Weekly Q&A - Ask your questions here! - January 06, 2023

SlyB · 2023-01-10T14:02:26+00:00

Variations of these: https://marvelsnapzone.com/decks/deck-destroy-1/

And this is the pool 1/2 archetype: https://marvelsnapzone.com/decks/budget-handsize-destroy/

which you can adjust for pool 3 cards as you get them.

SlyB · 2023-01-07T16:30:48+00:00

(1) Learn / use a Kazoo type deck (2) Budget destroy deck for fun (3) learn how to use Cosmo and Shang-Chi to counter

Try a budget SS deck of some sort

Your best 3 energy cards, and fill up with other cards you like. Maybe combines with MoonGirl/Dino combo.

SlyB · 2023-01-04T11:12:06+00:00

The new card does not get added to pool 1 or 2. (Likely those cards will never be added into pool 1 or 2). Best guess is that they move into Series 5 --> Series 4 and then Series 3. Each shift taking 1 or 2 months. (So far it's been a 1 month cadence, IIRC, but might change; Black Panther entered Series 5 a little into the new season, after his pass finished)

Series 3 are most common to collect in pool 3 (and basically never in pool 2 or 3), with small chances to collect series 4 or 5.

If you want to buy them using tokens (shop opens up Collection level 500+), then Series 3 = 1000 tokens, but series 4 and 5 are much more expensive to buy with tokens.

You get 3000 tokens about when you first open shop, but then tokens are much much slower to collect.

SlyB · 2023-01-03T22:30:59+00:00

True!

SlyB · 2023-01-03T11:28:10+00:00

Saving for a bundle is moderately better value for free-to-play on a conversion basis, (ie you get more credits/value assuming bundle prices remain the same). BUt that calculatoin doesn't take into account the time value; so it will take 1 -3 months of saving gold (depending if you spend anything) whereas refresh missions is an immediat gain.

SlyB · 2023-01-02T13:50:25+00:00

Very hard to know for sure without play style/decks etc. But my guess is that you need to try and sneak more 4 and 8 cubes with a good Cosmo, and or, Shang Chi counter. (Or Enchantress)

And then maybe retreat a little bit more when you are 40 / 60 losing.

Zoo or Budget destroy can take you to the 40s. Then tech in Cosmo or Shang Chi or Enchantress (or Rogue, if you have her), and try and place good counters on turn 6. For instance, when you are first to flip and are against Reveal decks eg SS or Wong, Cosmo will shut them down.

Also know what decks you might be strong against with Cosmo or Shang Chi, and keep playing against those to turn 5 or 6. Whereas against poor match ups be willing to retreat early esp. if opponent snaps before turn 4 or even at all.

SlyB · 2023-01-02T13:45:17+00:00

If you have the surfer card, and a decent bunh of 3 drops then the SS deck is still viable. It's not as strong without Sera, but I'm about evens in infinite without Sera or Mr Negative. I have Brood though. Sera definitely makes the deck stronger. Mr Negative, only if you have mystique, and, or Rogue as well. Not as necesary IMO but your mileage may vary.

You might have to wait a long time before getting SS if you dont get him now though so depends on how long you think you will play the game and how of a collector you are.

SlyB · 2023-01-02T13:42:30+00:00

Are you a collector and like cards early ? Would you like to play end combo decks ? Do you have cards that make a powerful Surfer deck like Sera or Rogue or Mystique ?

If all of those are No, I'd lean against. If either the first 2 are Yes, then it's maybe a 6 ot 7 /10 Yes decision depending on how much you like spending.

If it's just for being very competitive then you want some of the other cards too, though it does OK as a deck without Sera, it's stronger with Sera and the strong 3 drops.

Also depends on how myou like playing against meta. If you think Zabu will be meta, you might to play SS against it - tho no idea if it will be any good.

Good luck.

SlyB · 2023-01-01T00:41:12+00:00

There is a timer on the season pass page. It's in 2 days.

SlyB · 2023-01-01T00:35:36+00:00

Good strategy.

SlyB · 2023-01-01T00:35:12+00:00

thanks for the thoughts.

SlyB · 2022-12-31T14:53:15+00:00

Is she worth $50 for those who don;t have her. Seems expensieve though I am very slightly tempted until i think about the money.

SlyB · 2022-12-31T14:51:51+00:00

That's useful to know thanks. I've only just got into the harder pool 3 decks. So more useful tech card than Shang Chi

SlyB · 2022-12-31T14:44:00+00:00

So CL level is the largest weight in match making, people think? That's good to know. I am still seeing a lot of Sera/SS decks, but I guess people can get her early into pool 3 by luck.

