Let’s Talk Shop! – Pt. 2 – Lines of Play and Memorization

Why hello again! Glad to see you back so soon for my second installation of “Let’s Talk Shop!”, a New Player Guide where we go over a lot of the bare basics to improving your skills in the ring. Today’s biggest topic will be understanding board state and making the most effective choices from hand to play, prior to this we will go over a couple memorization tips in an effort to make you all efficient card counters! (A completely legal skill in Supershow!) 

Our very first lesson today is taking a couple moments to familiarize ourselves with each set of cards you will find in a deck! 

• 1-3 : The first three cards in the deck are most commonly associated with Stops that counter Leads. There are also turn roll boosters and draw engines on these cards. 
• 4-6 : This set of cards are commonly associated with Stops that counter Follow Ups. The biggest thing to remember is that Apocalypse is on 4 (If you are afraid of your board blowing up you don’t want to play follow up grapples). Rejected is on 5 (If you are focused on spotlights in the discard or excel in a deck out scenario you want to avoid playing follow up submissions). Derailed is on 6 (If you have hand and board advantage Derailed will break the stalemate, if you know your opponent is running one avoid playing follow up strikes. Outside of usual stops this set also contains the “One Handed Bulldog” line which players may be running offensively, corresponding with their respective 10 stat; although these are not typically cards you need to memorize.
• 7-9 : This set of cards is commonly associated with meshing with the core mechanics of the competitor choice. Any effect could be on this slot. 
• 10-12 : This set of cards is commonly associated with meshing with an opponents deck theory. These cards often times fix problem areas in a deck, and are typically effect-less without another card in play.
• 13-15 : This set of cards is commonly associated with Skill Stops, and are one of the more important lines to memorize. Players will often run two to three of these cards associated with their 10, 9 and 8 stat. Remember that Power/Grapple, Agility/Strike, and Technique/Submission all share respective slots, so if you see a Power 10, Grapple 8, they will very likely be short a stop on this slot; creating an opening. 
• 16-18 : This set of cards are commonly regarded as the worst slot to fill in a deck, and are often bereft with staples. You will typically see a “Superkick” or “Steel City Showdown” line littered throughout these slots because they are some of the best.
• 19-21 : This set of cards are usually filled with what the community calls a “See 1 Stop 1” or stops that see a card type in play and can stop the second card of that type to come onto board. Players often time play around these by trying to leave one slot wide open to further thread a finish. If they aren’t running a See 1 Stop 1, then they are running what the community refers to as “Toolbox” cards or cards that shut off a certain game mechanic for the opponent. 
• 22-24 : This set of cards is similar to 7-9 and will mesh with the core mechanics of the competitor choice. Any effect could be on this slot.   
• 25-27 : This set of cards is the last set of cards and they are associated with being “Stop Any’s” or Stops that have powerful effects when played. They are your defacto “Best Stop” in a deck. 

• Because a hand typically only holds 10 cards, and a deck can contain somewhere in the ballpark of 15 stops, there has to be a give somewhere. Prioritize your stops in this order if it comes to a defensive “holding” situation. Active 13-15’s, 25-27, 19-21, 4-6, 1-3, Inactive 13-15’s. If your opponent has abandoned a line of play you should consider ditching at least 1 of the active “big boy” stops, in favor of offensive plays. 
• If a competitor is known for having a certain “Spotlight Finish” that gives them considerable boosts you typically don’t need to hold as many answers in your hand for said stop, because the chance of it recurring is logically lower.
• Decks that chain turns to an alarming degree through turn roll boosting (Ex. Nightmare King) often do not require a hyper defensive strategy; in these matchups you only need to usually stop the most important cards. (The Finishes) You should typically try to maximize the value on the turns you do get, by understanding the numbers they have in play; in relation to stat advantages you may have on the competitor. An offensive Rejected or Apocalypse at the right time can absolutely gimp these characters. 
• Because your hand can only hold 10 cards, you should generally try to keep 1-3 cards that are more likely to hit. Should you come to a scenario where you are ditching for handsize, there is no advantageous reason to keep 3 finishes the opponent can stop realistically given board state; throw one of them away!
• You should always value and respect a Decked Out scenario. Depending on your deck build a “Pass and Bury” can be both a godsend and your worst nightmare. 
• Don’t forget your spectacles! Just because Taunt and Advise from the Sidelines are the most common spectacles used on both Valiant and Newman doesn’t mean the others don’t exist! Is the opponent trying to top-deck a card? See if Cornbread is applicable. Is Pretzel Wizard chaining Brezel Bomb? Maybe you let it resolve and use Thunderous Support From to help you break out!

Now let’s mix and match all this wonderful information together and go over the stages of gameplay and what is considered appropriate lines of play in these stages. 

