Howdy! It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted. I’ll post some Gloomhaven updates (and maybe another guide…) soon, but I thought I would get back into the swing of things with a post about Star Realms, a game I’m still playing incessantly on my tablet.
The Gambits expansion is a tiny one, with only 9 cards, but it majorly changes the game when it’s used. Gambits aren’t ships or bases, they’re cards that remain in play and can’t be attacked, and give you some sort of bonus boost, usually via a one-time effect. For example, Political Maneuver sits in your play area until you decide to scrap it for a one-time bonus of 2 buy. These bonuses can be huge, especially at the beginning of the game. Let’s look at each one individually:
Salvage Operation is possibly the weakest of the Gambits. It allows you to take any card from your discard pile and put it on top of your deck. I consider it a weaker effect, but it can still be very powerful in certain situations. It’s nice when you buy a powerful card, have a draw card in your hand, and can get that shiny new card into play right away. So it can be powerful in the right situation, but overall it’s not that amazing.
Rise to Power is a very nice Gambit. Any Gambit that allows you to draw a card is pretty potent. Typically you would use it when you’re 1 Buy short of being able to acquire something really good. You draw, hoping to get that one extra Buy, and get the card you want. It doesn’t always work of course, but it often will. The 8 extra health (“Authority”, whatever) is just gravy. This is one I’m always happy to see.
Unlikely Alliance is one of the best Gambits. I mentioned any Gambit that allows you to draw cards is good, and this lets you draw 2 cards. It can be used for the extra Buy trick I discussed above, or it can be saved for later in the game when your deck is much more powerful, and you have the chance to draw some really good cards and have a huge turn.
Surprise Attack is just OK. You can scrap it anytime for an extra 8 attack. The best use for it is to take out an annoying enemy base in the early going, before you have enough Attack in your deck to destroy it. In fact, if the enemy does have most any base in play early it’s good to take it out ASAP with this card. The other option is to keep it for the end of the game, and use it for that last bit you need to finish off the opponent. It’s a Gambit that’s never going to be a game-changer but will come in handy.
And here we have one of the best Gambits. Smuggling Run let’s you pick up a card with a cost of 4 or less for free, which means you can get cards like Freighter, Stealth Needle, or Recycling Station as soon as turn 1 for free. And of course, you still have your Buy available, so you might be able to pick up two amazing cards right at the beginning. Once in a while this card will linger on your side because there isn’t anything worth grabbing with it, but most of the time this Gambit is going to make a big difference.
Bold Raid is sort of a cross between some of the Gambits we’ve already seen. It lets you destroy a base and draw a card. I will sometimes use it early even if the opponent doesn’t have a base just for the extra draw, if there’s something really juicy available to buy. And like Surprise Assault, it’s usually best to use it as soon as your opponent has almost any base up.
Energy Shield is probably my least favorite Gambit, although power-wise it’s not that bad. It reduces damage done to you by 1 each time you’re hit, and you can sacrifice it to draw a card. 1 damage doesn’t sound like much, but it can easily save you 10 or 15 health over the course of a game. And again you can use it to get an extra draw early and hopefully get that nifty card taunting you in the marketplace.
Frontier Fleet is another Gambit I don’t necessarily love, and it’s the only one that stays with you the whole game, since you can’t scrap it. It will generate 1 Attack for you every turn, which sometimes is handy, but overall a pretty weak effect. Definitely not a Gambit that’s going to make a big difference in the game.
And here we have it, the best Gambit in the game. Political Maneuver can be scrapped to get you 2 extra Buy. “That’s it?” you’re thinking, because it doesn’t sound like much, but that is huge. It can help you buy a crazy powerful card super early, especially when combined with a draw gambit. In theory you could get any card in the game on your first turn, including Brain World or Command Ship! That won’t happen very often, but you will definitely get to pick up some very powerful cards early on with this Gambit. And since your deck is so tiny at that point, you’ll get lots of chances to use that new toy. If you buy a powerful base like Brain World or Machine Base your opponent might not be able to get rid of it for a while, making it even more potent.
Overall I like Gambits. They’re a nice little add that mixes things up nicely. They can lead to some serious stomping though; sometimes you or your opponent will get off to such a good start using Gambit(s) that the game is essentially over as soon as it starts. There are times where I know the computer is going to win after only a turn or two because of how it started. But overall the added variety is worth the occasional curbstomping.
OK that’s it for now, thanks for reading! I’ll try to post again soon with some Gloomhaven updates.
Dan...on games! 
I totally forgot about Gambits since I haven’t played Star Realms in a hundred years. I know I’ll lose to you every time so it’s less appealing. 😉
Ha I understand! Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂
Very interesting.
I have two questions for you.
Is there a way to counter a gambit at this time? Ships and bases you can damage. Bases you can destroy directly. But it seems like a gambit, once in play is there forever unless trashed.
AAAAAAAAaaaaaages ago we had a discussion about adding new rules to a game as part of the game growth and the impact it has on power creep. Does this added set of cards, in your opinion, contribute to power creep in the game? Or is it more of a natural growth along the original lines of the game?
Its great to see another post from you. Looking forward to what you come up with in the future.
Good questions! For the first, nope there is absolutely nothing you can do to counter a gambit. It just sits there until your opponent decides to use it. No Counterspells in Star Realms 😉
I’m not sure if I would consider it “power creep” per se since it’s a new mechanic…although it definitely does make for more high-powered games. I always think of power creep as gradually (or not so gradually) increasing the power level of existing things in the game. But maybe that’s just splitting hairs, it definitely ups things in the game.
So that leaves me wondering about other expansions to the game, and if they add other new mechanics or just build on the existing ones.
Just from glancing at card galleries I think there are new mechanics. One of these days I’ll buy some more expansions and try them out.