Tempo Advantage
This is a board state form a game I recently played against Andy.
I’m blue, Andy is red. It’s my turn.
Andy raced up the left side filling Fireblast, with a goal of claiming Bewitch + the neutral mana – a powerful 2-spell combination along with a stone advantage from the neutral mana.
One plan I could have pursued would have been to race to the neutral mana and engage Andy in a pushing match over Bewitch. Unfortunately, Fireblast is a perfect counter for that plan – as it could easily give Andy a stone advantage once we’re in close combat.
The plan I opted for instead was to fill Carnage, and then use Seal of Wind to move my stones into close combat with Andy’s stones. This plan is a powerful counter to Fireblast as Carnage would allow me to steal the spell from Andy before he could fire it off advantageously.
The flaw is that Andy has a tempo advantage.
That is, Andy is two turns away from filling and casting Bewitch with a mana advantage (note that on his next turn he can cast the 1-node spell Sprout). Or he could even dash and cast Bewitch on his next turn.
I’m three turns away from executing my plan of Seal of Wind + Carnage (two turns to fill Seal of Wind + a turn to drop a stone in Andy’s territory). Or, I could dash and execute my plan in two turns.
Andy has a tempo advantage because he has fewer moves to make in order to execute his plan. In short, he is winning the race.
Counting
Depending on the board state, figuring out who has tempo can be easy or difficult. At its base it comes down to counting the number of turns each player needs in order to execute a given sequence or plan.
Whoever is closest to executing their plan has a tempo advantage.
Where things can become complicated is in understanding what both your and your opponent’s plans are – what spells and positioning you are trying to gain.
I recommend checking out last week’s article on making a plan for a more in depth look at figuring out your and your opponent’s paths to victory.
Gaining Tempo
Tempo isn’t static across a game of Sigil. One player may cast a spell, losing tempo but gaining a strategic or stone advantage. Plans can pivot. A fight over tempo can be central to the outcome of a game.
And, there are some ways that you can impact tempo – either gaining it for yourself, or forcing your opponent to squander their position.
Dashing: Dashing allows you to accelerate your plan by a turn. Of course, you must be cautious to dash only for a material advantage as dashing puts you down a stone. A great example is when you have a single stone in a 3-node spell. Assuming you have the stones to spare, you can threaten a dash into casting the spell.
Dead nodes: Not all nodes are created equal. Pushing, or forcing your opponent’s stones into nodes that don’t further there plan is a great way to gain tempo. This usually means void nodes (those not in a spell), or nodes in a locked spell. This is especially the case when you are fighting over a spell with your opponent – always be conscious of what spells are being back-filled as they can help you gain or lose tempo (especially 1-node spells like Slash, or powerful 3-node spells like Fireblast).
Force a reaction: One of my favorite ways to gain tempo is to force a reaction out of my opponent. This can be done by attacking into your opponent’s territory, expanding into a dangerous spell, or threatening to surround a group of your opponent’s stones.
Spells like Fireblast and Hail Storm are especially powerful when uncast but filled. By attacking your opponent’s territory, or expanding into a dangerous spell (respectively), you may be able to force your opponent to fire off either spell prematurely. In some cases this will even cost you a stone advantage to gain a tempo advantage.
Problem of the Week
Let’s take another look at my and Andy’s game, but rewind it by a couple of turns. You are blue and it is your turn. How do you gain tempo?
Let us know your play in the comments, and click the below button for potential solutions.
Option 2: Use Comet instead of Seal of Wind to get a stone into red’s territory. Casting Comet will put you down a stone, but will give you a tempo advantage and allow you to attack red’s mana and Fireblast directly.
