[CFV] Rearguard Trading & Card Efficiency

[Resident Fascist]

So here's one thing I don't get when I watch other people play Vanguard. Why do people tunnel vision on attacking the Vanguard and leave two perfectly functional rearguards swinging at them every turn, and not at the very least trying to put in an effort to harass down the rearguards and force your opponent to replace?

 

 From my own experience, rearguard trading and an emphasis on it is incredibly strong, and I feel it's something to focus on when playing. I tend to look at it this way, if a rearguard attack would only get one card out of your opponent if it goes to Vanguard, swing at the rearguard instead. If you hit, you still are taking one card away from them in the form of that rearguard, and they now have to replace that rearguard. Also one benefit of attacking with your rearguards first is that you can poke down potential intercepts, reducing your opponent's total shield value.

 

 So, why on earth are people standing their Magnum Assaults and attacking the Vanguard at 11000? Just swing at the rearguard, you get the exact same result if not better if you hit their rearguard. Also, forcing them to replace rearguards is amazing as eventually they will run out of good units to replace with, so they either have a bad field or start committing bad cards to front row.

 

 

[Just Crouton]

In general, I only see relevance in attacking rearguards when

 

• You don't have enough to guard next turn, so hitting the rears makes guarding easier.
• A rearguard has a powerful ability (ex: Knight of Twin Sword, Macha)
• One of your units has less than 12k, so you aren't losing much pressure on the vanguard
• The opponent's vanguard has greater power.
• The opponent is low on cards, so you want to take out an intercept so the next attacks hit.

[Maeriberii Haan]

Harassing rear guards works wonders against decks that can't replenish them as easily. It's not something that should actually be prioritized over harassing your opponent's VG, but you can usually read the situation and see for yourself whether harassing rearguards would give more benefits than attacking a vanguard.

[werewolfjedi]

it also matters on the deck to deck matchups,

in unknown matchups the general tatic is to rush the face, hence, vanguard swings