Winning Cepter Tactics

Published February 14, 2008

The strategically unique blend of the board and collectible card game genres in Culdcept SAGA makes for layers upon layers of tactics just waiting to be used and discovered. There are a few basic principles that beginning players would do well to keep in mind, not the least of which is to study every help screen … twice. There's a lot of game mechanics to digest and understand, but once you're confident you've learned the basics, try using the following tips to further solidify your battle strategy.

It's battle time!

Deck Evolution

Whether you win or lose a match, you will always gain a few new cards to add to your Book. In the early going, you can bet every new handful of cards will offer a few significant upgrades, so make certain to enter Edit mode to rebuild your deck after every battle. There are a few basic rules of thumb you'll want to adhere to when building your deck.

• Creatures first: Creature cards should comprise somewhere around 45 to 55 percent of your deck, with beginning players opting for more, not less. Remember, the bulk of your points come from owning, defending, and invading lands and you can't manage any of that without a big enough army.
• Elemental balance: While it's important to maintain a balance of creatures attuned to each of the four elements, consider also giving a couple elements more attention than the others. You can establish a firm lead by building a deck designed to dominate a couple of element types instead of trying to spread it evenly across every element.
• Armor first: In the end, defending your territories is more important to building and maintaining a point total than invading enemy territories. You'll take an enormous hit if you give up land you've spent points to upgrade, so make sure you've got plenty of armor items in your deck. Likewise, "attack first" items are just as important for defense as armor.
• Limited neutral: Neutral creatures don't benefit from land bonuses so there's little need to keep more than a couple in your deck. When you do draw them into your hand, keep them in reserve for invading rather than defense.
• Limited prerequisites: Massively powerful spells or creatures that require you to meet prerequisites before casting can tip the scale in your favor, but don't add more than a few to your deck at a time. There's little more frustrating than having a handful of cards you can't cast because you can't meet each card's prerequisites.

Losing is worth it if you can weaken the defender.

Give it Up

The natural reaction to landing on an enemy-owned territory is to invade, but take the time to study the situation before recklessly entering combat. Is the toll cost low? Will you earn a higher chain by taking over the territory, or do you not own any nearby land? It's often better just to pay the toll and save your cards for another, more important battle.

Creature Sacrifice

While it's often more advantageous to save your cards, the reverse can be true as well. For example, if you land on an enemy territory where you know you'll lose, but you have a full hand with a relatively weak creature, send the weak creature into battle to soften up the enemy. This way the card does you some good instead of being forced to discard it at the beginning of your next turn.

Map it Out

Take the time to examine the map any time you possess cards that force a character to move a set number of spaces. Study what spaces the card would force your enemies to end on, and where they would put you as well. For example, if using Holy Word 1 guarantees you'll land on a Keep, thereby allowing you to use Territory commands, use the card. Likewise, if using it on an opponent forces them to land on a well-defended, highly-upgraded land of yours, then it was well worth the time to study the map and foresee the move.

Achievement Awareness

If you're hoping to net some Gamerscore out of your time with Culdcept SAGA, there's a couple of things to keep in mind. First, you cannot earn achievements if you Suspend (saved) a match and come back to it later, so make sure to play through every battle from start to finish in the single-player mode.

Read carefully before playing.

Be sure also to read the achievement descriptions so you can prepare specifically for the different challenges. For example, if you've never read the Ogre Lord achievement, you would never know to stack your deck with at least one ogre from each element.

Point Conservation

It's so tempting to dump huge chunks of magic points into upgrading lands when you get the chance, but always try to keep at least a couple hundred points in reserve. The penalty for being unable to pay a toll is staggering, to say nothing of not having enough points available to attack or defend lands. A conservative approach to spending points is usually a winning one.

Route Memory

You'll earn a significant magic point bonus every time you "lap" the board by passing through the Castle after a full circuit. However, you're only given credit for a full lap if you've passed through both Keeps on the board, so it's important to keep track of what path you've taken and which Keeps you've gone through. If you mess up you'll need to complete another entire lap to get credit. In the latter stages of a match this can spell disaster, so be extra careful.

Alright, now it's time to enter the fray, consider these points, be aware of your deck and your powers, and find your way to success in Culdcept SAGA.

Article by Ryan Treit