{
  "id": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--mirror",
  "kind": "matchup-analysis",
  "lang": "en",
  "title": "Purge the Foe mirror — Meatgrinder",
  "subjects": [
    "gdm:disposition/purge-the-foe",
    "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/meatgrinder"
  ],
  "sides": {
    "side0": {
      "disposition": "purge-the-foe",
      "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/meatgrinder",
      "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed",
      "holdWindow": 0
    },
    "side1": {
      "disposition": "purge-the-foe",
      "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/meatgrinder",
      "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed",
      "holdWindow": 0
    }
  },
  "ratings": [
    {
      "metric": "edge",
      "value": 10,
      "confidence": "high",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "Mirror: identical cards, so the mission contributes nothing to the differential."
    },
    {
      "metric": "ceiling",
      "side": 0,
      "value": 16,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "Kill 3 VP plus trade differential 5 VP plus enemy home 5 VP is 13 VP a turn on top of the hold line."
    },
    {
      "metric": "ceiling",
      "side": 1,
      "value": 16,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side."
    },
    {
      "metric": "floor",
      "side": 0,
      "value": 11,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "The hold line is a flat 4 VP and the kill rider is nearly free, so 7 VP a round is the realistic floor."
    },
    {
      "metric": "floor",
      "side": 1,
      "value": 11,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side."
    },
    {
      "metric": "tempo",
      "side": 0,
      "value": 15,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "Most of the card scores at the end of your own turn, so alpha strikes and late grabs convert immediately."
    },
    {
      "metric": "tempo",
      "side": 1,
      "value": 15,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side."
    },
    {
      "metric": "complexity",
      "side": 0,
      "value": 13,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "The trade differential compares this turn kills against last turn losses, which forces you to plan 2 turns ahead."
    },
    {
      "metric": "complexity",
      "side": 1,
      "value": 13,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side."
    },
    {
      "metric": "exposure",
      "side": 0,
      "value": 15,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "The recurring 5 VP for the enemy home objective is the most expensive real estate measured: taking it means standing where up to 74% of their deployment zone can see you."
    },
    {
      "metric": "activationCost",
      "side": 0,
      "value": 9,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "One expendable unit for the kill rider, one raid package; the rest of the army fights normally."
    },
    {
      "metric": "exposure",
      "side": 1,
      "value": 15,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "The recurring 5 VP for the enemy home objective is the most expensive real estate measured: taking it means standing where up to 74% of their deployment zone can see you."
    },
    {
      "metric": "activationCost",
      "side": 1,
      "value": 9,
      "confidence": "medium",
      "basis": "theory",
      "rationale": "One expendable unit for the kill rider, one raid package; the rest of the army fights normally."
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "type": "engine-note",
      "phase": "whole-game",
      "text": "Meatgrinder pays a flat 4 VP for holding anything, so holding a second or third objective adds nothing — the VP live in kills, the trade differential and the enemy home objective."
    },
    {
      "type": "engine-note",
      "phase": "whole-game",
      "text": "Controlling the opponent home objective pays 5 VP at the end of EVERY turn from round 2, not once at the end of battle — it is the single most repeatable line on the card."
    },
    {
      "type": "pitfall",
      "phase": "whole-game",
      "text": "Spreading onto 3 objectives is a trap: it does not raise the hold line and it feeds the opponent trade differential."
    },
    {
      "type": "cost",
      "side": 0,
      "phase": "whole-game",
      "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it."
    },
    {
      "type": "cost",
      "side": 1,
      "phase": "whole-game",
      "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it."
    },
    {
      "type": "terrain",
      "phase": "deployment",
      "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.",
      "refs": [
        "rule:13.08",
        "rule:14.02"
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "disruption",
      "side": 0,
      "phase": "whole-game",
      "text": "Two levers, and both are cheap. First, screen your home from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn, and it dies if they cannot get enough OC within range of the marker. A screen that denies the approach is cheaper than an OC contest — but if they do get a body there, matching their level of control is enough, because equal totals mean neither of you holds it. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts *units*, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15\"."
    },
    {
      "type": "list-building",
      "side": 0,
      "phase": "list-building",
      "text": "Purge the Foe needs: One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt. A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability. Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most. A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves."
    },
    {
      "type": "layout",
      "phase": "deployment",
      "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal halves) reads 3/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 5/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 32.8% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 3 and 36% on Layout 1 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 8.9% on Layout 3."
