| FinalSlayer | 2009-05-08 04:24:32 |
Before I discuss my approach to the game, I should mention my credentials. I'm ranked 7th ("FinalSlayer") and 11th ("Dragline") on the leader board, am moderately weaker than AgentSmith, TurinTuramba/Flawless (same person), and a lot weaker than Plynx. garcia used to beat me consistently too, but that was a few months ago, and I've since improved. Every other top player I've played against I have either an even or winning record against. So take this for what it's worth; a guide from a strong player, but not the very best. Types of Advantages-
1. Resource advantage
This one is fairly straightforward. Your opponent only has 2 fire mana, you have 7 fire mana. Ergo, you have a resource edge. This is an extremely important edge early on in the game, when each player is solidly around the 60 HP threshold, but becomes less important later on in the contest.
2. Life advantage
Another obvious one. You have 80 life, your opponent has 50 life. One thing that beginning and sometimes even relatively decent players don't understand is that a 100 life to 60 life advantage is worth almost nothing. On the other hand, an advantage like 30 to 10 life is obviously enormous, and usually trumps the resource advantage, especially later on in the game.
These two are the most obvious types of advantages, but there's a third one that most players don't realize until they've played at least several dozen games.
3. Board advantage
Essentially, this means having more creatures on the board than the opponent. It can take different forms, too; having 4 Ice Golems against an empty board is one, but having an Illusion 5 across from an Elven Healer on an otherwise empty board, AND having the move is a board edge too, because without interference, the Spectral Assassin will kill the Earth 1 first.
This is, in my view, the biggest type of advantage in the game aside from extreme cases involving low life for one of the players. (See number 2 above)
A common rookie mistake is looking at moves through the lens of only resource or life advantage. For example, some players still insist on playing awful cards like Elven Healer in instances where they're not in immediate danger of losing (and thus, are forced to heal through such inefficient means as Earth 1).
While it costs very few resources, and seemingly has the great ability of increasing life advantage, it effectively cedes board control.
It should be noted that in Spectromancer,there is no special award for making it to 100 life. Again, a life advantage of 100 to 60 is about as meaningful as a life advantage of 60 to 50, possibly even less so. One notable exception to this statement is the Drain Souls plus Phoenix combo, in which case playing Elven Healers on an empty board may in fact be a good idea.
Thus, when playing Spectro, consider not only the ramifications of playing a card in terms of life and mana, but also the most important type of advantage, board control.
(To be continued)Modified by FinalSlayer on 2009-05-08 04:34:47 Modified by FinalSlayer on 2009-05-08 18:38:35 Modified by FinalSlayer on 2009-05-08 18:41:08 Modified by FinalSlayer on 2009-05-09 00:28:54 Modified by FinalSlayer on 2009-05-18 05:01:56 Modified by FinalSlayer on 2009-05-18 05:05:49 | ArtificeMagus | 2009-05-08 14:07:15 |
Very good synopsis, FinalSlayer. I'd like to add a few comments, if I may. As far as my credentials go... not as impressive as yours. I've started a few accounts that range from lvl 10 to 4... My only claim to fame is that on one occasion I was able to play a training match against Plynx and got him down to 9 health before he beat me. ![]( ":-)") It was a moral victory if nothing else, though it was obvious from about the 4th turn that he had each of the advantages you've listed above.
Though I'm not very accomplished in Spectro, I try my best to understand the strategy behing the game. I find, that I play much better when I do keep your 3 advantages constantly in mind while dueling. In fact, at the start of the match I try to look over my deck and decide on which cards I have that can help give me the advantages you've listed.
Right from the start, I try to identify:
1. What do I have that will add to my mana and/or reduce my opponents?
2. If I get in a pinch, where is my healing going to come from?
3. What will give me the best board advantage? This should not only be creatures with high health or damage... but also board clearing spells.
Once I have a card or two identified for each of the 3 concerns, then I plan accordingly.
