Three Marks tips for beginners: win more card battles
The best way to win in Three Marks is to aim every strike at the target's weakest defense. After that, the biggest tips are: take fallen monsters Out before they are rescued, keep a ranged hero safe in the back rank, and never waste your one rescue. Here are the habits that win battles, then tips for building your company.
Battle tips
1. Aim at the weakest defense
Each strike aims at Guard, Body, Reflex or Will. Look at the target's numbers (hover, focus, or press and hold) and pick a card that aims at its lowest one. Going from edge −1 to edge +1 doubles your chance of a hit or better, from 2 in 6 to 4 in 6. The full table is on dice and damage.
2. Finish what you start
A monster at 0 life is only Down. On their turn the other monsters will try to stand it up again. Before your turn ends, strike the Down monster with any hero: a graze is enough to take it Out for good.
3. Remember you win when they are all Down
You do not need to take the last monster Out. As soon as no monster is standing, you win. So when only one monster is left, hit the standing one, not the Down one.
4. Keep your back rank in the back
Close-fighting monsters cannot reach your back-rank hero while one of your front-rank heroes stands. Put your Voice or Spark there. They can strike from the back, so they lose nothing.
5. Do not let two front heroes fall
If both your front-rank heroes are Down, your back-rank hero counts as front rank and can be hit by everyone. Heal or rescue a front-liner before that happens.
6. Rescue early
Stand up ally brings a Down hero back with 3 life, and any standing hero can do it. Do it on your next turn: monsters like to strike Down heroes to take them Out. Remember that each hero can be rescued only once per battle.
7. Order your heroes on purpose
You choose who acts first. Use help cards before strikes: Warn Them or Feint before the strikes they help, Quiet Chord or Mark before the strike that benefits. Let your Quick strike after a front-rank ally has landed a hit, so the target is flanked. More combos are on advanced tips.
8. Use Wait when nothing helps
Sometimes every action makes things worse, like stepping back next to a Warden. Wait is a real choice. Note that waiting counts as the hero's action, so a boost that lasts "through this hero's next action" ends when the hero waits.
9. Read the battle log
The Battle log shows every roll, the edge and the damage. It also shows the Rival hand: the cards the monsters can play next. Peek before you choose!
10. Losing is free
A lost battle can be retried as often as you like, and you never lose a cleared battle. Change your marks or your deck between tries and see what works.
Build tips
- Start with the suggested company. Warden, Scarred and Voice is a strong, simple start for the whole trail.
- Take one ranged hero. A Voice or a Spark can reach monsters in the back rank, like the Lantern Moth in Echo Caves and The Belfry. See the trail.
- Bring Will strikes for armor. Will strikes ignore armor, which makes them great against the Moss Golem.
- An Accuracy mark is strong. It raises the edge of every strike the hero makes. Each hero can take one.
- Life marks give 2 each. They are good for the hero in the front rank who gets hit the most.
- Spread out your strikes. Have cards that aim at different defenses, so you always have a good card for each monster.
- Two copies of your favourite cards. With 30 cards and a hand of five, a card you have twice turns up twice as often.
More on marks and the deck screen is on building your company.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Striking a monster's strongest defense | Lots of misses and grazes | Check its numbers and aim at the lowest |
| Leaving a monster Down at the end of your turn | The others rescue it | Strike it once more to take it Out |
| Stepping back while an enemy Warden stands in front | It gets a free strike on you | Use Slip or Vanish, or stay and use Hold Fast |
| A close fighter in the back rank | It cannot strike | Swap it to the front in Formation, or Step forward |
| Playing a Slow spell with the Voice in the front rank | Monsters hit it and break the spell | Prepare Slow spells from the back rank |
| Wasting Mend Song or Quiet Chord | They only work on the protected ally | Choose the right ally in Formation |
See also
- Advanced tips
- The trail: all five battles
- Effects and conditions
- FAQ
- Enjoy careful planning? Try the Solitaire guide or the Relay Rivals guide.
- Play Three Marks on the portal.
