Questions about OCTGN meta

[werner]

I was fine with Temple of Light nerf. And Battle Fury nerf. But I feel Rushdown (SprintForcePush / SprintOGTeleport) already balanced HoBS spam perfectly. If you lost to a Mage who casted 6 HoBS, you did a lot wrong that game; starting with allowing all that cheese to happen.

I feel Holy Only was the proper nerf as HoBS really finds Added Value in 4-melee-Mage books.

IF/WHEN Tsunami is nerfed, please consider Siren Only (it's too much Added Value for Druids).

Is Druid the only mage you are concerned about running Tsunami?

No. But in making a case for "Siren Only," I want to highlight the [added value] of Druids running Tsunami. It's more than just Synergy.

[RomeoXero]

You really hold a lot of respect for the flash port attack spell rush don't ya? Does nobody play brace yourself agaist you? Wot pushes? Reverse attack, block, or dodge? I really wonder whats happening when you sit down to play this game. Are all of your games over by round 4? Who are you playing this Rushmaster style agaist, and why haven't they discovered surging wave? Or literally any of the myriad of answers to that kind of aggression?

[werner]

You really hold a lot of respect for the flash port attack spell rush don't ya? Does nobody play brace yourself agaist you? Wot pushes? Reverse attack, block, or dodge? I really wonder whats happening when you sit down to play this game. Are all of your games over by round 4? Who are you playing this Rushmaster style agaist, and why haven't they discovered surging wave? Or literally any of the myriad of answers to that kind of aggression?

I think you have "my style" in reverse. I play rushdown because of the massive respect I have for the Long-game ROI during Engine/Spawnpoint/SimCity style play. If left unchecked, you either get ramped with tremendous dice/action advantage or you force a juicy 3-4 hour game.

And I do switch playstyles in the blink of an eye. But the biggest misconception is that I haven't experienced proper Rush-Counterplay. I've lost a lot of Mage Wars games regardless of my opening; due to incredible counter-play.

The purpose of Rush isn't to win outright, it's to deny the opponent a comfort-zone.

Seeking Dispel their Brace Yourself and we're back to making the opponent very uncomfortable.

[Arkdeniz]

I think the one issue with the Temple of Light ruling is that Ballista and Akiro's Hammer don't require mana, just can only be used every other round. Ballista is 5 every other round with piercing 3 and doesn't need any buffs. Temple could be 1 die every round for free or youd have to buff it with multiple zone exclusives to get more dice. I think paying mana in addition to that was a bit much if Ballista/Hammer are free actions.

Side note: I have thought for a long time that the Ballista and the Hammer should not get an automatic load token, but instead require a Soldier to spend an action to place a load token on it. Up to two soldiers per round. In the same way that the Temple of A can employ Clerics prayers. It wouldbe nicely thematic, too: kill the crew, nullify the artillery.
/side note

[Reddicediaries]

I think the one issue with the Temple of Light ruling is that Ballista and Akiro's Hammer don't require mana, just can only be used every other round. Ballista is 5 every other round with piercing 3 and doesn't need any buffs. Temple could be 1 die every round for free or youd have to buff it with multiple zone exclusives to get more dice. I think paying mana in addition to that was a bit much if Ballista/Hammer are free actions.

Side note: I have thought for a long time that the Ballista and the Hammer should not get an automatic load token, but instead require a Soldier to spend an action to place a load token on it. Up to two soldiers per round. In the same way that the Temple of A can employ Clerics prayers. It wouldbe nicely thematic, too: kill the crew, nullify the artillery.
/side note

I don't think ballista needs a nerf since if it only gets one shot off and is killed with mana equal to or less to it's cost, you get a net win as the opponent if you play the situation correctly.

[Coshade]

One of the good things about rushes is that it teaches you how to get the most out of your defensive cards. I have experienced that when a lot of players figure out how to deal with the turn two rock/boulder/hawkeye/akiros favor combo johktari they can generally deal with most other aggression as well. I think that's why a lot of veteran players go for a mid game timing push as their earliest point of aggression rather then anything before turn 4.

[werner]

One of the good things about rushes is that it teaches you how to get the most out of your defensive cards. I have experienced that when a lot of players figure out how to deal with the turn two rock/boulder/hawkeye/akiros favor combo johktari they can generally deal with most other aggression as well. I think that's why a lot of veteran players go for a mid game timing push as their earliest point of aggression rather then anything before turn 4.

Good point(s). I will often fake the Rush, but you gotta establish the dangers of one first.