Blytz

So you’ve discovered the action packed Risk-esque Wargame that is Blytz. Played a few rounds, won a few, lost a few. You get the general idea, but now you want to take your game to a whole new level. Well let’s see how I can help with that, time for some tips and tricks about Blytz…some Blytz Tips you might say…

Blytz Tips

Country cards

There is nothing more annoying than pulling a country card you don’t even vaguely need. It’s not anywhere you think you’re likely to collect. Useless right? Wrong. Countries are both useful for sets and access. It might not be a country you need, but is it connected to one? If so, maybe you can build up your troops and launch an attack on a country you do need. Then keeping hold of the original country can protect you from one avenue of attack, or you can use the Switch-A-Roo card to switch it for another country you need. Well done, you’ve gone from having 0 useful country cards to having 2!

The Australia approach

You know when you play Risk there is always someone who takes Australia and its surrounding territories (despite it giving the smallest bonus) and just builds up an army larger than anyone has ever seen. Well, you can do that in Blytz too. The proverbial Blytz rule means that if you take a country you can continue using the same troops to attack another territory…and another…and another. This means you could theoretically sweep through large swathes of your opponents countries. Beware the Snatch-N-Grab card though, building a large force on one location could be fatal if someone steals it and the force off you. You can hedge your bets by spreading your forces out before rearranging them for an attack, but you’re still going to be open while you wait for your next turn.

Don’t underestimate the little guy

It’s really easy to look at basic Infantry troops with 1 attack and 1 defence and wonder why you’d want to use an action to play them over something stronger. The key, however, isn’t in their strength, it’s in their weakness…and maths! If you have 2 x 4 attack cards on a country, and you attack a country with 5 defence, you will have to discard both cards, losing an extra 3 strength. If however, you have a basic Infantry troop or 2 hanging around, you can pay the exact cost and keep your other units for the wars to come.

Adapt

Don’t be rigid. By all means go for certain sets that seem to be coming your way, but over time it will be obvious what your plan is. People will start to reinforce countries that you need and generally try to sabotage your plans. If that seems to be happening, don’t be afraid to scrap your plans and make a dash for something completely different. They might have left other countries wide open assuming you don’t need them. You might end up in a better situation than when you started.

Empires

Empires are tempting. Very tempting. They are also tricky to attain and keep control of. If, however, you can keep hold of one, you gain a big advantage. You can keep your troops spread out for defence while being able to strike with all their focused might, all but annihilating everything but the most stubborn defences. They also might be used for a well timed Blytz, but be careful, if you drain too many troops from the pool you’ll leave your entire empire open to retaliation.

Traitors!

Generals, as you might expect, are powerful cards. So you might be surprised when I caution using them. Sure they are giving you substantial bonuses, but the Switch-A-Roo card means they can be stolen and there is nothing you can do about it. It’s all well and good you having a general, but what if an opponent ends up with 2 or 3. Then you’re really in trouble. I recommend playing them only when you are either planning an attack, or need some extra defensive power.

Allied Troops clear the way

The Allied Troops card is very useful for defence. You can use opponents cards to defend yourself (better if there are high power visible ones rather than guessing at face down cards). But what’s even better is those cards die before your own. That means, even if you lose the location, you’ve just removed possibly all the defences on a country you can then attack on your next turn. On the flip side, as the attacker, this is why I don’t recommend attacking with your last action, that way you have time to play an extra card or two if need be.

Look-Out-Below

Look, there is a card that lets you drop what I can only assume are titanically sized pianos on enemy troops. Why wouldn’t you do that? Unless someone has built up a large force, it’s unlikely to be more than 10 defences. Just drop the piano and dash in there with some infantry for a cheeky win.

Peace & Love

Peace & Love are powerful tools, so best save them for extreme situations. It might seem like the end of the world losing that one country you were really trying to hold onto, but what about when someone is about to Blytz their way round entire continents with an unstoppable force. Wouldn’t it be useful in that situation to have a card that could stop them in their tracks no matter what? Think about it…

How to solve a problem like Oceania

Oceania, the Australia of Blytz. Yes it’s small and you could fortify it into a significant empire with one less location to worry about. But that only works if you get the cards to begin with. With one less location the Oceania cards are less likely to appear, so be wary of making them one of the sets you are going for. Better to roll with it on this one, if you can get the cards, great, but I wouldn’t chase them.

Some of these might be obvious, some may not. I hope you have found at least some wisdom in my ramblings, and I hope you enjoy many more games of Blytz!