Successful CHRONO MA:GIA players tend to keep certain key strategies in mind. Use the lessons contained here to guide you to victory!
- ■ Controlling the Field is Crucial!
- ■ Avoid Recklessly Attacking Your Opponent!
- ■ Manage Your MP as You Fight
- ■ Remember the Key Creatures
Controlling the Field is Crucial!
Unless you’re using certain kinds of rush decks, it’s often wiser to refrain from attacking the opposing Gifted immediately, and instead try to create a situation in which only your creatures are summoned and in play on the field. “Controlling the field” in this way has a number of benefits that will help you take the lead:
- ･It’s easier to activate your powerful Magia Skills!
- ･You can prevent your opponent from using THEIR Magia Skills!
- ･Your creatures become harder to defeat!
- ･Every one of your creatures that does not attack gives you 1 MP!
There are three primary methods of controlling the field. Which method works best for you depends on your Gifted and available cards.
[Method 1] Reactive Strategy
This core CHRONO MA:GIA strategy involves a “wait and see” approach, in which you hold off on setting your own creatures until you see what your opponent summons. Your characters are summoned after your opponent’s, ideally allowing you to wipe out enemy creatures without retaliation.
Waiting to set your creatures after wiping out all of the summoned enemy creatures is another tactic.
[Method 2] Forced Summons
This strategy involves effects and abilities that forcefully summon your opponent’s creature. You summon your own creatures in advance, summon your opponent’s set creatures, forcefully summon them, and then wipe them out.
There are also abilities and effects that can be used to slay set enemy creatures without summoning them first.
[Method 3] Creature Enhancement
This strategy involves granting Shields or enhanced Life to your own creatures, making them difficult to defeat, while gradually expanding the number of creatures you have on the field. Creatures with immunity to instant death and other status effects are a good match for this tactic.
Avoid Recklessly Attacking Your Opponent!
Carelessly attacking the enemy Gifted gives them an amount of MP equal to the damage you deal, allowing them to set more creatures or counterattack with high-Cost magic cards during their next turn.
Careful timing of your attacks can help you minimize the risk of such counterattacks and help you make the most of your deck and strengthen your position on the field.
< When to Attack Your Opponent >
- ･When attacking your opponent would put them over the 15 MP limit at the start of their next turn
- ･When your opponent already has a certain amount of MP saved and are likely to move against you next turn whether or not you attack
- ･When you are prepared to deal with a counterattack
- ･When you can use forced summon effects to deal with creatures they set
- ･When your creatures have been enhanced and are hard to defeat
- ･When you can finish your opponent off
Manage Your MP as You Fight
Using up all your MP limits the cards you can use, potentially leaving you unable to respond to your opponent’s actions. In order to avoid this fate, try to keep the following tactics in mind:
- ･Skip your first turn to save MP
- ･Take your time, using some turns to save MP
- ･Creatures that don’t attack during a turn give you 1 MP
Remember the Key Creatures
When your opponent sets a creature, the displayed Cost and the types necessary to activate their Magia Skills can give you a hint of what creature is likely to appear.
Determining what creatures and summon skills are important to your opponent’s deck is a valuable skill that can help you plan your response and judge which creatures need to be force summoned or dealt with in other means.
The flip side of this is that you can sometimes confuse opponents by using different creatures of the same Cost as the one they are expecting. The uncertainty surrounding which creatures have been set can play an important element in CHRONO MA:GIA matches!
< Examples of Key Creatures >
*Creature availability and deck construction trends mean that the key creatures are constantly changing.
| Gifted | Cost | Creatures |
|---|---|---|
| Myr - Torvio | 4 | Princess Valkyrie |
| 6 | Genbu | |
| 7 | Arbiter of Judgement, Metatron, Kirin of the Sacred Gleam, Sakuya | |
| Zeta - Provoke | 5 | Paris the Schemer |
| 6 | Deus Armor Xiphos, Genbu | |
| 8 | Yamata no Orochi, Ama no Murakumo | |
| Type "Spade" | 4 | Hippokampoi |
| 6 | Norn of Etched Water, Skuld, Sun Wulong | |
| 7 | Arbiter of Judgement, Metatron | |
| 8 | Ama no Murakumo | |
| Type "Heart" | 6 | Norn of Etched Fire, Urd |
| 7 | Satan Void | |
| 8 | Pearl of the East Sun Ren | |
| Type "Dia" | 6 | Hakuryu |
| 7 | Sherias Roots, Kirin of the Sacred Gleam, Sakuya | |
| Type "Club" | 6 | Norn of Etched Wind, Verdandi |
| 7 | Peerless Samurai Tadakatsu | |
| Type "Motal" | 3 | Helen the Tragic Princess |
| 4 | Kunoichi, Ninja Master Hattori Hanzo, Andromeda the Sacrifice | |
| 6 | Ancient Emperor Yamato Takeru, Gorgeous Thief Goemon | |
| 7 | General Tamuramaro, Peerless Samurai Tadakatsu | |
| Type "Dragon" | 5 | Paris the Schemer, Seiryu |
| 6 | Dragon Tactician Zhuge Liang, Hakuryu, Two-Headed Dragon | |
| 7 | Dragon General Guan Yu | |
| 8 | Dragon General Zhao Yun, Light/Shadow Dragon Caller, Ideal | |
| 10 | Uranus, Dragon of the Sky | |
| Type "Beast" | 5 | Bastet |
| 6 | Sun Wulong | |
| Type "Aquatic" | 4 | Hippokampoi |
| 5 | Scylla, Monster of the Depths | |
| 8 | Pearl of the East Sun Ren, Wise Merman Zhou Yu | |
| 10 | Leviathan, Apocalypse Wyrm | |
| Type "Fae" | 5 | Psyche, Fae Blade Princess |
| 6 | Great Tengu | |
| 7 | Qilin | |
| 8 | Lonely Island Witch, Reeche, Light/Shadow Dragon Caller, Ideal | |
| 10 | Zeus Verse | |
| Type "Construct" | 5 | Guardian Deve |
| 6 | Demonic Automaton Yachihoko | |
| 8 | Ama no Murakumo | |
| Type "Demon" | 5 | Circe the Masked Witch |
| 6 | Echidna, Mother of Monsters | |
| 7 | Satan Void | |
| 9 | Typhon, Avatar of Destruction | |
| 10 | Nyx, Goddess of the Night | |
| Type "Undead" | 4 | Devoted Princess Ichi |
| 5 | Hypnos, Death Blade Ranmaru, Gilles Legato, Rhadamanthus the Judge | |
| 6 | Gashadokuro, Thanatos, Ra | |
| 7 | Demon King Nobunaga | |
| 8 | Tartarus, Avatar of Hades | |
| All Type | 8 | Yamata no Orochi |
