Smite Tactics just entered Closed Beta 3, and a founder's Pack will get you a key. Learn how to use environmental tiles, what keywords mean, and some general tips and tricks for this unique tactical card game.


If you're new to card games:

  • Every deck has a win condition, and you must meet the win condition in order to have a good chance of winning the game. For example, a deck full of low cost cards may struggle in later rounds of the game, so it's important to deal damage to the enemy leader early on. On the other hand, a deck reliant on high cost cards and blistering combos may have you struggling to survive past the early rounds. The payoff comes later. Most decks are built to be versatile, so spend time learning as much about winning decks as you can.
  • Card games are typically streaky - meaning wins and losses come in bunches. If you find yourself losing a number of matches, maybe take a break and come back to the game later. When you're calm, don't immediately make huge changes to your deck. Instead, understand why you lost and how better to adapt your play with the same deck in the future. If you're facing an unwinnable situation with the deck again and again, then it's time to make changes to the deck or play another deck for a while.
  • Don't rush into ranked; take time to learn your cards and decks fully in Versus play. Practicing with an incomplete deck willl help you earn the cards, combos, and tactics you need to succeed in ranked.

Tips specific to Smite Tactics:

  • Play the Tutorials and all the PvE campaigns first thing - It takes about 20-30 minutes to play through each of them. Get at least one star in each mission to unlock a bunch of cards, but getting three stars will teach you more about the strengths and weaknesses of each faction.
  • Minions and gods spawn next to the leader (unless you're using the Rally ability), and newly spawned units require one turn to prepare before they can move and attack. This is with the exception of units with the Initiative trait - make sure to use the unit's initiative if you've got it, there's no downside.
  • Typical of tactical games, once you attack or use an ability with a hero or minion, its turn is over. You can't attack and then move, with the exception of when you play a card or use an ability that allows the character to move / attack again. You can, however, move one unit, move and/or attack with other units, and attack with the original unit later in your turn.
  • You may have no more than 7 cards in your hand. Every card you draw in excess of the limit is discarded. Some enemy cards may force you to draw, so plan accordingly.
  • View the history of each match by clicking an arrow on the left part of the screen - useful if you miss an opponent's move or for reviewing how a match went.
  • Your opponent can view what cards and tiles you're mousing over during your turn. It won't matter it most early matches, but try to get in the habit of deciding exactly what you'll do before you move your mouse cursor.

Understanding Keywords

Most keywords (traits) are pretty self-explantory and, with a recent update, in-game tooltips help to explain each trait too. Here's a slightly deeper explanation of a handful of keywords that can cause confusion.

Aura - Some units (Spartan, Aphrodite) can impart an aura, either by ability or as a passive trait. Auras let friendly characters absorb a certain number of damage EACH TIME the unit is attacked (though Aphrodite's aura only lasts two turns). One great way to use aura is to extend the life of characters with Taunt.

Colossal - New with CB3, a passive triggered at the start of each turn. Spawn these units early and let them mature as much as possible before putting them in danger.

Command - New with CB3, triggered whenever an item is used. Useful for mid-game, low-cost combos.

Cleave - An ability which damages all units around the unit.

Disarm - (New with CB3) An ability which disarms an enemy. Disarmed enemies cannot attack.

Divinity - Some units, like the Greek Marksman, have the Divinity ability, which grant a stacking buff each time a friendly god is summoned to the battlefield. For this reason, it's usually wise to combo these low cost units with a god or goddess in the middle game.

Feared - Hades has the ability to Fear units, which causes them to move about 3-4 tiles away. This won't happen if the unit is rooted.

Pardon - Normally, when a unit attacks, the unit it's attacking deals its attack damage to the attacking unit. This trait prevents the attacked unit from counter-attacking.

Taunt - Forces surrounding enemies to lock onto the taunting character until it dies. This also seems to impede some heroes from casting abilities as well, making taunt incredibly powerful.


Understanding Environmental Tiles

What makes Smite Tactics unique is the positional gameplay. Learn how to use certain tiles to your advantage and avoid positioning your units poorly.

Pillars / Rocks / etc. - Impede movement, but DO NOT impede ranged attacks. Use these positionally (i.e. to deny a melee enemy the ability to close to attack), but not necessarily defensively.
Urns - (New with CB3) Each urn has two health and spawns mid-map. Once destroyed, grants cards which give bonuses to health, attack, and mana. These are well worth the effort (especially if you can take them with an ability), but don't attack an urn unless you can destroy it. A single hit on an urn makes it easy for your opponent to finish it off.
Shrubs - Moving into a bush prevents the enemy from attacking this character unless an enemy is one tile away. The enemy still knows your unit is present, but they cannot attack it. Your hidden unit CAN attack enemies within range, so this can be a great place to stash ranged and support units.

Fire - Groundling units placed in fire take one damage per turn, so avoid these unless you have a specific tactic in mind.


Playing Tactically: More Tips and Tricks

  • Avoid allowing your leader to get hemmed in on all sides; don't get stuck behind a rock / pillar / etc with enemies and friendly minions all around you. If you have units around your leader that you can't eliminate, 1) you won't be able to summon more heroes and minions unless you can move past friendly units, and 2) could potentially take a lot of needless damage from ranged and nearby enemies.
  • Similarly, try to avoid moving your leader to tiles on the outside border and especially avoid moving into a corner.
  • Make a habit of ensuring that your END TURN button is glowing. If its not, make sure you're happy with why it's not glowing before you end your turn. Look for hash marks under friendly characters for remaining action points. It's easy to skip combat opportunities - especially ranged attacks - accidentally.
  • Spawn units with the Pardon ability well behind where enemies can attack (or stealth them), preferably with a taunt unit covering as many enemies as possible. Pardon units excel when they can get potshots in on defenseless (especially high attack, low hitpoint) enemies, but can't stand up for long in a fair fight.
  • Eliminate colossal and divinity enabled units as quickly as possible, and keep track of god cooldowns. Don't waste a shot on a god on cooldown (next turn) if you can kill a tougher enemy.

Have more Smite Tactics tips and tricks? Feel free to share them in the comments. Thanks for reading!


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Smite Tactics Game Page.

Last Updated: Feb 08, 2017

About The Author

Jeff joined the Ten Ton Hammer team in 2004 covering EverQuest II, and he's had his hands on just about every PC online and multiplayer game he could since.

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