Mavaro strategy discussion


Rules Questions and Gameplay Discussion

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Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

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Hi everyone!

I decided that I should start a thread on different strategies and ways to play the most interesting PACG character (in my opinion) yet created by Paizo, Mavaro.

I was lucky enough to playtest Mavaro and he instantly became my favorite character. The flexibility he has as a character is unsurpassed by any other, and that appeals to me because I've always liked jack-of-all-trade characters.

So the question becomes, given that Mavaro can theoretically do ANYTHING, how do you build up his deck? How do you know what to focus on?

Here are a few strategy suggestions I've come up with:

-With 9 Item slots that can be used for Weapons, Armors, Spells OR items, it can be a bit overwhelming to pick your cards, even just when you're building your Basic deck. Choosing one style of combat play to focus on will help with this... Mavaro can be a Melee combatant, Ranged combatant, or a spellcaster when it comes to combat. I personally gravitate toward Melee combat because the Melee weapons generally have a bit more damage potential than Ranged, and you don't have to worry about recharge checks the way you do with spells.

-My first suggestion is to look for boons that enhance his flexibility as much as possible, which means you're almost never going to have duplicate cards in his deck. When you're building his very first deck using Basic cards, for example, you're going to want to split his blessings between Blessings of the Ancients (to give him Divine as a skill for spells) and Blessings of the Elements (because you can get Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom OR Charisma with it).

-If you want him to be a weapon-based combatant, you're going to want to focus one EITHER Melee or Ranged, because you're going to have to display a weapon in order to effectively use another weapon of the same type. My first build for him has two Melee weapons which both add 1d8 to his Strength skill, which means even if you don't have the second weapon in hand to reveal, you start off with a respectable 1d6+1d8. After playing one scenario, I am definitely considering giving him a third weapon, since I didn't often have one in hand to use for the other.

-If you want Mavaro to be a spellcaster, you're going to want to go Divine, as opposed to Arcane. The main reason for this is simply that most blessings will give him the Divine skill, so you're much more likely to have a card in hand to give you the Divine trait than the Arcane trait at any given moment. However, when you choose the actual spells for him to use, you should try to grab spells that have both Arcane and Divine acquire checks, because if you pick up an Arcane spell during the scenario, you're more likely to be able to use it without banishing it because some of your cards will still be able to grant you the Arcane skill.

-Allies for Mavaro should always have another skill in the acquire box than just Charisma and Diplomacy. I can't remember the name of the ally off the top of my head, but there is a Basic ally that gives Charisma, Diplomacy and Acrobatics, which is a skill that you can't get from a whole ton of boons in this box. Grabbing an animal ally to get Wisdom and Survival is solid as well.

-Even if you're not playing him as a main spellcaster, put at least one Cure spell in your deck so that you can heal back some of the cards that you inevitably discard to add to your checks to acquire Weapons, Armors and Items.

I think that's it for the moment, but please help me add to the list of suggestions, as I'll probably think of more as I continue playing through the scenarios. Of course, at some point we'll have to talk about roles, but that's for another time.


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cartmanbeck wrote:
-If you want him to be a weapon-based combatant, you're going to want to focus one EITHER Melee or Ranged, because you're going to have to display a weapon in order to effectively use another weapon of the same type. My first build for him has two Melee weapons which both add 1d8 to his Strength skill, which means even if you don't have the second weapon in hand to reveal...

I'm just going to add - as mentioned in another thread recently- you FIRST reveal your weapon to define your skill for the combat check, so you can then display the SAME weapon to upgrade your Melee skill.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

Longshot11 wrote:
cartmanbeck wrote:
-If you want him to be a weapon-based combatant, you're going to want to focus one EITHER Melee or Ranged, because you're going to have to display a weapon in order to effectively use another weapon of the same type. My first build for him has two Melee weapons which both add 1d8 to his Strength skill, which means even if you don't have the second weapon in hand to reveal...
I'm just going to add - as mentioned in another thread recently- you FIRST reveal your weapon to define your skill for the combat check, so you can then display the SAME weapon to upgrade your Melee skill.

Holy crap, how did I miss that? That's amazing! So Mavaro can use any weapon, essentially. Wow. He's even better than I thought he was!


