Collectible card games are a special type of game where you’re (hopefully) left feeling like you get the win over your opponent due to having super game knowledge and experience… or, well, luck. Mechanics aren’t needed for games like Card Monsters: 3 Minute Duels, and being such means it’s imperative that you’re smarter than your opponent.
Card Monsters: 3 Minute Duels has a few core mechanics that are a little different from similar games — like Hearthstone —, and understanding them in their entirety is one of the things that’s going to determine if you’re a winner or loser in this game. Here are the main strategies that are going to help you win the most matches.
Understand Attack Priority and Movement
Playing through the tutorial, you should have quickly noticed that monsters change slots as ones placed before them die. This means that if all three slots on your board slots are filled, the monster in slot 1 dies and the monster in slot 2 shifts into slot 1. The monster in slot 3 shifts into slot 2.
Melee attackers only attack directly in front of them, while ranged attackers will prioritize targets, starting from the diagonal corner furthest away from them. Chaos attackers prioritize enemy monsters at random. Having a full understanding of your monsters’ attack priorities and movements across the board will allow you to plan ahead for each turn, having your board in a state that may be greatly advantageous in the future.
For example, rather than using Sacrifice, it may be worth it to place a chaos attacker in slot 2 (where it can’t attack) knowing that your monster in slot 1 will soon die. It may take damage after the turn in which you play it, but it’ll be in play and ahead of the “turn curve” on the turn where slot 1 dies and the chaos attacker, therefore, shifts in and is able to attack.
For a game as simple and as easy to pick up as Card Monsters: 3 Minute Duels, there’s definitely some depth to the strategy in these two mechanics of the game.
Play Melee Characters First
This goes back to understanding board slots. Your first drop of the game needs to be a melee monster or you have to consider forfeiting your turn. Forfeiting your turn will give you extra mana on your next turn, but the tempo loss suffered may already be enough to shut you out of the game.
If you don’t have a melee monster on your first turn of the game, you have the option of playing a ranged monster with the intention of replacing it with a melee monster as soon as possible. Otherwise, that monster is just going to die for free.
Think Turns Ahead
In Card Monsters: 3 Minute Duels, not only do you have to play against the immediate threats on the current turn but you need to be looking one or two turns ahead and considering the attack and health totals of the board you’re going to be against — and in what slots they’ll be placed.
For example, if you know your opponent’s monster in slot 1 will die after your turn, look at their monster in slot 3. Knowing that this monster will then shift into slot 2, the attack power of the card that you have or will play in your slot 3 needs to be able to contest it (since your slot 3, if ranged, will prioritize attacks against their slot 2).
Use Items Efficiently
A trap that many players fall into is using as much mana as is available to them on their turn just to be “efficient” with their mana pool. However, if that means you’re wasting an item card, then is that really being efficient?
For example, if your only play is to equip a +1 ranged attack item on a ranged monster that will kill the monster it’s prioritizing even without the +1 ranged attack, is it really worth it? Will it end up dying the next turn? If so, using that item card was a complete waste of resources. However, it could be worthwhile if the target it’ll prioritize next, after the first monster it’s prioritizing is dead, has higher health.
You really only want to be using your items when they guarantee a kill at the end of your turn or if they’re being placed on a monster with high health. Don’t be afraid to pass a turn if your only play is equipping an item that you don’t need. Your mana will roll over to your next turn where you may have additional options.
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At this point, you’re ready to head to the Arena and PvP against other players! Remember these tips and always keep in mind that RNG and luck are always factors in card games. The card draw mechanic forces it to be that way. Don’t get too down on yourself if games don’t go the way you expected, and practice, practice, practice! If you have any questions or comments, leave me a reply below and I’ll get back to you!
Be sure to check out our other Card Monsters: 3 Minute Duels guides:
- Card Monsters: 3 Minute Duels – Beginner’s Guide
- Card Monsters: 3 Minute Duels – Deck Building Guide
