5.17

“Like the boy in the mirror,

I come ever nearer.” - Noam?

I underestimated how hard this game could be.

The game rules were simple, each player started at one corner of the board. Starting with five cards, each turn they drew one and aimed to drop an opponent’s fifty life total to zero. The board started as a flat empty expense, but by playing ‘Terrain’ cards, you may change the terrain to be favorable to you, and as long as you hold the Terrain you may ‘Tap’ it each turn for elemental mana. Units had four stats, damage, range, move speed, health points and special. To attack something it had to be within their range, which was represented by the empty board. The rest should be self-explanatory. This was already somewhat similar to TCGs I am already used to playing.

Where it differed, was how uncomfortably powerful aggro decks were.

Usually, aggro decks were naturally disadvantaged in a game with more than two players. The purpose of such a deck is to constantly play low cost high damage cards to rush down an opponent before they could properly react. Such a playstyle meant that they would use cards faster than they could draw them. Leaving them out of steam once their initial rush died down.

However, it seemed like the decks both Noam and Fareeq used accounted for this. Fareeq’s drow deck had the ‘Combo’ keyword, where playing multiple cards in succession gave him greater value by making the last played card in his turn to be several times more powerful.

He was not the largest problem, as he had his forces split testing everyone’s defenses. Not committing to a single person until he found a weakness.

It was Noam who was the most annoying.

“You’ve done nothing but attack me this entire game,” I said to his smug face.

“Well you’re the biggest late-game threat here aren’t you?”

Correct. Deep was a control deck. A deck that excelled in slowing down the game until they reached the late game where they could throw all their powerful cards and win via superior value. Deep specifically was a terrain control type, seeking to change the board into Water Terrains where they could play high stat sea monsters to close out the game.

Noam’s deck was a mix between aggro and midrange, where he possessed some of the explosive start of an aggro deck, but also the mid-game power of a midrange deck. His Orc Raider cards increased in strength every time they defeated a unit, took Terrain or dealt damage to a player. Making me extremely cautious of developing, as any unit or Terrain I threw down could snowball into a quick defeat. But without such defenses, I wouldn’t be able to stop him from directly attacking me. Forcing me into a careful tightrope of ensuring I had just enough to keep me alive until I gathered my win conditions.

Considering the rock, paper, scissors analogy with the deck trifecta, Aggro, Midrange and Control. Generally speaking, Aggro beats Midrange by bursting them down before they stabilize, Midrange beats Control by reaching their power spike faster, and Control beats Aggro by playing constant stall cards that a low-cost deck cannot effectively deal with like Midrange.

“Card advantage is still ours.”

Indeed, though I was the one most pressed in this battle, I still held the most cards in hand, being the only Control deck present, however, that was largely due to me holding a lot of high-cost cards I can’t play yet.

“Yeah, at this rate we’ll be dead in four turns.”

That cannot do, after deliberating together, I played a card from my hand.

“Cerulean Sculptor,” I said, tapping three Sea and three Basic mana, placing the squishy unit directly within a horde of orcs.

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It was a battle to be remembered. One that will be sung amongst the highest pantheons by angelic choirs. The names of the warriors to be venerated in the halls of Kraag Thetai.

Dustin played Cerulean Sculptor, the Triton card flooding the land around it with its Special, once again stalling a furious assault by another turn. No stranger was that myconid to card games, Corvian Diluvian Medudian Himotonana Farraday the Middling thought. Every move he played was textbook, calculated and thought through. Yet there was hesitation in every play, the anticipation of answers he might not be able to respond to. Perhaps it was that anxiety that allowed him to play so well, to anticipate moves his enemy could not even imagine.

Noam meanwhile was someone who seemed to ooze confidence, every move he made with conviction. Every attack was committed, yet despite that, he was bleeding. Not literally, as he still had forty-six life, but metaphorically. He only had three cards in hand now, his assault against Dustin dropped the myconid to twenty-two life but it was clear he was running out of steam.

“Damn, looks I can’t finish you off,” Noam muttered.

“You deserve it,” Dustin replied almost absentmindedly.

“Well, does anyone want to pick up the scraps?” Noam asked, eyes smugly glancing at Corvian.

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““Shit,”” we both went. Cerulean Sculptor was my last board clear card. I played it under the assumption that with that I would’ve essentially beaten back Noam’s assault. My hand tightened, though I was careful to not scrunch the cards. “Those things are valuable.”