1. Stage 1 – The Beginning of the Game: Both players typically have access to a low portion of their deck, and information is purely inferred in this scenario. You can make an educated guess to cards the opponent may be playing, such as if you are against a keyword competitor you can typically know a portion of their deck before a single card is played. The appropriate line of play in a neutral state is to just keep slinging cards back and forth, while stockpiling important stops. Try to not mix and match your card types too much or you risk walling yourself in the early game. Forcing an opponent to find one line of answers while clogging their hand with others you never intend on throwing hedges the numbers in your favor early game. Should you be on the defensive because the opponent has a massive lead in the beginning be wary of the cards you are going to play and especially don’t mix and match your plays because the gap may get larger and insurmountable. If you have turn and board advantage, try to reach Stage 2 or 3 as fast as possible. 
2. Stage 2 – Hunt For The Finish: We have survived to the mid game. Our hand is healthy, we have a couple answers here and there. It’s time to find a Finish; and subsequently find a way to recur said Finish. Observe the stops that are showing and apply it to the math you made comparing your competitors stat lines, and start making a gameplan to focus one Finish. Providing we can afford the opponent breaking out and recover appropriately we are going for the Pin. Otherwise continue searching for your key pieces, or the cards that are more likely to land. If you are stuck in Stage 1 and your opponent has entered Stage 2, consider utilizing a spectacle to bounce back into the game. 
3. Stage 3 – Just Need The Pin: This is the late game, we have easy access to every card we care about, we have an easily recoverable board state if the opponent breaks out, or the next finish is definitely going to end the game, and we’re more likely to land it! But the game’s not over yet. Keep up the pressure, don’t lose your advantage. Often times Stage 3 is best observed as having the luxury of “Jamming” a finish. Which is where you pass and bury the same finish until it hits. The reason Rejected is a meta-defining card is it can single handedly remove a player from Stage 3. If your opponent is in Stage 3 and you are still in Stage 1 it’s a miracle that you have survived. 

• If your opponent is a Goliath you should almost never play a Submission. The best way to counter Colossal Smash is to never play into it.
• If your opponent is an Assassin you should never play a second Grapple, unless your gimmick doesn’t matter to you. 
• If your opponent has offensively played their expensive stops to try to force board advantage recalculate what cards are best to play. 
• If your hand holds inexpensive stops, and the logical time to stop Leads or Follow Ups have passed, consider playing a stop to thin your deck and get you closer to stage 2. 
• Never hold 3 finishes in Stage 2 or 3. You can realistically create an opening for 1 or 2 finishes in a match. The third finish is dead weight until the opponent abandons cards relating to that third finish, then re-evaluate. 
• Learn to play your opponents cards. If you know your opponent is running Apocalypse and the board is looking dire, consider playing into it on purpose to reset game state. Either your card effect lands and you benefit, or their card effect lands and you benefit. 
• If your opponent has a Champion of Kickstarter you can assume they have a lead Kick in deck. Your 3 is less valuable by proxy in hand. 
• If your opponent is attempting to count out, re-evaluate cards left in their hand, abuse this information to race them; or utilize a well timed rejected and ruin their plan. 
• Stops in a Steel Cage match are typically useless, outside of advancing board. As long as you have one answer for each Finish your goal should always be counting out first. 
• If stopping a card leaves the opponent in a more advantageous point than letting it resolve, just let the card resolve. 
• If you don’t know the opponents cards in hands consider baiting it with a similar slot. (Example you want to play your 22 but it is very likely they have an answer, bait it with your 16.)
• Do not be afraid to Pass and Bury. If playing into a for sure death scenario is your only scenario, you may as well bury a card and hope the dice chain some shenanigans. Don’t help your opponent pin you. 
• Vice versa, don’t get too comfortable passing and burying. Keep the cards running through your head, there’s a line of play somewhere that doesn’t require Vegas-level luck. 
• When you’re in a Ring of Fire match take your time. Decking out is easier than it looks. Don’t play unnecessary deck progression. 
• If your opponent has access to an If Stopped card they are likely holding onto it as one of their force options. 
• If your opponent has access to an unstoppable they are likely trying to force the scenario that turns it on. 
• Don’t be afraid of not being prepared for a weapon stipulation. Almost no one is. In the rare case someone tooled completely for a weapon stipulation is across from you then it is likely the stipulation was already a part of the entire tourney, or advertised as a primary meter on multiple rounds. In this case, you probably should have teched. 
• When in a Psycho Circus meter the most “efficient” cards to take are stops on 1-3. The cards that will take you the furthest are your highest active skill stop, and then your two remaining stops from 25-27. The most “Florida Aggro” you can pick is Schoolboy, Slam Suplex Head Breaker Drop, and Tornado Chin Takedown. 
• When against a Snake Pitt sometimes it is okay to just throw a card onto board. Keeping your handsize under 7, and more importantly under Snake Pitt is usually priority 1. Never throw away your 3, the Snake is hungry and he will Bite. 

To finally add an ending to this long article. I’d just like to thank you for joining me on this addition to the New Players Guide! The next session we’ll be covering the nuance of “hitting” a card, and how the terms hit, put into play, and hit a stop differ wildly. Likely to be a far shorter and easier article to write!