Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Question A: Do you play Abraham's Servant to Ur?

Yes. Getting to 4 should be your goal so you get a clear 2nd in the event Player B cannot stop Player C. After all it is not Like Emperor Claudius can be counted on to stop (even mediocre) OT heroes.

Question B: Was Player B justified in blocking?

Yes. It is not like Emperor Claudius can be counted on to stop (even mediocre) OT heroes.

After tweaks I would stick with yes and yes.

Player B should only block you if he has another block he can pull out against player C in the event you somehow kill Claudius. You should assume that Player B is playing rationally (i.e., that he has another block for C), so you should take the LS if you can.

You always have to win the soul. You can't afford to lose another turn where people will have to block.

I think the block depends on hand composition. If I had a different combo I was planning on using to block the other player that I felt is more foolproof (like Black character and Babel), maybe that's fine. He could also be blocking to ensure he is second, even in a tie.

Did player B have any battle-winners in his hand?

Unknown, you're Player A.

If Player C is Justin Alstad, you definitely defeat Claudius to get your 4th because you can reasonably assume that Justin isn't going to be stopped by Claudius. 

If Player D is Justin Alstad, you immediately play the Falling Away you were lucky enough to pull from your Women pack on him. 

Has anyone played (and who) got and played SoG/NJ?

Oh, I forgot about that, sorry.

I was Player B in this situation. I was pressing my advantage because an easy block here would mean that I might be able to get into a solid second place should I be able to rescue, and then being one block away from winning the game. Now, I had absolutely no back up, though I was hoping to draw into something, and didn't have any gold enhancements anyway.

So this is why I wish I could table talk.  Had I been able to table talk, I would have answered the "WHY ARE YOU BLOCKING?!" "YOU BETTER HAVE ANOTHER BLOCK IN HAND" with resounding "I don'ts." to further press my advantage. Whether he would have believed me or not remains to be seen, and that's the fun of multiplayer and table talk. The game is getting into your opponent's head.

In the end, I didn't draw anything, and Player C had the rescue anyway, but I knew when I made that play that it was counter to standard Redemption procedure and thought it was an interesting situation with no necessarily correct answer.

Quote from: The Guardian on January 14, 2015, 04:06:22 AM

If Player C is Justin Alstad, you definitely defeat Claudius to get your 4th because you can reasonably assume that Justin isn't going to be stopped by Claudius. 

If Player D is Justin Alstad, you immediately play the Falling Away you were lucky enough to pull from your Women pack on him. 

I'm keeping track of everyone who upvoted that post. There will be no mercy for any of you, in any category we may end up playing in...

I would have definitely blocked, player A may not have had anything good.

I think the only reason I wouldn't block a NT Hero with Claudius (in Player B's position) was if I had more Gold defense left in my deck and I had a reasonably chance to draw some on my turn in an effort to stop Player C.

Oh, so this is Apostles Claudius! I thought that it was TEC!

Assuming we're in an all or nothing situation, I would say that yes, you do have to play Servant here. Even though you may be eliminating Player B's best block, you need to focus on your own rescues as you're very unlikely to make it through two more full rounds.

I don't think Player B is justified in blocking unless they have some way of knowing that they cannot stop Player C regardless or you have a better block saved. Fourth place doesn't mean anything, so you should be attempting to win. By potentially using up your best block (or at the very least, showing it to Player C so he can plan for it), you are reducing your chances of winning.

By the same logic, Player A is reducing their chances of winning by rescueing the soul because you are hindering the very person that you're depending on.

Quote from: Chris on January 17, 2015, 03:47:10 PM

Assuming we're in an all or nothing situation, I would say that yes, you do have to play Servant here. Even though you may be eliminating Player B's best block, you need to focus on your own rescues as you're very unlikely to make it through two more full rounds.

I don't think Player B is justified in blocking unless they have some way of knowing that they cannot stop Player C regardless or you have a better block saved. Fourth place doesn't mean anything, so you should be attempting to win. By potentially using up your best block (or at the very least, showing it to Player C so he can plan for it), you are reducing your chances of winning.

By the same logic, Player A is reducing their chances of winning by rescueing the soul because you are hindering the very person that you're depending on.

Wouldn't it make sense to have one less soul on the table. For instance what I have a burial promo and wanna play it block the winning player from getting to the 1 soul you available. However if you block me from getting the second soul in you LoB burial is worthless.

Essentially what it comes down to are the odds of a given event happening. What are the odds you don't follow through with the rescue and then you manage to go through two more full rounds, where you're the only one picks up souls? A lot worse than the odds that the person you're rescuing against has another block, and you can make a successful rescue next turn.