B · Engine & Sequencing · §7

Core Engine: The Lone Defender

Wuju Bladesman changes what the opponent has to commit, not merely how large your unit is.

Wuju Bladesman gives a friendly unit +2 Might while it defends alone. Alone means no other friendly unit at that battlefield. Adding a second unit turns the bonus off, and if that unit leaves or dies before combat damage the original defender becomes alone again and regains it. The bonus applies while defending, not while attacking.^◆src

The purpose is not the two Might. It is what the two Might does to the opponent’s required commitment. A that normally has two defends at four. A with zero Might still conquers and Holds, and defends at two. Tempered defends at six before a single card is spent.^◆src

The sequence it creates

They commit enough Might to defeat the printed unit.
The Legend bonus makes that commitment insufficient.
They add a trick or another attacker.
You respond with only the card needed to stay ahead.
Their attackers are exhausted or damaged.
Your other units attack the second battlefield.

Lonely Poro sequencing

⚠ WarningPoro draws only if it dies alone. Ambushing or to its battlefield first turns the Legend off, makes Poro no longer alone, and costs the draw as well. That does not mean never reinforcing Poro. It means the extra unit has to justify two Might, one card, and a body removed from another battlefield.

Scuttle Crab sequencing

Scuttle offers a card when played, a body that scores despite zero Might, information and one XP when it dies, and an awkward decision for the opponent. They may decline to kill it because the Deathknell improves your next sequence, and that hesitation is itself value.

The Fervent engine

gains +1 Might for the turn whenever she is chosen or readied. The trigger happens when she is targeted, before the original spell resolves, so countering the spell does not erase the +1. She also triggers on genuinely becoming ready, including during the Awaken Phase. If she was already ready, no ready event occurs and there is no trigger.^◆src

That means her scaling is not the printed bonus of your spell. reads as +3 and a card. reads as +6. reads as +7. Whiteflame reads as +9. reads as +1 and another action.

Lone Fervent + Discipline = 4 base + 2 Legend + 1 chosen + 2 spell = 9 Might, and a card

Lone Fervent + Punch First = 4 + 2 + 1 + 5 = 12 Might

Remote development

The best turns improve the defender without placing another unit beside it. plays to base and buffs the defender permanently. plays to base and readies it, which with Fervent gives another +1 and another action while First Mate stays free for a different battlefield. should usually create pressure elsewhere rather than reinforce, because it can Ambush to a battlefield holding only enemy units.^◆src