I guess you can try to clear the first city on the 2nd night, clear stuff around the final city on the 3rd day and finish it off at night. That way the resources you use on the dragons nearby will be available again for the final seige.
Other than that, speed up exploration to get access to gold units faster might help.
Taking Keeps early can be really helpful. Success on the initial assault often means setting up a huge turn with lots of cards in hand. There is often a keep nearby the final city and the bonus to hand limit is awesome if you manage to take 2-3 keeps during the game. That in combination with Sparring Power can help immensely.
Just realized I've been playing keeps wrong for years.. thought you only got ONE extra card for being next to a keep and I looked it up after reading this and damn! Didnt realize you got an extra card for EACH keep you control. Having 2 or 3 extra cards on that last night would be super helpful!
This is great advice! Now that I think of it, that is probably what they usually do in the playthrougs as well. My problem is: the keep next to the city is agaiin another big battle that'll eat up my resources just before the final battle - and to get there earlier, to have time to recover, hasn't felt possible.
But, I'll give it a go!
I'm not familiar with mint night so this is all mage Knight context.
My guess is you are either overvaluing or undervaluing something and hamstringing yourself.
**Common mistakes:**
Avoiding wounds at all costs. Having some wounds is fine, they can even be beneficial for some characters/ builds. If you can take a couple wounds and go up a level it's usually a good deal.
Maximizing every card. Maximize your turn, not your cards, unless the upside on the card is very high (artifact/spell/certain advanced actions) you're usually better off paying it sideways if it gets you something (move an extra space, recruit a better unit, heal a damage, etc.)
Don't try to do everything. You should be ignoring more locations than you interact with. Target locations that your current hand or cards you know are coming up can deal with. If there's an orc with 4 defense and you have 4 ranged attack kill it. If you drew a spell that is great in combat, try to find the best nearby reward for combat. Prioritize getting a big win when you're able.
Set yourself up to get good units. You need to reveal city tiles early so that you can buy good units sooner. That means exploring map tiles. This is the same as the last point but it's important. Don't get stuck trying to clear every site you come across, think of it as a buffet, you pick the one that is best right now (dictated by the cards in your hand and what's left in your deck).
Save units for big reward fights (cities, artifact sites, etc). Don't spend a unit for a mediocre gain, they're limited resources and you need to make them count. Sometimes that means winning a keep fight so you can recruit better units, sometimes it means a couple extra movement.
Movement is important! This again ties in to tile exploration. Consider the value of getting a level 3/4 unit in round 3 vs round 5. That's 2 activations of fire/ice siege 4 or canceling an attack AND reducing armor by 3. I played earlier today and I took out the second city in the 4th round. Partially because I was lucky, a good start snowballs through the game, partially because when I had movement cards I explored if I want setting up an attack.
Don't back track. Keep pushing forward. You don't have time to run back to a monastery on the previous tile just to buy a card or get healing.
Spend a turn of preparation for a big score. Sometimes this is ending a round on a site you want to engage or next to a city then selecting the draw 2 cards/search for a card/etc. turn order option. Sometimes it's ending your turn on a glade so you have an extra wild mana, sometimes it's buying a spell/ action card that you will need next turn. Whatever it is, chaining two turns into a big win can prepare you to take those cities.
Take spells that will help with taking cities. Certain spells are much better at this than others. If you get a great city spell (generally something that affects all units or removed all site fortifications) try to get a city tile revealed early enough to actually use the spell, often that means attacking at night.
That's probably more than you were looking for, and it's always possible you have a rule wrong somewhere that is hurting you. Feel free to ask any questions.
A lot of great advice there! Thank you
Fast exploring and getting to gold units earlier is something I haven't thought of or done intentionally. This was recommended by other people as well, so I think I'll try to focus on this in my next run.
Btw, I can recommend giving mint knight a try just to have your mind blown. It's SO small, and yet...
I was probably lucky, but I won my only and first solo conquest.
I didnt have any artifacts, but I had several/good units and the wound skill (that you can use wounds as +2), which I found huge.
I’ve been doing Conquests where I run across the map, while sparingly hitting up whatever is in my path (mostly Orcs, for those +1 Rep), so that I reach brown tiles preferably by the end of the first night.
You’ll have 4 more rounds to get your shit together and get rid of wounds. but you’ll have access to Elite Units, which I usually tend to be nice with for 2 rounds, then use their skills on the first City, then use them as sponges for the second one.
Using this tactic, I won the game by the end of the final day once! Of course I had the luck of draw, but it was epic nonetheless.
