Welcome to HoC PC #1 Ranked Player Garrodrive-sensei’s Strategy Classroom!

v0.2
-Added English supply database file

v0.1 First draft: this is a work in progress
Todo: add translated images, add additional images.
Todo: translate additional card-specific strategy content

Also see: Card Tier List by garrodrive-sensei

I’m going to teach you a ton of stuff, but it’d be good to have a decent amount of working knowledge about the game before we begin.



By the way, regarding VS CPU mode: Even if you set the difficulty to “Strong”, not only are the princesses other than Lulu quite weak, there is a quirk with the pre-made supply sets as well.

• Maid’s Whimsical Recipe (Randomly generated supply set)
  
• A pre-made supply deck from below

Mastering the pre-made supply sets is one shortcut to victory in Ranked Match, but be warned: most of the sets that appear in Ranked aren’t selectable in single player.




To get around this, we have the Supply Maker. In your Steam library, launch it from the Play button.

Please choose the supply database that matches the language of your game.

ENGLISH: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/364806107358691328/769743783474102272/SupplyDataBase.csv
Many thanks to 皆伝Frizu for making the English file!
Supply sets from Blitzkreig to Chaos Theory are his custom sets.
Everything else is either: standard sets, sets that are present on ranked (but not present by default), training sets, and supply sets that were used in the JP tournament (from Northern Trade Route to Armageddon)

JAPANESE: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/562067095496687618/562125476701929493/SupplyDataBase.csv

This contains all of the supply sets used in ranked match, plus "Garrodrive-sensei’s 6 Special Supply Sets" for training purposes. If you’re new to the game, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a download.



Library->Right-click on Game Name->Properties->Browse Local Files



Locate and overwrite the existing file and you’re done.

• Quick: 14 turns
  
• Normal: 16 turns
  
• Slow: 17 turns

Aim for these targets for Coronation during your practice sessions.

In order to win not just at the pre-made supply but also Maid’s Whimsical Recipe, I have assembled these 6 supply sets to help level up your fundamental understanding of Heart of Crown.

Be sure to turn Variant Rules on in the config menu.



Variant Rules invokes a phase called “Hand Elimination” at the beginning of the game.
From the starting deck (7 Farming Villages and 3 Apprentice Maids), you can choose your starting hand’s composition. Play begins starting with the player who chooses the least gold in their starting hand. (If several players have the same amount then the player who goes first is randomly chosen among them.)

This is a very important aspect of the game! If 2 players build the same deck and aim to reach coronation at Turn 14~16…

If the player who goes first (P1) reaches coronation at Turn 14, the second player (P2) also has to achieve coronation by Turn 14 or they lose automatically. Even if P1 is aiming for a Turn 16 coronation, P1 will naturally force P2 to match their coronation (except when P2 achieves a Turn 14 coronation).

Even if P2 achieves a Turn 14 coronation, P1 gets Turn 15 to match it. If it’s a Turn 16 coronation, an extended game is almost guaranteed, which will be disadvantageous at this point for P2.

If the exact same deck is built P1 will naturally have an advantage in an extended game and is likely to win, so this is where planning and foresight manifest themselves in reality.

In an actual game, players don’t build the exact same deck. A large deck can be powerful, but extremely disadvantageous in an extended game. With that strategy you definitely want to try and go first. On the other hand, going second with a highly efficient “deck thinning” approach can result in some spectacular comebacks in the endgame.

Leverage your strategy and give careful thought to backing a suitable princess for your needs.

Coronation in 16 turns is the goal.

Here is a test of ability that would prove useful in a real game. If this were golf, it would be Par 16.

Newer players often gravitate towards Klam-Klam because she seems strong at first glance. However, this type of supply set is really difficult for her to synergize with. It might be worthwhile to try going for the 16-turn win with Klam so you can experience the suffering firsthand.

There are curses in this supply, and a lack of banishment cards means your deck will naturally grow. If you don’t have any draw, and with battering ram rendering the keep mostly unusable, it will be difficult to use your money. In this type of supply set, an effective strategy is to fill your deck in such a way that the effect of curses is minimized: a strategy known as “reverse thinning”.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn how to use point-based princesses such as Lulunasaika, Laolily and Flammaria. They have good synergy with a “reverse thinning” strategy.