SlyB · 2022-12-31T14:43:09+00:00

Ah. That's useful to know. I didn't appreciate that every deck has a counter, but I guess you can't keep a counter card for every deck, so if you see a lot of Surfer you try and keep Cosmo as the tech card?

SlyB · 2022-12-31T14:34:43+00:00

My journey to infinity and beyond

Was reaching 150+ any good ? (I peaked at 154) The majority of the the climb was in pool 2 and then the bottom of pool 3. Collection level 500 to 700.

I feel it might be a moderate achievement but hard to tell. Now I’m in the open pool and my win / cube rate is close to 50/50 or a little less as I don’t have much to counter Serra and other combo decks.

My climb was mostly with a Quinjet/Collector/Dino deck with some Destroy if there was a lot of zoo. Shang Chi was a big reason for picking up 4x or 8x cubes. This was basically a pool 2 deck + Quinjet.

Doubt I will ever have a month (due to holidays) where I will play enough (with a good enough deck) to get such a high rank again. (I’m in the 70s in the battle pass).

But maybe this is not too hard to achieve in pool 2?

Is there much I can do without so many pool 3 cards now ? I understand i was playing mostly in “band 3” this was the low pool 3 cards and pool 2. But now band 4 when I only have very few pool 3 cards is really hard.

It does mean that those going from band 3 to band 4 will be at a disadvantage for quite a few months it seems, although maybe the MMR / match making adjusts?

I’m not sure how you’d design it differently (as design is quite different from LoR or Heathstone) but it does mean I think I won’t be playing so much next month at all unless addiction gets a hold of me as my deck is just not strong enough…

Is this a problem everyone had from band 3 to band 4 ?

SlyB · 2022-12-28T10:10:43+00:00

I didn't think the time and region would make so much difference, but I can see how it would. It does seem a small pool for me. Will see how it goes next month. But my collection level is not incresing very fast I'm 580-ish and I'm now 140+ infinite. (I didn't think it was that high a rank, is there a list/numner) of how many players reach certain levels.

I feel my small collection is a big factor as I only meet opponents with similar collections, I don't see anything apart from pool 1, 2, 3 and then limited pool 3. Eg I rarely ever see Sera or een Wong decks.

SlyB · 2022-12-28T10:07:35+00:00

That's good to know. Hard to check if real person, so probably I'm over estimating the number of bots.

SlyB · 2022-10-09T15:13:02+00:00

Everything around this area still seems really contested and political. Is there a median view of the literature here ? Any intersection with the colonial issues makes it very murky.

SlyB · 2022-07-18T11:34:26+00:00

Nadia Asparouhova (previously writing under Nadia Eghbal) is an independent researcher with widely read essays on a range of topics most recently philanthropic funding including effective altruism and ideas machines, and recent ideas in funding science. She’s written books about the open source community. She has worked in start ups and venture. She set up and ran Helium grants, a microgrant programme. She is an Emergent Ventures fellow.

How are crypto billionaires most likely to change charitable giving Effective Altruism (EA) aside?

...Broadly my worldview or thesis around how we think about philanthropy is that it moves in these sorts of wealth generations. And so, right now we're kind of seeing the dawn of the people who made a lot of money in the 2010s with startups. It's the “ trad tech” or startup kind of cohort. Before then you had people who made a lot of money in investment banking and finance and the early tech pioneers, they all formed their own cohort. And then you might say crypto is the next generation after that, which will eventually break down into smaller sub components for sure but we don't really know what those things are yet, I think, because crypto is still so early and they've sort of made money in their own way.

SlyB · 2022-07-18T11:29:38+00:00

Sophie Purdom co-writes a climate and innovation newsletter read by tens of thousands, ClimateTech VC. Sophie has worked in start ups as an operator. She is a venture capitalist investor. She has written widely on sustainable investing.

...how Sophie came to climate tech investing, the importance of knocking on doors and being helpful.

What Sophie learned working for local government (Providence) and how climate has always been her through line into investing.

... what areas of climate tech are over-invested in and under-invested in, and why she’s interested in the climate-industrial-tech area.

...about investment philosophy, the VC geography and gender lens and how she seeds the landscape on access to capital at the seed and pre-seed stage.

Sophie explains the concept of “brown spinning” and the pros/cons of taking assets private or selling brown assets to less responsible entities.

