Some noobie questions

[Malacoda Khan]

Got some questions about general gameplay to throw to eveybody.

When the hand is first dealt, should I plan my startegy for the first few turns based on what I have in my hand? For example, before I play my first card, should I already know what my seconf third and fourth plays are going to be? Or is it better to just play it by ear and see what cards come each turn before deciding what to play? Is a strict strategy for each hero the best way to play, or is it better to keep loose and more reactionary?

Sacrificing, having a terrible time figuring this out. When is it appropriate to skip sacrificing cards? Theres always some turns when I want to sacrifice, but need all the cards I have in hand. Is there a threshold to hit before I think about not sacrificng, say four or five energy?

When the other player has one or more allies on the board, should I concentrate on keeping his allies down, or is it better to do damage to the hero whenever possible?

One more and Ill give up for today; How do the ratings work? Some games I wina nd get a big jump in rating, some I win and get no bump at all. Same with losses, weird variation between how many spots I go down each game. Also, how can I find info anout my opponent? All I see is their name at the bottom when we're playing.

That should do for now, Ill bombard yall with some more dumb questions later. Thanks in advance for any help that comes down the pipe.

[DarthRonfar]

Part of the game or all of it consists of exactly what your talking about. Knowing when to sacrifice what and when to attack an ally or the hero should be based upon the match and what you think or know. You should generally have a plan of what to sacrifice before your next card comes, after that you would then decide whether to stay with that plan or sacrifice the new card just drawn. So that's kind of obvious IMo.

It's generally best to be sacrificing most of the time early ,but as you obtain more resources then the margin for not sacrificing becomes a little larger. Board control is very important part of the game where generally the person controlling the board has ether a small or huge advantage(for some decks that have few allies this is different) so yes it would probly be best in "most" cases to take out the ally. Of course that isn't always the case but is usually.

About rating it depends on the other persons rating I'm pretty sure.

For allot of whats in your post there are topics already posted discussing pretty much exactly what you are talking about. So I suggest to go and find those and read them.

Good Luck

[Kratylus]

To add to what DarthRonfar has said, it's a good idea to construct your deck based on what your game plan is. For example, if there's a card such as a draw engine that you want to play as early as possible, then include 4 copies of it. Here's a great guide to sacrificing:

http://www.shadowera.com/showthread....to-Sacrificing

And here's an article with information about how the rating system works:

http://www.shadowera.com/showthread....-act-strangely

[iClipse]

Well, a lot depends as well on the hero you're using, and the one you're facing. For example: If I play my Eladwen, I often stop sacrificing for a while at 4-5 resources. On the other hand, if I'm playing my Zhanna, I usually keep sacrificing till 8-10 resources, depending on my draw.

Also, some heroes get quite a lot of useless cards. For example, as a warrior, if you have your blood frenzy out already, it shouldn't be a problem to sac the cards you don't need. Though, be careful for Sever Ties and so. Don't just auto-sacrifice it.

[PlayAppleSE]

Got some questions about general gameplay to throw to eveybody.

When the hand is first dealt, should I plan my startegy for the first few turns based on what I have in my hand? For example, before I play my first card, should I already know what my seconf third and fourth plays are going to be? Or is it better to just play it by ear and see what cards come each turn before deciding what to play? Is a strict strategy for each hero the best way to play, or is it better to keep loose and more reactionary?

Sacrificing, having a terrible time figuring this out. When is it appropriate to skip sacrificing cards? Theres always some turns when I want to sacrifice, but need all the cards I have in hand. Is there a threshold to hit before I think about not sacrificng, say four or five energy?

When the other player has one or more allies on the board, should I concentrate on keeping his allies down, or is it better to do damage to the hero whenever possible?

One more and Ill give up for today; How do the ratings work? Some games I wina nd get a big jump in rating, some I win and get no bump at all. Same with losses, weird variation between how many spots I go down each game. Also, how can I find info anout my opponent? All I see is their name at the bottom when we're playing.

That should do for now, Ill bombard yall with some more dumb questions later. Thanks in advance for any help that comes down the pipe.

1) Yes. Plan your strategy. This helps you decide what to sacrifice (if you have 2 2cc allies and one is better than the other, sac the worse one).

2) I'd say as a rule of thumb, sac until your resources = x-1, where x = the most expensive card in your deck. That way, if you need that card, you can sac and play it that turn.

After that, sac any card you know you won't play (a second War Banner when you're playing a Warrior, who probably won't have any cards to kill it, for instance), but once you hit your x-1, if you expect to play all the cards in your hand, you can consider keeping them. Also, generally, once you hit about 10 resources, you probably don't need to sac any more (that's already 25% of your deck being sacrificed!)

3) this question is based on your deck's strategy on how to win, and also how close you are to winning/losing. If you have a lot of life left and your opponent doesn't, maybe you go for the jugular.

Also, bear in mind your opponent and his strategy. If you are up against a Priest, then you should try to hit the hero often because your reward for clearing his board is a Tidal Wave for your troubles.

4)in short, the ratings figure out where you are, then slow down to a crawl. If you are only gaining/losing 2 or less points per win, it's because the game thinks its figured out how good you are, and unless you get a hot/cold streak, you will see little progress moving up/down.

[nickhono]

Here are my answers that will generally be true most of the time:

1. Try to plan your strategy for the first few turns - otherwise you will sacrifice inconsistently and your opening will be incoherent.

2. . For almost all decks you wouldn't stop sacrificing until you get to 5 resources, because a lot of powerful cards cost 5 resources, and is usually the sweet spot that lets you play a 2 cost and a 3 cost card in the same turn. (Exception: Eladwen rush decks)

3. I'd say for a beginner always focus on taking down the opposing allies unless you have enough damage to kill the opponent that turn.

4. Rating changes get smaller and smaller the more games you play each season, but they get reset each season.