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Marching column is a common action, one of the new formations they
introduced in Hidden City. A reserve formation [which doesn't mean
anything yet, but might in the future], it is formed by having 3
Samurai
personalities, 3 Bushi personalities, or any combination of those.
However, this one has the additional trait that the Defender can form
this if he qualifies with all assigned units, and he can play this at
any
province, even if he had no presence. As a battle action, the player
can
then move a unit with less than 2 followers into the battle from an
adjacent province.
This formation will probably be ignored by most players due simply to
the fact that it is common. This may seem strange, but in a set with
so
many powerful rares, a useful common will be ignored because it is so
common. People see so many copies, they overlook how powerful it can
be.
I did too, until I lost a game with a very new player [less than a
month], simply because "he didn't know better", and used a card he
liked.
Yeah, he liked my not even suspecting what he was going to do, or what
he was going to play.
One thing I have often seen people do is open a pack, and go straight
to
the rare, ignoring all the other cards in the pack, sometimes even just
tossing them away. I have even caught myself doing that. If you find
yourself doing that, how about next time you stop and look at all the
other cards too. Stop with each one and think about how this might fit
into one of your decks. Obviously it will not always fit one of your
decks, but instead of skipping over all of them, try that.
Marching Column allows for more flexibility about assigning your
personalities. How so? If you have 4 provinces, assign your
personalities to the middle provinces, and you can use this for
tactical
flexibility. If you have 3 provinces [you listening Ratling players?],
assign all your units to the middle, and this acts like a Strategic
Crossroads that can't be destroyed.
This can be used offensively, but is much better as a defensive card.
It is also much better [i.e. useable] if you use Bushi and Samurai
personalities. It is also better for decks which do not use lots of
followers, perhaps item decks, or big force follower or personality
decks. Just a thought.
As I mentioned, it can be used offensively. If you assign two armies,
and he only defends one of the provinces, you can use this as an
additional Strategic Crossroads. Playing with 3 SC is good, how about
playing with 6? Yes it is more limited, but it also can't be destroyed
by your opponent. It won't move units in from your home, only other
provinces. And they do have to have less than 2 followers [i.e. one or
none], but it is still a good card to keep in mind when constructing
your
next deck.
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