Changes: Common Openings

Latest revision as of 05:17, 22 May 2018

Unlike chess and some other games of complete information, opening book study is largely ineffective in Prismata due to the random unit set present in each game. However, it can still be helpful to be aware of some common openings. Many aggressive builds are difficult or impossible to overcome if the opponent does not anticipate them and adjust accordingly. Familiarizing oneself with these builds is helpful in finding opportunities to use these tactics and, more importantly, learning to counter them.

The following notation is used for all build orders in this article. These apply to base set units. Random set units will be fully spelled out, unless otherwise noted.

The majority of these openings are only available to Player 2, due to starting with an extra drone. In most cases, Player 1 will be one or two gold short when attempting a P2 opening. However, many of the openings do become available to Player 1 if Doomed Drone or, in some cases Wild Drone, is in the set. Examples of this include Delayed Tia Thurnax, Tatsu Nullifier Rush, and Double Scorchilla.

General Tech Progressions[ | ]

These openings do not focus on units from the random set, but are examples of common lines to efficiently build drones and tech structures.

Natural Conduit[ | ]

Player 2 has the first opportunity to build a Conduit without cutting Drones. This is particularly advantageous in sets with strong green units, and integral in many common openings.

...DD
...DDC

Turn 3 Blastforge/Animus[ | ]

Player 1 has the first opportunity to build Blastforge or Animus without cutting Drones.

DD
DD
DDB

or

DD
DD
DDA

Big Blue[ | ]

Player 1 can opt for a large economy while wasting very few resources. This is ideal for defensive sets or ones containing strong blue units such as Drake.

DD
DDE
DDD
DDDB

External Links[ | ]

