Greetings adventurers. Welcome to the first of a series of articles on the tactics and strategies involved in a game of Super Dungeon Explore. The purpose of these articles is to help both Hero and Consul players enhance their game and improve their experience by sharing the insights and experiences of others. In reading these articles you might find things you never thought of before. Tricks that give your Heroes an edge against an overwhelming hoard of minions, or maybe a way for your nefarious minions to baffle and confound a band of overpowered Heroes.
These articles will be based on the Super Dungeon Explore 2.0 Classic Mode since it is (in my opinion at least) the most well realized version of Super Dungeon Explore to date.
Now that we are gathered here, eager to learn grand strategies and finer nuances for Super Dungeon Explore, let’s move onto the first step. The basics.
Tone of the game: This is an important factor, but often overlooked. Before players start a game, it’s good to establish the tone. All groups and players vary but often gravitate toward one of three tones. This is nothing new to gaming, but extra important to Super Dungeon Explore because the diverse options of Heroes and monsters give players incredible options in terms of theme and effectiveness. Nothing makes gaming night better than when everyone is on the same page, no one is caught off guard, and everyone has fun. On the flip side, few things in gaming are worse than a power gamer catching a group of casuals off-guard. It’s recommended that before the game starts, everyone agrees on the tone for the evening.
Casual: You guys are here to roll dice and talk smack while playing a thematic scenario. The experience is more important than the outcome and you all should choose your Heroes and monsters accordingly. Consul players for this group have a good deal of responsibility. Knowing your gaming group and building a dungeon that’s fun and engaging, without overly punishing their (possibly poor) choices is a process you shouldn’t take lightly. You want your SDE collection to make it to the table again next time after all, right?
Competitive: The experience is important, and theme is still regarded, but both sides are invested in the outcome. Competitive players generally want an even match with the outcome depending on the tactical decisions made by both sides. This is my preferred tone for gameplay. It’s a delicate balance and requires a level of sportsmanship and honesty on both sides. In this case, honesty means acknowledging when a hero, monster or combination or either, is overpowered (OP) and having the good sportsmanship to not abuse certain builds. This is often subjective. Is the Royal Paladin OP? I say no, but others say yes. We can discuss this later though. This tone is (IMO) the best one. It can be contentious because the lines get blurry between this tone and the next, leading us to…
Cutthroat: Exactly like it sounds. This is a power-gamers game. Win at all costs. Bring your best Heroes, minions, mini-boss and Dungeon Boss. Did you dream up a Hero combination that lets you shred the dungeon? Bring it! Will your combination of monsters and dungeon tiles halt the Heroes in their do-gooder tracks? Great! Hold nothing back! This tone of gameplay can be a lot of fun so long as both sides are on the same page and no one is surprised (I.E. showing up to a Cutthroat dungeon with a Casual Hero Party is no fun, and vice versa). Rules knowledge is paramount here too since no one wants to go into this kind of game, then lose, only to find out that a misunderstood rule was the difference between victory or defeat.
So, is your gaming group casual? Competitive? Or Cutthroat? Hopefully this article helps you shape Super Dungeon Explore into the kind of experience you and your friends are looking for. Next time we will discuss some basic tenets for how you construct your Hero party.
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