Savage Tarantino
06/05/2012
The first core theory article I wrote was about utility: how to judge the general usefulness of individual cards. It was a logical starting point, because having taught this Theory to a lot of new players, I know it's the first thing that people tend to get tripped up on. So today, we're going to look at the second topic in that line of challenges.
Card presence theory is one of the fundamental building blocks of effective strategy and tactics in the Shadow Era! TCG. Each theory I'm presenting to you in this series of articles is not intended as a be-all end-all that defines the game on its own. Think of each theory as a lens through which to view the game, with each “lens” giving you a different, relevant, and useful perspective. However, understand that some theories will come in handy more often than others, and the amount of information that can be gleaned from understanding card presence theory makes it one of the most relevant to your average game. The Games in which card presence theory does not play a role are extremely rare, so in order to succeed, you have to know this theory inside out.
The good news? Provided you can apply a little objective logic and handle basic math with single-digit numbers, you can start to put this theory to work almost instantly. As long as you know how it works the system is easy, and provides a gateway to more sophisticated techniques and perspectives.
So What Is Card Presence?
The term “card presence” refers to the total number of cards a player has in his hand, and on the field combined. At the beginning of a Game when you draw your sixth card, your total card presence is six. You have six cards that you can make plays with. If you then Play a Allie to the field, you still have a total card presence of six: the fact that you've moved one of those cards from your hand to the field does not diminish the usefulness of those cards, so the math doesn't change.
When a card is sent to the graveyard, removed from the field, or returned to your deck, it no longer contributes to your total card presence. So if I go first, Play a Kris to the field, and lose it in battle next turn, my total card presence will now be five cards instead of six. We get that number by adding together the total number of cards on my side of the field, to the total number of cards in my hand.
Playing a card like Fire Ball and sending it to your graveyard reduces your card presence. Drawing a card increases your card presence. If an effect lets you search your deck for a card to add to your hand, and does so without consuming a card from your hand or field, that action also increases your card presence.
There are near-infinite ways that your card presence can be reduced or increased – I'm sure you can already think of many yourself. There are also lots of actions that will not affect your card presence despite initial appearances.
For instance, if I were lose cards directly from my deck to the graveyard, the loss of those cards doesn't have an impact on my card presence, because those cards are going from my deck to my graveyard – card presence only takes into account the cards in my hand and on my field.
So when a card is added to my hand or my field, I gain card presence. When a card moves between my hand and field, there's no change. When a card is removed from my hand or field and sent somewhere else, I lose card presence.
Simple Stuff, Right? Let's Look At Some Examples
The following are all examples of plays that will increase my total card presence by one card:
-Dealing Successful Combat Damage to a Hero or Allie with Wulven Tracker.
-Playing a Shadow Knight
-Activating the Ability of The Hero Majiya
These are all very basic examples of a simple one-card gain. In all three cases a Allie or Hero's effect results in a card being added to my hand or field, while the Card itself remains on the field and continues to count towards my total card presence. Here are some examples of plays with similar results that don't increase my total card presence across the long term.
-Tributing a Brutalis
-Adding Molten Destroyer
-Playing Transference
All three of these scenarios result in a new card being added to my hand or field – a gain of card presence. However, each scenario also incurs a loss of card presence to accomplish this. That Sacrificial Lamb
-My Puwen
-My Tome of Knowledge
-I take damage to my Hero From my opponents Serena
In all three scenarios here, my opponent has eliminated one of my cards from my hand or field. They accomplished that without losing any cards themselves, too: the Cards responsible for my loss remain on the field in each example. Here are three more scenarios where my card presence is diminished by one card.
-My Jasmine Rosecult
-My Tome of Knowledge
-My Puwen
In all three of these scenarios I am again losing a single card's worth of card presence. However, what makes these scenarios different from the previous three, is that my opponent is also losing a card himself. We're both losing card presence.
Which Brings Us To Our Key Points
Keeping a tab on the total card presence each player commands in a Game is important for two fundamental reasons. First, the more cards you have, the more options you usually have. Having more cards means more possible moves, more potential combos, and more choices in how you deal with your opponent. More cards means more flexibility, and often means more potential damage in a single turn. In this basic sense, higher card presence is better for you as an individual.
However, the second significance of card presence is comparative, and involves not just you, but your opponent as well. Every extra card you have above and beyond your opponent's total card presence increases your chances to outplay your opponent and answer his or her moves. When you have a higher card presence than your opponent, we consider you to be in a situation of “card advantage”. Calculating card advantage is the second important use for card presence theory.
Now there are of course caveats – if you control Molten Destroyer
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