With all that said, I'm still not very good. Understanding strategy is one thing, but being able to blend the three advantages together in any type of card draw is what makes the top tier players so good.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
| FinalSlayer | 2009-05-08 18:58:39 |
(Continued) Now that one knows what the types of advantages are, it's time to address how to achieve the victory. Now, there are three ways to win, starting with the easiest, and going to the most difficult; 1. With board advantage. 2. Winning a "race", where both players inflict damage, have roughly equal forces on the board, but you get there first. 3. With a board disadvantage, by having attained a huge life edge. (Oftentimes, this will mean gaining a temporary board edge early on in the game with relatively weak forces) The third is so difficult in large part due not only to Earth 4, but the sudden play of a Water 6 or Air 4. That being said, depending on one's draw, that may be the only real way to win. However, at the beginning of the match, it's useful to keep in mind that such an approach has the highest risk of failure. One must also keep in mind whether one has a "slow" or "fast" draw. A slow draw means playing the game less aggressively, and a more patient, waiting, counter strategy. One wants to let their mana climb upward. The most obvious example of this is 2 or more elementals with sufficiently high starting values in each of those mana classes. A "fast" draw means few elementals, but lots of aggressive, excellent tools for obtaining board control. Examples include Fire 1, Water 2, Water 4, Air 8, Water 9, and Fire 6. This means playing quicker and more aggressively. There's a good chance that the longer the game goes, the more likely one is to lose. Incidentally, this ability to choose and easily switch between "slow" and "fast", sometimes very deep into a game, is what makes Holy so good. They can afford to either hoard mana and resources, and win a slow, 20+ move game, or use their instant attack spells and creatures to destroy the opponent in 8-10 moves. Thus, it's important to understand what types of advantages and play one should go for, based on the initial draw. Remember though, that no matter what, board control is paramount. (To be continued) Modified by FinalSlayer on 2009-05-08 18:58:55 | FinalSlayer | 2009-05-09 00:12:55 |
(Continued)
The final part in obtaining a solid base for Spectromancer play is recognizing the important of counters, not only against specific cards, but against specific strategies.
A simple example of a card counter is placing an Air 5 across from a Water 2. The Sea Sprite is completely stuck, and that slot essentially deals 5 damage to the opponent per turn for (in most cases) at least 3-4 turns, no mean feat! Many creatures whose life is 25 or less can be countered by either Armageddon or Stone Rain.
Yet, Geddon and Stone Rain themselves have counters, namely Water 4! Thus, we get an interesting little metagame around who has what counters to what.
That being said, certain cards have fewer or greater counters than others, and some cards can't truly be countered at all. Tornado is an example, and one reason why it's considered at least slightly overpowered, despite its high cost. There's no real way to play around Tornado. If you put down a powerful card, it can be destroyed by the twister. No way to counter this.
Now, there are ways to minimize the wrath of the Tornado, such as gaining a board advantage with many weaker units, but that's something players should be striving for already!
As a segway into my next point, the reason that everyone hates Drain Souls is that it counters not only every single card, but almost every single type of STRATEGY.
Normally, getting board control means the opponent will be losing a lot of health and mana, even if they have board clearers, and lots of healing resources.
But with Drain Souls, they not only get rid of their numerical disadvantage, they even heal the player in the process! "Absurd" doesn't even begin to do it justice.
However, in addition to Drain Souls, there are also other cards that can counter strategies. Air 4 can counter an Insanian Berserker rushdown, Control 1 and Control 2 are the only cards in the entire game that counter Death 7 (how convenient!), etc.
Noting what counters each strategy and card has will vastly improve one's Spectromancer play.
| LazerBrain | 2009-06-29 21:46:05 |
bump.
It may be a little bit dated, but I'm pretty sure its still a net positive for anyone who reads it. This and new players guide should be stickied.. or at least bumped to the top every so often.
| Eldritch | 2009-10-08 16:49:03 |
Nice article, just a couple other things I would like to add:
1) Tempo Advantage - This describes the "rhythm" of the game. Are you reacting to your opponent's moves or is your opponent reacting to yours? Often games are decided upon one turn - if the opponent had one turn more, they would've won, or vice versa. This begins at the very start of the game and finishes at the very end. There exists situations where in the final turn before you defeat your opponent, your opponent had more life, a better board position, and more overall mana than you, yet you still win. But usually tempo plays a less noticeable, but none less important role in normal games.
Tempo can be attained from all other advantages, but mostly it can be attained by the following advantage.
2) Card Advantage - In Spectromancer, unlike a lot of other games, you can't play as many cards as your resources allow, rather, you can only play 1 card per turn no matter what. That is why what you play needs to count. If the cards your opponents are playing are beating your cards to a certain ratio, say, 3 of their monsters seem to always be able to defeat 4 of yours before they die, or their 9-costing removal spell is killing two 9-costing creatures of yours, then you are losing card advantage. Many times when I beat my opponent, then have at least one pool of mana that's very high, perhaps even higher than 12. They didn't get the opportunity to use this pool of mana, because the position forced them to use cards from other houses. Thus they played with massive card disadvantage, and lost. Seeing the differential that can be obtained by playing your cards in removing your opponents cards is an important factor in winning games as well.