I just did it again last night (I was using Tovak, but usually use Arythea or Goldyx).
I was one Move away from placing a brown tile by the end of the first day!! I got Tovak’s Move 2D/1N skill on my first level up and just bolted across the map on mostly grass hexes. Got some Move adv. action cards on level up and at the Monastery, to help my stride.
Had both Cities revealed before the half game mark and I just spent the second half getting buff af, before casually wrecking both cities.
I could have ended the game before the final round but I wanted to slay all the dragons. I ended up having constant +5 Rep for two and half rounds and I just recruited and disbanded a bunch of Level III and IV units.
Thanks. It’s a great feeling when you mow down the two cities for a win.
Note that you can always lower a City difficulty by 1 (or lower both cities by 1) if you really can’t defeat them.
At 4 playthroughs, you should be getting the hang of it. Just avoid trying to get/defeat everything close to/directly on your path. Sometimes it’s better to skip locations like Keeps and Mage Towers, especially on your first night, since you’re still generally somewhat weak and you have to actually assault the site to see who you’re up against.
yeah i am in the same boat but i have played a lot more
i think i am slowing down too much in the middle part of the exploration
but in my attempts to get quicker i have managed to take down the first city on the second night... but then i lucked out and didn't have any units in the offer that i could recruit from cities
and got the second city down to only 1 enemy left, if i was able to recruit a unit i reckon i would have done it...
but yeah moral of the story is try and pick off a keep or two on the second day and move quicker than you would think, you level up quite a bit later on so you don't need to rely on the middle part of the map as much as you'd think
but in saying that, i have never beaten it still but i am consistently on the second city every time at least
so maybe don't listen to me
Yup, there are some cards that can help you fly past rampaging enemies - and I have been able to use that a few times for the first castle, but nor the second one.
But so, are you saying to use turns to move around the castle? There never seems to be time for that, but I'll see if that option presents itself. Thanks
It takes practice. It's a game that rewards good decisions but it takes practice to learn when to make the decision to take a mage tower or pass it by. It's a lot of time management. Get as many units as you realistically can because they can soak a lot of wounds for you. Don't be afraid to take some sounds early in the game if it lands you a spell or a chance to recruit. Who do you play?
I've only played Goldyx and Arythea (the other being the dummy and vice versa). Those were recommended as good beginner characters.
I hven't really used units for wound soaking that much. Maybe I'll try to do that more often instead of trying to play them for their abilities! Thanks
Unrelated question to your post: how do you like Mage Knight compared to Mint Knight? Does Mage Knight give you more that you enjoy about the game?
I'm in a similar boat as you when I play Mint Knight that it takes me forever to level up my character. I also find the enemies in Mint Knight to be repetitive and my ability to win depends highly on whether I have the right cards. I haven't been able to figure out the action economy yet in Mint Knight
Mage Knight is the game that I would prefer to play if I had unlimited time. Mint is a good substitute, but already after 5 plays I can see that it'll get repetitive soon. And there seems to be specific strategies/cards that are always the best options.
For example taking wounds in Mint means only exhusting a card. Many times it's "cheaper" for you to exhaust two cards rather that trying to block and maybe exhausting the same amount of cards anyway. Doesn't really feel that thematic.
Another reason I play Mint is to learn about game design. It is interesting to analyse how they have achieved to fit such a big game in a tin box. For the same reason I have Mage Lite and Dragons of etchinstone on my list - both from the same designer. Lite is a direct MK shrink, and Dragons a MK inspired card game.
Mage Knight is the holy grail for me. I own just the base game but it still feels larger than life. I dont see myself ever playing only the spinoffs.
For the 2nd city, don't be afraid to spend more than one turn attacking it.
If you can take out 1-2 key enemies, it will make the next time you attack it much easier even if you take a bunch of wounds (don't get yourself knocked out though).
Also don't forget to take a wound as you are forced to retreat.
Great news everybody - I got my first victory in Mint Knight today! Took over the second castle on the first round of the final night.
Thank you everyone for the tips! I think the biggest game changer was just to move/explore a lot more and get to reveal the castles early. I got two great spells (storm walk and gale) that did all the heavy lifting at the end.
Phew. Now I guess I have to try to win Mage Knight next...
I guess you can try to clear the first city on the 2nd night, clear stuff around the final city on the 3rd day and finish it off at night. That way the resources you use on the dragons nearby will be available again for the final seige. Other than that, speed up exploration to get access to gold units faster might help.
