Mad science for good. This episode is your practical, no-fluff guide to Luminary—the gadget-stacking, device-detonating control/burst hero (the reformed Baron). You’ll learn how to flood the board with Devices, protect your engine, then cash them in for massive single-target or multi-target damage right when it matters.

1. Deploy – Use Luminary’s innate to cheat Devices into play and dig for more. Prioritize repeatable ping/turret Devices, damage redirection/soak, and a draw/filter piece.

2. Stabilize – Use Device pings to clip adds, soft-lock problem targets, and protect your rig. Don’t blow the big toys yet.

3. Detonate – Once you’ve got 3–5 Devices out (more if the table is safe), cash in with your big “doomsday” effects or self-destruct lines for a decisive swing.

• Engines / Access: Anything that reveals top cards or puts Devices straight into play. These accelerate you from zero to online.

• Repeatable Damage Devices: End- or start-of-turn auto-pings that hit one or many targets. They turn every round into free value, especially with damage boosts.

• Protection / Soak: Bodyguard/decoy style Devices or temporary DR that keep Luminary and your rig alive through villain AOEs and environment spikes.

• Finishers / Big Buttons: Your “blow up Devices for burst,” “multi-target blasts,” or “mega-cannon” plays. Save these for flips, phase pushes, or when the board snowballs.

• Utility: Targeted ongoing/environment removal, trash recursion (to bring back clutch Devices), and situational redirects.

• T1: Use power to fish for Devices. Play a cheap Device or an engine that increases your play velocity/draw.

• T2: Add a repeatable ping and one protection piece. Keep power for more Device finds.

• T3: Go wider—third Device or a utility answer. Evaluate table: if safe, start lining up a finisher next turn.

• T4: Detonate (if a flip/threshold is looming) or continue building value if the board is stable. The patient Luminary wins more games than the reckless one.

Rule of thumb: Two value Devices + one protection → then consider your big swing.

• Wide enemy fields (minion swarms): Lean on multi-target pings + a mid-sized detonation to reset the board. Keep one finisher banked for the boss.

• Tall bosses (few, beefy targets): Stack single-target turrets and line up a single massive burst when the boss is vulnerable or about to flip.

• Environment-heavy fights: Keep a utility Device ready to answer hazardous environment cards; use pings to chip without overcommitting.

• Ongoing/Equipment hate: Don’t deploy everything at once. Stagger Devices so one wipe doesn’t zero you out; keep recursion in hand.

• Extra power uses / extra plays: More chances to deploy Devices off the top and trigger repeatables.

• Global damage buffs / enemy debuffs: Turn your pings and detonations into real DPS.

• Ongoing/Equipment protection: Keeps your device grid intact through villain cleanses.

• Card draw / tutoring: Gets you to engines and finishers faster.

• Turn order control: Lets you detonate after ally debuffs or before a villain spike.

• Detonating too early: You win the turn, then lose the game next turn.

  • Fix: Hold finishers until they secure a flip, clear a lethal board, or close.

• Over-deploying into wipes: Dropping 5 Devices just before a global destroy is pain.

  • Fix: Stagger plays; keep one in hand + recursion ready.

• No protection piece: Your rig dies to chip and AOEs.

  • Fix: Prioritize soak/DR/decoy Device early, then scale damage.

• Ignoring utility: Some villains/environments demand an answer card; pings alone won’t save you.

  • Fix: Always reserve a slot/play for removal/utility when the matchup calls for it.

• Clock management: Count how many end-of-turn pings you’ll get across a full round. Sometimes that’s enough to hold the finisher for a cleaner lethal.

• Detonation math: If blowing 2–3 Devices won’t swing the phase or remove the problem target, keep building—your next detonation will.

• Chain lines: Recycle a key Device from trash, auto-deploy it with the power, then detonate—all in one round with ally support.

• Threat gating: Use small pings to pop damage caps/shields on priority enemies so your big button lands full value.

1. Flood Devices via power/engines

2. Stabilize with repeatable pings + protection

3. Detonate only when it wins a swing

4. Stagger deployments vs wipes; keep recursion

5. Scale with team buffs → finish decisively