Use this opening if:

  • Consistently using the damage threshold of Ranging hunt is not a priority.
  • You want to gain many Powers to find useful effects and compensate for the lack of damage.
  • You don’t want to use Majors.
  • You want to unlock high card plays and reclaim-one as soon as possible.

Consider this opening especially against:

  • [Base] England, Sweden, Habsburg Livestock.

Unique Powers reminder

    

Opening

Growth

Turn 1

G2 bottom; G3 Minor.

Play 2.

Turn 2

G2 bottom; G4.

Play 3.

Turn 3

Reclaim, gain Minor; G2 top.

Play 3.

Turn 4

G2 bottom; G3 Minor. Reclaim Too near the jungle or another 0-cost.

Play 3.

Turn 5

G2 bottom; G4.

Play 3.

Turn 6

Reclaim, gain Minor; G2 bottom.

Play 5.

Turn 7 onwards

From turn 7 on, growth is G4 + any other, according to needs (G2 should only be selected if placing presence is necessary, and not for growth).

Remarks

Taking presence from the top track can be moved from turn 3 to any turn from 1 to 4, or even skipped altogether if not needed for your Innates. (I’ve included it here because I’ve found myself taking a presence from the top track somewhere on turn 2-4 more often than not.)

Even with frequent use of G4, Energy can be tight given the high card plays. It’s therefore really important to choose Minors carefully, and only gain 1-cost if very strong (this is generally true, but especially so in this case).

Optionally, on turn 4 and 5 presence can be taken from top until 2 Energy to unlock more Energy/turn (Bottom track hybrid), to prepare for a late Major. However, this shouldn’t be needed in most cases, and it’s usually a worse hybrid strategy compared to a top track start due to lower Energy income and fewer chances to find a useful Major.

Stats

Turn Growths Owned cards Cards in hand CE Ele+CP
1 2, 3 5 5 2 2
2 2, 4 5 3 6 3
3 1, 2 6 6 6 3
4 2, 3 7 5 8 3
5 2, 4 7 3 12 4
6 1, 2 8 8 12 5
7 3, 4 9 6 17 5

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • High card plays: 3 on turn 2, 5 on turn 6.
  • Unlock reclaim 1 early on.
    • This is very useful to either reclaim Too near the jungle as a 0-cost to activate Ranging hunt, or Prey on the builders against build-heavy adversaries such as England.

Cons:

  • Very tight in Energy.
  • Ranging hunt cannot consistently be activated, especially throughout the early and mid game.
  • Can lack firepower in case of very bad luck with Minors.