Board Game Arena

Hi all,

A disclaimer to start with: I have only discovered this game recently, and have only played a handful of games. So I am nowhere experienced at this game.

That being said, my current impression is that the first player has quite the advantage, as he or she can usually start destroying enemy pieces first. As a consequence the second player has a hard time getting his or her pieces established to actually start to play cards.

Is my impression right? Or is it just my inexperience that causes me to think this way?

Note that this post is in no way meant as a rant about first vs second player advantage, as is often seen in these forums about other games. I am merely wondering about this.

Btw, I absolutely love the game. Fun mechanics, beautiful art.

I am also no expert - although I've owned and played the physical game for many years before recently discovering the BGA version.

But for what it's worth, I haven't observed what you are describing.

Firstly, while acting first is an advantage, this should be balanced by the fact that the first player only gets one action instead of 2 on their first turn.

Secondly, at least in the "high form" (which in my opinion at least is the "proper" way to play the game), there's not much advantage to simply destroying opposing pieces. Sure, if it's needed to achieve a task, go for it. Or if it stops your opponent achieving one and you don't have anything better to do, maybe it's a good idea. But absent specific reasons, destroying enemy pieces simply makes it easier for them to activate flares, which gives them a huge advantage in achieving tasks. And achieving tasks is how you win the game.

Also, since first player only puts down one piece, they can only play one of their summoning cards on their second turn if they happen to start with a card that lets them do a summoning with only two pieces. Each faction only has one or two cards that can do that, and if second player knows the cards well, they can place their pieces so as to avoid being vulnerable to those cards. It's more likely that second player can cause devastation if desired with a three-piece summon.
Also, as the previous poster said, destroying enemy pieces for its own sake is often a poor strategy. I have seen flares allow devastated players to come roaring back and win in many, many games.

You might also want to read this :
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/26 ... ho-trigger
especially Alison's reply.

Thanks everyone!