This is the second replay. It was another game I played against the computer. To learn about the rules of the game or the characters, please visit the links at the bottom of the page.
set-up: ( ), Cavalry, [Sienna], Rebecca, ( )
stock: Harry Webb, Hsu-Wang, Rebecca, Rachel, Hellhound
weight = 7 + 8 + 5 = 20
This is a Webb hero deck. Cavalry can help Webb with Rapid, and Rebecca can help him with Bless. Hsu-Wang is a standard inclusion in a hero deck, for she can heal the hero and cover his flank (with Kunfu). (It is usually the key in a hero deck to protect the hero from being killed quickly while he is fighting in the front line.) Rachel is here to combo with Rebecca, and Hellhound is the last character to be summoned, for the endgame, if necessary.
A hero deck often does not have as high total attack strength as an orthodox deck with lots of cheap characters set up, but the weight is lighter, and the firepower is more concentrated and harder to eliminate.
| _ | Cav 9-3 | [Alb] 12-2 | Gua 15-5 | _ |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| _ | Cav 9-3 | [Sie] 10-2 | Reb 8-2 | _ |
I think that the computer's deck is flawed, because Guardian isn't really a good character to set up with. Since Guardian is a slow character which moves only 1 square per turn, he would be in a better position if summoned at c4 on the computer's first turn rather than advanced to d4. In the replay, you'll see my avoiding the Guardian's attack for a turn in turn 4 exactly by taking advantage of this. Guardian also carries a penalty: his owner has to pay 1 Mana at the beginning of every turn while Guardian is in play. Setting him up would cost an extra Mana in turn 1; adding this to the forfeited 1 Mana gain from Sienna's (who the computer summons on his first turn) Mana Pool, this makes a net loss of 2 Mana for setting up Guardian instead of Sienna, just for guarding against me advancing someone to d3 on turn 1. It isn't a good buy.
The modifiers for Sienna's support, and later for Rachel's Friendship are not being included in the Ap values in the board diagrams because they depend on unit positioning, but the modifiers for the Rachel-Rebecca combo will be.
My deck is "lighter", so I go first.
Harry Webb summon c2 Rebecca d1-d2 Bless c2 Cavalry b1-a1
My Mana: 10 + 6 - 14(summon) -2(Bless) = 0
Sienna's Mana Pool provides me with an extra Mana every turn.
On the first turn, I summon Harry Webb as planned and bless him so that he doesn't have to suffer from his Cost Hp -2 penalty next turn.
| _ | Cav 9-3 | [Alb] 12-2 | Gua 15-5 | _ |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ |
| _ | _ | Har 16-8 | Reb 8-2 | _ |
| Cav 9-3 | _ | [Sie] 10-2 | _ | _ |
Sienna summon c4 Cavalry b5-b3 Guardian d5-d4
Computer's Mana: 4 + 5 - 1 - 8(summon) = 0
Moving Cavalry to b3 is probably a bad move. The computer has nothing to gain by making this move, and it just makes things too easy for me, for I won't have to cast Rapid on Webb in order to reach and kill something. It is also too early to summon Sienna: one needs a few more front line characters in order that Sienna's Support skill may be put to more effective use.
| _ | _ | [Alb] 12-2 | _ | _ |
| _ | _ | Sie 10-2 | Gua 15-5 | _ |
| ___ | Cav 9-3 | ___ | ___ | ___ |
| _ | _ | Har 16-8 | Reb 8-2 | _ |
| Cav 9-3 | _ | [Sie] 10-2 | _ | _ |
Harry Webb c2-b2 Hsu-Wang summon c2 [Sienna] c1-b1 Harry Webb b2 Attack b3 for 9X Rebecca d2-c1 Cavalry a1-a2
My Mana: 0 + 6 - 5(summon) = 1
I wipe out Cavalry and place my characters so that Guardian cannot reach anybody, and also the enemy Sienna will get herself killed by Webb if she charges and attack anyone. By killing Cavalry while staying out of range of Guardian, I am gaining a large material advantage.
In Shadows of the Tusk, while each character can move only once and attack only once each turn, I can take actions with other characters between these two actions. In this replay, on turn 3 and turn 5, I use this for some fancy footwork in order to gain some more firepower with Sienna's Support skill, which supplies friendly characters adjacent to Sienna with an extra Ap.
| _ | _ | [Alb] 12-2 | _ | _ |
| _ | _ | Sie 10-2 | Gua 15-5 | _ |
| ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ | ___ |
| Cav 9-3 | Har 16-8 | Hsu 7-2 | _ | _ |
| _ | [Sie] 10-2 | Reb 8-2 | _ | _ |
Sienna c4-b3 Attack b2 for 2 Guardian d4-d3
Computer's Mana: 0 + 6 - 1 = 5
The computer makes his usual mindless moves, marching forward and attacking when the odds are clearly against him.
