by Andrew “The Prodigy” Taylor
Featured article in OverPower Homebase, Issue #7
One of the most beautiful parts of this game is the fact that there is no mathematical or logical way to play completely “optimally” or “perfectly.” There are a million different ways to play, and no games are ever the same. No matter what your predictions are, there are thousands of different outcomes based on unforeseen, ever-changing variables. Each player brings their own style to the game, which forces you to pivot quickly – or potentially run into unforeseen consequences. The best players in the world play the exact same characters VERY differently depending on their play style.
Every single decision you make opens hundreds or even thousands of different branches. The path you and your opponent are on, continually changing with every action. This is why the best in the world are not experts at predicting the future – they are merely the best at pivoting and re-analyzing.
You are running the Round Table Home Base, allowing you to place Any-character specials to it. Hand 1, you draw The Grim Reaper and your Cataclysm – Faerie Protection. Which do you place, if any? You analyze your opponents’ characters. They have Morgan le Fay in the reserve, granting them a second negate card (in addition to the Any Character Merlin’s Magic) – SOMEWHERE in their deck. Out of the 7 hands, 2/7 of those hands before the Power Pack (on average) they will have one of their negates. They might even have one right now! But surely they would have placed it, right? To save it for future battles and ensure it gets value? What if they played tricky, keeping it in hand? He placed a Gemini to his Home Base – maybe he does have the Morgan negate – and he will fish it right back out the following action, or even in a later hand. You could place your Faerie Protection, protecting one character from KO at any time, leveraging card advantage down the road if you are able to defeat one of your opponents’ whilst keeping yours alive. You could place your Grim Reaper, threatening to drop it at any moment. This will adjust what your opponent places, and if they even want to battle it out – or run pre battle to hunt for that precious negate. You could place neither, venture big, hope they don’t draw a negate, and utilize both Timmy cards the same hand with the element of surprise. But what if they concede pre battle, forcing both of your best cards down the drain, not to be used for the rest of the game? Each of these different decisions affects your opponents’ choices, and the entire flow and outcome of the game.
What about that 6 Any Power Power card you have drawn? Surely it’s an amazing defensive card. All frontliners, even though they have different grids, may use it to defend. You decide to keep it in hand for defense. Two hands later, your opponent ventures for the win. You have a 6 Any Power Teamwork placed to one of your characters – but no fuel. If only I had placed my 6 two hands ago. That micro decision costs you 12 points of venture, and you lose the game. In another reality, you placed the 6 – a different character was targeted and went down, and you duped on it anyways the next hand. Why didn’t I keep it and use it for defense? I could have kept my character alive AND not drawn a duplicate! In another reality, you placed it to your wounded max 7 character to try and protect them. Your opponent sees you use your own 7 Power card to follow a teamwork you threw, and so they adjust and throw their 7 at your wounded character, KOing them and forcing the 6 to be discarded anyway. You get the idea. There are dozens of micro decisions each and every hand which have consequences later in the game. Sometimes, they are immediate. Sometimes, they surface half a dozen hands later.
Let me take you back to the Seattle Regional this summer. I brought a wacky, split 8 grid deck with Mina as the anchor – Sun Wukong, Wicked Witch, Mina Harker, and Billy the Kid in the back. I ran a lean mean no-Hades Asclepion build that had insane spectrum pressure, and plenty of shift shenanigans to protect my guys, buying time to heal them up, draw, and make more attacks. All day, I KO’d an opponent’s character quickly – and usually got their second as my first was finally going down. I boasted a perfect 8-0 record going into the semi-finals. I felt invincible.
I got matched against Phil Miller (Rest in Peace, brother), with only two wins between me and ultimate victory. Now the thing is, I played Phil in the Swiss. Due to some Power card duplication on his end, and some cheeky plays on my part, I was able to take him down. He was running Dejah Thoris, Leonidas, Zorro, Billy the Kid, and Round Table. Lots of venture and draw power. I simply planned to repeat the steps of the first game.
Hand 1. I draw a 6, 7, and 8 power card alongside a big teamwork. No shift cards. No duplicates on either side. We both ventured 2. Speed and going first was my ally, as I smoked his Dejah Thoris the first hand. I knew from in-between rounds, he had 4 cards only playable by Dejah in his deck. But she was the easiest target, and I chose to go after her first. Hey, it worked out last time! He painted up my Mina Harker. Only drawing one of her specials, I knew I had 6 cards left for her in my deck. A greedy build, but who can argue with the results so far. I calculated the venture. I had the hand won, but I had to let Mina die. I mulled it over, and eventually decided to concede, preserving my advantage but putting myself on my heels. Next hand all I need is the Faerie, or Harness the Wind, or Transformation Trickery. Then, I begin the vampiric healing process and bring him to his knees.
