Economy first: why your stage 2 decides your stage 5

The two curves

Every stage 2 you play one of two curves: the streak curve or the interest curve. The streak curve trades gold for HP and tempo. The interest curve trades HP for gold and flexibility.

Both are correct. What loses games is drifting between them — winning one round, losing the next, and arriving at 3-1 with neither streak gold nor interest.

• Pick your curve by 2-1, not at carousel.
• A streak is only worth holding if you can hold all 5 rounds.
• Interest caps at 50 gold; after that, gold is for the curve that plans to spend it.

What stage 2 gold actually buys

Gold stacked in stage 2 converts into level 8 on 4-2 with 30+ gold to roll. That is the entire goal: a full board two rounds before players who fought all stage 2.

If your board cannot reach 4-2 at level 8 with 30 gold, your stage 2 was too expensive. Count the rounds you leveled early — each one is roughly a roll-down delayed.