Hi all!

My SO and I picked up the game recently and love it. I have a strong background in card games, so a lot of the concepts come naturally. She does not have the background, but is wicked smart and is picking it up quickly. With that said, she is getting discouraged because she does not have the skill yet to see how she is doing. My word only means so much. So, what I have decided was to make an almost "achievement" list for her to use to help her measure tangible results. Shes a QA at a tech company, so data is vastly important to her. As I am still learning the game myself, I am asking if there are any concepts you all can think of that I should include? So of the things I was thinking about was "successfully remember to ask your opponents hand size vs your own once a round" or "reading every ability of cards in play every conflict" or something like that. The goal isnt speed: the goal is helping to train good habits and helping her learn to evaluate good play based on more than just winning or losing vs someone who has way more experience than her.

Thanks!

I'm not sure how to translate these to some sort of "achievements list" but here are some tips I would want to share - just thinking about these at the right times during a game will help your play.

1) How many cards are in your opponent's hand, and how much fate do they have. Most clan cards will come with a cost, and seeing your opponent is without fate or has no cards in hand lets you recognize the total of their strength present.

2) What effects have they played? When you are in a conflict consider what might be in their deck, and then consider what they've played. Did they already drop 2 banzai? Did they already play a lot of POL actions last turn? In L5R playing down a lot of one type of conflict can leave a player drained if those cards aren't still on the table.

3) Do you need honor? Will you actually honor your opponent out? Honor is a resource. You don't want to lose the game with dishonor, but having 20 honor at the end of the game doesn't matter any more than having 1.

4) Play conservative - when there is a conflict count how many cards you've played vs your opponent, and how much fate you've spent vs your opponent. If you can get your opponent to play more cards or more fate and still not break a province, then you're coming out ahead. Likewise realize that if you need to play several cards to try to win a conflict it might be best to take the loss and come back when the opportunity is better.

5) Recognize the priority of which actions to take. If you have a character with an action to gain +2MIL, a stronghold that can give +1MIL, a Banzai in hand and a Fine Katana - which order do you play these in and why?

The point here is to recognize the durability of a boost, and the cost of it. Bowing your SH can be done each turn, but you can only play so many Fine Katana. A Banzai boost expires at the end of the turn, but a Katana sticks around. If you have 2 characters in a conflict you want to play the Katana on the one with fate if possible so the katana can be used again. There is a bit to consider here, so there isn't always an absolutely correct answer, but considering this can really help optimize play.

I'm an audio person, so rather than trying to explain my awkward method of deckbuilding in post, I'm going to recommend Team Covenant's deckbuilding videos.

And then, once you've played around with it:

They run through the basics really well. It may not help your specific situation as much as help your overall deck building, which may be of more value in the long run.

Would probably be good to include a mental check of "What cards could my opponent have in hand that would affect this conflict, and have I seen any of them played already?" and "How much mil/pol buff am I planning on or willing to commit to this attack/defense," for important conflicts. Winging it will only work if you're lucky, so when she's ready to up her game, those are two good things to plan ahead for.

And also perhaps, "What will the board look like next turn/in two turns?" What characters will be gone, and how much fate is available to buy new characters. Are you going into a fate or board disadvantage?

Edit: Also one I keep forgetting myself: "Remembering who has imperial favor for relevant conflicts."