A · Fundamentals · §4
Independent bodies first, then open Energy and exact Power, then information, then XP, and only then cards.
The most important resource. You want one unit defending the Hold that matters, another capable of conquering elsewhere, and a third unit or Ambush creating uncertainty. Placing two units at one location can increase total Might while reducing your functional board from two threats to one.
An opponent attacks differently against one Energy and a Calm rune than against five Energy and an unrevealed . They have to price , , , , , Rengar and a facedown Hourglass all at once, and you often gain value without casting anything.
and make information a resource rather than a convenience. Scuttle’s Deathknell reveals the opposing hand and adds one XP; Sabotage reveals the hand and recycles a chosen non-unit.◆src
What information decides: whether can be deployed safely, whether they can beat a given , whether Hourglass should be committed, whether belongs at the Hold or the second lane, whether to initiate with , and whether Whiteflame is a finisher or an eight-Energy liability.
XP is not incidental here. Tempered has Hunt 2 and gains Deflect and Ganking at six XP. Scuttle adds one when it dies, and adds one for every unit it kills.◆src
The difference between five and six XP is large: targeted interaction gets more expensive, Yi can move directly between battlefields, a unit committed to defence becomes a cross-lane threat, and becomes harder for the opponent to price. The route to six should be planned rather than observed.
Cards matter, and the deck has plenty of ways to find them. But it usually loses because it ran out of bodies, positioning or exact Power, not because it ran out of abstract card quantity.