Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: What's the Use of Ramping?

At this moment, the phantom images of Rexxar and Malfurion appeared in front of the two players respectively. Xu Xing's Druid versus Blondie's Hunter. "Let the hunt begin!" "I must protect the Wild!" Scanning his hand, Blondie wore a smile that suggested victory was already in his grasp. He slammed a card onto the table: "1 Mana! [Stonetusk Boar]! Charge, hit face!" In the arena projection, a mini boar phantom materialized, grunting and squealing. With indomitable momentum, it slammed into Xu Xing's Malfurion with a *bang*. Hero Health dropped from 30 to 29. "Great opening!" Fatty Zhou cheered from the sidelines. Xu Xing looked at his starting hand—[Innervate], [Wild Growth], [Nourish], [Stormwind Champion], [War Golem], and the [The Coin] given for going second. It was a dream starting hand. Although the quality of the high-cost minions was barely satisfactory, at this stage of the game, it was enough. On his turn, without any hesitation, he mimicked Blondie's style and slapped the physical Coin card onto the table. "The Coin." With a flash of light, his available Mana Crystals for the turn instantly increased from one to two. Immediately after, he played a jade-green spell card: "[Wild Growth]." The card activated. In the projection, emerald nature energy surged beneath Malfurion's feet. An empty Mana Crystal slowly condensed and floated by his side. Xu Xing's Mana limit increased to two, but he had no Mana left to use this turn. "Uh?" Blondie froze. Beside him, Fatty Zhou scratched his head. "Xu Xing, what are you doing? Using the Coin early just to play a Growth? Doesn't everyone end up with ten mana eventually anyway? Didn't you just waste a card and the Coin?" Old Chen also frowned slightly, clearly confused as well. In their view, every point of Mana and every card in the early game was crucial and should be used to fight for the board, not for this kind of "long-term investment." Xu Xing didn't explain. He simply ended his turn calmly. "Alright then, you chose this. Don't blame me for not showing mercy." Turn two. Blondie drew a card. He slapped down another Charge minion: "Two Mana! [Bluegill Warrior]! Charge! Hit face again!" Immediately after, the Stonetusk Boar also hit face. Xu Xing took two damage plus one damage. His Hero Health dropped to 26. On the board, Blondie had a 1/1 Stonetusk Boar and a 2/1 Bluegill Warrior. Xu Xing drew his card. It was [Novice Engineer]. He glanced at the three Mana Crystals on his side of the board, then at the [Innervate] and [Nourish] in his hand. He began his operation without hesitation. "[Innervate]!" A card was played. Emerald energy swirled around his Hero, temporarily injecting him with two extra Mana Crystals. His available Mana for the turn surged to five! "[Nourish]! Choose One: Gain two Mana Crystals." Another card was played. Majestic dark green energy gathered in the Druid Hero's hands. His Mana limit skyrocketed from three directly to five! Furthermore, due to the effect, Xu Xing now had two fresh, usable Mana Crystals. He looked at the [Novice Engineer] in his hand, then at Blondie's board, and finally decided to use his Hero Power, "Shapeshift." Xu Xing faced a dilemma on which minion to clear: *Obviously, the Bluegill Warrior has higher attack. If I clear it, I take two damage. If I don't, I take two damage next turn anyway. But Hunter has a lot of Beast buff cards. If I clear the murloc and leave the boar, I might give Blondie a chance to buff the Beast, which wouldn't be worth it.* Xu Xing made his decision quickly. He controlled Malfurion to attack the enemy [Stonetusk Boar]. The boar squealed and vanished from the board. The one armor gained from Shapeshift perfectly negated the recoil damage from the boar. "Turn end." Xu Xing ended his turn and looked at Blondie. His Mana limit had already reached five. Next turn, it would be six—far exceeding Blondie, who would only have three Mana. "This... he skipped straight to five Mana?" Fatty Zhou's mouth hung open. Old Chen's frown deepened. "Xu Xing spent three cards to achieve a Turn 7 mana level, but it had almost zero impact on the board state." He tried hard to understand the significance of this build. What was the point of having high Mana early? A flash of unease crossed Blondie's face, but looking at the two Charge minions on his board, he composed himself. "Three Mana! [Wolfrider]! Charge! All face!" The Bluegill Warrior and the Wolfrider—two