advantage can be really hard for your opponent to deal with if you are rolling in first every turn. Now their cards that require their dice in the pool can’t be used until they roll in and yours are ready to go not to mention that you get to resolve before they can play those cards. This also means that you’re more likely to claim from now on. Now this puts your opponent in a position where they need to contemplate claiming early and losing actions. The claim ability is a big factor in when to claim maybe your opponent got their Emperor’s Throne Room and you don’t have specials. This feels pretty weak to claim but keep in mind this denies them from claiming and putting out some serious hurt. Playing towards the claim ability isn’t a bad idea either. Have two upgrades in hand that feel similar in power? Pick the one that benefits from the battlefield then each claim you get that little extra that can win you the game. Now don’t stress too much on always claiming this can put you behind easily. Only go for the early claim when your other plays feel weaker than first turn and the claim ability. Taking the battlefield from the opponent can be a big advantage but doesn’t guarantee you the win so play around in your casual games until you get a feel for what works best.
Jerry,
ROLL,RESOLVE,WIN!
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