Shuffling and Such

Now, this post may seem to be a little 'late' compared to those I churned out last week, but bear in mind that this is not going to be anywhere near the daily blog that it may have seemed to be at first. This is merely a short entry to celebrate the fact that the inernet is back up down here, and also to mention something that all good Warlord players should be aware of.

When shuffling, it is probably best to hold the deck so that your opponent can only see the backs of your cards, and not glean an advance hint at what cards it contains.

This only came to my attention when I noticed Chris doing just such a thing on Friday, giving me a minor heads-up relating to what to expect him to play. I've always subconsciously concealed my decks from the opponent, but some people just need to be trained to do so. Discipline yourself, in a similar way to the practice cuts that you make in friendly games to get into the habit for tournaments.

And typing of cutting, there is an art to that also. Why go for a simple random grab for a centre split when you can be much more creative? Shitfing the bottom card to the top, or vice versa, is enough to constitute a cut and still worry your opponent over whether or not that little difference will cost them in the long run. It's a totally unfounded worry, but you'd be surprised how easily some people can be rattled. Yes, even intellectual Warlord players.

Also, always spend your items, characters and such to the same direction, either clockwise or anti-clockwise. To do so is evidence of a calm, measured mind that will unnerve your opponent. To turn all your cards higgledy-piggledy will only result in you looking like a messy fool who is falling to pieces. No one wants that.

Keep your discard pile tidy as well. Not just for appearances, but the easier it is to pick up at the end of a game, the quicker you can move on to the next. It may not seem like much, but a lifetime of litter picking after every game will rob you of countless extra games.

Finally, while many people may boast of backing their decks, it's not as cool as it sounds. Those double-thickness piles of cards are a right pain to shuffle, and the thought of impressing everyone you play against with your excellent taste in trades must be measured against the potential risk of wearing out all the bones in your hand and wrist. There are deck protectors with pictures on them; settle for those.

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This rambling treatise on treating one's cards properly is merely filler; now that I have devised a suitable connecting theme for my next few posts, this whole thing is gonna start looking more professional.