| undefeated | 2009-10-12 17:40:48 |
Ignore my last post. Mostly, I just see a lot of beginners firing off air 3's and 6's early on, but its a mistake because healing in this game is better than the damage spells. So if somebody air 3's a creature of mine, I'm gonna earth 2 it. I end up ahead 2 life, 1 mana, and my creature lasts a little longer. Don't waste damage spells, dont do a wrath of god for 2 creatures (usually 4 is good), or chain lightning for 1 creature (or holy 4 usually). Don't stone rain 1 turtle.
| wiggin | 2009-10-12 17:55:41 |
This is the first post of yours that I disagree with. (The 19:22 one)
| undefeated | 2009-10-13 02:03:14 |
Your right---->deleted. Modified by undefeated on 2009-10-13 17:29:19 znali neko srpski?  | wiggin | 2009-10-22 13:42:39 |
Vodka is cheap over there.
| HeadphonesGirl | 2009-10-23 04:38:49 |
Vodka is cheap here too if you have no standards!
| soldat12 | 2009-10-29 13:30:57 |
Eldritch, very nice post. I faces with "card advantage" problem quite a lot.
I think there is quite a common situation when you're playing for Dragon with like 10 mana and noticed that opponent has 9 Air mana or so.. for me it's usually means that he is going to tornado my poor drago so i usually have to wait with the dragon, and put other big creature first in the game. And there is some crazy situations in game when you have to wait even with 2 or even 3 10+ mana pools, cause for some reasons it will be a disadvantage to put some of them on the board....
And in this situation it alwys good to "bluff" for the Air player even if he dont have tornado, since if you have elemental you might wait a little and put it when it will have like 5-6 attack already or wait for Titan and place..dunno why i wrote it, lol
| Eldritch | 2009-10-30 06:04:43 |
Eldritch, very nice post. I faces with "card advantage" problem quite a lot. I think there is quite a common situation when you're playing for Dragon with like 10 mana and noticed that opponent has 9 Air mana or so.. for me it's usually means that he is going to tornado my poor drago so i usually have to wait with the dragon, and put other big creature first in the game. And there is some crazy situations in game when you have to wait even with 2 or even 3 10+ mana pools, cause for some reasons it will be a disadvantage to put some of them on the board.... And in this situation it alwys good to "bluff" for the Air player even if he dont have tornado, since if you have elemental you might wait a little and put it when it will have like 5-6 attack already or wait for Titan and place..dunno why i wrote it, lol
Almost. The easiest way to get tempo is to play your best card the earliest you can, e.g. along a curve. What you mentioned about tornado applies in the case where you accel into dragon with water 3. In that case, playing dragon would be very bad because 10 air mana + 1 turn would cancel 12 fire mana + 6 water mana + 3 turns. However, if you're playing along a normal curve (e.g. no accel) then you should always play dragon as soon as you possibly can. Even if it is tornadoed, that is 12 fire mana in exchange for 10 air, so at worst you're about even. The problem with waiting for your dragon to be totally safe is that the tempo your opponent accrues from not holding back easily exceeds the tempo you've prevented from being lost by playing a dragon and having it tornadoed. By the time you can get your dragon out without worry of tornado, the position can be irreversibly lost for instance. This is especially the case against good players, who value board position very highly and play very aggressively. | wiggin | 2009-10-30 08:14:03 |
... The easiest way to get tempo is to play your best card the earliest you can, e.g. along a curve.
This is a good principle.
| Tobias | 2009-10-30 23:55:55 |
... Almost. The easiest way to get tempo is to play your best card the
earliest you can, e.g. along a curve. What you mentioned about tornado
applies in the case where you accel into dragon with water 3. In that
case, playing dragon would be very bad because 10 air mana + 1 turn
would cancel 12 fire mana + 6 water mana + 3 turns.
I'm not sure the comparison is that simple, since the merfolks do more then just provide mana. Depending on circumstances they might be used to block or even deal damage. Tornado is still a liability, obviously, but it's something to consider when chosing your approach.
| Eldritch | 2009-10-31 01:09:53 |
Apostates are weaker even than spider tokens. In other words, their contribution is worth less than a 0-mana creature, making that factor negligible.
| LazerBrain | 2009-10-31 03:07:30 |
The little spider guys may not cost any mana, but that doesn't mean they're a "0 mana creature". Their cost is included in Earth 7 is all.
| Eldritch | 2009-10-31 05:54:16 |
The point is, their effect is overall negligible in the equation between dragon and tornado.
| Wavelength | 2009-10-31 06:03:06 |
What you mentioned about tornado applies in the case where you accel into dragon with water 3. In that case, playing dragon would be very bad because 10 air mana + 1 turn would cancel 12 fire mana + 6 water mana + 3 turns.