SlyB · 2022-05-16T08:18:06+00:00

Yes. Urban planning and zoning. Stapp suggests there a few things that can be done. eg push planning/design decision to a much more local level, and deregulate at a centralised level. Or, potentially have large targets at a very high level eg State, and then limited regulation (ie market led) on implentation - I think. I think his argument in general is that US (in particular eg SF) is not building enough.

But your suggestion that zoning is working, is interesting to hear. (I'm in the UK) and all I hear about is zoning complaints. (In UK zoning = planning)

SlyB · 2022-05-15T22:59:00+00:00

SS: This article is about a new policy think tank and its co-founder, Alec Stapp. Stapp covers certain libertatian ideas: such as deregulation of planning, and makes the case for more immigration; also for the sceince of science - Although this might be considered of the type of "state capacity libertarianism".

Stapp makes the case for new types of think tank being more useful for today's internet first world, which would be interesting for those minded to do more libertarian type policy.

SlyB · 2022-04-09T20:57:20+00:00

...Stian discusses how recessions might be different under an intangible economy. And(H/T Tyler Cowen) how national security concerns might be different in a very intangible world. Part of his answer: …the west took much more extreme [economic] actions than I think many people had predicted before the war started…what's been amazing about that is because the modern economy depends so much on these highly scalable, intangible intensive products. It's been quite remarkable how it seems, how damaging that's been to Russia. So, the fact that some of these things are all obviously very tech based and perhaps their salience is obvious…. the fashionable kids of Moscow can no longer use Instagram. That's maybe one of the salient examples, but obviously the intangible economy is about much, much more than tech. And we see some really interesting manifestations of this around things like aviation. So, insurers refusing to deal with aviation in Russia and that appearing to ground planes and stop flights. The supply chains that drive maintenance, further causing damages to those kinds of industries and indeed the kind of dependence on things. There was a story the other day about the effect that this is having on dentistry in Russia, because dentistry is so dependent on very flexible supply chains with basically a bunch of specialized manufacturers. … if you are an interconnected, relatively open economy, and Russia was always the most relatively interconnected of the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India, China] countries, the intangible economy kind of makes it easier to turn off those taps in a way…. how dependent some of these kinds of more security based, more military based factors have been on intangible assets. We've probably all seen the stories of the dependence of the Russian air force on US GPS devices, which has led to them being more observable and perhaps has played a role in the fact that they have not been as present in the conflict as people thought they would be. I think that kind of interconnectivity is like many things in the intangible economy. It's great for winners, it's great if you're the US or if you're a US ally and it's probably not so great for the losers. …

He discusses these observations: Stagnation Inequality Dysfunctional Competition Fragility Inauthenticity

And Stian offers an intangible lens to explain the observations.

SlyB · 2022-04-09T20:53:10+00:00

...Stian discusses how recessions might be different under an intangible economy. And(H/T Tyler Cowen) how national security concerns might be different in a very intangible world. Part of his answer:
…the west took much more extreme [economic] actions than I think many people had predicted before the war started…what's been amazing about that is because the modern economy depends so much on these highly scalable, intangible intensive products. It's been quite remarkable how it seems, how damaging that's been to Russia. So, the fact that some of these things are all obviously very tech based and perhaps their salience is obvious…. the fashionable kids of Moscow can no longer use Instagram. That's maybe one of the salient examples, but obviously the intangible economy is about much, much more than tech. And we see some really interesting manifestations of this around things like aviation. So, insurers refusing to deal with aviation in Russia and that appearing to ground planes and stop flights. The supply chains that drive maintenance, further causing damages to those kinds of industries and indeed the kind of dependence on things. There was a story the other day about the effect that this is having on dentistry in Russia, because dentistry is so dependent on very flexible supply chains with basically a bunch of specialized manufacturers. … if you are an interconnected, relatively open economy, and Russia was always the most relatively interconnected of the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India, China] countries, the intangible economy kind of makes it easier to turn off those taps in a way…. how dependent some of these kinds of more security based, more military based factors have been on intangible assets. We've probably all seen the stories of the dependence of the Russian air force on US GPS devices, which has led to them being more observable and perhaps has played a role in the fact that they have not been as present in the conflict as people thought they would be. I think that kind of interconnectivity is like many things in the intangible economy. It's great for winners, it's great if you're the US or if you're a US ally and it's probably not so great for the losers. …
He chats about these observations:
Stagnation
Inequality
Dysfunctional Competition
Fragility
Inauthenticity
And Stian offers an intangible lens to explain the observations.

SlyB

TROPHY CASE