From video games to trading card games, the combo is a common strategy used by more experienced players to crush unsuspecting newbies. As a result, it is to be expected that Conquest works similarly—newbies play simple, worthless domains, while the experts master in-depth combos and obliterate their foes.

Truth is...sometimes. But, for all the hype combos can get, sometimes extreme combo domains fall flat on their faces.

An anecdote from the past
Well, it might be hard for all of you to relate to this, but you have to understand that as a creator of Conquest, most of the resources I've tested are not even resources anymore. (They could be at some point, but it remains to be seen.) So, hopefully you will find this analysis of a combo deck I built on non-existent resources interesting.

I had built an Air and Chaos domain (I don't remember what other alignment I had, to be honest) several years ago. The purpose of the domain was to build an infinite, looping combo of deploying creatures. Here were the resources that made up the combo:

• An upgrade that gives you 2m when you deploy a unit to the location it is upgrading.

• An upgrade that gives you 2m every time one of your units is ruined.

• A condition that allows you to deploy units able (similar to the current fervor).

Essentially, this domain allowed you to theoretically create an infinite loop of deploying small units, moving them out to attack enemy units, and being ruined. With this process, you could easily throw out a razortail falcon, gain 4m to deploy it, then attack and have it ruined, again gaining 4m. That's a 6m return on investment—-pretty impressive! With all that extra mana, I would bring out a few massive creatures and use several powerful spells to ruin enemy units in my opponent's location.

If you're a pretty savvy commander, you'll quickly see the flaw in this domain. I had unlimited access to mana once my combo got moving, but I was gaining hardly any mana for income. All of my upgrades had special abilities, not base income. So, any large units I would deploy the next term, I wouldn't be able to pay for them. So, how could I ever win a match?

Worse yet, it was extremely difficult to get the combo going, because I would never have any mana to deploy units. I would have to use three of my limited mana at the beginning of the term just to evoke the condition, and then try to generate the combo with my limited scraps. The domain was a dismal failure.

Lessons learned
The lesson that is learned from this is that, while combos are excellent, your resources need to be valuable independent of the combo. For instance, dissever/infect is a great combo, and both resources can be useful in isolation. However, make sure that you'll be gaining enough mana to use this hefty, 10-mana combo.

The last thing to remember is that every resource in your domain should complement the other ones. Oftentimes, it's best to stick to very subtle combos, such as units with mount and steeds, or powerful items with Basode mercenaries. In this way, even very simple domains can be very powerful.

But most importantly, take heed of the example I've described. It can be very easy to get focused on some in-depth combo, be it a series of spells or a specific unit with three chance items. However, when it comes to the heat of war, you're often best off using sensible resources with a logical, straightforward strategy and a few well-timed tricks. After all, there's no awards for the most creative domain-—your purpose is, and always will be, to completely demolish all opponents in your path. Never lose sight of this key goal, and success will be yours for the taking.

What combo blunders have you had? Or, if you have found any powerful combos, let me know!

Congratulations on completing the domain construction tutorial! Now, try to build your own domain, and test it against a friend or at an unlikely opponent at your local card shop. The most important thing to remember about building your domain is that the first draft is never complete—as you face off various strategies, you will continue to refine and improve your domain. Then, once you've had enough of your first domain, try building another, with different alignments.