Know Your Allies And Your Enemies.
Before starting a game you should consider who your teammates are. How often don't you lose because the other guy just leaves after a few minutes.
The easiest thing to do is add people who abandoned you your pests, and those who helped you to victory to your friends. After playing a few games with him, you will know either you can trust him or not.
Besides knowing your friends it might be useful to have a look at your opponent. You can right click him and view his home cities and his decks. This might reveal his strategy. Have a look at unit or upgrade cards which will give you an idea of what you will encounter during the game, and also make sure you are not dealing with a cheater. If you are playing a NR-game and your enemies deck doesn't have any age 3 or 4 cards, he will most likely rush.
Also take a quick peek at the number of games he has played. A Lieutenant who has only played like 30 games, is most likely a private who was lucky enough to win a 4 vs 4 which promoted him like hell.
If you see that a guy has played over 500 games, he might be of a higher rank then the game shows.
However, if you are able to see his deck, he can see yours to. That is why you might want to have multiple decks, some of which you may never use, just to mislead the enemy.
Knowing who you are dealing with can really help you win the game!
EDIT: You can also see your enemies deck in-game after he has chosen one. Check the Player Summary to do this.
Before starting a game you should consider who your teammates are. How often don't you lose because the other guy just leaves after a few minutes.
The easiest thing to do is add people who abandoned you your pests, and those who helped you to victory to your friends. After playing a few games with him, you will know either you can trust him or not.
Besides knowing your friends it might be useful to have a look at your opponent. You can right click him and view his home cities and his decks. This might reveal his strategy. Have a look at unit or upgrade cards which will give you an idea of what you will encounter during the game, and also make sure you are not dealing with a cheater. If you are playing a NR-game and your enemies deck doesn't have any age 3 or 4 cards, he will most likely rush.
Also take a quick peek at the number of games he has played. A Lieutenant who has only played like 30 games, is most likely a private who was lucky enough to win a 4 vs 4 which promoted him like hell.
If you see that a guy has played over 500 games, he might be of a higher rank then the game shows.
However, if you are able to see his deck, he can see yours to. That is why you might want to have multiple decks, some of which you may never use, just to mislead the enemy.
Knowing who you are dealing with can really help you win the game!
EDIT: You can also see your enemies deck in-game after he has chosen one. Check the Player Summary to do this.
[This message has been edited by Sir_Wouter_E (edited 02-09-2009 @ 01:16 PM).]