Source: Tony Rojas on Unsplash
Introduction
Hey there, Gods On Chain lads and lasses; I hope everyone is having luck in their rank grind. I was going to do a write up of every mechanic and interaction in the game, although @dannykong did two amazing in-depth guides regarding that I will link below,
Tips and Info for newcomers and casual players - Part I: Gods Unchained Day 1
Tips and Info for newcomers and casual players - Part 2: Deck Building and Card effects
As it is a Trading CARD Game, managing your cards would be the single most important mechanic in the game. There is a wealth of knowledge in this community regarding it; thus, I decided to focus on three fundamental game mechanics that are less talked about. Those would be Mana Management, Board Control, and God Favor. So let us get into it, shall we?
Source: Dan Farrell on Unsplash
Mana Management
In my opinion, mana efficiency is essential in regards to God's unchained mechanics. It doesn't matter if you have the best cards in the world; you won't be able to play it if you don't use your mana wisely. It is a resource like oxygen for humans.
Never waste your mana; always try to maximize your mana opportunity. Don't float(waste) your mana because that adds up fast, and if you're playing against a mana efficient player, he will capitalize on it. The Bag of Tricks is a valuable tool for playing efficiently since it allows you to use mana on vital rounds and avoid wasting your mana. Your God Power can also be used to make use of your resources when you don't have a card to play. Additionally, during mid to late game, you can look into your God Favor sanctum to see if you can avoid the case of Unused Mana Gems (UMG is a serious issue and you could lose many lives in the arena).
Consider your board before you go playing your highest mana cost card; if you have a 5 Mana cost card that is a 5/5 and 3 low-cost cards that will come out to 7/6 consider playing that instead. Remember, don't go full YOLO I'm playing my big baddie because those decisions add up when it comes time for late game. And it may be too late at that point. It is definitely situation-dependent, and you don't get anything for spending all your mana. Still, if you look at higher-rated players, you would see that they rarely waste their mana in their decision-making.
Source: Yagnik Sankhedawala on Unsplash
Board Control
At a glance, board control may look like Whack a Mole, the opponent drops a card, and you try to get rid of it as fast as possible unless you're a man of culture and go the option of ignoring the board and bashing your opponent's face. Board control is more intricate than that.
The simple explanation would be, If you can kill your opponent's creatures while keeping your own alive, you get a resource advantage while choking out your opponent. Remember your creatures take one turn to take action on the board (Unless it has blitz); gaining board control gives you the upper hand in dealing with your opponent's threats. You want to keep as many of your minions alive as possible simply because your opponent will have to use more resources to remove each and every one of them, which in turn would give you options down the road.
Be wary of board clear cards, there are times you have board control, and one card can derail your plans. Although if you have traded efficiently until then, gaining back control of the board should be in the cards (LITERALLY).
Let me give you some Guild Enforcer PTSD, that card gains board control early to mid-game, and you will have to throw multiple creatures at it to take it off the board. This is why we hate that card, due to its board presence and how much resources it absorbs. The trading patterns and board control changes with each deck you run, therefore consider how you will gain board control accordingly.
Source: Ben White on Unsplash
God Favor
This is a game mechanic unique to God's Unchained and in my opinion, often overlooked. Below is a quick rundown of how favor works,
How to gain Favor:
- You attack an opponent's God
- You destroy an enemy creature outside of combat
- Your creature survives an attack during combat, and the attacking creature dies
Favor gain according to turn:
- You gain 1 Favor during your first turn
- You gain 2 Favor during your second turn
- You gain 3 Favor during subsequent turns
When you get a certain number of favor, you can gain additional cards from the sanctum.
When I started my grind on ranked, something I often encountered in lower-ranked tiers is they do not use favor. It is a key mechanic that can get you out of sticky situations or straight-up win a game. It also helps to manage both the above mechanics I explained by giving you an extra card to avoid wasting mana or to gain board control. Another fact is denying Sanctum cards from your opponenet, there are some cards you would want to deny from your opponent because those cards could hinder your plans. Please, for the love of GOD, don't horde your favor points; I have seen so many people not use the sanctum at all in games. Use it wisely but let me reiterate USE IT.
Conclusion
All three of the above-mentioned mechanics are essential to succeed when playing this game, and I hope this guide helps you level up your game. If you have any questions or more to add, please feel free to leave them in the comments section. Thanks for reading, and it's always "JUNGLE DIFF."