| _ | _ | [Alb] 12-2 | _ | _ |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| ___ | Sie 10-2 | ___ | Gua 15-5 | ___ |
| Cav 9-3 | Har 14-8 | Hsu 7-2 | _ | _ |
| _ | [Sie] 10-2 | Reb 8-2 | _ | _ |
Harry Webb b2 Cost Hp -2 Cavalry a2-a3 Attack b3 for 3 Harry Webb b2 Attack b3 for 7X -b3 Hsu-Wang c2-d2 Rebecca c1-c3 [Sienna] b1-c2 Rebecca summon c1 Rebecca c3 Attack d3 for 3 (Excalibur applied) Hsu-Wang d2 Attack d3 for 3
My Mana: 1 + 6 - 5(summon) = 2
I proceed to eliminate the enemy Sienna and push my troops forward. The computer is clearly being overwhelmed.
| _ | _ | [Alb] 12-2 | _ | _ |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Cav 9-3 | Har 12-8 | Reb 8-3 | Gua 9-5 | ___ |
| _ | _ | [Sie] 10-2 | Hsu 7-2 | _ |
| _ | _ | Reb 8-2 | _ | _ |
Celeste summon c4 Guardian d3 Attack d4 for 5 (Kunfu applied)
Computer's Mana: 5 + 6 - 1 - 8(summon) = 2
Guardian finally gets to strike, but it is already too late. Nothing will save the computer from annihilation now.
| _ | _ | [Alb] 12-2 | _ | _ |
| _ | _ | Cel 12-2 | _ | _ |
| Cav 9-3 | Har 12-8 | Reb 8-3 | Gua 9-4 | ___ |
| _ | _ | [Sie] 10-2 | Hsu 2-2 | _ |
| _ | _ | Reb 8-2 | _ | _ |
Harry Webb b3 Cost Hp -2 Harry Webb b3-b4 Attack c4 for 8 Rebecca c3 Attack c4 for 4X (Excalibur applied) -c4 Hsu-Wang d2 Attack d3 for 3 -e3 Cavalry a3-c3 Attack d3 for 4 Rebecca c1-d2 Attack d3 for 2X (Excalibur applied) [Sienna] c2-c1 Rachel summon c2 (REBECCA, RACHEL invoked)
My Mana: 2 + 9 - 9(summon) = 2
I wipe out both of the computer's front line characters. Albrecht is all on his own now; against my large army, doom is inevitable.
| _ | _ | [Alb] 12-2 | _ | _ |
| _ | Har 10-8 | Reb 8-5 | _ | _ |
| ___ | ___ | Cav 9-3 | ___ | Hsu 2-2 |
| _ | _ | Rac 11-3 | Reb 8-4 | _ |
| _ | _ | [Sie] 10-2 | _ | _ |
[Albrecht] c5-e5 Light Saber e3 for 2X
Computer's Mana: 2 + 5 - 2(Light Saber) = 5
The computer scores his first kill. Also, hiding in the corner extends his life by another turn. But these are not going to make any difference in the end.
| _ | _ | *** | _ | [Alb] 12-2 |
| _ | Har 10-8 | Reb 8-5 | _ | _ |
| ___ | ___ | Cav 9-3 | ___ | ___ |
| _ | _ | Rac 11-3 | Reb 8-4 | _ |
| _ | _ | [Sie] 10-2 | _ | _ |
Harry Webb b4 Cost Hp -2 Rebecca c4-d5 Attack [e5] for 5 (Excalibur applied) Cavalry c3-c5 Harry Webb b4-c4 Rebecca b2-c3 Bless c4 Rachel c2-b3
My Mana: 2 + 8 - 2(Bless) = 8
Closing in for the inevitable next turn. Occupying the enemy's 5-Mana square will decide a game, if it has not been decided already.
| _ | _ | Cav 9-3 | Reb 8-6 | [Alb] 7-2 |
| _ | _ | Har 8-8 | _ | _ |
| ___ | ___ | Reb 8-4 | Rac 11-3 | ___ |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| _ | _ | [Sie] 10-2 | _ | _ |
[Albrecht] e5-e4 Light Saber c4 for 3
Computer's Mana: 5 + 0 - 2(Light Saber) = 3
The computer is still struggling, but it is not going to make any difference.
| _ | _ | Cav 9-3 | Reb 8-6 | _ |
| _ | _ | Har 5-8 | _ | [Alb] 7-2 |
| ___ | ___ | Reb 8-4 | Rac 11-3 | ___ |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| _ | _ | [Sie] 10-2 | _ | _ |
Harry Webb c4-d4 Attack [e4] for 7[X]
My Mana: 8 + 14 = 22
The coup de grace.
The opening in Shadows of the Tusk can be very important. For the purposes of applying one's full offensive firepower on the enemy characters and gaining control of the field, multiple fast characters are often better than a single slow one. It is also important to keep one's forces together so that they are not eliminated piecemeal.
In this replay, the computer's deck is not really a good one, and he may have lost even if he has played it well. Which he doesn't, instead throwing his characters at me one by one. This soon leads to annihilation of his troops.
Copyright 21 June 1999 Alan Shiu Ho Kwan
review (with some rules descriptions)
Alan Kwan / tarot@netvigator.com / created 21 June 99