Ok.. So when I say Early Game it's probably from the start of the game to your first ride to grade 3. This is the part where if you read the pre-game discussion, you would ride your ideal ride targets. probably smack their vanguard on the face a few times while doing so.However this isn't all there is to the early game. There's a lot of things like when to rush / counter-rush, when to guard early or when to just swing with your Vanguard. The answer to these questions comes with practicing the deck and generally you want to have the most number of things be in favor for you. So we're going to make a checklist of what you should have over the opponent on your Grade 3 turn.
⬜ 1-3 Counter Blasts for when you ride
⬜ Card Advantage (Having more or just as much cards in your hand and field than your opponent)
⬜ A good pressure card in your hand (may be called if your opponent can't rest/lock/retire it)
- These may consist of Burning Horn, Spherical Lord or Nehalem
⬜ Stride Fodder or an extra Grade 3 in your hand
Note: This checklist is only a general guideline and can vary from matchup to matchup
If you have all of this by the time you get to your grade 3 turn, you're probably in a good spot. But even though you checked everything off the list, you might not have done it optimally because sometimes the right decision is not always obvious. Now I'll list some tips or tricks on how you can optimally get there.
Scenario 1:
- Your opponent is not calling anything and is just going Vanguards swing to your Vanguard.
If you are in this situation, which is most likely what you would find yourself in as most games do end up being like this early, you don't really have to do anything different than what they are doing. As long as you're not grade stuck, the checklist is going to take care of itself.
Scenario 2:
- Your opponent is rushing you with a pressure card (Chatura, Celtic, Dreadmaster, Tidal)
This is one of the nasty situations to be in and it just feels bad either way losing cards to guard or letting them net more cards. There's a couple ways you can respond to this. One of them is to either use your early game retires like Neoflame/Burnout/Gattling Claw and then you can choose wether or not to follow up with Sadegh. The other way is to just call a unit of your own and just start whacking that pressure card hard even with your Vanguard. They can either use cards in their hand to guard it or just let the card go. Either way they will lose cards and you get to fulfill no. 2 on your check list.
Scenario 3:
- Your opponent rushed really hard and filled their field (Grade 1 Rush or just overextending)
This is sometimes the scariest thing to face if you do not have the right hand for it but the general thing you want to do is go for their rear-guards again and again until you build enough of an advantage. This however does not necessarily work against the infamous Grade 1 Seven Seas Rush. It can and you can deck them out eventually but it's a whole different discussion entirely.
Scenario 4:
- You are grade stuck at 3 with your starting hand (You have no grade 3)
This is the beauty of running slightly more average Grade 3's meaning you're bound to get one eventually. This makes it so you can either just play it cool and even if you do G Assist, If you get on "the Legend" then you make up for the card loss with the on ride skill. I would however call a 9k before you reach the G Assist turn because then they might drop a card to guard which means you have card advantage again even if you do G Assist.
Scenario 5:
- You are gradestuck at 1 or 2
This kinda sucks but if you are gradestuck at 1 or 2 then this is the time you have to make use of your Forerunner effectively. If you have no grade 1, if you're going first, I would wait a turn, and if you get it next turn you'd be totally fine but if you're going second, I would go as far as calling a usable trigger behind your starter to deal them one damage, by usable I mean not Tarpaulin Dracokid. I would however not G Assist until your 2nd turn. Now if you're stuck at 2, if you went first, again you can wait a turn and this flips getting first stride to you. If you're second, you may G Assist but only if you need to and you think you can win eventually. If your matchup is bad then might as well rush them instead.
That's about it for the scenarios I can think of that may come up in your games and I hope this helps you have a better flow of your early game.
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