Blocking Guide

## Flaemy's Blocking Guide

#### Attention!

Everything written below can be used in many ways and in many different situations. With that said, don't take everything I say to heart and try to experiment with your blocking and try to find your own style.

#### Introduction.

I’ll start by going straight to the core of the issue: Read blocking. Now, just saying that doesn’t make a lot of sense, so let me define what I’m calling “Read blocking”: Read blocking is the tactic of actively trying to predict and impede all of the opponent’s cards. It’s the most intuitive kind, the kind most people gravitate to at the start, and the reason I go straight to this kind when talking block is so I can get this question out of the way:

“But what if I just block?”

Yes, if you can perfectly block every time, that’s clearly the best strategy. One of the best things about Chroma Chronicles is that if you block well enough any game is winnable.

But if you’re like me and can’t block like a god, I have some other options for you.

#### First, a little more on Read blocking:

##### ·        When should I use Read blocking?

The most obvious one is, do it when you have no option. Let’s say you have 12 HP and it’s your opponents turn, you can’t afford to get hit, and therefore you’re forced into attempting a Read block.

Another situation would be when you can afford to. That’s a little weird to say, but if it’s the start of the game, you’re both full HP, you played 2 rounds already, maybe you have an idea of their pattern. Unless there’s a very specific threat (more on that later), you should probably try to Read block. Like I mentioned before, whenever you pull it off, it’s by far the best strategy.

A less common situation is when there are simply too many threats to use the other options. It’ll be more clear once you’ve learned the other options, but to paint a picture, let’s say you’re against Klay, he’s Tempered 3 cards into Diamond, plus he’s got Fireballs and Temper in hand. A pretty tough situation, but you don’t want any of those cards to hit. You could try to eliminate one by one by Target blocking – which we’ll get to soon – but by then you’ll be dead or in too rough a spot. Again, you’re forced into a Read block.

##### ·        Why not use Read blocking?

By now I gave you many examples of why Read blocking is good, in fact I probably only gave good examples of Read blocking, that’s because Read block’s only fault is… you. Yes, you. If you miss it, it has the chances of being catastrophic. Unlike the other strategies, Read blocking is dependent on whether or not you guessed your opponent’s pattern correctly. It’s how you completely win games on round one, it’s how you come back from 100 HP leads, but it’s also how you guess wrong and lose 150 HP against a fully stacked Warrior.

The other strategies are used mostly as safety nets, like I said in the beginning, for people like me who aren’t that good at it.

##### ·        How do I Read block?

Well, honestly, I’ve made it clear this is not my best strategy and I’d urge you to ask one of the more adept at this, that being said... I’ll still try to answer that. Most players have patterns of how they like to play their cards, some might try the most efficient play, while other might think of that play and mix up the cards a little. While other might even try the least efficient play to just hit chip damage. Try to pick up on which position they like to play their colors, and how greedily they play (as in how close to best play they gravitate to), and most important go with your gut. Read blocking isn’t all about considerate thinking, but it has to do with your feel of the opponent.

#### I’ll now move on to another type of blocking: Smart block.

What I’m calling Smart block is the act of blocking for the most efficient strategy of your opponent. Once you learn how to study your opponent’s deck, what the cards do and analyze their revealed hand, you probably will try to Smart block naturally, but there’s still some theory on it that you should be aware of when playing.

##### ·        Niche type of blocking:

The main issue with Smart blocking is how few time you’ll actually use it. In a game where your plays’ efficiency is dependent on the opponent’s inefficiency, playing the best possible play will be unlikely to work. It’s a difficult mindset to get into when compared to other card-based games. If you play the best possible move every time, soon the opponent will catch up and you won’t be able to hit; similarly, if you block the best possible play every time, you’ll soon block nothing.

##### ·        So when should you use it?

Well, in a game so varied as Chroma Chronicles, nearly every kind of blocking has its place in some point or another. I recommend Smart blocking in 2 main situations: firstly, when you’re facing an unknown player. When you’re facing a brand new opponent with no idea of their habits or inclinations, blocking the best play is a safe way to minimize their attack. Keep in mind that even they don’t play the best one, sometimes the color will simply coincide and you’ll still get 1 or 2 blocks off.

Secondly, similarly to Target blocking, which we’ll get to later, sometimes in game you’ll find yourself in a big advantage, basically won the game… unless THAT card hits, or unless THAT sequence hits. When that happens, Smart blocking is best. You not only don’t have to, but you shouldn’t block for the entire thing when all you need to do is prevent them from getting a specific combo in. If you read block in this situation, sometimes you might get it right and succeed, but when you miss… it’s safer to just guarantee the win.

##### ·        So Smart blocking is Target blocking?

Well, no. I’ll use this section to clarify something, these block categories are generalizations of patterns, they’ll in time and often overlap. You’ll Read that your opponent is playing the most efficient play and Smart block it. You’ll notice that the best play overlaps with the Target blocking. This guide is not a static, “you should play like this” guide, but a “this is a viable way of thinking” guide. My goal is to give you tools to adapt and actively think about the game. Thinking is the best play.

For the curious ones, I’ll finally get to Target blocking now. Also known as Triple blocking and a fan favorite. Lots of people, including but not limited to the CEO of the game Albert “BoxBox” Zheng, primarily block with this. When it was first “discovered” it spread quickly from how easy it is to use.

#### Just block a single color. That’s it, that’s the strategy.

Okay, now for some more nuance about this cause as a Jade main I use this a lot on end rounds and it can be scary.

