Force of Will is a new, and very popular, trading card game that has recently made its way across the ocean from Japan to the United States. We here at Comic Booked strive to bring you the best news, reviews, and other great stuff, for all you comic, movies, TV, and gaming needs, and this is just one of the great ways that keep the good stuff coming.
This article will cover five parts of the new card game Force of Will:
- Learning to play instants on your opponents turn
- The fear of open mana
- Learning to use secondary ruler abilities over mana gain
- Knowing when to J-activate
- Knowing when to be aggressive and what to be aggressive towards
An instant card is typically a normal spell (Not a resonator) that can be played at any point in the game, as long as you have the mana to play it. Keeping in mind that it can be played at any point in the game is vital so making the most optimal plays. There are “Quickcast” resonators that can be played at the same time as an instant normal spell. The best way to map out the use of your mana is to think of your turn and your opponents as one big turn blurred together. Aside from counters which will almost always be played on your opponents turns, we have many other instants. These include bouncing, banishment, tapping, buffing, and preventative spells. You want to wait on casting most instants because you simply never know what your opponents is going to drop on their turn. Which leads to the next Force of Will tip…
Never give away your hand or use of mana to an opponent. As long as you have cards in your hand and mana open you can bluff it out. Your opponent will have to make plays based on those small factors.
Your ruler’s main function before J-activating is building up your mana, but there are plenty of rulers with secondary abilities that really can come in handy. The game IS NOT a race to see who can J-activate first, although aggressive decks may pose intimidation that creates that illusion. For example, Abdul can tap in order to deduct 300 defense from a J/resonator. I was playing a few guys at my local store and noticed they would rather build their mana than take at least one turn to kill a resonator I controlled with the help of Abdul’s ability. This game can very slow paced and you should be open to your different choices. Lumia recovers your life by 300. I’ve seen some players have their field ready for her to J-activate but wait a little longer so they can raise their health from what it was left at. There’s an interesting rule with J-activating cards that have a secondary effect. When you pay the cost to J-activate the card you chain/chase its secondary effect to have both resolve, but in doing this your J-ruler will enter the field in a tapped state.
This isn’t a game of who can J-activate first as much as a game of who can use their resources more efficiently. Before you J-activate you usually want to have a field/hand that supports your ruler. You don’t want to throw your J-ruler into a field that out drowns your ruler and keeps it from using its effects. Force of Will also has rulers like Pandora, girl of the box that flips into a single enter ability, so you want to make sure you do that at the best time to gain the most advantage over your opponent. The best time will look different depending on who your opponent is and the elements making up your deck.
Resonator aggression is a big part of the game, considering it’s the most common way to win. A couple of things to look at before deciding if and what you would like to attack is; your health, your opponents health, your opponents hand size, open mana on both ends and your opponents resonators. You want to make sure they don’t have a resonator that can become a bigger threat later on in the game. Always keeping in mind how close you and your opponent are to 0 life is important to look at in deciding how impactful your plays will be. If your opponent has mana think about the responses they may have and try to prepare yourself for them.
Stay tuned for our next installment of tips and tricks for the great new game, Force of Will. You can check out more in my previous articles.
