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Redemption® Collectible Trading Card Game HQ => Deck Building & Design => Deck Concepts => Topic started by: metalpsalm on February 06, 2009, 03:48:56 AM

Title: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: metalpsalm on February 06, 2009, 03:48:56 AM
Seems like a real afterthought SA
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: Tsavong Lah on February 06, 2009, 04:16:18 AM
Emperors definitely rely on it as a major strategy, being that most of them are 10/1. Ehud has a big advantage with it, because you can choose your opponent's EC to block, which means you can pick someone who's in between his 7/4 and automatically have a winning situation. King So is useful every once in a while for first strike as well.

Other than that, not really.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: MichaelHue on February 06, 2009, 10:54:20 AM
Honestly, I'd rather have Ehud as a CtB Hero WITHOUT first strike, so it'd be easier to choose a blocker that would give you initiative (because having to choose someone with 8 defense or higher is annoying).  In general, first strike isn't that useful.  There are some cards that could be exceptions to this, though.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: TheKarazyvicePresidentRR on February 06, 2009, 07:02:50 PM
Idk I love Ferocious attack, its nice to use vs the fbtn peoples.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: Alex_Olijar on February 06, 2009, 07:03:58 PM
Even better in BD
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: lightningninja on February 06, 2009, 07:53:29 PM
It's good to have cbn first strike cards, like King so, and then play, let's say Mask of fear. That's nice.  :)
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: Sean on February 06, 2009, 07:54:56 PM
First strike is most effective in battles that are determined by the numbers, whether by special ability or not.  With the addition of so many CBN evil stuff, the importance of CBN first strike characters like Abner has become less.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: TimMierz on February 06, 2009, 08:39:17 PM
Evil first strike is awesome. Hooray for Rome.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: Isildur on February 06, 2009, 09:11:12 PM
If Lurking counts as first strike, I like first strike then  :P
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: Captain Falcon on February 07, 2009, 09:30:21 AM
Evil first strike is awesome. Hooray for Rome.

Ture dat, man.  You are the Julius caesar of rome and Emperors. :thumbup:
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: BubbleBoy on February 07, 2009, 10:26:44 AM
First strike is...well, it needs to be used right, but it can be very nice.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: 3-Liner And Bags Of Chips on May 02, 2009, 10:26:54 AM
i have to say roman emps are as good as it gets for first strike LOL!

True dat. First strike has helped me out of a lot of good situations playing my friend. He would get his hero up to a 10/6 and I come with my High priest ananias and just whoop on him with it lol
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: The Schaef on May 02, 2009, 11:16:46 AM
First strike is about 50 times more helpful to evil cards than good.  For a Hero, a win and mutual destruction (numbers) are good, while a loss, stalemate or mutual destruction (removal) are bad.  So First Strike just means the Hero who was going to get the LS anyway doesn't die, but there are tons of ways to bring back Heroes from discard.  For an Evil Character, First Strike changes the outcome matrix to: Hero wins - bad; EC wins, stalemate, and BOTH kinds of mutual destruction - good.

For a while I pushed evil First Strike as a legitimate counter to FBN but the other "elders" didn't see it as a viable direction.  It has some cards in Angel Wars and it's a good support ability for Romans, but that's about all the strength it has.  But don't underestimate its potential for a cheap ninja block when Strong Angel comes out  :)
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: TheKarazyvicePresidentRR on May 02, 2009, 03:40:37 PM
I loved doing that with my ferocious attack. My goliath would suddenly be a pwnsome 16 Fstrike vs TSA
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: Minister Polarius on May 02, 2009, 03:46:42 PM
Honestly, I'd rather have Ehud as a CtB Hero WITHOUT first strike, so it'd be easier to choose a blocker that would give you initiative (because having to choose someone with 8 defense or higher is annoying).  In general, first strike isn't that useful.  There are some cards that could be exceptions to this, though.
Actually, if I recall correctly, First Strike does not factor in to initiative determination, only during the resolution phase.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: TheKarazyvicePresidentRR on May 02, 2009, 03:51:12 PM
To my knowledge it does. Who is right? DUN DUN DUN
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: DaClock on May 02, 2009, 05:14:25 PM
I hope Pol is right but I think RR is right.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: BubbleBoy on May 02, 2009, 08:26:20 PM
I know I have always played that it does.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: 3-Liner And Bags Of Chips on May 02, 2009, 09:17:13 PM
I know I have always played that it does.

I play that it does because if you have first strike then you could kill them and they could kill you too but you wouldn't die so they would have initiative.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: The Schaef on May 02, 2009, 11:45:29 PM
First Strike is not a battle condition.  Mutual Destruction is a battle condition, and initiative is determined based on that.  First Strike says, at the end of battle, the First Strike character survives Mutual Destruction.

Disregard.  See below.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: Bryon on May 03, 2009, 12:31:58 AM
Hmm.  I've always played it the way RR, DC, BB, and 3-L play it. 

First Strike is an ongoing ability that is always active in battle, not a triggered ability that triggers at the end of battle only.  First strike changes each mutual destruction state to a winning state.

If first strike only triggered after a battle ends in mutual destruction, then the battle would resolve as Mutual Destruction, the hero would rescue the Lost Soul, and then the EC would survive.

Initiative is determined by the state of the battle.  While there is a first strike ability active, there is no such thing as a Mutual Destruction state, since it is changed to a winning state.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: The Schaef on May 03, 2009, 07:18:54 AM
The REG agrees with Bryon et al:
First Strike - General Description (http://www.redemptionreg.com/REG/generaldescription91.htm)

Strangely, this is the first time I've heard it described any other way than what I wrote previously.
Title: Re: First Strike- anyone really rely on that???
Post by: metalpsalm on May 03, 2009, 07:21:14 AM
Glad I asked this, because the way Schaef said is the way I thought it worked.... Is this a new change?
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