Hey all, I'm Personofsecrets and I've loved card games since getting my first pack of Pokemon way back in 1999. I don't have a ton of fancy titles, but did you know that Bethesda previously developed a card game under the Elder Scrolls IP called the Elder Scrolls Legends? Well, I made top 8 of that games 2nd world championships! So I'm excited to analyze and play Tales of Tribute and hope that others can benefit from what I have to write. Now on to the top 5 mistakes for new players to avoid.

5.) Not Using Grandmaster Delmene Hlaalu

Tales of Tribute is a deck building game and some rounds of the game can be thought to have different phases where different cards may gain or lose usefulness; there can be an "early game," "mid game," and "late game." At a certain point of the mid or late game, a player may find that a card which has been purchased from the tavern is losing usefulness. They may also find that they need to start gaining more Prestige points in order to stay in winning distance. Calling on the Patron Grandmaster's Delmene Hlaalu is a solution to both issues. Not only will this Patron remove certain cards from a players deck, but they will also help them gain prestige points by doing so.

4.) Not Eliminating Agents

Agents are special because they have potential to add layers of certainty to turns. The draw may be fairly random, but Agents stay in play from turn to turn and when a player doesn't eliminate the Agent, they concede the consistent value that Agents give to the opponent. There are cards from the tavern that will eliminate agents. There is a patron ability from Psijic Loremaster Celarus to do the same. The big thing that a player must realize is that if they have accumulated power, then they can use that power up to help reduce the health of an opposing Agent by clicking on that agent. Converting that power to prestige instead of using it to destroy an agent can often be a play that allows the opponent to take the game and run away with it.

3.) Using the Duke of Crows!

One common play is for players to use the Duke of Crows right away at an early stage of the game which blocks them from activating that patron ability at a later stage of the game if they are still the patron favored players. Does one want just a few prestige or would they rather wait until the late game when gold is more plentiful and they can cash in for 10+ prestige? The answer is obvious.

2.) Not Removing +1 Power actions

Fortify is a basic card that players automatically get in their starting deck when Saint Pelin is a patron. Fortify gives the player who uses it one single power for the turn. Sometimes this single power can be the strategically correct choice. Sometimes one may want Fortify to combo with other Saint Pelin cards. Many games involve the start of the game being a gold development race so that players can start buying stronger cards from the tavern sooner. A card like Fortify, which only gives a single power and no gold, can cause gold development to be stymied to such an extent that a player even ends up losing the game due to the development that they lost after drawing Fortify at an inopportune time. So don't be afraid to use the treasury power to trade Fortify in for a 2 gold value Writ of Coin.

1.) Buying from the Tavern

There are a few cards that can show up in the tavern which are very powerful. By buying a tavern card, a new card becomes available in the tavern and there are circumstances where this tavern mechanic will lead to the opponent having the first opportunity to purchase the card that just showed up. Again, this could end up being a very powerful card and it could give the opponent an overwhelming advantage. So make sure that when you buy a tavern card that it is worth the risk or make sure that you have a backup plan in case a strong card is revealed.