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
cartmanbeck wrote:
Holy crap, how did I miss that? That's amazing! So Mavaro can use any weapon, essentially. Wow. He's even better than I thought he was!

Well, any weapon that doesn't depend on you discarding or otherwise manipulating it for additional effect. Still, it's really good.


You do probably want to make sure you focus on one type of weapon. Either melee or ranged. That way you don't have to display a second card to get the other skills.

Looking at B and C cards, there are some really interesting options for him. Throwing out the idea that he'd ever need to gain Intelligence, Disable, or Knowledge, there are weapons that grant him Arcane, Divine, and Craft. There are armors that grant Arcane, Divine, Craft, Melee, and Survival.

Lone Shark Games

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Just for the Lone Sharks: I believe I had "First week Mavaro strategy thread" in the pool.

Scarab Sages

The cool thing about Mavaro is the way that he makes you evaluate all boons in an entirely different light. The same way that Feiya did when she came along in S&S - suddenly you cared about what deck number the boon was, whereas previously it was all about the utility. Now with Mavaro, you care about which skills are listed in the Check to Acquire.


My strategy will be to let him fill in the gaps of the team. Don't have a Divine caster? Mavaro can do that. Don't have a ranged weapon user? Mavaro could use those.

He could fill any role that you need him to fill. Sure he won't be as good as a dedicated character in that role but he is also probably better at doing random odd jobs.

Edit: One of the weirdest features about Mavaro is that he actively doesn't want Loot in his deck because they don't have checks to acquire.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

Apophenia wrote:

My strategy will be to let him fill in the gaps of the team. Don't have a Divine caster? Mavaro can do that. Don't have a ranged weapon user? Mavaro could use those.

He could fill any role that you need him to fill. Sure he won't be as good as a dedicated character in that role but he is also probably better at doing random odd jobs.

Edit: One of the weirdest features about Mavaro is that he actively doesn't want Loot in his deck because they don't have checks to acquire.

Yeah, the Loot thing is definitely different than every other character. During the playtest there were some really nice loots but I was always like "this would be better for anyone but me" LOL

Grand Lodge

As a caster, I've found (by watching someone else play 'im) that there are a tons of spells that are both Arcane AND Divine, so favoring Divine isn't so horribly necessary. So, Immolation, Acid Jet, Unshakeable Chill, and Clinging Venom (?) make wonderful attack spells. If nothing else, it gives you a better chance to acquire both Arcane and Divine Boons.

Heck, with Fireblade requiring a higher recharge than Immolate but having an identical effect AND only being Divine, I've no real use for the spell anymore.

By the way, I think it's the Tomb Raider who's Basic and can be acquired with Dex/Acrobatics.


James McKendrew wrote:
By the way, I think it's the Tomb Raider who's Basic and can be acquired with Dex/Acrobatics.

Does it resemble Lara Croft though?


Doppelschwert wrote:
James McKendrew wrote:
By the way, I think it's the Tomb Raider who's Basic and can be acquired with Dex/Acrobatics.
Does it resemble Lara Croft though?

Nope, the fact that the art for the Tomb Raider card isn't a sexy sportive Indiana Jones babe with conversation below eye level is the single disappointment with MM. All the rest is awesome.


See other thread. An important part of Mavaro's powers is that he can recharge any card he wants at the end of his turn.

Well as long as not-this-Mike does not invent a card that would be powerful be with the caveat that it couldn't be used to fuel a character's power (pretty sure he already thought of that... because as Vic said, it's all about getting the players in situations where you have to chose between good options).


Frencois wrote:
See other thread. An important part of Mavaro's powers is that he can recharge any card he wants at the end of his turn.

Here's the thread. Any card with a check to acquire, that is. I'm thinking that's not true.


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Frencois wrote:
Doppelschwert wrote:
James McKendrew wrote:
By the way, I think it's the Tomb Raider who's Basic and can be acquired with Dex/Acrobatics.
Does it resemble Lara Croft though?
Nope, the fact that the art for the Tomb Raider card isn't a sexy sportive Indiana Jones babe with conversation below eye level is the single disappointment with MM. All the rest is awesome.

