Basically, Indra messaged me, and we playtested it.
We didn't finish the games, but it was a one-sided stomp for blue.
The conclusions I drew after discussions with Indra:
When water is forced on a ranger at level 4, it might be worth taking it. I had it forced on me every damn level until I took it as the lesser of two evils. Otherwise, earth might have come in. In that game, it meant a lot.
And second, you can run around to other spawn points, the back alleys of the treasure zone, and look for better opportunities. I often lack the patience and go into contact when the opponent has an advantage.
Indra was running around there, doing something, I guess. In this specific game, it didn't help, but generally it's a good move that I need to learn to make when the game situation calls for it.
My opponent in the novice game played out a chocolate (lucky) setup for blue much more slowly than I did in the game against Indra. And if I had followed the conclusions above, I might have been able to win that game.
That's the story. Thanks to Indra for the time.
You played out your setup against Indra for blue better and faster because the "tournament situation" wasn't "looming" over you like it was over your opponent in the Novice game. And at some points, you could afford to take a risk, already roughly knowing the "setup." So, a fun game is a fun game, and a tournament game is a tournament game. Well, and nothing stopped you from sketching a Jebus Cross — there was a choice when Jebus Cross, Panic, and Mini-Nostra were left. Some daddies even call it Lackus Cross here :-)
