B · Engine & Sequencing · §13
Hourglass, Charm, Sabotage, Rampage, Rengar and the two finishers, and what each is actually for.
Strongest on Tempered once it has XP, on Fervent when the engine matters for future turns, on when another Ambush will be decisive, on in a control matchup, and on when its next Hold stabilises the game. Weaker on Scuttle and Poro, where you wanted the Deathknell, and on a defender whose recall concedes the final point.
Best used to remove a lone defender before a conquest, break the mirror, move an equipped threat off the scoring battlefield, split a wide board, dodge a Deathknell rather than trigger it, or force a unit into the battlefield where your larger force already waits.
Best when you can use the information immediately, when they hold several cards but limited Power, when one reaction or Gear would invalidate your scoring line, and when you are preparing Whiteflame, , or . Poor against thirty-unit decks, against hands already emptied onto the board, and on turns when spending Body Power prevents the actual attack.
It can be a favourable two-for-one when your unit survives, but it exposes that unit to damage, reactions, Might reduction, movement, counters and protection effects. Use it after information, not before. Against Challenge it costs one more Energy and can buy +2 with a Body Power, and with Fervent the choice itself is another +1.
The default line is a new battlefield. Joining the defended location is right when that Hold is worth more than the second lane, when six Might wins the Showdown immediately, when the other battlefield cannot be contested, or when supplies more than the two Might the Legend gives up.