Set 2 - THE Competitive Deck

Alright folks, buckle up. Set 2 is not your grandma’s version of SCALE.

This set of cards was developed to punish you for every bad move you make. Our goal with this deck was to create the “be all end all” of competitive shared deck games. The abilities and power levels are balanced to near-perfect levels. In fact, there was one point where it was so perfectly balanced that two players of equivalent skill could play a never-ending game. Unfortunately that makes for a bad game, so we removed the bottomless deck mechanic, and had to skew the weighting slightly to allow for more play variation (and to have a game that actually ends).

How is this more competitive than Set 1?

• Well, the card abilities are inherently much more intricate. This is because there are no more free-cast sweeping board wipes, there are no gigantic battlefield smashers, and the counterspells generally come at a cost. Essentially, the card abilities now have options and consequences, and those options really matter.

What? I have to make choices? I can’t just blow everything up??

Many set 2 cards have some sort of “choice” available in their ability, which can leave newer players paralyzed at what to do with a card when it’s in their hand. Generally there is still always a best answer, but it may require a little more thinking to get there.

• For example, Galaxy Chains often can feel like it isn’t very useful to players at any given moment, but that’s because it doesn’t affect the Loop. This card is incredibly powerful in this set when used correctly, as it not only has the potential to wipe out all cards on a space, but it also can be used to keep your opponent’s battlefield from becoming a swarming mass of Glyphs and Gemini. It specifically is best used when the Loop is full of cards, but can be combo’d with many other cards to get rid of pesky Enduring abilities on your opponent’s field, and also punish them for playing more cards as it increases the power reduction ability of your Chains.

• The other important part of this card is that it now gives YOU the option of where your opponent is placing their Glyphs, meaning you can stack them all on one space, then use Helix Cannon to destroy the space entirely. This example also brings up the matter of choosing your spaces, a mechanic that was essentially nonexistent in set 1. Sure, you had to choose your battlefield combatants wisely, but once your battlefield was full you basically had no reason to play cards unless it was to stop a game winning move.

• The fact that you can now choose which space to place your card in means there is an entirely new level of strategy to the game. Some cards even have abilities that protect the space itself or the other cards in it, meaning it can be doubly important to think about where your cards are landing on your battlefield. If someone’s about to reduce your Xerae to dust through power reduction, simply play your Phantom Blades to that space to protect your sweet treasure stealing Enduring ability, and any other cards in that space! It’s also important to NOT put all of your Glyph eggs in one space basket, as some of these new abilities can outright destroy the space if there are enough cards or total power sitting on it.

Set 2 is battlefield based, NOT Loop based!

• One of the main tenets of this set of cards was that we wanted it to result in more meaningful combat phases. In set 1, you can often win without ever reaching combat, and a lot of times when it is won by combat, it’s a full sweep of treasure in one go. Rarely do Set 1 games end by nitpicking treasure away from your opponent throughout the game, because if you run out of cards, your opponent can likely take all of the treasure back in one fell swoop. This is not the case in Set 2! The power levels in this set are balanced in a way that rewards players for building up oppressive battlefield states and using their Enduring abilities in creative ways to protect their cards and limit their opponent’s battlefield.

• Our new card type called Glyphs also help make combat more strategic because you can easily increase a space’s power level in the reaction phase by adding them to a space that is already attacking. This is a HUGE change for combat, because it can force your opponents to defend in a sub-optimal situation, whereas in Set 1 they could simply let a 5 power attacker swing through because there was no worry of losing more than that 5 treasure unless you played DOUBLE in reaction phase, which is easy to skirt around if necessary to keep from losing. In this set, you should be trying to attack or at least set up a helpful Enduring every single turn!

Key Strategies

• The biggest strategy in set 2 is no longer card advantage. One of the main gameplay features we see with set 1 is that everything is so explosive that in a match between two equally skilled opponents, you will generally win if you have one more quality card in hand than your opponent, and you are almost guaranteed to win if you have two more cards in hand (as long as you know how to play them). Because of this, we formulated the new abilities in ways that allow for far more creative counters, combos, and setup. We also made the draw cards less effective, allowing you to still be able to win despite being at a one or two card disadvantage at any point in the game, though it is still not recommended to fall two cards behind.

Enduring Abilities!!!

• These are the cornerstone of the set. If you aren’t utilizing them effectively, then you aren’t setting yourself up for a win. On the flip side, if your opponent IS utilizing them effectively, then you need to get rid of them ASAP! The longer that an Enduring ability is on the field, the more effective it ultimately becomes. A Temporal or Universal ability is only good for the turn it is played, and can only be so effective due to this, whereas Endurings last as long as you can keep the card on the field, so they can potentially affect something for the entire game, thus making it far more useful in the long run.

Here’s a few examples of plays that can be made using Enduring abilities.

Dragon’s Door -

• This is an interesting one because in order to make the best use of it, the Door must be removed from the field in some way. This seems like a bad case for “keeping your Endurings” but is actually very effective for ensuring combat gains. For example, you can use the Dragon’s Door to destroy an opponent’s card, ensuring it is trapped behind the door. This is good because you now have a fallback for if the Door is destroyed. NOW is when the strategy of the card comes into play, because you can simply start attacking with it. This presents your opponent with a double-edged sword sort of situation because they can either let you attack unhindered, or defend against it. This is now a large problem for them for three reasons:

• If they defend with less power than your stack, then you will simply destroy their defending stack.

