Newb questions: duplicate cards, matching 4, other Qs.

Unknown
edited February 2016 in MtGPQ Tips & Guides
Hi all,

I'm enjoying the game, but I have some newb questions.

1. Do duplicate cards offer any benefit? Can I put two of the same creature in my deck? If not, can I sell extras?

2. My deck has only 10 unique cards, but I'll often see duplicate cards in a game, which is good because of the Bolster effect. Does the game take your deck of 10 and simply randomly draw one of those 10 each turn? In theory, one could draw 10 of the same card? Or do you have to draw all 10 unique cards before you start drawing duplicates?

3. What's the benefit of matching 4 gems rather than 3? Do you get one extra mana or more? Also, I've noticed that when you match 4, the entire row or column poofs. Do you get any benefit from those extra destroyed gems?

4. How is the color of support gems determined? Randomly? Does my Planeswalker color influence this? Do support cards have "colors" of their own?

Thanks!

Comments

  • 1. Duplicate cards currently do nothing. You cannot place more than one in a deck, and you cannot sell them. However, there are plans in the future to make them useful, so don't worry about it.

    2. Yes what it does is it pads out some number of cards. Your "deck" is more of a "1 in 10 chance of a particular card". You can certainly draw the same card many times in a row. You do not need to go through all 10 cards to see a duplicate.

    3. Yes matching 4 gets you 1 baseline more mana. It is typically a bad move unless you want to clear a support/activation tile/there is nothing better to do.

    4. Support gems that are colored are based on that color (you can tell by the color of the bar bar right above the text). They will only go on those types of mana. Support gems that are uncolored will go on a random color gem.
  • void
    void Posts: 65
    pandabear wrote:
    2. Yes what it does is it pads out some number of cards. Your "deck" is more of a "1 in 10 chance of a particular card". You can certainly draw the same card many times in a row. You do not need to go through all 10 cards to see a duplicate.
    heh, tell me about it
  • Pandabear, thanks for all that info! That pretty much answers my questions. Interesting that matching 4 is often a poor move. I'm used to grabbing those automatically in other matching games. Time to rethink that approach.

    Thanks again. That clears up my questions for now.
  • Killinstinct
    Killinstinct Posts: 99 Match Maker
    But why is a match 4 a bad move?
  • I think match 4 is only a bad move in certain instances, for example, if there are more of the gems you want in the row/column outside of the 4 then you are eliminating them from the board with no benefit. I don't think it's always a bad more, just generally I'd rather match 2x3 than a 4 which is different than most games.
  • Every color of gem you match counts as 1 mana of that color, + or - the pw's bonus. So, a Nissa with +2 green who matches three green gems gets five mana. That same Nissa with -1 black only gets 3 mana for busting four black. You do not get the mana from the other gems in that row as they are destroyed--only from what you match. You do get the special ability points from lightning gems though. The best is match 5 of one color, as you get a free turn.

    Given this, if you are just going for mana, then matching 3 of your best color often provides more mana than matching 4 of other colors. But you do get the special ability points for the row, so that may be woth considering. Always keep an eye out for matching 5 (the ai only accidentally matches L or T 5 gem matches).

    You can literally count what you will get for your matches (aside from cascades which are hard to predict). The same Nissa from above will get more from one 3 green gem match (5 mana) than a match that gives one 3 match black and a 3 match blue (4 mana) (3 black -1 and 3 blue -1).

    When I play my high level Nissa I often take 4 lightning matches over black/blue as her third ability is so useful it's worth it for my game strategies.
  • I have a newb question as well:

    Do you ever run out of cards during a match? I can't tell if our decks are just 4x each of our 10 cards or unending or what.

    And I have a question about Chandra's planeswalker abilities. As you level up, some of her abilities gain the feature to "destroy a 3x3 grid" - is the benefit to this simply that it mixes the board up to potentially give you a better play? Because it seems like that could backfire if you have a good move but use your ability first.

    Do you get mana from the gems destroyed? Or at least ability points from the lightning bolts destroyed?
  • Yes it can backfire.

    I highly suggest not leveling chandra to the point where you get those board shakes - it really isn't helpful most of the time (per rune investment, that is).

    You cannot run out of cards. It just keeps generating more for you.
  • How do I target the support cards instead of the planeswalker, and is there a way to choose my cards or switch them for a battle in the chapters?

    Is there a newbie board to assist new players like me?

    Thanks!
  • BlackSheep101
    BlackSheep101 Posts: 2,025 Chairperson of the Boards
    Support cards create those glowy gems with a number on them. You attack them by matching them as you would any other gem on the board. Certain spells also destroy your opponent's supports.

    If you meant creatures, you can attack them with spells that target creatures or with your own creatures that have Berserker. You can also block opposing creatures with your own creatures that have Defender, Reach or Vigilance.
  • On the topic of Chandra, Level 43 is the highest I would go.
  • Sarlie wrote:
    How do I target the support cards instead of the planeswalker, and is there a way to choose my cards or switch them for a battle in the chapters?

    Is there a newbie board to assist new players like me?

    Thanks!

    If you want to change your deck go to planeswalkers, pick the one you are going to use, then edit deck. If you want to clear it entirely press the deck (10) button and it will give you an option to clear it. You can then use the filters above if you only want to choose from creatures and/or spells/supports etc. You can also deactivate the cards in your hand by tapping on the card symbol (it turns gray). If you do that, the card won't be cast until you reactivate it but will continue to gain mana as you match gems. This is useful when you need to manipulate the game in some quests (for example win in many rounds or kill many enemy creatures).
  • Also, is there a game guide anywhere? The game uses various terms like "menace" without explaining what these mean.
  • Also, is there a game guide anywhere? The game uses various terms like "menace" without explaining what these mean.

    There is a great glossary here:
    http://www.mtgpq.com/Guides/Glossary

    Check out the rest of his site too:
    http://www.mtgpq.com/
  • Thanks! That is helpful.
  • Hi! icon_e_biggrin.gif
    I was just wondering about strategy with creature powers.

    I don't quite understand how to play flying against a defender, vice versa or what benefit it has?

    What does bersherka mean and how would I play it on the board?

    And what does reach mean, what is the the symbol and how do I play it?

    I just want to get maximum effect, thank you.
  • Turner82p wrote:
    Hi! icon_e_biggrin.gif
    I was just wondering about strategy with creature powers.

    I don't quite understand how to play flying against a defender, vice versa or what benefit it has?

    What does bersherka mean and how would I play it on the board?

    And what does reach mean, what is the the symbol and how do I play it?

    I just want to get maximum effect, thank you.

    To defend against flying creatures, you need reach (bow symbol) or a creature with flying and defend.

    If you look at a card you can tap onto a symbol to see the powers name and a short description.

    Berserk means it attacks other creatures if it can (needs flying to attack flyers).

    Berserk vs Defending
    Defending does kill creatures while still doing does to pw, berserk has to attack creatures first.
    Defending can be ignored by some creatures with menace
    Defending can kill more then one creature per round
    Berserk knows what it's running into while defenders sometimes have to fight freshly reinforced ones
    With a strength of 0 berserk doesn't attack while defenders still block.