Hand 2. I draw several small Power cards and Specials. No shifts or protection cards of any kind. He draws one unusable Dejah card. Due to me blasting off that teamwork with its follow ups, even though he has an unusable discard, we are even on cards. We begin placing, back and forth. His demeanor changed, he seems confident, even down a hero. I think to myself screw this, I will just concede again. Next hand, I’ll turn it all around. I place out everything except one card. The 7 Combat special that would trigger a heal and a 3 multi Power card on my damaged Mina. He leans over the table, counting venture on both sides. He grabs his mission cards, and begins fiddling with them. “Cards in hand? Just one?” My heartrate increases. No, he’s not going to actually do it. He makes eye contact with me and smiles. As I realize what is about to happen, I realize it’s too late. “I bet five,” he says, and he slides all of his remaining mission cards to the side. I start sweating and with shaky hands, rip the top 3 cards of my deck. A 1 Power card. A 2 Power card. And a Wicked Witch 4 energy special. No Faerie. No Harness the Wind. No Transformation Trickery. I am forced to fight this battle, and even up 3 cards, it’s not looking good. He throws an 8 Combat Power card at Mina. “Let’s see if you have the shift,” he says. I stare down blankly at the table. No answer to the attack. I timidly flip Mina over and discard both cards placed to her. Now we are basically even on cards, and he is up monstrously on venture. I send my own attacks back at him, but with a now useless Any-Hero heal and low cards, the writing is on the wall. He even let me kill his Leonidas with small cards, holding back a Freya just incase I drew the Wukong 11. He won by 15+ venture, whilst still holding the avoid one attack. I shook his hand, and my brain raced – replaying every action. What could I have done differently? Should I have let Mina go down hand 1, nullifying the one character advantage that had served me so well all day? Should I have held several cards on hand 2, planning on throwing them away, just to bluff that I had a shift card? Should I have gone after Leonidas or Zorro who likely would have survived, in hand 1? The butterfly effect from a previous game affected the outcome of this one. My playstyle and cards in my deck, analyzed and defeated by the superior player. This game haunts me, even months later. I was steamrolling everyone and everything! And in one hand against a veteran player, it all crumbled. Massive props to Phil, one of, if not the best in the world. After the game, he said “it was then or never. I saw my window, and I went for it. If that game continued, you bleed me out just like the last game. I only had one shot.”
If you asked me details about any of the games I won, it’s a blur. I know some details on the matches played on camera, but in OverPower, you win or you learn. Micro decisions matter, and it can all change in an instant.
When deckbuilding, always consider two important factors – duplication, and spectrum pressure. Don’t run a ton of duplicates. While you may want several copies of big cards, when you include too many, this turns your deck into a “Home Run or Strikeout” deck, and those although fun, are wildly inconsistent. You will have hands where you bury your opponent, but you will have many hands where you are down cards and find yourself severely behind. Try and balance how many icons you have of each type, so your offensive actions apply maximum pressure and force sub-optimal blocks. While variance can often be punishing, it can be manipulated to maintain consistency. Don’t focus on making perfect, optimal plays. Focus on being a master at pivoting. Reevaluate every single action. Know exactly what your opponents’ face-up actions are, and theorize what they could have, based on how many cards in hand and what characters they are running. Don’t be afraid to run mid battle, if you see a future advantage in doing so. Don’t be afraid to let one of your characters be KO’d if it means you can get one of theirs who hasn’t used many of their big Specials yet (or their only 8 grid), forcing more future dead cards for your opponent than yourself. Don’t be afraid to play a bit tricky, but don’t get too tricky and value-own yourself.
Don’t take a million years to decide each action, being defeated by the timer. And conversely, don’t play too quickly without thinking through what action you are taking for at least a couple of moments. Don’t be afraid to venture big, if you have a small window to clinch the victory.
And don’t ever say “I got nothin to stop that” (new player mistake I see all the time), you say “yeah, that one will hit.” Doing the latter makes it seem like you have a choice in the matter, rather than broadcasting your disadvantage and vulnerability. Unless your opponent has peeked at your hand, they really don’t know what it contains.