Common Openings - The Prismata Library, a blog post by 307th. (January 20th, 2018)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Unlike chess and some other games of complete information, Prismata does not require rote memorization or extensive opening book study to be highly competitive. However, it can still be helpful to be aware of some common build orders.
+Unlike chess and some other games of complete information, opening book study is largely ineffective in Prismata due to the random unit set present in each game. However, it can still be helpful to be aware of some common openings. Many aggressive builds are difficult or impossible to overcome if the opponent does not anticipate them and adjust accordingly. Familiarizing oneself with these builds is helpful in finding opportunities to use these tactics and, more importantly, learning to counter them.
+The following notation is used for all build orders in this article. These apply to base set units. Random set units will be fully spelled out, unless otherwise noted.
-Many aggressive builds are difficult or impossible to overcome if the opponent does not anticipate them and adjust accordingly. Familiarizing oneself with these builds is helpful in finding opportunities to use these tactics as well as learning to counter them.
+* A: [[Animus]]
-==Delayed Tia Thurnax==
+* B: [[Blastforge]]
+* C: [[Conduit]]
+* D: [[Drone]]
+* E: [[Engineer]]
+* F: [[Forcefield]]
+* G: [[Gauss Cannon]]
+* R: [[Rhino]]
+* S: [[Steelsplitter]]
+* T: [[Tarsier]]
+* W: [[Wall]]
+The majority of these openings are only available to Player 2, due to starting with an extra drone. In most cases, Player 1 will be one or two gold short when attempting a P2 opening. However, many of the openings do become available to Player 1 if [[Doomed Drone]] or, in some cases [[Wild Drone]], is in the set. Examples of this include [[#Delayed Tia Thurnax|Delayed Tia Thurnax]], [[#Turn 4 Rush|Tatsu Nullifier Rush]], and [[#Double Scorchilla|Double Scorchilla]].
-{{Manual unit panels|
-Tia Thurnax
-}}
+==General Tech Progressions==
-Rather than an all-out rush to land Tia on turn 4, this opening gets an extra 3 drones and 2 tarsiers that attack the same turn as Tia, at the cost of only one additional turn.
+These openings do not focus on units from the random set, but are examples of common lines to efficiently build drones and tech structures.
-The delayed Tia Thurnax build is available to player two.
+===Natural Conduit===
-# DD
-# DDC
-# DA
-# DDTT
-# DDT + Tia Thurnax
+Player 2 has the first opportunity to build a Conduit without cutting Drones. This is particularly advantageous in sets with strong green units, and integral in many common openings.
+# ...DD
-This build order was shared by Pseudoradius on the Prismata subreddit, where he stated:
+# ...DDC
+===Turn 3 Blastforge/Animus===
-''"This gives you 9 Attack on turn 6 and leaves you with 9 Drones. Enough to go double Tarsier or Tarsier + Rhino every turn afterwards.
+Player 1 has the first opportunity to build Blastforge or Animus without cutting Drones.
-''This build severely punishes opponents that opt for a high economy strategy. If Thurnax is available, going for triple Drones probably is suicidal."''
-===Replays===
-Pseudoradius vs. ChoKosoku: http://play.prismata.net/?r=H4T0j-4Nqdf
-Pseudoradius vs. DrTasslehoff: http://play.prismata.net/?r=6EY+P-zADjr
-==Turn 3 Shadowfang==
-{{Manual unit panels|
-Shadowfang
-}}
-This is an extremely aggressive opening and is telegraphed by cutting a drone on turn 1. It is available to Player 2:
-# D
-# AA
-# Shadowfang
-Astute opponents can easily counter this if they recognize it on Turn 1. A common counter is to cut a drone themselves on turn 2 to rush out a Blastforge, then follow up with a Steelsplitter, and later a Wall. Applying minimal but immediate pressure to the Shadowfang rusher will crush the strategy. This counter was even effective prior to the Shadowfang nerf on September 2014.
-However, Player 2 is not obligated to follow through with the rush on Turn 2. As Prismata developer Elyot notes, the Turn 1 play can actually be an effective gambit:
-''"The true power of this opening isn't just that you can double animus.''
-''It's that you can completely switch away and do DDB or DDA if your opponent tries too hard to stop you. If your opponent overcompensates and does something really defensive, you can just NOT go AA and then be ahead."''
-On the other hand, if the opponent does not recognize the Shadowfang rush on Turn 1 and fails to adjust, the rush can still be extremely effective.
-===Replays===
-Hexmage vs. Kulenych: http://play.prismata.net/?r=SkHXV-pTguZ
-Argeiphontes vs. Elyot (Scorchilla Cup): http://play.prismata.net/?r=v@QbO-0BfNq
-x3degree vs. SrslySirius: http://play.prismata.net/?r=jd9TP-QwY26
-Lunarch Studios - Why We Nerfed Shadowfang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puZ7kcMDZYA
-==Wild Drone Mass Economy==
-{{Manual unit panels|
-Wild Drone
-}}
-When Wild Drones are available, it is possible to go for a super economy more efficiently than with regular drones.
-Either player can spam Wild Drones, but the build order is more natural for Player 1:
-# 1
-# 1EE
-# 11
-# 11EE
-# 111
-''The unit Wild Drone is denoted by 1''
-===Replays===
-Will vs. Timex: http://play.prismata.net/?r=aGUHg-txnf7
-==Tatsu Nullifier Rush==
-{{Manual unit panels|
-Tatsu Nullifier
-}}
-The Tatsu rush is extremely effective against Blue and Red strategies. However, it is easily countered by Gauss Cannons, which are naturally resistant to breaches.
-This build order is available to player two.
 # DD
 # DD
-# DAA
+# DDB
-# Tatsu
-# Tatsu
-# Tatsu
-# Tatsu
+or
-===Replays===
-iminaBearSuit demonstrates the Tatsu rush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWkW-AuJIS4
-==RhinoFang==
-Similar to the Delayed Tia Thurnax opening, this build gets out a Shadowfang one turn later than the fastest possible route, but compensates with the resources to play Shadowfang + Rhino every turn. It is available to Player 2.
 # DD
 # DD
-# AAD
+# DDA
-# Shadowfang + Rhino
-# Shadowfang + Rhino
-# etc...
-===Replays===
+===Big Blue===
+Player 1 can opt for a large economy while wasting very few resources. This is ideal for defensive sets or ones containing strong blue units such as [[Drake]].
-None yet.
-==Double Scorchilla==
-{{Manual unit panels|
-Scorchilla
-}}
-Because of Player 2's ability to buy a natural conduit on turn 2 (a common line in any set), the Double Scorchilla opening is frequently seen when the unit is available.
 # DD
-# DDC
+# DDE
-# DA
+# DDD
+# DDDB
-# Scorchilla x2
-An alternative line is to delay the 2 Scorchillas and threaten them on subsequent turns, while building tarsiers. Like so:
-# DD
-# DDC
-# DA
-# DDTT
-# Option to Scorchilla x2
-===Replays===
+==External Links==
-None yet.
+*[https://prismatalibrary.blog/2018/01/20/common-openings/ Common Openings - The Prismata Library], a blog post by 307th. ''(January 20th, 2018)''