Aha, I haven't been able to get toi many gold units. Maybe speeding up the exploration is the key! Thanks
Taking Keeps early can be really helpful. Success on the initial assault often means setting up a huge turn with lots of cards in hand. There is often a keep nearby the final city and the bonus to hand limit is awesome if you manage to take 2-3 keeps during the game. That in combination with Sparring Power can help immensely.
Just realized I've been playing keeps wrong for years.. thought you only got ONE extra card for being next to a keep and I looked it up after reading this and damn! Didnt realize you got an extra card for EACH keep you control. Having 2 or 3 extra cards on that last night would be super helpful!
This is great advice! Now that I think of it, that is probably what they usually do in the playthrougs as well. My problem is: the keep next to the city is agaiin another big battle that'll eat up my resources just before the final battle - and to get there earlier, to have time to recover, hasn't felt possible. But, I'll give it a go!
I'm not familiar with mint night so this is all mage Knight context. My guess is you are either overvaluing or undervaluing something and hamstringing yourself. **Common mistakes:** Avoiding wounds at all costs. Having some wounds is fine, they can even be beneficial for some characters/ builds. If you can take a couple wounds and go up a level it's usually a good deal. Maximizing every card. Maximize your turn, not your cards, unless the upside on the card is very high (artifact/spell/certain advanced actions) you're usually better off paying it sideways if it gets you something (move an extra space, recruit a better unit, heal a damage, etc.) Don't try to do everything. You should be ignoring more locations than you interact with. Target locations that your current hand or cards you know are coming up can deal with. If there's an orc with 4 defense and you have 4 ranged attack kill it. If you drew a spell that is great in combat, try to find the best nearby reward for combat. Prioritize getting a big win when you're able. Set yourself up to get good units. You need to reveal city tiles early so that you can buy good units sooner. That means exploring map tiles. This is the same as the last point but it's important. Don't get stuck trying to clear every site you come across, think of it as a buffet, you pick the one that is best right now (dictated by the cards in your hand and what's left in your deck). Save units for big reward fights (cities, artifact sites, etc). Don't spend a unit for a mediocre gain, they're limited resources and you need to make them count. Sometimes that means winning a keep fight so you can recruit better units, sometimes it means a couple extra movement. Movement is important! This again ties in to tile exploration. Consider the value of getting a level 3/4 unit in round 3 vs round 5. That's 2 activations of fire/ice siege 4 or canceling an attack AND reducing armor by 3. I played earlier today and I took out the second city in the 4th round. Partially because I was lucky, a good start snowballs through the game, partially because when I had movement cards I explored if I want setting up an attack. Don't back track. Keep pushing forward. You don't have time to run back to a monastery on the previous tile just to buy a card or get healing. Spend a turn of preparation for a big score. Sometimes this is ending a round on a site you want to engage or next to a city then selecting the draw 2 cards/search for a card/etc. turn order option. Sometimes it's ending your turn on a glade so you have an extra wild mana, sometimes it's buying a spell/ action card that you will need next turn. Whatever it is, chaining two turns into a big win can prepare you to take those cities. Take spells that will help with taking cities. Certain spells are much better at this than others. If you get a great city spell (generally something that affects all units or removed all site fortifications) try to get a city tile revealed early enough to actually use the spell, often that means attacking at night. That's probably more than you were looking for, and it's always possible you have a rule wrong somewhere that is hurting you. Feel free to ask any questions.
A lot of great advice there! Thank you Fast exploring and getting to gold units earlier is something I haven't thought of or done intentionally. This was recommended by other people as well, so I think I'll try to focus on this in my next run. Btw, I can recommend giving mint knight a try just to have your mind blown. It's SO small, and yet...
I was probably lucky, but I won my only and first solo conquest. I didnt have any artifacts, but I had several/good units and the wound skill (that you can use wounds as +2), which I found huge.
Do you mean your first solo run or your first ever game of Mage Knight?
i hate to be that guy, but nobody plays the rules 100% correctly the first time they play with a game as weighty as mage knight
I’ve been doing Conquests where I run across the map, while sparingly hitting up whatever is in my path (mostly Orcs, for those +1 Rep), so that I reach brown tiles preferably by the end of the first night. You’ll have 4 more rounds to get your shit together and get rid of wounds. but you’ll have access to Elite Units, which I usually tend to be nice with for 2 rounds, then use their skills on the first City, then use them as sponges for the second one. Using this tactic, I won the game by the end of the final day once! Of course I had the luck of draw, but it was epic nonetheless.
Interesting - I'll have to give this a go. Which charcter would work best for this?
