Game:

Chaos Reborn (2015)

Duration: 27:25

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1

"You can use your illusion, let it take you where it may." - Guns N' Roses

Deceit and duplicity, hoaxes and hoodwinkery, feints and fake outs are common in warfare (see Operation Bodyguard in World War II) but PC strategy games rarely feature bluffing as a key mechanic as well as Chaos Reborn does with its illusions.

Illusions allow you to avoid uncertainty in spellcasting and instead sow doubt in your opponent's mind. Your ultimate goal when it comes to illusions is to fill your opponent with so much fear, uncertainty and doubt that he's incapable of acting decisively during his turn. If you've done this well during a match, you may just secure a victory with a bluff.

There are a couple of inviolable rules for illusions you should keep in mind. You may only cast illusions of creatures. Illusions function exactly as their real counterparts would with two important differences. If an opponent disbelieves an illusion, it immediately disappears in a puff of smoke.

(Also note that you're allowed to chain Disbelieve -- in other words, Disbelieve more than one illusion during a turn -- as long as you continue to be successful.)

The second difference between illusions and real creatures is that illusions don't leave behind a gravestone when they die. This means illusions are immediately revealed as such when they're killed. (This is important but not necessarily in the way you might think.)

When it comes to illusions, you have two main objectives. First and foremost, convince your opponent your illusions are real. As long as an illusion is believed to be real, it is, for all intents and purposes, real.

Your secondary objective should be to snooker your opponent into failing with Disbelieve. If your opponent casts Disbelieve on a creature that turned out to be real, your opponent forfeits his opportunity to cast a spell during that turn. (Remember, the fewer spells cast, the less advantage gained.)

So, two question would come up right about now. When is the best time to use an illusion? When is the worst? Well, to be flip, the best time for an illusion is when your opponent is expecting a real creature and the worst time for an illusion is when your opponent is anticipating one.

The single best time to use an illusion is actually when the conditions are great for summoning a real creature. If, for example, the Cosmic Balance is at Law 30, your opponent is unlikely to Disbelieve your fake Unicorn since it would have had its casting chance increased to 90% even without mana boosting.

But another great time to use an illusion is when your opponent is distracted by a pressing threat. If your opponent is backpedalling away from your rapidly closing Giant, he's unlikely to Disbelieve the Spider illusion you've just cast.

When is the worst time to use an illusion? When your back's to the wall and you're desperate. If you're retreating from a horde of enemies and desperate to get a creature out to defend you, you can pretty much guarantee your opponent is going to Disbelieve your next summoned creature.

It's also unwise to cast an illusion when the Cosmic Balance is unfavourable. A Sapphire Dragon cast when the Cosmic Balance is at Chaos 30 is practically begging for a Disbelieve.

(You could, of course, subvert expectations by casting a mana-boosted real Sapphire Dragon at Chaos 30 in order to invite an unsuccessful Disbelieve.)

Players new to Chaos Reborn may be bewildered by the "is it real or is it fake?" game-within-a-game involving illusions and Disbelieve. They can be reluctant to cast illusions because they just don't seem to understand how opponents see through them. ("How could the AI possibly know my creature was an illusion? It must be cheating!") This invariably leads to frustrating situations where new players fizzle spell after spell in attempting to summon real creatures while their opponents seem to effortlessly (and improbably) produce an army of powerful creatures.

Bluffing is certainly a complex topic with a lot of subtlety but it also happens to be Chaos Reborn's standout feature and once fully understood, it will lead to a greater appreciation of this fantastic game.

(There are a couple of advanced strategies as well when it to comes illusions and appropriately enough, these aren't immediately obvious. As YouTube's video description limits length, I will instead leave you to ponder two questions. First, why would you want one of your creatures to be revealed as an illusion early in the match. Second, why would you want to deliberately fail a Disbelieve early in the match?)

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