Parsing Parse: A Strategy Guide
I’d like to start things out with a quick background. On starting out with Vengeance, I was initially very underwhelmed by Parse. Perhaps it was just a couple of bad draws, perhaps it was the wrong villain, I don’t really know. I just wasn’t impressed, especially when I loved the rest of the Vengeance heroes.
Now, she’s absolutely one of my favorites, and I wanted to write a guide both for those of you on the fence and those of you already firmly in Camp Parse (You should visit sometime. We have classes on archery and coding).
I’ve broken this guide down into sections based on Parse’s cards: Damage buffing, deck manipulation, ongoing / environment, and miscellany.
Damage Buffing
First things first: If you’re one of those people who has to be the one actually delivering the damage, just keep moving. Parse is a team player, through and through. Second, understand that much of Parse’s utility in this category can vary a lot depending on the amount of damage reduction around. So, let’s break it down.
Between the Lines is a solid, if not overwhelming way to make sure your teammate can actually land a blow. If you can combo it with a damage increase from Critical Multiplier or Targeting Arrow, all the better.
Exploit Vulnerability is obviously best in target-rich environments. Voss, Chairman, Vengeance Five all leap to mind as great villains to use this against.
Targeting Arrow gives you utility similar to a temporary bounty, and the fact that it’s irreducible damage means you don’t have to worry about it landing.
Reveal the Flaws is the card for when something stubborn absolutely needs to die in the next round. Maybe it’s a Periapt of Woe, Advanced Vengeance Blade’s devices, Citizen Truth, whatever.
For my money, though, it’s all about Critical Multiplier. Two things to notice here. First, Parse has 8 cards that involve her discarding in some way. Second, Critical Multiplier is not Limited. So, if you have all three in play (not crazy likely, but it can happen), every discard piles 3 damage onto the next hero’s attack. Use Recompile at full strength and you could be adding 9! That’s not even counting the times that villains or even other players make you discard. This card is awesome.
Deck manipulation
“Okay,” says the hypothetical naysayer in my head. “Parse is good at buffing damage and helping others punch through defenses. Doesn’t Legacy do a better job at buffing? Isn’t a lot of the irreducible damage pointless if the villain deck isn’t heavy on damage reduction?” Sure, imaginary person. You’re right. But this section is where Parse starts to really shine.
Let’s start off with the most unassuming, Updated Intel. Dealing with the bottom card of the deck is a bit odd, as is the trigger of playing villain cards. Worst case scenario, once a round you get to glance at the bottom of a deck and maybe mess with it a bit. But the best case scenario is where it gets interesting. Any time you’re dealing with multiple villain cards a turn (Vengeance Five is an obvious one, but there are plenty of other examples), you get to have a say in whatever deck you want. I had a match with Citizen Dawn with [[eclipse]] in play, and I actually got to put the bottom card on the top in between plays. Pretty cool. Also remember it’s optional, so taking a peek never hurts.
Gauge is a bit more straightforward. Since it involves some draw, I find it works very well for when you’re getting set up (or recovering from discards) and gives some solid, if relatively minor deck tweaking.
Extrasensory Awareness, on the other hand, is one of the best forms of villain deck manipulation we’ve seen. Visionary has some great stuff, but most of hers aren’t easily repeatable and have some limitations. Being able to discard a card instead of just putting it on the bottom is quite powerful. One of the best parts in my book is that you can shuffle afterwards - because we’ve all been in situations where even after the rearrange it’s still really not how you want the top of the villain deck to look. Really great card, and a cornerstone of Parse’s deck.
But I could sing the praises of Buffer Overflow forever. Ever since I first started playing Sentinels, I longed for a cancellation card. I wanted a “counterspell”, “treachery cancellation”, whatever. But without a mechanic for interruption, I assumed it would never happen. Well, I was wrong. Oh, so sorry, Devastating Aurora / Forced Deployment / Apocalypse / Prison Break / whatever card you hate the most, I think you can just go away. Thanks. I’ll take a different card.
There are a few caveats, of course. First, if the Random Number Gods hate you as much as they do Setback, you might end up with the exact same card or something worse as a replacement. Even more troublesome, if the card is destroyed some other way, you still have to play a villain card. Protect this card with all your strength. Have other Ongoing fodder if necessary. Nothing worse than losing the cancellation opportunity and only getting an extra villain card for your trouble.
Ongoing / Environment
I’m going to keep this section short and sweet, because it’s totally possible I’ve already lost some of you with the length of this sucker.
Data-Mining is unusual in that it has the potential to destroy both ongoing and environment cards in one fell swoop, but needing there to be two of each means you’ll often have to use it sub-optimally. That’s okay. Still better than the alternative.
Segmentation Fault is reliable, repeatable destruction. You say “But you have to discard a card”, I say “The better to power Critical Multiplier with, my dear.”
Miscellany
Impossible Shot doesn’t warrant much explanation, other than it’s the highest single instance of a hero’s irreducible damage I can think of, plus a draw.
I couldn’t quite decide where to put Quick Calculation. It’s kind of deck manipulation, but it’s really more just draw power. Has some interesting synergy with Updated Intel, if you actually would like all three cards.
Recompile is a very important card for a several reasons. First, there are a couple of cards you always want to see when you’re playing Parse, and cycling through your deck faster means increasing your chances of getting what you need. Toss those irreducible cards if there’s no damage reduction in play, get something better! Second, this is the biggest and best way to power your Critical Multiplier damage.
Speaking of powering your Critical Multiplier damage, Snap Decision gives you a way to get set up while doing just that. It also gives you some breathing room to play cards you might not normally prioritize, like a random Impossible Shot.
Syntactic Analysis is hands-down the best of this section. Giving another player or yourself (it’s okay, you work hard, you deserve nice things too) the potential for two extra card plays is huge. Especially great for heroes that need a lot of set-up. Unity may actually try to marry you.
Teamups, Nemeses, and Final Thoughts
I may expand this section if there’s any interest in more of my ramblings, but for now I’ll just throw in a few random thoughts. First, Heroes that deal lots of smaller instances of damage (Chrono Ranger, Fanatic, Tempest all come to mind) love teaming up with Parse. They’re normally very susceptible to being shut down by DR, and Parse turns that on its head. Second, villains that have a lot of ongoing destruction (La Capitan, Miss Information, and the like) can really ruin your day as Parse. Mess with their decks so they don’t have a chance.
Okay, I think I’m done for now. I hope you enjoyed this guide, and you came away a little bit more in love the best archer in the Multiverse. I sure did!