Draft Decision strategy question - plants

[charliec247]

Feel free to correct me if you feel like there are better examples for the conditions that I've set below. This is for a 2p game.

1. It's early in draft (gen 2-3) and you have a decision between 2 midrange plant production cards that require different prerequisites (we're going to use Bushes vs. Algae here. If you take one, your opponent will take the other as the other cards in that hand are bad). Assuming both requirement parameters are stagnant and neither card is close to meeting the requirements to be played (eg. no one is pushing heat, haven't seen any ocean cards, etc.), which do you take?

2. Same as Q1, but you're holding Nitrophilic Moss, or better yet, Kelp Farming in hand (or Grass and Trees...you get the point) and your opponent knows about this (otherwise it would be an easy "focus on the oceans"). Do you pass the Algae hoping to get help with ocean pumping, or do you go all in on the ocean-plant focus?

3. Same as Q2, except that you know your opponent is holding said cards.

Basically, is it a better decision to focus on one parameter and be rewarded multiple times or to have the ability to be rewarded on different parameter developments because you can try and bait the opponent to help develop them for you?

[kchillin]

1) hard to say. depends what's in my hand. do I have the ability to push heat or oceans? do I have other heat payoff cards -- if I do I need to decide if I'm going to double down on heat or if I should hedge with an ocean payoff. Probably hedge and take algae if I have no heat control in hand

2) probably take bushes and hope opponent helps with oceans. If they know I have kelp and they're good they won't push oceans and I'll struggle to get algae on.

Overall I'd say take different payoffs for the different tracks if you have no control over them in hand. If you do (ie, huge heat prod) then I want to buy up all the heat payoff cards to push my advantage as much as possible.

[starfire00]

If both parameters are at 0, then I'd think that bushes is a much closer card than algae, so in your hypothetical I'd pick that. There's also a lot more room for payoff on the heat track, so I would in general want to play there. You can drop aquifer pumping and play an ocean 5 times... then what?
Meanwhile, heat production scales into thermalist and much more control over when the game ends. You also are now looking for the other heat based plants instead of only... kelp farming.

1. If I had kelp I would give them algae and see if they forced 5 oceans, if there isn't an overreach I would save money and SP an ocean after if necessary.
2. If they had kelp I would give them algae and hate draft every ocean generation card.
Kelp farming is too good.

3. Nitrophilic moss is a good card, but it's 2 plant requirement is a big deal, you can "see" it gen 2-3 but end up playing it gen 5-6, which is... not that much value. Based on hearing there are 0 oceans down then I wouldn't be holding out for it.

4. Grass is not that close to bushes is not that close to trees. The only two comparable cards I would consider are heather and bushes. There is a lot of heat events in the deck and I would be prioritizing heat gen anyway if I had strong plant cards, since value on both tracks is a winning synergy.

These aren't really realistic questions though, since often times you should have some idea of who's production is stronger or how much impact the cards in your hand are going to have into mid-endgame, if you truly have no idea, you are likely in big trouble as you probably don't have prod or a good hand

[jaymc1130]

Feel free to correct me if you feel like there are better examples for the conditions that I've set below. This is for a 2p game.

1. It's early in draft (gen 2-3) and you have a decision between 2 midrange plant production cards that require different prerequisites (we're going to use Bushes vs. Algae here. If you take one, your opponent will take the other as the other cards in that hand are bad). Assuming both requirement parameters are stagnant and neither card is close to meeting the requirements to be played (eg. no one is pushing heat, haven't seen any ocean cards, etc.), which do you take?

2. Same as Q1, but you're holding Nitrophilic Moss, or better yet, Kelp Farming in hand (or Grass and Trees...you get the point) and your opponent knows about this (otherwise it would be an easy "focus on the oceans"). Do you pass the Algae hoping to get help with ocean pumping, or do you go all in on the ocean-plant focus?

3. Same as Q2, except that you know your opponent is holding said cards.

Basically, is it a better decision to focus on one parameter and be rewarded multiple times or to have the ability to be rewarded on different parameter developments because you can try and bait the opponent to help develop them for you?

1) In most situations where you’re a ways off from turning either intended pick on it’s best to just take the better card. Bushes and Algae are very comparable but Bushes is the slightly better card in general.

2/3) Both options here actually have merit and you should feel comfortable playing either angle based on what’s in your hand in a given game state. Using an opponents plays to unlock and set up your own is a very powerful thing and when your play trumps theirs in scoring potential you should very much want to encourage them to turn your play on for you since this game comes down to scoring efficiency as a deciding factor in outcomes. If my opponent is known to have something like NRA or insects I’ll monopolize the ocean locked plants and deny him turning on his powerful cards and if I know they have an ocean or two I passed I’d be likely to to tempt him to make some of those oceans and help me turn on my kelp by passing the algae, in both situations I’m looking to maximize my efficiency and spend less money per point acquired than my opponent can manage.

Basically these are very context based questions and the specific game state is the deciding factor and the calculation you need to perform is to evaluate your scoring pace and rate compared to your opponents and try to edge them out in both respects so you acquire a winning advantage