Flow Fundamentals: Pace Yourself (Part 1)
by Raffi Tasci

Flow is the life-blood of the Ophidian game. It gives control to the player that has it, but never stays with anyone for a long time. Just like in real combat, the action is alive, not structured or predetermined. You cannot fully predict when the flow will change hands. Instead, it's caused by a decision that is usually made on the spot.

Flow-Actions:
When you have flow, you can make three types of actions (which either let you keep the flow or lose it). These should mainly be review:

• Positive actions: When you have the flow, you can make these usually simple actions and still remain in control. You are not worrying about buildup and defense as much as you are trying to hit your opponent hard and fast before he can react. It can be anything from shouting out someone's name, to moving in to the fray or lunging for an attacking assault.
• Negative actions: When you have the flow, and you make an action that takes a little more time, or calls for some calculation, you would lose the flow and your opponent would pick it up. These include punching in coordinates for a laser-guided missile, opening up a portal to let a minion enter the arena, or concocting a complex mental attack.
• Undetermined actions: When you have the flow and you make an undetermined action, you can either keep or lose the flow depending on the outcome. Usually a random event, type of target, additional costs, or opponent's choice. They represent the unknown; some healing abilities take longer on certain races. Some items can be used faster by some characters than others can. Rituals get delayed, mental attacks can be resisted, etc.

Pacing:
A player that plays all positive actions will be able to make a lot of actions before his opponent can get control, but once he's out of resources, he would be tired and out of breath. Then his opponent can step in and have an advantage. Once you're out of actions, all you can do is take a beating and pass, you've overextended yourself and you're a sitting duck. That is the disadvantage of early advantage and can be devastating depending on how much you have overextended your team. Learn it now before you learn it on the battlefield.

A player that plays all negative actions is always waiting for what his opponent would do, always giving up control. In this case, his opponent has an advantage. Two, really. One, the opponent can build up cheer and not worry about making positive actions negative, and as a result he would have crowd favor. Two, the opponent has more time to set up a good assault. Be careful about letting your opponent dictate the tempo of the battle unless you know that he is leading himself to folly.

Having a good mix between positive and negative actions give a player the ability to pace himself according to what's going on during the game. Timing is essential, and knowing when to attack and when to set up are important keys to success. Even passing in critical situations can be the proper move when the conditions are right. Just because you can attack or use an action doesn't mean you should.