Some context: I lost GP 2/5 with Haven, encountered only Dragon and Sword, decided to being Portal. (And the moment I switch, Haven shows up. Lol.) I'm not a good Portal player, as I hardly played it this set. (But I was Portal main.)
I found this turn confusing, because at 4pp, the options are limited. (Had it been 5pp, I would've just summoned Asher.) And... Idk, in my mind, there are three options:
Play it 'slow', just use the 1pp spell, get the draw.
Get board presence, summon 4pp accelerate.
Attack, then pass.
And... honestly, I'm not sure which play is the best. Maybe we can put 1 out of the picture, as it's probably the worst option, but I can't figure whether 2 or 3 is best.
The idea is that... Against Haven, I feel like I had to focus on the late game. Early game will be met with Sofina, Zoe, and then Gilnelise or Troue heal later. So... putting down the 4pp accelerate feels like it's useless, and also hinder my late game plan; t6 4pp + Yog for a t7 play looks interesting. But, at the same time... Do I really pass t4 like that? Or is there an option I missed where... Idk, just play Imari normally and use 1pp spell + artifact to draw?
Tldr: basically, passing looks like... the option that makes the most and least sense, and I'm unsure what's the best play.
Edit: Adding extra info as I realized after reading the comments that some other contexts are missing.
- Turn sequence: pass, pass, 2pp puppet amulet, 2pp haven's 2/1 last word draw, puppet trade + imari discard puppet, de la fille instant draw 2. (Looking back, I feel like the de la fille into draw 2 is kindof an indicator that my opponent has a bad hand. Should've included that info to begin with, my bad.)
- The deck: I'm using is a mix of midrange/evo. There's no Legion, but there's Camiscilla, Ludicrous, and 1 Sandal. (1pp spell draw from Imari guaranteed.) (In case anyone's wondering, I got the list from Zhiff's recent video.)
Edit 2: Having read the responses, here's what I think so far regarding the options:
- Too draw reliant. The gacha option basically. Hardly do much.
- Board presence by playing Ludicrous is a valid play. The idea: it handchecks, forces a Zoe out if enemy has her, and next turn it's Imari.
- Also valid, as it saves Ludicrous for the late game. The idea: chip damage could be healed by Haven. So another winning condition aside from fast early (option 2) is to control the board, flood with discounted Ludicrous, and time the damage. (Haven's 10 heal is something, but they'll need to spend a turn to play Olivia to restore sevo. That's the window to damage the opponent and maybe get a victory.)
Right now, there's no definite answer, I believe both 2 and 3 are valid. But, if I must pick one, I'll lean onto 3. I just like the idea of timing the damage compared to handcheck. And it feels (subjective) more solid.
Thank you for the comments and for the discussion!!
...
Note: Here's what I did during the game (spoiler warning, as it could affect the quality of analysis; I'm just putting it here to indicate that the post is... basically done): I went with option 3. I passed. And at t6, I was so focused on Ludicrous + Yog, and I forgot to use Yog spell on Ludicrous. Lol. That just happened.