Pain Touch

[gull2112]

I was looking over my DE cards and I was trying to imagine how to best employ pain touch and whom to best place it on. Obviously you would want it on all eligible units, but in what priority? I tend to play with a fist full of command cards, so were I to employ pain touch it would be very sparingly. It can't be used on missile/spell attacks or on any attacks in which a Command Card has been played. Does this mean I should use it on my main line units, whom I don't want to waste a command card on, or should I use it my big hitters so if I am ever without cards I still have something? Obviously it depends, but I'm curious if others have any preferred priorities. I only have one game with DE under my belt, so I'm interested in what others with more experience might have to say.

[ajax98]

Pain Touch is a sure Damage. Very few cards make that. Especially if the unit being fought against is of particular strength such that the probability of doing damage is iffy.

Since it can only be used by an engaged unit, it stands to reason that units that are likely to be engaged should be on the list to acquire.

As things go, cards are usually Red, Blue & Green - so figure the odds that you are going to get exactly the best card to optimize those damages to the enemy. And then roll the dice.

So whenever possible, I put them on the mainline units. Many, IMO, times it has saved the Lashmistresses.
Priority wise, I would use it first, then take a card, especially whenever the units are or about to become engaged.

[RushAss]

The faction ability also allows you to purchase pain touch at 10 points per application while deploying your army, so it's quite the deal if you can spare 20-30 points.  But other than that, what Ajax said.

[Hannibal]

I haven't played with the released set and but when I was playtesting (which is admittedly still a small sample size), I used Pain Touch as insurance.  It wasn't that I identified certain units and gave them Pain Touch, it was that I identified who that unit would be fighting and assigned it.  So if any highbloods happened to be facing a 2/1 unit or even a 2/2 unit, then yeah they'd get it.  Because that means they go from inflicting ~1 point a turn to potentially 2 pts a turn.  That'd mean them taking a check in 2 turns instead of 4 (assuming average 4 Green boxes).

This not only allows me to punch through a unit quicker and hopefully get that pinch but also saves good cards for units that don't have favorable die rolls like that.

[gull2112]

also saves good cards for units that don't have favorable die rolls like that.

Good point!

[Niko White]

Yeah I find it is best for either doubling damage in cases where you rate right around 1 point, or for pounding on to an already bad situation for the opponent.  The textbook case of Pain Touch being great is when the opposing unit has 2 green health left - they're likely to have enough total boxes left that the extra damage isn't pure overkill if you roll the 2 naturally, but being totally sure that if you don't miss entirely you'll cause the check is pretty cool.

+1 damage is obviously quite powerful for something you can be sure of getting, but it is a bit awkward because you can't choose not to burn it, so you have to be careful not to use it for overkill, as well as not using it when an odds-boosting card would be more appropriate.