    }
  ],
  "listRequirements": [
    {
      "side": 0,
      "role": "One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one",
      "count": 1,
      "trait": [
        "expendable-bodies",
        "damage",
        "speed"
      ],
      "phase": "list-building",
      "why": "One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt."
    },
    {
      "side": 0,
      "role": "A delivery package for their home objective by round 2",
      "count": 2,
      "trait": [
        "deep-strike",
        "speed"
      ],
      "phase": "list-building",
      "why": "A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability."
    },
    {
      "side": 0,
      "role": "Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5",
      "count": 4,
      "trait": [
        "damage"
      ],
      "phase": "list-building",
      "why": "Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5."
    },
    {
      "side": 0,
      "role": "A cheap home screen",
      "trait": [
        "screening",
        "expendable-bodies"
      ],
      "phase": "list-building",
      "why": "A cheap home screen."
    },
    {
      "side": 0,
      "role": "Two of them if their list has reserves",
      "count": 2,
      "trait": [
        "deep-strike"
      ],
      "phase": "list-building",
      "why": "Two of them if their list has reserves."
    }
  ],
  "dependsOn": {
    "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21",
    "gdmPack": "GDM"
  },
  "status": "draft",
  "sources": [],
  "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nTwo killers, one card. Holding pays a flat 4 VP whether you own 1 objective or four, so board control is almost irrelevant — the points live in bodies, in the trade differential, and in a 5 VP-a-turn bounty on the enemy home objective. This mirror is decided by whoever gets a durable unit into the other's back yard first.\n\n| | Purge the Foe (side 0) | Purge the Foe (side 1) |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Meatgrinder | Meatgrinder |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 0 enemy turns |\n| Exposure | 15/20 | 15/20 |\n| Activation cost | 9/20 | 9/20 |\n\nA hold window of zero changes where the fight is. Nobody has to survive anything: you walk on, the turn ends, you get paid. Which means **there is no window to shoot them off the marker afterwards** — by the time it matters, they have already banked it. Denial on this card happens before the grab, not after. You are not buying reactions. You are buying space.\n\n## Playing Purge the Foe\n\n*Your card: Meatgrinder. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nKill something every turn (3 VP), hold any 1 objective (4 VP), and win the trade comparison — more enemy units dead this turn than friendly units lost last turn (5 VP). Then the big one: 5 VP at the end of **every** turn you control their home objective. A unit that lands there in round 2 and survives to round 5 is worth 20 VP on its own.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nThe home bounty is the most expensive real estate on the table, and the trade clause punishes over-commitment a turn late. Spend a quiet turn before your big one — losses you take now poison next turn's comparison. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 9/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTwo levers, and both are cheap. First, **screen your home** from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn and dies to one screening unit in the way. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts *units*, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15\".\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt.\n- A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability.\n- Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most.\n- A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves.\n\n## Playing Purge the Foe\n\n*Your card: Meatgrinder. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nKill something every turn (3 VP), hold any 1 objective (4 VP), and win the trade comparison — more enemy units dead this turn than friendly units lost last turn (5 VP). Then the big one: 5 VP at the end of **every** turn you control their home objective. A unit that lands there in round 2 and survives to round 5 is worth 20 VP on its own.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nThe home bounty is the most expensive real estate on the table, and the trade clause punishes over-commitment a turn late. Spend a quiet turn before your big one — losses you take now poison next turn's comparison. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 9/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTwo levers, and both are cheap. First, **screen your home** from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn and dies to one screening unit in the way. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts *units*, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15\".\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt.\n- A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability.\n- Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most.\n- A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nPurge the Foe mirror is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal halves | 3/20 | — | 36% | 4.8% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the long axis | 5/20 | — | 34.5% | 0.4% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal across the short axis | 5/20 | 8.9% | 32.8% | 12.9% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal halves, openness **3/20**. Raiding a home marker costs **36%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **4.8%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (99% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **5/20**. Raiding a home marker costs **34.5%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **0.4%**. 84% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **8.9%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **32.8%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **12.9%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (96% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Round 1 — position for a guaranteed round-2 kill rather than reaching for objectives.\n- Round 2 — commit the raid. Every turn you delay is 5 VP gone.\n- Round 4 — if the raid failed, farm the cheapest targets available; the card counts units, not value.",
  "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/purge-the-foe--mirror/"
}