That's not a fair way to look at it. If you're considering the 6 water mana as a cost, then you only gave up 8 of "your" fire mana. The other 4 fire mana is the house's money that you get to roll with. I'm torn over whether this is a smart way to play Dragon if you suspect your opponent has Tornado. On one hand, it's great to be able to rush the Dragon in order to get him out there for a turn or two before your opponent can effectively play the Tornado. On the other hand, you are forsaking your ability to play a good Fire OR Water card anytime soon, in return for getting rid of the threat of a Tornado anytime soon, which is not the best proposition.
| wiggin | 2009-10-31 08:02:51 |
I'm torn over whether this is a smart way to play Dragon if you suspect your opponent has Tornado. Maybe if you can get a powerful spell out before the opponent tornados. Otherwise certainly not, you lose all board control.
| Eldritch | 2009-10-31 18:07:36 |
...
That's not a fair way to look at it. If you're considering the 6 water mana as a cost, then you only gave up 8 of "your" fire mana. The other 4 fire mana is the house's money that you get to roll with.
I'm torn over whether this is a smart way to play Dragon if you suspect your opponent has Tornado. On one hand, it's great to be able to rush the Dragon in order to get him out there for a turn or two before your opponent can effectively play the Tornado. On the other hand, you are forsaking your ability to play a good Fire OR Water card anytime soon, in return for getting rid of the threat of a Tornado anytime soon, which is not the best proposition.
If we take that to be true, then it's still 8 fire mana + 6 water mana + 3 turns for 10 air mana + 1 turn. The mana puts you at a mana disadvantage and the turns put you at a tempo disadvantage, thus leading to an overall board disadvantage. Most extreme losses like this lead to instant game losses against an equal or better opponent.
I play dragon with accel if a) I have tornado or b) my opponent's starting air is below 5. In the second circumstance, the tempo that I gain from playing early dragon compensates if not exceeds the magnitude of tempo lost 3-4 turns later when it gets tornadoed. | Wavelength | 2009-11-01 00:19:27 |
...
If we take that to be true, then it's still 8 fire mana + 6 water mana + 3 turns for 10 air mana + 1 turn. The mana puts you at a mana disadvantage and the turns put you at a tempo disadvantage, thus leading to an overall board disadvantage. Most extreme losses like this lead to instant game losses against an equal or better opponent.
I play dragon with accel if a) I have tornado or b) my opponent's starting air is below 5. In the second circumstance, the tempo that I gain from playing early dragon compensates if not exceeds the magnitude of tempo lost 3-4 turns later when it gets tornadoed.
Yeah, that's all really good points, particularly about the "three turns". You ARE getting those Merfolk Apostates out there, but I'm sure there are better creatures you can use in turns 1-3. Still, unless your opponent has already dropped a Merfolk Elder, I feel sometimes it's better to take that pain rather than try to build up to a Master Healer or Mind Master and have THAT tornado'ed. In which case, maybe one Apostate is a smart move.
| scurge | 2009-11-05 13:49:50 |
what is this game?please.........to say anybody
what is this game?please.........to say anybody
This game is computer game. Clicky mouse and use to great win :-D
Modified by scyld on 2010-01-04 21:31:42 | Zannoland | 2010-01-05 00:07:59 |
if you can summon dragon on 8 enemy air, and cast chain on 9 enemy air, i feel you've probably done enough damage, as dragon will rarely live for two chains. when faced with this, at that point i may save a tornado for an upcoming elemental instead, or save the mana for lightning bolt, if i have a strong creature to take dragon out and they have no capacity to heal it
Modified by Zannoland on 2010-01-05 00:08:47 | panderson | 2010-03-26 04:59:15 |
What about Mana Logistics?
IMO ML = Strategy
Total Mana Spent = Mana spent in: A) Frontline creatures + B) Spell vs creatures+ C) Spell vs opponent+ D) Healing
For example I usually reserve at least 2 elements columns for B) damage spells to curb opponent critters like chain L or Fwave or infernos or if unavailable area damage creatures like hydras and/or the cloud.
The other 3 columns are reserved for A) frontline troops: the sturdier the better Ex: Sea Sprite , Golems, L Walls, Lemurs.
If you are sure you're going for the kill then you can divert C) mana vs the opponent, but it's resource inefficient so you have to pay attention.
If you're on the defensive then you have to lose tempo and divert mana on D) healing
Regards
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