I think it would've been hilarious if it was a sexy, sporty tomb raider in a revealing pose, but was a dude instead.


Frencois wrote:
Doppelschwert wrote:
James McKendrew wrote:
By the way, I think it's the Tomb Raider who's Basic and can be acquired with Dex/Acrobatics.
Does it resemble Lara Croft though?
Nope, the fact that the art for the Tomb Raider card isn't a sexy sportive Indiana Jones babe with conversation below eye level is the single disappointment with MM. All the rest is awesome.

Looks like another opportunity for me to reskin a card then... :)

I sometimes scan a card of a set, change the art and/or the name and then use sleeves to cover the original card with a print of the altered version.
Goes a long way to make the cards in the starting decks more personal and doesn't mess with the game mechanics. It's been a hit with my friends in our home games, and in this case, it will just contribute a nice joke when encountered.
It's mainly for giving the characters a personal heirloom or something for the starter deck though, so it's limited to one card per player per campaign.


Doppelschwert wrote:
Frencois wrote:
Doppelschwert wrote:
James McKendrew wrote:
By the way, I think it's the Tomb Raider who's Basic and can be acquired with Dex/Acrobatics.
Does it resemble Lara Croft though?
Nope, the fact that the art for the Tomb Raider card isn't a sexy sportive Indiana Jones babe with conversation below eye level is the single disappointment with MM. All the rest is awesome.

Looks like another opportunity for me to reskin a card then... :)

I sometimes scan a card of a set, change the art and/or the name and then use sleeves to cover the original card with a print of the altered version.
Goes a long way to make the cards in the starting decks more personal and doesn't mess with the game mechanics. It's been a hit with my friends in our home games, and in this case, it will just contribute a nice joke when encountered.
It's mainly for giving the characters a personal heirloom or something for the starter deck though, so it's limited to one card per player per campaign.

I Lara Crofted Drivethrued the ally tomb raider exactly 10 sec after we encountered him/her during our second scenario. Everyone at the table agreed to put the game on hold for that must do upgrade of the game box :-)


I'm playing him as a poor man's alchemist with the Alchemist's Kit. Acid Flask covers combat checks and checks against barriers and lets you use Disable, which Mavaro has natively. Since it's a disable check, you can use the Burglar's Bucklers from Set 1 (both of them since they allow you to play a second armor on the check) to bring you to 3d10 + 2d6 + 2 against 95% of your checks against banes at the cost of a single discard. And since the check invokes the Acid trait, Blessings of the Elements can be recharged for another d10. Throw in Canteen and Mumia Smuggler and you can get 12 uses out of the 4 Acid Flasks before having to worry about healing them back.

I round this out Blessings of the Elements to cover most checks to acquire and close, plus the odd non-combat basic skill check against monsters. The Burglar's Bucklers can be used to give Fortitude if needed (though I prefer to keep them in hand).

It's a bit of a different approach since it doesn't rely as heavily on his signature power (it's more reliant on his large item pool than anything), but Acid Flask just seems so good. I do find myself wondering if I should have just gone with Damiel, but Mavaro brings enough to the table otherwise that I'm happy with this for now.

This build does suffer from being heavily dependent on getting Alchemist's Kit or Canteen out early, which in turn is heavily dependent on Mavaro being able to recharge all or most of his hand at the end of his turn. If it turns out that's not actually allowed, this build is likely dead in the water (I'm hoping we see a ruling on this before the weekend).


Fatalist wrote:
... which in turn is heavily dependent on Mavaro being able to recharge all or most of his hand at the end of his turn. If it turns out that's not actually allowed, this build is likely dead in the water (I'm hoping we see a ruling on this before the weekend)

The consensus from the community is that it is legal, so I'd just go with it. It can take awhile for Paizo to issue a ruling on something with far-reaching ramifications (we're still waiting on Varril).

Sovereign Court

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

So I'm planning on taking a little different tact with Marvaro then most. Whereas most people see a generalist trying to collect as many different checks to acquire as possible, I see someone that can have a deck where every card has Divine in their checks to acquire and therefore be the spellcaster with the most spells possible.