Buying priority: 3 gold → City, 6 gold → Large City, 8 gold → Duke. With 5 gold, prioritize Regional Official while also getting Imperial Estate and Noble Heiress if the opportunity arises. Aim to achieve a “Nice backing” (back a princess without any farming villages) with Laolily or Lulunasaika. After backing a princess, go for succession point cards and earnestly set them in your domain.

If there are 1 or 2 Regional Officials in the market, backing Flammaria to pick them up while simultaneously achieving a “Nice backing” (thanks to her ability) is a powerful tactic.

Coronation in 14 turns is the goal.

The “Reverse thinning” and “Point-Princess” tactics learned in Supply 1 are not at all useful here.

Elven Sniper and Royal Guard make it a very deck-attack heavy supply set. When your deck is attacked, powerful cards end up falling into the discard pile, and a large deck means a long wait till they come back to the top of the draw pile.

In this type of supply, an effective countermeasure is to draw your entire deck each turn, a strategy known as the “Draw Engine” deck.

It’s easy to take advantage of Alchemist and Trading Ship, which allow you to draw 2 cards, but just drawing cards repeatedly will lead to endless cycling of Apprentice Maids, a continual source of annoyance.

Here, you want to aim for a 3~5 turn backing. From the start of the game, buy up cards that will generate the most gold, and rush for Lain/Shion or Klam Klam.

After backing a princess, you want to try and set 3 Apprentice Maids in your domain. Using several turns to set them results in lost initiative, so simultaneously is ideal, but if for whatever reason it seems impossible then you can set 2 at once and use the remaining one to feed Famed Horse later on. Removing useless cards from your deck is a fundamental tenet of “deck thinning”.

Hitting the next phase with -10 succession points may be quite unsettling, but aim for Large Cities and 2-draw cards, while maintaining excellent deck efficiency. Imperial Capital, Imperial Crown, and a Royal Maid is an incredibly fast +20 points.

“Deck thinning” + “Draw engine” is a flashy and effective combo that feels great to pull off, but don’t forget that in single player mode, the CPU gives you a lot more leeway to pick up all of the strongest cards from the market than a typical human opponent would...

Finally, take what you’ve learned here, go back to Supply Set 1, and give it another try. I think you’ll be able to approach it with a fresh perspective.

Coronation in 16 turns is the goal.

The Point-princesses of “Reverse thinning” suffer from Royal Guard’s draw pile attack. “Deck thinning” with Klam Klam and the twins is rendered less effective by a lack of 2-draw cards, and it becomes surprisingly difficult to earn gold. There are a good number of link-ending cards, and not a single 2-link card to be found.

Ohka really shines in this type of supply set.

Her special ability is quite unique and tricky to use, but it is Ohka who possesses an incredible potential to craft an efficient and compact deck. A formidable force in online play, you would do well to practice her here.

Coronation in 16 turns is the goal.

A “reverse thinning” deck suffers draw-pile attacks from Elf Sniper and Royal Guard. A “deck thinning” deck is hit hard by Apprentice Witch’s curses, while Evicted Monster eats up any powerful cards.

It’s time to meet Bergamotte.

Her ability works based on action cards in your discard pile, so it lacks synergy with thin decks. If you just use her to cycle 2-draw cards like Alchemist from your discard, you’ll fall behind proper “draw engine” decks that can deck out in one turn.

Bergamotte’s true power lies in her ability to disrupt one's opponent, and follow up despite being disrupted yourself. The greater the number of attack cards available, the more her value comes to light. Compared to other princesses, she often requires more thinking time. To avoid timing out during ranked matches, become familiar with the nuances of her playstyle.

Coronation in 15 turns is the goal.

A “deck thinning” deck suits this supply well. Taking the lessons learned from Supply Set 2 and 3, Klam Klam, the Twins and Ohka are quite useful, but the presence of curse banishing cards like Tally (and Baptism) is notable.

Tally can sometimes be difficult for beginners to understand, but in this supply set overflowing with 2-link cards, take this opportunity to back Anastasia and learn the immense power of Tally.

Coronation in 15 turns is the goal.

If you’ve played through from Supply Set 1, then by now you’ve had a chance to try out all of the princesses. This time, we’re focusing on general tactics for achieving victory.

At the start of the game, check the market carefully, use your skills and experience, and aim to be the first to coronation!

This supply is best suited for 4-person practice. There are many options and paths to victory, and you are right to get excited at this final training stage!