We won’t be able to deal with another full-fledged assault. I could see both the gnome and the bard considering it. Corvian most so since it was currently his turn.

Noam set me up.

Almost hesitantly, Analyze whispered information I had ignored, no, information of things I didn’t believe occurred.

Name: Noam

Classes: Skald Level 4 -> 5

Mind

Intelligence: 13

Wisdom: 10

Charisma: 14 -> 15

He had leveled up, a single point of Charisma gained by his Growth Stats. A single point, enough to make me passively tunnel on only him. “The train battle?”

“No,” I answered, as both me and my power sifted through information. Combat was not the answer, as he had already experienced plenty already. A few goblins weren’t worth much. The dividends of the train encounter couldn’t have leveled him. “He leveled up sometime after coming here…”

This was not a purely combat based leveling system. What did he experience that drove him over the edge? Was it the rap battle? Or did he level up after playing his first game in Age of Wonders whilst I watched? Regardless, Corvian played a card, moving his units towards my ruined base. Declaring an attack.

I moved my units to block, can I survive this? “Now is no longer the time to conserve cards.”

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One of D’s easiest weaknesses was bias.

Though he drops ideas and strategies the moment they were proven ineffective, he keeps to them until the moment they were made obsolete.

A slight bit of cunning, building on his already present bias of TCG’s being a two-player game, making him tunnel vision on Noam, constantly attacking him and only him to implant the idea that so long as Noam is dealt with as a threat, it’ll be smooth sailing.

All to take advantage of that brief moment when D’s bias was proven wrong and he cannot adapt fast enough.

Noam smirked behind his hand. Though he spent all his cards to make the bluff worthwhile, he’ll survive longer than Dustin.

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Corvian Diluvian Medudian Himotonana Farraday the Middling played an ‘Adventurer’ Deck. It was a midrange deck, focused on ‘Gathering the Party’, playing five different unit types that each represented a part of the adventurer’s party. Each card became stronger the more the party was filled.

He currently had three of those roles filled, Hasan Vashard the Lunar’s Edge, the Rogue of Five who slew the Chaos God of Life, Simon the God Noodler, the Fisherman who caught the Catfish of Wisdom with his bare hands and Giridan the Lost.

The attack went poorly, as they neared the Seas beneath them erupted as monsters tore at the waterlogged units. Dustin hadn’t managed to fully sink the terrain yet, so the Sea Monsters didn’t have their absurd late-game stats, but still, the myconid placed him in a situation where the ensuing trade will result in him losing all three units. Corvian had enough Mana to activate two of the three’s special abilities. Simon could either allow him to Draw One Card via the Catfish of Wisdom or deal AOE damage to all adjacent units using his Boot Catcher. Giridan’s special could randomly teleport him and another unit anywhere onto the map. Whilst Hasan’s special was not something he wanted to use until he drew Aisha.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

As the gnome agonized over the thought, his mind peering deeper into the webs of possibility, the cards of all those playing began to glow softly with a rich golden glow. Dustin raised his eyebrow at this, just as Corvian came to his choice.

“Channel Divinity,” he softly whispered, “The Theatre of the Mind.”

And his god answered.

The world changed. No longer were they mere men, sitting around a wooden table playing with cards. No, they were now witness to an Age of Wonders. The six of them stood as the world turned to battering rain, the roar of the sea only eclipsed by Simon’s own howl.

Corvian no longer needed to speak his actions, for they were true to all who watched. Giridan grabbed the Lunar’s Edge by the scruff of the neck as he pulled out a map, together disappearing from the world and landing somewhere else. Meanwhile, Simon stood alone on a small raft, surrounded by great krakens, sea serpents and devourers of ships, and he laughed.

Water dripped off the man’s chiseled form, skin forever darkened by years under the sun. Fabulous blonde hair rippling in the wind, flowing like the waves themselves as he took out his weapon. Boot Catcher, the Fishing Pole that has Never Caught a Single Fish, its string made from the tendons of the Land Eater, its wood taken from when he split the World Tree with his bare hands, giving birth to the phrase, ‘Get two trees with one punch.’

Simon swung the weapon with the force of a newborn typhoon. For a brief moment, the world stopped as his swing created an artificial vortex, sucking in all the rain and sea. The Kings of the Deep were sucked into this made whirlpool, dragged into the depths by the Wiseman of Water. And though he perished, he did so gloriously in battle.