At some point I may be trying a more traditional Marvaro, especially when I unlock him in Season of the Runelords, but my alt team for Mummy's Mask is probably super divine caster Marvaro.

(I mean, as much as I can play right now. I have Pandemic Legacy to finish up, and I'm in full "Can't wait for mystery hunt" mental state. I've been reading an archived hunt every couple days.)


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Iammars wrote:
I'm in full "Can't wait for mystery hunt" mental state. I've been reading an archived hunt every couple days.)

If you are talking about the MIT Mystery Hunt, you've still got 2.5 months of waiting, my friend. I have teammates that get that way, though typically they don't get there by October.


So I think I found a weapon that might be very useful for Mavaro but I wanted to make sure I'm interpreting the rules correctly.

Icy Longspear +1 wrote:

For your combat check, reveal this card to use your Strength or Melee skill +1d8 +1 and add the Cold trait. If you would fail this check, you may discard this card to reroll the dice; take the new result.

Mavaro reveals this weapon for 1d6 (Strength) + 1d8 + 1. He then displays the weapon to upgrade his Strength to match his Intelligence, so he's now rolling 1d10 + 1d8 + 1.

If he fails the check, can he discard his displayed Icy Longspear +1 to reroll?

Also, if a card lists two sets of skills to acquire, e.g. Wisdom Survival 7 OR Charisma Diplomacy 10, he gets all 4 skills when he displays that card, correct?

Grand Lodge

No, he can't discard it anymore. You discard cards from your hand unless specifically instructed otherwise, and the displayed Longspear is no longer in Mavaro's hand -- it's displayed.


Pyrocat wrote:
Also, if a card lists two sets of skills to acquire, e.g. Wisdom Survival 7 OR Charisma Diplomacy 10, he gets all 4 skills when he displays that card, correct?

Yes (until proven guilty)

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

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Okay time to start the list of BEST MAVARO CARDS IN BASE SET: (I'm only listing skills he doesn't already use his Int for by default, FYI)

Weapons:
Djinni Quarterstaff (Strength/Melee/Arcane/Divine)
Staff of Focus (Strength/Melee/Arcane/Divine)
Twin Serpent Quarterstaff (Strength/Melee/Arcane)
I would have put Fire Lance/Poisoned Sand Tube on this list because they can get you Craft, but unfortunately you can't use them as actual weapons because they don't have a reveal power, so they're suboptimal at best. Get Craft from some items instead.

Spells:
For NON-Spellcaster focus:
Cure
Remove Curse
Good Omen
Augury
Elemental Treaty
For Spellcaster focus:
Cure
Remove Curse
Unshakable Chill
Clinging Venom
Fiery Glare

Armors:
Filter Hood (Constitution/Fortitude/Craft/Survival) <-WOW
Crocodile Skin Madu (Constitution/Fortitude/Melee)
Armor of the Sands (Constitution/Fortitude/Arcane/Divine)

Items:
Twitch Tonic (Craft) <- I highly recommend this one because it's only a discard, not a banish for its main power!
Smoked Glass Goggles (Craft/Wisdom/Survival)
Healer's Kit (Wisdom/Survival/Divine)
Brilliance of Ra (Strength/Divine)
Wing of Horus (Dexterity/Divine)
Key of the Second Vault (Arcane/Divine)
Osirion History Guide (Wisdom)
Magnifying Glass (Perception)
Compass (Wisdom/Survival)
Burglar's Bracers (Craft)

Allies:
Pard (Wisdom/Survival/Charisma/Diplomacy)
Tomb Raider (Charisma/Diplomacy/Acrobatics)
Stained Glass Elemental (Charisma/Survival/Arcane)
Pahmet Clansman (Charisma/Diplomacy/Divine)
Osirion Ancestor (Divine/Charisma/Diplomacy)
Aunty (Divine/Wisdom/Diplomacy)
Tarworks Master (Craft/Charisma/Diplomacy)
Kafar (Wisdom/Charisma/Diplomacy)

Blessings:
Blessing of the Elements (Strength/Dexterity/Constitution/Wisdom/Charisma)
Blessing of Bastet (Stealth/Craft/Divine)
Blessing of Pharasma (Arcane/Divine)

Hopefully I'll be able to attack the 1 cards soon as well!