##### ·        Blocking one color.

Blocking a single color might sound a bit weird, you might not block anything, you might block just one card, shouldn’t I at least use the 2-1 block? Short answer, no. Long answer, sometimes. Like I said in the earlier section, everything here is flexible and relative. Target blocking is the safer way of blocking, weird as its sounds.

Blocking a single color will most of the time get you 1 to 2 blocks, even 3 in some situations. It’s arguable that you’d rather guarantee that percentage than take your chance in Read blocking, but I’ll insist again that doing any of these repeatedly will get you in trouble, you should ALWAYS vary. Being predictable in Chroma Chronicles is deadly.

The way to think about Target blocking is: Order doesn’t matter. When you mix up the colors, you might get the combination right but the order wrong. When that happens, getting the order wrong will fail 2 blocks, as they were switched. But when you block all the same color, you remove that variable. It’s a high block floor and a low block ceiling. By that I mean you’ll very often get SOME value out of Triple blocking, but very rarely get maximum value.

##### ·        Alright, so when do you use it?

Honestly, you can use it at any time. You can argue that Target blocking at the first round of a new match is best, guarantee you hit that one card you’re scared of, or at the very least get one block off an unknown opponent. When you’re unsure of what to block, you can always default to the safer block.

But there are situations where it’s BEST to use this. Or at least most valuable to use this, as I’ll insist once more that flexibility is key to this game.

I’ll give you a very extreme picture to illustrate: you’re facing Luna, she’s got a Diamond Summon: Dust Bunny in hand, along with 3 bronze cards on her deck, of varied colors. Now, you COULD try to Read block and save chip damage, and if get it right it’s going to be valuable, removing cards, forcing a reload, saving HP, but... if you miss and the Bunny goes through… it’s a rough spot. Possibly game losing. In this situation, you get a high value of Target blocking the Bunny. If you block all blue, you’ll take the Bronze damage, but you’ll always prevent the game winning card.

##### ·        Are there other situations?

Yes, there are many situations you want to Target block. I picked this name to be intuitive, you block when you want to target a card your opponent wants to play. Maybe you’re a Jade with Sinister Suppliers about to trigger and your opponent has a Screwdriver, you’ll probably want to block that. As a Jade main I explained at the start that I use this a lot at the endgame, that’s because Jade is a combo based character and there’s a lot of disruption available. You’ll often find yourself in a situation where you have to get the Thug’s Club out of hand, then the Screwdriver, then the Curse… it’s a pain, but you’ll have to do that carefully.

But if you’re one of those crazy people who hate Jade, I’ll give you another example. You’re facing Jade, she has Stampede and 4 green cards on her deck. All her other cards are silver. There’s no reason to not block green here, it’s her whole win condition.

Another one? Sure. You’re facing Klay, he’s got Golden Halberd and Diamond Short Sword in hand, along with 2 unknown cards. You might want to block red there.

There are countless situations where a Target block, or Triple block, is good.

##### ·        Alright, I like this one, but now I’ll have to tell you when it’s bad.

When you can’t afford to. If you’re on 10 HP and facing down a hand with multiple colors, blocking a single color is obviously getting you killed. This strategy reduces damage taken, but rarely nullifies it, and often you’ll find yourself in a spot where you simply can’t afford to let multiple colors get through.

Maybe the enemy Klay has Diamond Fireball and Diamond Klaymore. Maybe the Luna has Bunny and Ancient Spellbook, but also a Diamond Salamander, so blocking only blue would guarantee a high damage hit for her.

And when you’ve Triple blocked the whole battle. Like I said, flexibility is key, I’d argue that throwing in other kinds of blocking simply to let your opponent know you can do that too has long term gains.

#### 2-1 Block.

The last type of block I’ll mention is what I’m calling 2-1 Block, for lack of better term (blame my imagination). It’s a very simple but hard to explain kind of block. It’s hard cause… when do you use it? When is the best time to use a 2-1 Block?

The 2-1 Block is most common during the midsection of the rounds, when you’re starting to catch on to the opponent’s quirks, but you’re not quite sure the order. It’s a type of block were you’re midway through Read blocking and Target blocking, or midway through Smart blocking and Target blocking. It’s a bit of a Frankenstein block.

It’s easier shown with an example. A very simple one. The opponent has a Diamond Halberd. In that situation you’re very incentivizes to play red on first. It’s that simple. You want to block more stuff, but you feel obligated to block red on first, so you’ll gravitate – sometimes – to the 2-1 Block, maybe the opponent has a strong Follow-up, so you’ll block something like Red-Blue-Blue.

I’m not making multiple sections for this one because it’s… a very “in the moment” block. When you have to do a 2-1 Block, you’ll notice by simply be doing it. It’s a block that comes up when the game pushes you to it, or when you understand the others well.

#### Final Thoughts.

For my final thoughts, I want to hit on some core information again. Those are all tools to assist in your thought process during the game, and off of it, I urge you to take this information as a support at the back of your mind rather than actively trying to decide which type of block to use in game. Ideally you’ll learn to quickly recognize your situation and naturally gravitate to one of the blocks, or a variation of them.

This is an analytical and theoretical guide, not a “how to play” guide, and all the information here, though I tried to be objective, is disputable. Those type of blocks do exist, but the situations are arguable, the main argument being “what if I just block”.

There are more types of block, and variations of the blocks here introduced, but should I explain all combinations this, already pretty long guide, would be endless. The best way to understand is play, play and think about the plays.

Thank you for your time and good luck on your journey!