At the end of this masterclass you will be able to save resources for when they matter the most and get the most use out of your cards

 

Basic rules

1. 1k counters that you are going to play are more valuable most of the time than 2ks
2. Don’t waste removal or power reduction on non-threatening characters.
3. If you cant save a character, never counter out of an attack unless you are using it as a pseudo blocker
4. Always counter out of the last hit if both hits will be the same power level
5. Always counter with the least useful card in your hand

 

1 - The reason being is that while 2ks are worth more in terms of counter power, if a 1k counter is something you are going to play, then building a board state is more valuable than countering

 

2 - A lot of the times people (especially people that play black decks) will do everything in their power to make sure their opponent can not keep a character on the board. Its more important to save your reduction or removal for cards that are more scary to deal with if they are allowed to stick to the board.

 

3 - Think about it like this. Why am I giving away cards from my hand and limiting my options for future plays or countering future attacks, if the character Im saving is not going to even be on the board next turn? 

 

Now the only exception is if you are prioritizing taking minimal damage and you know your opponent has to deal with the character they are initially attacking, then you can counter that to force a much bigger attack to turn its attention to what you saved. 

 

Example is shanks vs doffy match up (see youtube video for a play by play breakdown)

 

4 - If both attacks will be the same power level then you should counter the last attack to ensure that you are countering with the lease important card in your hand. Also sometimes if the opponent leaves don up and you counter out of a bigger attack, then they got what they want (which is cards in hand) and can skimp out on a bigger last attack and play additional characters or save don up for events.

 

5 - If you are choosing to counter an attack then you should always use the card that you are not going to play anytime in the next few turns. Realistically if the option to play the card you are going to counter with could come up soon then I tend to avoid countering with it. Whether it be a 2k or not. Even if you have 0 cost events.

 

Reorganizing the bottom of your deck/getting info

Youve heard me say on videos before with HPTCG, saying that whenever I am searching with any deck I always keep in mind the cards I'm bottom decking, and also rearranging them in the right ways.

 

This helps you value the cards you have in a bit of a different way based on the information you receive. 

 

For example If I sengoku search off sengoku and we bottom deck 3 2ks, then I will be a bit more conservative with my 2ks because I know for the rest of the game (unless I find a way back to the bottom of the deck) I am only playing with “X” amount of 2ks to use for the rest of the game.

 

You can apply this same information for the opposite result

 

An example of this

 

If I search the top 5 of my deck and see no 2ks then I can assume i'll have some in life and i'll have more coming up on the top

 

Apply this same information for various results:

 

I search my top 5 cards or look through my trash as a lucci player and I’ve seen no 7c jacks then I could assume its only a matter of time before it comes up

 

If I mill 15 cards and I need to make a rebecca hina lucci play without a hina, I am inclined to believe that if I mill 2 more cards off leader effect, there is a likely chance that hina will be one of those 2 cards to enable the play.

 

Reorganizing the bottom of your deck

 

I always prioritize putting cards that come up in the later parts of the game as the first card I see when I come back around to the bottom of the deck

 

Whether it be 8c gecko moria, Gravity blade, red rock, etc.

 

Usually this does not come up unless you are playing a deck that is hyper consistent or has a ton of draw power like doffy, or reiju.

 

Heal decks

On heal decks you can afford to take life a bit more worry free. Try to manage your life in a way where you can proc your conditional heal effects on curve. 

 

This means anticipating opponents attacks, attack targets, and the numbers they will attack with, and figure out how you can discard the least amount of cards possible to ensure that you can proc your heal effects.