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
cartmanbeck wrote:
Twitch Tonic (Craft) <- I highly recommend this one because it's only a discard, not a banish for its main power!

Are we sure this isn't an error? Seems unusual for a consumable. Has it already appeared in a class deck?

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

First World Bard wrote:
cartmanbeck wrote:
Twitch Tonic (Craft) <- I highly recommend this one because it's only a discard, not a banish for its main power!
Are we sure this isn't an error? Seems unusual for a consumable. Has it already appeared in a class deck?

I asked the same thing during the playtest, and no it's correct. It has one discard power (lets you explore) and one banish power (draw allies from your discard pile, then recharge any number of allies).


Compass is a basic card with non-banish move power that lets you discard for an explore, so it doesn't seem completely OP for twitch tonic to be discard for an examine/explore (even if it is quite strong, and somewhat out of character for alchemical items)

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

Alright, from the 1 cards:

Weapons:
Fire Kukri +1 (Strength/Melee/Dexterity/Ranged) <- I think this one is a mistake, since it doesn't actually use Dexterity or have the Ranged trait.

Spells:
Locate Object
Stone Skin

Armors:
Bone Lamellar (Constitution/Fortitude/Craft)

Items:
Djinn Favor Amulet (Constitution/Fortitude/Wisdom)
Mummified Cat (Wisdom/Divine/Survival)

Allies:
Azaz Arafe and Zazu (Charisma/Diplomacy/Arcane/Divine)
Black Kiss (Craft/Charisma/Diplomacy)
Mad Dog Marnn (Survival/Charisma/Diplomacy)
Idorii (Melee/Charisma/Diplomacy)


cartmanbeck wrote:
Fire Kukri +1 (Strength/Melee/Dexterity/Ranged) <- I think this one is a mistake, since it doesn't actually use Dexterity or have the Ranged trait.

Don't be so certain that is a mistake. There is precedence for opposite check applying (the most prominent I can think of is the Starknife from RotR). Also, since I believe it is a knife, it would make sense for Simoun to be able to have a good chance to get it, since she should be good with knives.


cartmanbeck wrote:

Okay time to start the list of BEST MAVARO CARDS IN BASE SET: (I'm only listing skills he doesn't already use his Int for by default, FYI)

Allies:
Pard (Wisdom/Survival/Charisma/Diplomacy)
Tomb Raider (Charisma/Diplomacy/Acrobatics)
Stained Glass Elemental (Charisma/Survival/Arcane)
Pahmet Clansman (Charisma/Diplomacy/Divine)
Osirion Ancestor (Divine/Charisma/Diplomacy)
Aunty (Divine/Wisdom/Diplomacy)
Tarworks Master (Craft/Charisma/Diplomacy)
Kafar (Wisdom/Charisma/Diplomacy)

Don't forget that the SG elemental, Dhabba, G. Slug, S. Lizard, F. Gecko, and Druid of the Hive also add their elemental traits if Mavarro takes that power feat.

Then again, who doesn't want to add the Dwarf trait to all of their checks for the turn. Your "Clinging Venom" is now Dwarfy!


I'm using Mavarro essentially as a backup cleric (alongside Drelm), and he's pretty useful. I'm putting him on locations with Ahmotep because even though you will be rolling d10s, the lack of a bonus (before you get those skill feats) is rather iffy. I think Mavarro's best card is the Blessing of the Elements, as it has the most skills available to you. Also, they allows you to give you extra explores and help out on other skill checks. Adding the fact that I have the two weapon staves avialiable, he's able to do work, and is fairly consistent, yet stays fluid.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

I've gotten my deck 2 in the mail, so hopefully I'll update this tonight with those cards

Verdant Wheel Owner - Griffonest Games

I am using Mavaro in a group with Arueshalae. Her gift allows me to add d4 to checks by a character of the marked skill. My question is:

If I display Arueshalae's Gift in front of Mavaro with intelligence marked, would he roll d10 (considering he has the proper card to display himself) +d4 for those checks? Also, would blessings that pump intelligence add dice to Mavaro's checks in this case?