• If they defend with more power than your stack, your Dragon’s Door will be destroyed, netting you that previously destroyed card to your hand from the graveyard.

• If they don’t defend, they are now vulnerable to power stacking in the reaction phase, and could lose outright if you have enough available power to get the win.

Grim Greaves -

• This one seems like it isn’t all that effective, I mean… only 1 power?? But, in this set, it is actually incredibly effective. There are 14 or so cards with only 1 power, so this affects over 25% of the available cards in the deck. If you get this card on the field, your opponent essentially cannot play any cards with 1 power. If they do play a 1 power card while you have this on the field, simply laugh and throw their card right in the graveyard to punish them for underestimating your awesome new kicks!

• This card is also useful against other cards in combo situations. For example, Grim Gloves (seems obvious eh?) makes for a great combo because you can reduce any card to 1 power by using its power switch ability on itself and any other card, making this combo useful against ANY card in the deck.

Scouring Eye -

• This card is very mean. Get it on the field, and you get to continuously reveal all opponent cards. That alone is worth a lot in a competitive game of SCALE, but the secondary text on it is BRUTAL! If your opponent plays a card, you can sacrifice the Eye to steal a card from their hand, which is definitely the best use of the card. If the card they play is most likely going to destroy your Eye, then you should always activate its trigger! Force them to try to counter it, then take their most prized card in hand. An eye for an eye? More like an eye for two!

Combat, Combat, Combat!

• Having a meaningful combat phase is very important in this set for one large reason – removing opponent cards from the field. Since this set so heavily rewards those who set up their Enduring abilities in creative ways, it is absolutely necessary to remove your opponent’s cards from the field when they have oppressive Endurings active.

• The ability to increase your power in the reaction phase makes combat far more oppressive and aggressive, because it will force your opponent to either defend, or face the consequences of the power remaining in your hand. Forcing your opponents to defend your attacks almost always ensures that you can remove a card from the defending stack, and since you get to assign your damage to specific cards in the damage phase, you can usually remove their pesky Enduring abilities even if your stack has less power than theirs!

Treasure Stealing

• Many of the cards in this set will steal treasure when they activate, or based on other triggers. These types of abilities work well with our increased combat focus because you can utilize the steal abilities to make up the treasure gap, since all of the cards in this set are 10 power or less and are less likely to result in a “clean sweep” in the combat phases. These steal abilities can be countered by various other abilities in the set, so you should keep that in mind to try and force your opponents to play cards in response to them, or force them to use those counters and THEN play your steal cards to guarantee a win that they cannot counter. A notable combo here is the Goblin’s Kingship with the Entropic Orb. If played right, you will steal a minimum of 12 treasure!

Space Control

• Spaces have a lot more importance in this set because so many of the cards will inhibit an opponent’s space in some way. This is a very useful strategy for ensuring combat success, as you can use cards like Valkyr’s Might to simply destroy 2 opponent spaces, which gives you an advantage on potential number of attacks made at once, and ensures a far more effective combat situation. Here are a few examples of space related plays you can make:

• Quantum Barrier - In testing, this card has been incredibly effective at ensuring victory if used correctly. The ability to create 2 spaces means your battlefield is far less likely to be crippled by your opponent’s space hindering abilities, and the power protection portion of the ability is a great anti-counter against many of the counterspells in the set. This card is very good when activated before a Glamson, as power reducing counters will no longer be able to stop the Glamson in the Loop, and the increased space count works to your benefit for stealing more treasure.

• Scrumps - This little guy is probably one of the best cards in the set. It steals treasure, draws a card, and can create multiple spaces – especially if you are at a space disadvantage! This card probably requires little explanation as we all know by now that drawing a card is good, and stealing treasure is also quite good. This is a great counter-combo for when your opponent has destroyed some of your spaces or created multiple spaces for themselves already.

• Demura’s Grasp - This card is quite oppressive on its own, but really shines when combined with another space crippling ability such as Galaxy Chains. With this combo, you can not only remove your opponent’s Enduring abilities and prevent attacks, but you can also use the Galaxy Chains to force them to keep putting all of their Glyphs in that space, creating one giant useless stack of cards on their battlefield that they can do nothing with until they get rid of your Demura’s Grasp.

Endgame

• Despite being pretty simple conceptually, each of these strategies has a lot more nuance to it than I can cover in one article, and require some work to pull each one off effectively, as your opponent will likely be doing some of the same things you are. Are they the only strategies? No. Card advantage is still definitely important, so if you can starve your opponent of cards, you will surely do well regardless of the other methods you employ against them – It’s just simple math. Two abilities versus none is still a large lead, but generally cannot win you the game alone. Other strategies exist as well, but are far less likely to be prevalent in this set, such as “decking out” an opponent.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Set 2 strategy, because there are an even greater number of very effective combos due to the options available on the abilities within this set. Put something on the bottom of the deck with the Sacred Spellbook, then get access to it with Arasara! Use the Resurrection portal to put a Vortex Maul in your opponent’s overpowered space, then switch it with your empty one! Get Xerae on the field, then use the Doom Helmet to blast everything to smithereens! I could go on about cool combos all day, but we’d prefer you find some of them yourself and let us know which one you got the coolest win with. As always, thanks for playing!