By Evan Lorentz

Although you can have a lot of fun playing one of the Auto Assault TCG starter decks, there will come a point where you’ll want to try something different. Something more. One of the most exciting and interesting aspects of a trading card game (TCG) is the way in which players can mix different cards in different decks, and how that in turn makes every game experience unlike any you’ve had before. Auto Assault TCG offers all that in good measure.

For players who have never tried a trading card game before, these options can be daunting at first. Building your own deck is an unusual proposition – not many other games ask you to devote time to them outside of the actual playing of them. Even people familiar with other TCGs have a whole new world to explore when they try out a new one – knowledge about deck construction in one game doesn’t necessarily translate well to another.

Well, if you’re feeling at all lost when it comes to building and playing your own decks, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind.

There are two ways to win. You don’t have to try for both.

You can win the game either by destroying your opponent’s vehicle, or by completing missions. Some players like to have a “backup plan,” and try to build a deck that can accomplish either of those goals, depending on the situation. You don’t have to build or play that way, if you find the split focus distracting.

You can put extra units in your deck, plenty of front and rear weapons, and plan to go straight for the destruction victory. The vehicles of the “Commando” classes (Commando, Champion, and Terminator) and “Officer” classes (Lieutenant, Archon, and Mastermind) work best for this type of strategy. That’s why when you play the Biomek starter from Ignition, you’ll win by destruction most of the times you win – it’s a Terminator deck.

On the other hand, you can stock a few extra maneuvers (especially maneuvers that offer high speed), some defense-oriented cards, and just go for a mission victory. The vehicles of the “Engineer” classes (Engineer, Shaman, and Constructor) and “Ranger” classes (Bounty Hunter, Avenger, and Agent) work best for this approach. That’s why when you play the Human starter from Ignition, you’ll win by mission completion most of the time – it’s a Bounty Hunter deck.

You can “play against type,” as the Mutant starter deck from Ignition does – it’s an “Engineer” class deck (Shaman), but stocks more units than the other two starters, thus pushing it more toward destruction than mission completion. It’s just that you may find such an approach harder to get the balance right if you’re building a deck for the very first time. For your early efforts, it’s best to go with the strengths of the class you choose.

Don’t blow things out of proportion.

Auto Assault TCG has six card types, four of which can be stocked in the actual “drawing” portion of your deck. What are the right numbers of maneuvers, units, gear, and tactics to add? Technically, the real answer to that question is, there are no rules. It is possible for an advanced strategy to leave out a card type entirely to go overboard on another. For a beginning player, however, there’s definitely a “range” for each card type that yields best results in the average deck.

Maneuvers will make up about 1/3 of a typical deck. It’s difficult to run fewer, even in a deck that isn’t trying to complete missions to win. The reason is that maneuvers are the main line of defense against attack from your opponent’s vehicle. Any time he wants to, he can swerve his vehicle to begin close combat with yours. If he has weapons and you have no maneuvers, you’re all but guaranteed to take damage. You roll out the welcome mat for this kind of attack if you don’t stock enough maneuvers.

What happens if you stock more maneuvers? Well, the best way to talk about that is to talk about…

Units, which also make up about 1/3 of a typical deck. Vehicles must swerve to attack an enemy vehicle, which usually means they’ll do so only once a turn – and with a bit of an accuracy handicap. But units can also attack, once each turn from each mission. And they don’t swerve to do so, which means you can swerve them for accuracy instead.

With just two units in play, one at each mission, you can attack your opponent three times in a turn (including your vehicle’s attack). Maneuvers are great at fending off one attack, sometimes even two. But soon, all but the most incredibly maneuver-heavy decks are going to swerve all of them in the earlier combats.

Just one unit can block a raid even more thoroughly than any number of maneuvers could. The attack is diverted from your vehicle to your unit. If you don’t stock enough units and your opponent has many, you’ll be taking damage in raid after raid – not to mention the struggles you’ll face when you try to assault.

So why not stock even more units, if they’re so great? Well, think back to the maneuvers. Units won’t stop an attack from an enemy vehicle. Plus, there are quite a few very strong anti-unit cards in the game, cards like Squish, Alley Sweeper, Death, and Annihilation, to name just a few. If you rely exclusively on units, and your opponent is able to knock them down, where will that leave you?

Gear and Tactics will fill out that last 1/3 of the average deck in about equal numbers.

Gear can offer some powerful, ongoing effects. They tend to stick around a lot longer than maneuvers or units, which means you’re getting more bang for your buck when you pay for one. But they have two strikes against them. One is the “hard point” system. You can only have one Front Weapon, one Power Plant, and so forth. You might stock tons more gear if you could, but they’ll just end up destroying one another, trying to occupy the same limited number of slots. More importantly, gear won’t help you towards victory as directly as the other card types. Gear can’t be stashed under a mission like a maneuver to help complete it. Nor can it begin a raid like a unit. Gear will give you plenty of indirect help, but don’t forget what it is you’re trying to do.

Tactics are incredibly powerful. One well-played tactic can swing a losing combat in your favor. If you stock none against an opponent who does have them, you’ll be hard-pressed to win any crucial fight against him. But stock too many, and your hand will be stuffed full of them. If you get in a combat, that’s great. But while you’re waiting for that combat, your opponent will be playing units to block your raids, maneuvers to complete missions, and gear to help him with those goals – all cards that have a longer lifespan than your one-shot tactic.

Again, I should repeat that it is possible to go outside these recommendations. Many winning decks will. But when you’re learning the ropes, the most likely recipe for success is: 1/3 maneuvers, 1/3 units, split the rest evenly between gear and tactics.

Combat bonuses matter.

Between raids, assaults, and swerving your vehicle to attack, you’ll probably get involved in at least one combat on every turn you take. In some games, you’ll fight even more. It’s not unusual for 10-15 of the cards in your deck to never actually make it to your hand – you instead reveal and discard them for their combat bonuses. And so the numbers on your cards matter.

If you keep losing combats by a mere 5 or 15 accuracy, you might want to take a second look at your deck and see what kind of combat bonus numbers are on your cards. There might be a unit you really love, that you stocked four of in your deck. But if it has a 5 combat bonus number, you might want to think about replacing a copy with something that has a better number.

Don’t go overboard with this. Yes, you’ll reveal lots of combat bonuses in a game. But most of your cards will actually be played. And it’s important that, first and foremost, they work well together for that purpose. Don’t pass on including a card that would be perfect for your strategy just because its combat bonus number is low. Instead, use combat bonus tweaking as a means to adjust a deck that “isn’t quite right.”

It’s okay to start with what you know.

If you’ve been playing the Ignition Mutant starter for too long and are eager to try building your own deck, don’t feel like you have to start from scratch. You can suddenly take on a Biomek Mastermind deck if you want, but it’s okay to take smaller steps.

For example, you already know how the Mutant starter works with the Pikes. Maybe you want to try taking them out and replacing them with Scavs to see how it works differently? Or maybe you’re tired of playing for a destruction victory and want to try a mission victory? Just kick out a few of the slower maneuvers and swap in some 30-speed options.

Even if you start with someone else’s deck design, the moment you make any adjustments to it, you’ve made it your own.

Don’t be afraid of trial and error.

Lastly, remember that not many people are experts at something the first time they try it. (That goes in life as well as this game!) If you’ve become a Terminator expert and then one day decide to try a Lieutenant, don’t get easily frustrated if your first attempt doesn’t work perfectly. Many players are constantly changing even their old, reliable deck designs, switching one card here or there based on something that happens to them in a game.

Whatever you play, have fun with it!