Scott Rogganbuck wrote:
If I display Arueshalae's Gift in front of Mavaro with intelligence marked, would he roll d10 (considering he has the proper card to display himself) +d4 for those checks? Also, would blessings that pump intelligence add dice to Mavaro's checks in this case?

No, because his new skill is JUST "*equal* to his intelligence skill", not *derivative* of it (i.e. he does not gain Survival: Intelligence+0, for example)


Confirming Longshot.

A check Mavaro makes with a gained skill is not an Intelligence check.

According to Vic

Verdant Wheel Owner - Griffonest Games

elcoderdude wrote:

Confirming Longshot.

A check Mavaro makes with a gained skill is not an Intelligence check.

According to Vic

Thank you Elcoderdude and Longshot. That thread helps, too.


Say Mavaro encounters a bane with no cards displayed and only a divine blessing and a blessing attack spell in his hand (e g Fiery Glare which gives Divine+2d4 for combat check). He cannot at that time display the blessing because it doesn't directly impact the combat check. But can he:

First play the spell for d4+2d4.
Then display the blessing to win the Divine skill at the level of his Intelligence (say d10) and so change to d10+2d4 because then it directly impacts the check.

I would say yes but would like confirmation.


Frencois wrote:

First play the spell for d4+2d4.

Then display the blessing to win the Divine skill at the level of his Intelligence (say d10) and so change to d10+2d4 because then it directly impacts the check.

I would say yes but would like confirmation.

By RAW, the situation is exactly as you describe it. What makes you doubt it and need an express confirmation?


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Too much Irish Coffee is the only excuse i can see :-)


Does anyone playing Mavaro (or not playing Mavaro!) have any additional insights? How are people playing him? SUPER spell caster (I HAVE 13 SPELLS!), or Alain 2.0 (Explore, acquire, repeat)?

I've been playing him with a single Cure, three staves with the Divine trait, and items to explore (Compass and Twitch Tonic). My goal is to be able to acquire ANYTHING I encounter, helping to gear-up the party. (Already picked up the Ooze weapon in AD2 for Drelm, a Staff of Frost for Ahmotep, and anything alchemical for Damiel.

Any additional insights on which cards from other sets are particularly good for Mavaro?

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

Well, it depends whether you're playing him in a standard "home" game or using him in Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild play. I agree with your card makeup for him, though. A Cure, one or two other support spells, and items that give you explorations seems like a good deck make up for him.


Currently in AD1 I'm running a mix: 3 armors, 2 weapons, 1 item, and the rest are divine spells. I'm finding that I'm incredibly versatile on my own turn, but not very helpful on others' turns. I originally had even less spells, but then I took cure and find traps so I could at least be passably helpful to others beyond blessing of the elements (which I normally want to save for my own turn).

3 armor may seem like overkill but filter hood is always kept in hand, and I normally don't want to let go of Burglar's Buckler either for that free +1 disable die. Crocodile Madu(?) is the last armor for the melee check to acquire and recharge power. Unfortunately 3 armor leads to a stagnant hand if I don't see much combat, so I should probably drop something.

I'm starting to think I should specialize in all spells as I'm not feeling a lot of synergy with my current item load, but I'm currently running zero attack spells. Once I get my role card I'll likely pick channeler and go whole hog, but until then I'm stuck in a weird place.

Scarab Sages

So...Occult Adventures class deck Mavaro...has the ability to treat one or more cards of one card type as those of your "favored card type" when building your deck. Favored card type is also "Your Choice".


  • I'm assuming here that "Your Choice" is as it has always been - decided at the beginning of each scenario.
  • How does this work in Organized Play? Let's say I have three Deck 1 items and two Deck 2 items. I decide that my favored card type is "Weapon" because I'd like an extra one this scenario. I select one of the Deck 1 items - do I temporarily "Trade it in" for a weapon, and get back a Deck 1 item at the end of the scenario? What about the quality / caliber of weapon I get - is it a Deck 1 weapon, or does it have to be Basic or two decks lower or whatever?


