Hello everyone~ This is my first try to write on some common/uncommon cards and combos in innovation. To start with, fermentation and reformation is a very common combo in base set and even echoes, and the combos begins in age 4, which usually leads to a disasters to the game.
The basic mechanism of fermentation and reformation combos
Fermentation is not always a good card. It needs a lot of leaves in order to draw lots of cards. If you have no leaves at all, you’d better forget fermentation even you have drawn it. Once you get fermentation and a set of leaves on your board, you may start fermentation from age 2. You may continue draw and draw, and find the card reformation at age 4. You may tuck some of your cards, mostly yellow cards, in order to get more leaves for drawing. At age 4, you may get at most 16 leaves on your board, which means you can draw 8 cards per fermentation. After you set your “perfect board”, you may just keep drawing to find you best “ending card” to win. This combo is quite simple and common, but also horrible to your opponents, which all players may need to learn how to create the combo, and also counter the combo.
How to set up the best board for fermentation – before age 4
In order to set up the best board for fermentation, there is something important for setting up the board:
1. To make the board more leaves
2. To set up the best board as fast as possible, which mean to avoid useless action such as inefficient splaying
3. You may place more crowns and factories to avoid the danger of compass and gunpowder (optional)
Before you get the card reformation, you can make at most 8 leaves commonly, which can be set up by the four top cards, fermentation, clothing, pottery and codes of law. (Feudalism also do it for purple top cards, but it is better to keep drawing rather than meld feudalism at age 3, unless you want to avoid engineering) Some may try to use codes of law to splay left the green cards to make 10 leaves by adding sailing and compass. However, I consider this action as inefficient splaying, as splaying green cards left does not make contribute to your board at higher age. You may get more crowns, but no more leaves in green. Other than using one action to splaying left, drawing 3/4 cards is better.
However, in most cases, you cannot make 8 leaves on your board. So is it worth for using fermentation? Generally, it depends on how your board is formed. If you get 6 leaves, such as fermentation, clothing and also calendar, you may keep continue if you do not have other better strategy. However, if you have just 4 leaves or even less, you may forget fermentation and create some better strategy. You may use fermentation later if you get reformation by other reasons, but it is not a good idea by just drawing one or two cards at age 2 and 3 using fermentation.
How to set the best board for fermentation – after age 4
After age 4, I assume you get the card reformation, you may tuck a set of cards and splay yellow cards right to gain more leaves. To gain the maximum number of leaves, you may tuck all yellow cards with leaves contribution, which are agriculture, machinery, medicine, anatomy. If you get fermentation, clothing, pottery and reformation as your top cards now, you will have 16 leaves. I may consider this is the “best” board for fermentation, and you can trace the card bicycle, lightning or some others for the end of the game.
Some people would like to tuck a set of purple cards to gain more crowns, or meld some red cards with factories. This is protection of your board from gunpowder, compass or and others. This kind of protection is optional as these actions are protective but also slowing down your drawing. If you get these dangerous cards in your hand, you may keep drawing and forget all protection; but if you do not have these, it may be better to protect your board.
The main pitfall of the combo
I have mentioned several times about the efficiency of “fast drawing” for fermentation. It is the main pitfall of the combo. As you may see, you actually just keep drawing but not scoring at all before you get “the end of the combo”. You may find your opponents get a lot of score and achievements before you get bicycle or something like that. Therefore, that is why I keep mentioning the efficiency of drawing, as you need to find “the end of the combo” before your opponents get too many achievements.
“The end of the combo”
After you gain a lot of cards in your hand, the next question is: what to do with your bunch of cards in your hand? There are some cards which may help you to do with your cards, and I may call them as “The end of the combo”. (It may not be a very good term as you may need to keep drawing, but as my English is too poor, I cannot think a better term…)
1. Bicycle
Bicycle is the most common end of the combo. You just score all your cards at age 7 (well, the term is actually exchange) and get more than 100 score. If you do so, you can just keep drawing 8 cards per action and draw an 11 by drawing all cards.