This was the Channel Divinity of Wundall’s greatest Domain. What would’ve been a mere accounting of card statistics, became the final stand of one of the greatest fishermen that ever lived. All who witnessed the games played under this Channel Divinity will see it as all others imagined it. Epic battles between gods and men. Struggles against the malevolent powers that be.

Wundull was considered a great amongst the Gods, his name whispered with the same respect as the highest pantheons. For he alone achieved a Channel Divinity that was unrivaled amongst all in a single aspect.

Duration.

Whilst all other Channel Divinities acted either as a single act or the moment of intervention not even surpassing a few moments and breaths. The Theatre of the Mind would last for as long as the game was enjoyed.

The greatest example was that of Antigone, the One who Bested Wundall, one of the countless goblin slaves to the Dwarven Imperium, the shipment carrying him and his fellows were intercepted by Thought Stealer Cults. Their minds about to be devoured before Antigone wagered all their lives on a game against the Eldest Mind Eater Karraxthian Vazzackainan.

The resulting Channel Divinity lasted three months.

Game after game, yet Karraxthian never managed to defeat Antigone, it was said during the battle, Karraxthian was driven to the point where he used the brains of seventeen great scholars, philosophers and mages, whilst every move by Antigone was a thing of such beauty that watchers wept rivers, creating the Lake Antigone.

Even now, in this game, Corvian could feel it, the ripples of simple joy and enjoyment. He felt like he could keep this Channel Divinity for weeks without end.

Wundull was not a god who asked for prayer or faith, yet was given both. For the God of Games, what was a greater act of worship than playing- nay, enjoying a game with both friend and stranger?

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“Ok, that was fucking awesome.”

Dustin had to agree with Declan, even if the end result was utterly disastrous. His left field was wiped, leaving him completely exposed on that side. When his turn came, he needed to start moving units or risk being the first dead.

…

Noam slipped towards the wisps, whispering something as they played a Circle Cadet…

…

Indecision marred Fareeq’s face, for though it was his turn, all his units were positioned away from the hole Corvian opened, he wouldn’t be able to attack Dustin this turn, was it worth repositioning for a future attack?

…

“Calculate the chances of him having ‘Warcry’ in his hand with a hundred card deck and twenty-three cards drawn…

Dustin didn’t originally think this was necessary, using Declan as a means to access a digital calculator, all in order to work out the probabilities of which cards each player had, but the time of playing had ended.

…

The wisps looked around the battlefield, their attempts at understanding how their decks work lost the moment something cool happened.

…

Fareeq came to a decision and committed every unit he had to killing off the Deep player, his deck threatened them all once he had all his resources, and Dustin had repeatedly demonstrated he was able to make use of them.

…

Fareeq moved in and Dustin threw down all his units, they were weak now, literally fish out of the water, but he had to stabilize his situation or lose in two turns.

…

It was difficult but Dustin managed to make it out with only eight life. He had to spend those more carefully now, for Life was expendable like any resource, with only the last one being important.

…

Noam chuckled as Dustin rebuffed the combined attacks from three other players, the myconid was half dead but still in. As Dustin’s turn came, he decided to throw a lifebuoy.

“I guess I’ll attack Fareeq now.” Eyes turned to him, one of surprise, the other glimmering with opportunity.

Dustin’s sea monsters moved to surround Fareeq’s units, so that they may slow them down while Noam burned him to the ground.

…

New Xin Shi had fallen, the city of the Drow a burning wreck as orcs and drow alike battled through the flames. At the edges there stood Adventurers, a fragile alliance to take out the first truly defenseless player.

Fareeq’s units couldn’t make it back to his base fast enough and he had significantly fewer tools to survive a direct assault compared to a deck made to last till the late game.

There were now four players left.

…

“Tsunami.” Dustin finally drew the card he was looking for and the land around him finally flooded. He had entered his late game, he had reached Deep.

Now the game was a question of if they could survive long enough to kill him.

…

“Aisha Vashard, The Solar Sword,” Corvian played Aisha, the once mortal stood on the battlefield, her brown skin illuminated by a halo of light. Hasan, who the gnome desperately kept alive throughout multiple skirmishes, stood beside her. Brother and sister finally united.

The Blades of Sun and Moon finally stood together before an endless encroaching sea.