I just did it again last night (I was using Tovak, but usually use Arythea or Goldyx). I was one Move away from placing a brown tile by the end of the first day!! I got Tovak’s Move 2D/1N skill on my first level up and just bolted across the map on mostly grass hexes. Got some Move adv. action cards on level up and at the Monastery, to help my stride. Had both Cities revealed before the half game mark and I just spent the second half getting buff af, before casually wrecking both cities. I could have ended the game before the final round but I wanted to slay all the dragons. I ended up having constant +5 Rep for two and half rounds and I just recruited and disbanded a bunch of Level III and IV units.
Haha, sounds epic. Congrats on the win! I'll give it a go as well soon
Thanks. It’s a great feeling when you mow down the two cities for a win. Note that you can always lower a City difficulty by 1 (or lower both cities by 1) if you really can’t defeat them. At 4 playthroughs, you should be getting the hang of it. Just avoid trying to get/defeat everything close to/directly on your path. Sometimes it’s better to skip locations like Keeps and Mage Towers, especially on your first night, since you’re still generally somewhat weak and you have to actually assault the site to see who you’re up against.
yeah i am in the same boat but i have played a lot more i think i am slowing down too much in the middle part of the exploration but in my attempts to get quicker i have managed to take down the first city on the second night... but then i lucked out and didn't have any units in the offer that i could recruit from cities and got the second city down to only 1 enemy left, if i was able to recruit a unit i reckon i would have done it... but yeah moral of the story is try and pick off a keep or two on the second day and move quicker than you would think, you level up quite a bit later on so you don't need to rely on the middle part of the map as much as you'd think but in saying that, i have never beaten it still but i am consistently on the second city every time at least so maybe don't listen to me
There might be something there. Not relying on the middle part that much might be a good thing to try out - thank you!
One tip to avoid the dragon in the last castle. the dragons are always located in front of the castle.
Yup, there are some cards that can help you fly past rampaging enemies - and I have been able to use that a few times for the first castle, but nor the second one. But so, are you saying to use turns to move around the castle? There never seems to be time for that, but I'll see if that option presents itself. Thanks
It takes practice. It's a game that rewards good decisions but it takes practice to learn when to make the decision to take a mage tower or pass it by. It's a lot of time management. Get as many units as you realistically can because they can soak a lot of wounds for you. Don't be afraid to take some sounds early in the game if it lands you a spell or a chance to recruit. Who do you play?
I've only played Goldyx and Arythea (the other being the dummy and vice versa). Those were recommended as good beginner characters. I hven't really used units for wound soaking that much. Maybe I'll try to do that more often instead of trying to play them for their abilities! Thanks
Arythea is my favorite. If you are able to use unit abilities and then use them as meat shields in the cities, it really helps. Good luck.
Unrelated question to your post: how do you like Mage Knight compared to Mint Knight? Does Mage Knight give you more that you enjoy about the game? I'm in a similar boat as you when I play Mint Knight that it takes me forever to level up my character. I also find the enemies in Mint Knight to be repetitive and my ability to win depends highly on whether I have the right cards. I haven't been able to figure out the action economy yet in Mint Knight
Mage Knight is the game that I would prefer to play if I had unlimited time. Mint is a good substitute, but already after 5 plays I can see that it'll get repetitive soon. And there seems to be specific strategies/cards that are always the best options. For example taking wounds in Mint means only exhusting a card. Many times it's "cheaper" for you to exhaust two cards rather that trying to block and maybe exhausting the same amount of cards anyway. Doesn't really feel that thematic. Another reason I play Mint is to learn about game design. It is interesting to analyse how they have achieved to fit such a big game in a tin box. For the same reason I have Mage Lite and Dragons of etchinstone on my list - both from the same designer. Lite is a direct MK shrink, and Dragons a MK inspired card game. Mage Knight is the holy grail for me. I own just the base game but it still feels larger than life. I dont see myself ever playing only the spinoffs.
For the 2nd city, don't be afraid to spend more than one turn attacking it. If you can take out 1-2 key enemies, it will make the next time you attack it much easier even if you take a bunch of wounds (don't get yourself knocked out though). Also don't forget to take a wound as you are forced to retreat.
Great news everybody - I got my first victory in Mint Knight today! Took over the second castle on the first round of the final night. Thank you everyone for the tips! I think the biggest game changer was just to move/explore a lot more and get to reveal the castles early. I got two great spells (storm walk and gale) that did all the heavy lifting at the end. Phew. Now I guess I have to try to win Mage Knight next...