2. Lightning
Lightning is another good card at age 7. It may not be better than bicycle, but it is more common if you want to get 6 achievements rather than draw an 11, as you will get monument by lightning but not using bicycle. To me, bicycle is usually better, but lightning is the first choice if you cannot get the card bicycle.
3. Suburbia
I may say suburbia is the second “the end of the combo”. If is commonly used after you score a bunch of cards using bicycle/lightning, and then keeping drawing for age 8 and 9. Before you draw 10s, you just use suburbia by tucking more than 10 cards and end up with draw and score an 11. However, it is dangerous to just keep drawing up to age 9 and trace for suburbia and tuck 80 cards directly, as you may face some dangerous cards at age 8 and 9, such as composites stealing all your hands.
4. Stem Cells
Well, I may consider stem cells is the worst end of the combo, as you meld a new yellow cards other than fermentation. You really score lots of cards, but generally I do not suggest using it unless you cannot find the above three cards.
5. Collaboration
Well, it is a very strange card to end the game but it is interesting to do so. You just use reformation to tuck 8 green cards from your hand, and then meld the card collaboration and win it by making 10 green cards. I have used it once only as it is very uncommon, but you may try it.
What to do if you are stopped before you get to age 7
All cards above are above age 7. If your opponent stop you from fermentation by gunpowder at age 4 or 5, then what can you do with your hand? You may get 20 – 30 cards. If you do not use some of them, it is just a waste, but how? It is quite dependent on different situations, but there are some common suggestions:
1. Currency
Many players consider currency this is a “small bicycle”. Well, at this stage, the pile 1, 2, 3, 4 or even 5 are empty. You just need to return some different values cards to score a lot of score, generally around 20 to 30, and it will help you to claim more achievements.
2. Coal
For me, it is one of the best cards at age 5, parallel to astronomy. You need to use reformation to tuck some cards, and then use coal to eat up all cards you tucked. It may be quite slow, but you can claim achievements at the same time, and you can get new top cards also by “draw and tuck a 5” by coal.
There may be something more, such as using paper to keep drawing, using canal building to score all 4s from your hand, but they are usually too specific so I do not write too many on them.
How to counter the combo
After speaking for so long, you may see how strong the combo is. For easy understanding, you draw a lot of cards before age 7 and then score all your cards above age 7. After that, the next topic would be how to counter the combo. The general concept to counter is: to beat your opponent as fast as possible. It is difficult to counter your opponent at high age, so beat them at low age!
1. Directly attack the card fermentation
It is the easiest way to counter the combo: attack the card fermentation. If someone wants to use fermentation, his board may commonly just get all leaves but nothing else. To attack the card, it can be done by several demanding action. Engineering, compass, gunpowder are the most common way to do so. There are some uncommon methods such as monotheism, cover it by sharing sailing, but it need to control the game well to do so.
2. Sharing the dogma
It is quite difficult to do, and only can be done if your opponents get 6 leaves or less. For example, if your opponent gets fermentation, clothing and calendar to get 6 leaves, you may meld agriculture and pottery to get also 6 leaves to share the dogma. It may be effective as your opponent will be afraid of you getting the card reformation, but generally it is difficult to get more leaves than your opponents.
3. Do your own things
If you do not have anything cards to break up the combo, the best solution would be just do your own things. Do not try to use dogma or demanding using leaves, as it is impossible to demand it anymore, but use other icons. What you need to do is to score as many as possible, and claim more achievements before your opponents get something very useful. Factories such as coal, canning, machine tools may help you so much. Something with crowns also help you to score a lot of score, such as canal buildings and optics, and crowns also help you to destroy your opponent board. Bulbs may not help too much, as it is quite impossible to tech up faster than your opponent. Well, democracy may help you at later stage to get the last achievements, and something like experiment help you to meld a higher card immediately.
This is the end of the article. See you guys like this style of writings. I am sorry for my poor English, but I have tried to proofread the article first. If anyone like this, I may try to write more on other cards/combos~ thanks~