But he had tapped all his mana to get Aisha on the field, he needed to wait another turn before activating their dual special.

…

Noam finally began frowning, powerful sea creatures now began consuming the board. Land disappearing under an endless torrent of water. A severe disadvantage for an Orc Raider deck, he drew a card, not expecting much, before he laughed as he saw a familiar name.

“The Demon Chef.” A broad green back filled his vision, hefting a massive but trusty ax. This version was younger, printed just after he slew and ate the demon known as Therubim the Garden of Wrath, but he was no less powerful for it.

…

Dustin slammed Corvian with everything he had, using the spell ‘Slipstream’ to forcefully create a path where his sea monsters could attack from. He didn’t damage Corvian directly, but he managed to achieve his true goal, separating Aisha and Hasan, so that they no longer occupied adjacent cards.

…

Monsters at the gates, the land was being consumed. What greater stage than for a Party of Five to take? Aisha filled the role of a Fighter, Hasan the Rogue, Sepulchral Priest as the Healer, Mollymauk Tea Thief as the Bard and finally Sorcerer Aspirant. Two of the cards weren’t Named, but such battles were the forges of new legends.

Now Corvian merely needed to get them together. He drew a card and found it. A spell card simply called, ‘They Met in a Tavern.’

…

Dustin played a high-cost card every turn, for he knew if the five-man band was assembled then Corvian would become a threat capable of dealing with his unit’s massive stats and terrain advantage with special abilities.

Two of the five were together, Mollymauk Tea Thief and Sorcerer Aspirant. Already, he and Declan formulated countless plans to ensure the party was never formed-

“We win!” the wisps suddenly yelled as it came to their turn.

“Huh?”

Noam slapped his thigh and laughed.

Yellow stood up, smugly adjusting a tie that didn’t exist. “If you will my dear sibling?”

“Of course!” Greenie yelled as it slapped down a card almost as large as it was.

All of them read the card.

‘Magus Fireball.

When you cast a spell, add a ‘Fireball’ spell to your hand.’

“We have three Circle Cadets,” Yellow explained, “Each Circle Cadet lowers the cost of spells by one.”

“How did you get three-”

“Clone and Doppelganger,” Dustin muttered. The rule of these decks was that there could only be a single copy of each card. Using Clone the wisps could create another Circle Cadet, whilst Doppelganger could take on a card’s stats and special ability for a single round. Enough that the resulting Fireball spell Magus Fireball created per spell cost zero for that single round.

“No matter how much fire, you cannot cast far,

You would not be able to damage all with your star,” Fareeq cautiously pointed out to the wisps.

The gnome was first to remember what card was in that deck. “They have the Farsight Orb.”

A legendary equipment card that raised a mage unit’s range to absurd levels, to the point that a single mage could cast and hit everyone on the field.

“And since Fireball costs zero…” Dustin let the word trail out, just as explosions erupted all around them. “An OTK deck, blasted.”

OTK, a deck archetype that was descriptive of what it did, for the letters stood for One Turn Kill. Unlike Dustin, not one player bothered to stop them from reaching their win condition.

The wisps were the winner and Fareeq, who had been waiting for the epic battle between heroes and monsters to conclude, grudgingly took out his coin purse.

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“God I need to fill my sugar stache,” Declan muttered as he glanced around the almost emptied cabinet. He’d been required to think at full force more than usual lately,

“You are burning through that stupidly quick,” Dustin said. “Sure you don’t have diabetes yet?”

“If I did I’ll just visit the hospital,” Declan replied as he took one lone chocolate bar from the cabinet. Unwrapping it with practiced precision, he stuffed the sweet into his mouth and practically inhaled it. “Ba will be annoyed I need to get an insulin implant but that’s about it.”

“Fuck don’t mess up my body before I get back.”

“Our body remember?” the teenager retorted, “I get to fuck it up as much as I want.”

“Fucking yourself? How narcissistic,” Dustin returned.

“Says the guy who had an orgasm in the rain,” Declan retorted. He casually flipped through all the visions of Observe, casually glancing through all of them until he noticed many of them missing, including two important ones.

“Our perimeter is gone…” he muttered, of the dozen eyes Dustin had prepared, about eight of them were gone from Observe, not only that… “Hey, where’s Utoqa?”

The reply that answered him, was one filled with utter confusion.

“Who’s Utoqa?”