Go On, Go For It

Carrying on my series of articles aimed at new players (I’ve previously covered tournaments for new folks and common mistakes), I thought I’d tackle ‘Going For It’ next.

What is ‘Going For It’?

When involved in a round of Melee, the engaged characters may choose to ‘Go For It’ (GFI from now on). Think of this as a character getting a sudden burst of energy, or perfect clarity over what their opponent is likely to do next.

Mechanically, this means spending 1 Energy (after the Melee Cards have been dealt and starting with the attacker) to receive 2 additional Melee Cards. Players may GFI only once, regardless of how much Energy is left. As both the attacker and defender may spend Energy in this way, GFI is one of only a handful of activities that can happen outside of an activation.

It seems like a small choice you can choose to make and for new players may feel like one thing too many to consider. However, it’s an important tool that’s truly beneficial to master (alongside techniques like understanding the moonstone drop).

Why is it so Good?

Strong Signature Moves

Starting with the most obvious reason - GFI increases your chance of playing a character’s Signature Move. There are a variety of Signature moves in Moonstone, which in turn deal more damage, move enemies, stop damage, give energy, heal wounds, and/or a variety of other weird things (like Dim and Dimmer putting someone in their lunchbox to snack on later). Trying to find just one card that can be upgraded to a Signature can be incredibly valuable, whether for attacking or defensive purposes.

For example:

“Shall we do the usual, Iris?”
“Yes, let’s.”

Trying to find as many Falling Swings as possible when playing Fancyhat will likely result in murderous upgrades on his Signature.

A desperate search for Thrusts when playing Danica will stop her taking any damage and allow her to exchange places with a nearby friendly Spirit.

Upgrading to Iris and Hellebore’s Signature on Rising Attacks will deal an eye-watering amount of damage, then let them move.

Searching for a High Guard when playing Marley will mean the opponent drops any moonstone they’re carrying before moving away.

Defending Against Signature Moves and Other Energy Suck

From a defensive perspective, you need to consider your opponent’s Signature Move - particularly when they could move you, take away Energy or do something else that would stop you attacking them again. If your tactic is to take them out, but they can stop you doing that, GFI to get more cards and do more damage in one go may be the best approach to take.

“Pwease don’t hit me…”

Similarly, if your opponent has a character like Natty with her ‘Look of Innocence’ you have to discard an Energy to target them with anything. Spending an Energy to get more cards and potentially deal more damage, rather than having to spend another Energy to attack them plus a second Energy to target them, is more economical.

Additional Information

Information is important in Moonstone, so getting more cards not only gives you more choices to make but also shows you what your opponent can’t play. For example, if you know your opponent’s Signature Move triggers on a Rising Attack and you have two in hand, even if they play it you can work out what the maximum damage would be to proceed with your own plans. Similarly, if you have two Low Guards in hand there’s less risk of them playing one so you could play your Rising Attack(s) with more chance of damage getting through.

“I’m a master swordsman! No one can best me! I… Wait, what did you just do?”

Using the Baron’s example above, his controller wants Falling Swings to trigger his Signature, while his opponent wants a High Guard to block it. With more cards and more information:

• As the Baron you can work out whether the defender will be able to stop your epic three-card Falling Swing Signature Move upgrade attack.

• As the defender, you’ll be able to see three Falling Swings in your hand and know you’re safe from a Master Strike upgrade.

You’ve Wound-Up For a Big-Swing

If you’ve charged with Hogswash, or have buffs from lots of Murder Bunnies being around (as Boris), then GFI can help you make the most of your advantages. It can be deflating to make an almighty 8 inch move (Jog then Charge) to attack a character 3 inches away (a staggering overall range of 11 inches), only to not have the right cards to land an attack with Doug’s lance. No wonder he gets gassy with that stress. GFI in this situation gives you more chances to upgrade to the Signature and more information about whether it’s possible.

Last Gasp When You’re on Low Health

If you’ve already activated a character with low health, it’s worth leaving them with an Energy so they can Reaction Step or GFI in a last ditch attempt to stay alive (unless you’re treating them as a sacrificial pawn at that stage). Alternatively, if a character hasn’t activated so has full Energy, GFI could keep them alive into their activation and/or kill off their opponent who’s trying to get a character off the board.

“You won’t like it if I poke you.”

Depending on your desired outcome, GFI would allow you to fish for a strong attack, or negating defence - potentially also triggering your Signature Move. When a character is nearly dead, GFI can have the most harmful outcome for your opponent, including taking more wounds than they planned for or simply keeping a character around for one more turn. GFI is therefore more likely to be more powerful for a near-dead character than saving Energy for their own attack.

For example, if Danica ‘Goes For It’ to search for a Thrust, she can negate all damage and move away from the character targeting her. This will leave her to survive into another round or take her turn to cause havoc elsewhere.

Is There a Time You Shouldn’t ‘Go For It’?

Absolutely, any tactical decision will need to be made in the moment and saving an Energy could be vital. Having more information or fishing for a certain card is valuable, but needs to be weighed against the value of doing something else. You need Energy to do almost anything, so it’s a resource you should spend carefully.

For example:

“I’m hungry, I wanna eats them!”
“Well I want to bonk ‘em harder!”

Is saving Energy to take a Step to then Jog away and harvest a moonstone more or less valuable than GFI? Early in the game it might be better to try and take out an opponent, while later in the game getting moonstones could be more valuable.

Should Dim & Dimmer GFI to try and use their Signature, or would it be better to use ‘Two Heads Are Better Than One’ and play two Melee cards (ultimately choosing one of the two)? Against a tricksy Faerie, trying to upgrade to a Signature so they get removed from play via his lunchbox could be better. Against a heavy melee hitter, choosing two cards to do the most damage back might be more effective.

Would it be better for the Duchess to GFI to attempt to get a Rising Attack and direct future actions away from her, or save her Energy for Arcane purposes (so she can use her ‘Succubus’ ability)? She’s low health so attempting to keep her alive might be sensible, but if you rely on her energy handling to boost another character it might be worth her taking a non-lethal hit.

When Your Opponent Draws One Card and Has Zero Energy to ‘Go For It’ Themselves

This is a strange situation so is worth exploring:

On one hand, your opponent won’t be deciding what to play as they have no choice - meaning your knowledge of them being typically aggressive or defensive won’t come into consideration. Your character will have the same number of cards against this opponent as against another, so you still have the same information about the deck as you would elsewhere. If you’re anything like me, getting more cards can sometimes lead to over-analysis and paralysis, particularly where you overthink what that one card might be.

However, GFI will make it more likely you’ll get multiples of a card which could in turn do a lot more damage. However however, holding onto Energy to attack multiple times instead might be more impactful. However however however, everything above still applies…

Eugh.

This is one situation where you’ll need to consider the best approach on a case-by-case basis. Head on over to Discord, Reddit, or Facebook to share what you’d do in this situation too as I bet there are a lot of different approaches!

“Come on darlings, let’s go for it!”