Sacrificing Tips?

[darkhen]

I would like to share my deck with everyone and the strategy that I use with it. My question would be, after reviewing my deck, what would be some of the best cards to use as sacrifice as to have an advantage against my opponent? Or, are there cards in my deck that I should replace for sacrificing? If I just need to add cards, I would not like to add many as keeping the deck this small has proved very advantageous. I have only lost to a "Boris" deck. I modified the deck to include "Supernova." After adding this, I have been able to crush every deck I have come across and it has helped me at the last minute, numerous times.

I am having trouble with the sacrificing because I feel that I am having to sacrifice very useful cards for future turns. I have changed my strategy to the point that in later turns, I no longer need allies and am able to sacrifice them to get powerful mage abilities out there... but, still having trouble with my first 3 to 4 turns in sacrificing things that I feel I will need later on.

I feel I have rambled enough.. Let me just list my deck and see if anyone has any good ideas for me. Thank you in advance.

Majiya - Hero
Infernal Gargoyle x 4
Brutalis x 4
Plasma Behemoth x 3
Chimera x 2
Fire Snake x 4
Fireball x 4
Lightning Strike x 4
Tome of Knowledge x 3
Supernova x 3
Arcane Burst x 4
Shriek of Vengance x 4
Wrath of Summer x 1
----------------Total: 41

Again, what should be my top choices in sacrificing? Should I add a few more cards to the deck? Or, should I replace anything in the deck? Thank you again.

[Mew Two]

I don't have much sacrificing advice, but I do have some tips for your deck. Try this, and see what happens
-4 fire snake
-1 wrath of summer
+1 research
+1 Plasma behemoth
+2 bad santa
+1 supernova
(also, arcane burst and chimera are fairly strong, but not very many people like them/know how to use them. if you want to add anything else to your deck, those would be the cards to take out)
I think those changes would help your deck. In terms of sacrificing advice, in the early turns, feel free to sacrifice high cost cards because with enough card draw power, you should get plenty of those in the late game. In the late game, keep all of your PBs, and burn spells, and you should do fine.

[darkhen]

Thank you. Out of all of the games I have used this deck with, I have never used the Wrath of Summer. It has always been a sacrifice card for me. The only reason I use the Fire Snakes is because I can get it out first turn and am usually able to get 3 to 5 damage out there before my opponent is really able to cast anything at all. I have fallen in love with supernova ever since it saved me from what I thought was a dead end game for me. I usually sacrifice one early on, but 70% of the time, Supernova ends up being the last spell cast in the game. I'm scared to use it early on as I have nothing to heal my hero with but as I play more, I can probably come up with more strategies to use it with.

The Bad Santa will help me get better cards more quickly, but will it put me at a disadvantage since it allows the opponent to draw up to 3 cards also? or is that one that you are saying I should add for sacrificing?

Thank you for your input. I will be modifying the deck tonight.

[Mew Two]

Bad santa doesn't seem like it would be an especially good card at first glance, but it is extremely useful. To be able to draw a tome of knowledge early and to get card advantage is essential. It can also help get that supernova, or those last few burn cards when you really need them. If you draw a tome of knowledge in your opening hand, feel free to sac the Santas, but they are awesome for getting a draw engine out early.

[darkhen]

Awesome. Thank you. It's just that everything I have read about strategy is that you want to be able to draw as much as possible and that you want to do so without your opponent being able to draw also. But, that is a good point. Use it to get what you need, and the rest of the BS's can be used for sacrifice.

Now, with getting rid of allies... should I add more Mage ability cards or do you think that I have enough ability damage in the deck to not have to worry about an opponent with a healing Hero or the 'ongoing: target hero or ally has +10 health' card? Basically, with what I have... is it possible to not have enough damage in my deck to finish off an opponent in cases like that?

[Mew Two]

In your current deck, without my changes, you have 4 lighting strike, 4 fireball, 4 arcane burst, and 3 supernova. Even without any damage from your allies or majiya, you have 51 damage with just your burn spells (I may have counted wrong, but its somewhere around there). As a mage, you don't really need to worry about damage output. If you're worried about warriors using enrage (+10 health) you can ad 1 or two sever ties. Although targeting the hero with burn spells in the late game can be good, in the early game, it is good to use you lighting strikes and arcane bursts in conjunction with allies to gain board control.

[FarqTheOrc]

What to sac is a large part of the skill in Shadow Era, and to complicate things it depends on your opponent what to sac and when.

For example vs allyless Gwen or Darkclaw u won't need Supernova right?

As a mage its probably easier however than say a priest since your play style is more consistent.

If you regard Supernova and Plasma Behemoth as core cards then i would say have 4 of each. A deck size between 40 and 42 cards is usually fine.

This also depends on card draw. If you have 4 Research and usually put it out on t2 if u can then maybe 3 plasmas is enough.

As a general rule no matter what class I try to keep one item destruction card like Acid Blast or Shriek or Poor Quality and one 5cc card like Supernova or Mind Control or Tidal Wave in my hand. Playing for example versus a mage these days I expect to see Dagger of Unmaking t5 so i would keepa acid Blast over other cards.

In contrast you may be forced to sac a Supernova t4 if you want to keep board control that you've started well towards establishing.

To sum up saccing is highly situational and you'll get very good at it with practise

[darkhen]

I guess I didn't think of it that way. Depending on who I am playing, their play style and all... anything in the deck could be used as a sacrifice without any loss of advantages. Thank you guys for your quick and helpful ideas. It's very appreciated.

[DRoy777]

What to sac is a large part of the skill in Shadow Era, and to complicate things it depends on your opponent what to sac

farq nailed it right there IMO. What to sac and when really depends on your matchup. Every hand you start with will be a lot or a little different then last and i always try to get a feel for my resource curve and what i expect my opposing hero to do. Also understanding generally how a hero plays is key.

The better you get to know your deck and what is and isn't possible the better you'll become at sacing as smart as possible. There often be times when it's a really difficult decision.