Hello! For those who don't know me, I'll acquaint with this simple statement... I am not a natural card player; in that I do not count cards; discard in-game accordingly, and use the best possible option per turn for ultimate win ratio that other players you [may] see show off through sheer elo or whatever else. I pretty much live and play by instinct- And so, I do think that I understand what it means to be a true card hunter (basing this on luck and what-not else((ish)))! So, without further-a-do, this is the IDIOT'S GUIDE TO CARD HUNTER! STEP 1 DON'T BE AN IDIOT! Card Hunter establishes itself to you as a somewhat alternative MTG style of play, with the added premise of chess. Really, the chess side matters more than the deck building ever will. The reasoning behind this is so very simple- Line of sight (LOS) + movement on the board and afterwards being influenced through many methods that I would call aggro. (discarding cards, reducing movement through freeze, attacking by distance or even extending yourself through having more team moves and whatever else.) Here's a wiki that explains the idea. http://wiki.cardhuntria.com/wiki/A_Guide_to_Character_Builds Have you read the wiki? Here's the next step then... STEP 2 SERIOUSLY DON'T BE AN IDIOT! It's a bog-standard concept because most likely the deck you built uses all three of the ideas given. For example- idea (2) [Build to disrupt], is exactly the same as idea (3) [build to control]. If you read carefully it pretty much says that they both depend on when you use these cards. If it's early enough, then you are disrupting, if it's later, you're controlling. The decision of when to use the cards is entirely up to you. Attacking is a must, else you won't be able to win against another deck that 9 times out of 10 has at least the ability to defeat one of your own goons you've proudly created in the keep. So to simplify, you *should* multi-task between all three of the suggested wiki. Preferring a type of play is only a slight shift dependant on your own demeanour. STEP 3 BEING ACCIDENTALLY SMART So you've read alot, thought to yourself "Silly Ghostbrain, I know X,Y,Z. You're a laughable 'tard". Now, I think you've probably seen the greatest hits of card building- Here's these links just incase you haven't (despite it's general irrelevance to the balance changes today). http://forums.cardhunter.com/threads/dwarven-control-wizards.4442/ Personally I miss Scared Little Girl's observations, but I'm guessing she's become silent because of showing us all a rather easy deck to create without heavy legendary items (though they do help!). With the new changes included however, it's not a good idea to use so much freeze, but it is more prominent than ever to have terrain effects in play and gusting people away if wiz eccentricity is your bag. http://forums.cardhunter.com/threads/vampire-evolution.4784/ This extends to alot alot of vampire versions that are much more viable than before. (Attack + health has an amazing advantage!) The fact that now NS is really only as good as dancing cut shows us more vamps than ever before. Elven maneuver + talented healer AND mass frenzy? What a combo! If you aren't playing this deck, you'll be like me, thinking 'What LUCK!'. Stacking mass frenzy is far too easy, but cautious mobility only gives two maneuver and you can only get at max three talented healers on one character. Weigh the pros and cons yourself. http://forums.cardhunter.com/threads/divide-and-conquer.4996/ More historical than the rest (imo), this deck changed the face of how long term players built (IMO!). It became the essence of items that you should be dedicating to a slot. Essentially, a very composed cycling type deck, and for new players, I think it's rather disregarded because you'll hear alot about goats boots, and then with AOTA you'll hear the exact opposite- (alot about sparkling armor being better). Despite all that, there's an equilibrium between cards which should cycle, and cards that should kept. Personally this is the perfect deck building example between movement, attack, and traits. So aren't we all well cleva' for reading all these thingummy bobs!? Obviously not as much as we would want to believe because STEP 1 says it's a chess game, and as so, it is more about what your actions are in-game than what great legendary you're trying to add for no reason other than the thought of "that's my best item". STEP 4 BEING SMART I hope some veterans here can fill you in more than me, but being smart is kinda (kinda) easy to do. It's as simple as not just playing the cards that you want to play, but using cards that your opponent doesn't want to see, if you get what I mean. For example- you can get some great cards that can be used in round 1, but will have more impact in round 2. If you wait at this point, then patience is a virtue. Likewise and opposite to, passing when you have a good hand just because your opponent passes first is a bad idea. THE END From personal experience of being up and down in ELO, it's really easy to feel like the very best players always get better cards. The fact of the matter is they play smart, revealing only cards neccesary to win; sometimes even concealing whole items just to gain advantage. It's a mind game! But, ofc, we can all play those, can't we?