Calthaer wrote:
So...Occult Adventures class deck Mavaro...has the ability to treat one or more cards of one card type as those of your "favored card type" when building your deck. Favored card type is also "Your Choice"...How does this work in Organized Play?

I think this popped up in a previous thread. Looking... think this is it:

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2v1cb?OA2-Mavaro-in-PFSACG-how-does-deckbuildin g-work

Not sure I follow the explanation entirely, but there it is. :)


wkover wrote:
Calthaer wrote:
So...Occult Adventures class deck Mavaro...has the ability to treat one or more cards of one card type as those of your "favored card type" when building your deck. Favored card type is also "Your Choice"...How does this work in Organized Play?

[...]

Not sure I follow the explanation entirely, but there it is. :)

With all due respect to Tyler, I have to agree that the explanation was extremely difficult for me to parse. However, I believe the intent is as follows.

1. At the START of every scenario, you pick your Favoured card type. Be careful, as it may also impact the deck you will have to ascribe to later.
2. At the END of a scenario, you first take your card upgrade as usual. Mavaro does not modify this in any way. Strictly speaking, in OP, your "card upgrade" does NOT replace a card in your deck - it is an additional card, and you'll need to 'cut down' your deck as necessary to fit your decklist later (which is why a Card Upgrade must fill an empty slot opened by a Banish effect if possible).
3. You enter deckbuilding stage after all scenario rewards and card upgrades are taken. Mavaro's Favoured Card Type, chosen in step 1, will be able to modify the deck you build as normal.
4. If, by changing your Favoured Card Type over time, you are unable to build a legal deck, then build whatever you're able to and fill the remainder with basics (or Current Tier-2 AD# cards, depending on your tier).
5. As far as I can tell, you may choose up to one card type to treat as your Favoured Card Type. You may choose any card type, or none at all... so you could even intentionally make choices that would lead to large numbers of your normal cards having to be banished and replaced, which could be beneficial for you.

There should be plenty of times you can change your favoured card type and still build legal decks, which is what Tyler was describing. His ability, fundamentally, allows you to add any number of 1 type of card slots/card feats to a second type of boon. If you're playing with 6 spells because Mavaro treated 3 spells as Items (via Favoured Card Type: Item), you can still carry 6 spells if you choose your Favoured Card Type to Blessing.

...you'd just lose your blessings, and get to rebuild with basic (or appropriate) items instead. It's probably easiest to build with one particular Favoured Card Type in mind... though changing it around (or simply messing with 'how many boons' you choose to treat as your Favoured Card Type) gives you a great opening to intentionally banishing cards if you want to replace them/change them.


More on-topic, about strategy (at least in Organised Play). I'd be interested to see (MM) Mavaro work with Ultimate Intrigue, primarily specialising in Weapons. Intrigue has a huge set of weapons that benefit in non-combat means, as well as the Wrist Launcher, that scales up in power with weapons in your hand to enormous degrees. Mavaro can carry a huge hand of weapons, and if he tires of them he can display -> recharge them at the end of turn with ease.

Furthermore, the entire deck is kind of specialised for characters with specific skillsets - characters with access to Craft, Stealth, Arcane, Diplomacy, etc. All things that Mavaro can get with the right boons, and the deck itself features a wide variety of skills that turn up in checks to acquire.


Yewstance wrote:
At the END of a scenario, you first take your card upgrade as usual. Mavaro does not modify this in any way. Strictly speaking, in OP, your "card upgrade" does NOT replace a card in your deck - it is an additional card, and you'll need to 'cut down' your deck as necessary to fit your decklist later (which is why a Card Upgrade must fill an empty slot opened by a Banish effect if possible).

I'm not sure I follow. You're saying if I banish a card in OP, my end-of-scenario card upgrade has to be that same card type? So if I'm playing Linxia and banish/sacrifice an ally, for example, my upgrade has to be an ally if possible? That would make banish-heavy characters (Linxia, Tup, etc.) much more restrictive and much less fun.

Is that really the intent?


You're not forced to choose an upgrade that matches a card you've banished. However, if you do, you choose the new card to add to your deck before determining if you're missing anything and need to fill in those slots with B Basic or AD-2 cards.

No double-dipping!


Gotcha. Makes sense. Thanks.

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