Charge minion phantoms—slammed into the Druid. Xu Xing's Health dropped to 21. The pressure on the board seemed to be increasing. "You're on fire, Blondie! What an opening!" Fatty Zhou exclaimed. Blondie grinned smugly again. It was Xu Xing's turn. He now possessed six Mana Crystals! The card he drew was [Swipe]. Glancing at the 3/1 Wolfrider and the 2/1 Bluegill Warrior on Blondie's side, Xu Xing calmly played the spell: "Four Mana. [Swipe]. Target: Enemy Hero." In the projection, Malfurion transformed into a giant bear and swiped his claws at Rexxar. Rexxar stumbled from the blow. The force of the Swipe didn't stop there; the shockwave rippled out, hitting the two minions on the enemy board. The Wolfrider screamed and dissipated. The Bluegill Warrior vanished along with it. The enemy Rexxar had 26 Health remaining, but his board was completely wiped clean. "Oh?! A complete board clear!" Fatty Zhou cried out in surprise. Old Chen nodded. "That Swipe was brilliant." With two Mana Crystals remaining, Xu Xing played [Novice Engineer]. 2 Mana, 1/1 stats, Battlecry: Draw a card. Luck wasn't great; he drew another [Novice Engineer]. "1/1? What kind of trash card is that? Xu Xing, why did you bring all this useless stuff?" Blondie looked at the female gnome, whose stats were abysmal, with a look of confusion. Xu Xing ended his turn. Turn four. After drawing, Blondie raised an eyebrow and slapped down what he considered his "Ace": "Four Mana! [Chillwind Yeti]! How about that? 4/5 stats! Solid as a rock!" A giant with huge horns and covered in white fur appeared on Blondie's field, exuding pressure. In this era where standard stats were king, a 4 Mana 4/5 Chillwind Yeti was undoubtedly a very solid minion for the early game. However, Xu Xing simply glanced at it. Xu Xing's turn. He had seven Mana Crystals this turn! He also drew [Lord of the Arena]. He calmly played the bulky minion from his opening hand: "[War Golem]." A massive construct made of rough wood and metal crashed onto Xu Xing's side of the field. The visual impact of its 7/7 stats instantly suppressed the opposing Chillwind Yeti! "Seven... a Seven-drop minion?!" Blondie's eyes went wide. "It's only turn four!" Fatty Zhou and Old Chen were thoroughly stunned. They finally began to vaguely realize what having high Mana early meant—it meant you could drop a behemoth that the opponent couldn't deal with while they were still playing four or five-cost minions! Blondie's face went pale. Turn five. After drawing, he looked at his hand, a glint of ruthlessness in his eyes. "Damn it, remove it! [Deadly Shot]! Destroy a random enemy minion!" Rexxar drew his bow and fired a massive arrow. The arrow bypassed the [Novice Engineer] and accurately struck the [War Golem] on Xu Xing's field. The 7/7 giant wailed and crumbled. "Great removal!" Fatty Zhou shouted. Blondie let out a sigh of relief. With his remaining two Mana, he played another [Bluegill Warrior] to hit face. The Chillwind Yeti on the board also went face. Xu Xing's health dropped to 15. But his rhythm was broken, and his hand size was dwindling fast. Xu Xing's turn. Eight Mana Crystals! He drew [Ironbark Protector]. Without any hesitation, he slapped it down: "[Ironbark Protector]." BOOM! A colossal Ancient of War, even larger than the War Golem and looking like a tree come to life, occupied the field. Its terrifying 8/8 stats carried an aura of insurmountability. "Eight Mana 8/8 Taunt?! How do you clear that?!" Fatty Zhou lost his voice. Blondie looked at his few remaining Mana points and cards, sweat beading on his forehead. Turn six. He went all out, playing the last direct damage spell in his hand, [Arcane Shot], aiming it at the Protector. Then, he commanded the Chillwind Yeti and the Bluegill Warrior to attack together! -2! (Arcane Shot) -4! (Yeti) -2! (Bluegill) Totaling 8 damage, exactly enough to trade with the 8/8 Ironbark Protector! Blondie now had only two cards left in hand and had exhausted his entire board. His face looked grim. Looking at the two cards, Blondie hesitated for a long time. "Alright, let's do this!" Shouting, Blondie slapped down another [Chillwind Yeti] and a [Stonetusk Boar]. He had used up all his Mana and cards. He was now in top-deck mode, fighting with his back to the wall. "Little pig, charge him!" The [Stonetusk Boar] attacked. Xu Xing had 14 Health remaining. Xu Xing's turn. Nine Mana Crystals. After drawing, he played a card that made the spectators confused once again: [Novice Engineer].