(Original photo: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/news-that-made-mad-john-cena-s-wwe-title-win-frustrated-edge)
Getting the chance to go first in Gods Unchained matches can provide a huge advantage, one that can be even too much for the opponent to overcome with their 3 extra mana gems via the Small Bags of Tricks. However, it takes careful execution to make sure that you retain the first mover advantage throughout the game. Spread your troops too fast and too thin at the beginning and you might open the window for your opponent to come back hard and fast with reactionary gameplay and use of their extra mana gems. However, take it too slow and hold back thinking you're waiting for your moment, and your opponent can steal the first mover advantage and massively turn the tide in their favor to dominate with their extra mana gems (as I described in my previous post about strategy for winning when going second). Thus, it's imperative to find the delicate balance between deploying creatures and keeping the pressure on the opponent to constantly deal with your creatures already on the board, and having contingencies with the creatures/spells you decide to hold back on and keep in your hand for longer...waiting for the right moment to use them best.
With that being said, let's dive into a gameplay example where I can describe how I tried to achieve that very balance which makes up my strategy for winning when going first in Gods Unchained matches. And it's all via the mantra: get ahead and stay ahead!
Here's the hand that we kicked things off with: 
Usable creature volume is crucial when going first, since you're trying to keep the pressure on (and since you only have one Small Bag of Tricks to spend on a more expensive creature), so it was tough having the 5 mana Overproof Brew show up, but I knew that if I could maintain pressure and put a strong board together, then it could actually make a massive impact when I did get to 5 unlocked mana gems. So I just had to keep the first mover advantage until I could get to that big 5 mana level and then really take over.
So, in trying to stay aggressive so that we can get ahead and stay ahead, I decided to kick things off with my Tartessian Improviser to see which creature would get the 2 point attack boost! And once it went to Deuteria, I knew immediately that it was time to push hard from the start, and I used my Small Bag of Tricks to launch her card as well onto the board. There were three reasons for this. 1) I wanted to get her strong 4 attack points on the board for a chance to attack with them next turn. 2) With my opponent's God Power being Selena's Mark (which will deal 1 damage to a random enemy creature, and heal their God for 1), if I hadn't done this, their God Power could have been used to take out my Tartessian Improviser outright, since I wouldn't have anything else on the board. However, now if they tried to use the God Power, it possibly would hit Deuteria for -1 and thus keep both my creatures on the board to attack to the face on the next turn. 3) It added Deuteria's stronger 3/3 version to my deck ASAP, and the earlier that gets added to your deck, the more likely it (and it's other stronger versions) can show up during the match.
Remember, the strategy you use in gameplay is just as (if not more) important than the cards you draw and what cards you play. It's the WHY and the WHEN you use the cards that can make all the difference. And that's why I try to share these strategy posts! Now let's continue onward!
The next turn from both my opponent and I were pretty low key. He launched a Dockside Prowler with hidden, and I responded with my own as well. This set me up to use my Battle Aurochs on my next turn once i had 3 mana gems unlocked.
My opponent responded with taking out my Deuteria with their Dockside Prowler, and then used their God Power to deal one damage to my Dockside Prowler and heal their God for one. I then followed up by attacking their God with the creatures I had on the board and adding my Battle Aurochs to play as per my plan. This was essential to my mantra, because in order to get ahead and stay ahead, I needed to protect my two creatures that only have one health point remaining with a frontline creature. I've found that retaining firepower on the board is crucial, especially for when you are going first in a game.
Using a combination of Canopy Barrage and their God Power, my opponent was able to wipe out both of my 1 health point creatures. However, this worked out perfect, as I was able to retain my frontline (and most powerful) creature, as well as add a Tavern Brawler to the board and deal two damage to my opponent's God with Slayer. Having two creatures on the board vs. none is exactly what I mean by getting ahead and staying ahead as we reached the midway point of this game. Also, I continued to plan ahead by adding another Battle Aurochs to my hand from the sanctum using the favor I'd gained by being aggressive early on.
The next turn was key, and set me up for what came next. My opponent used all their mana to launch a creature with lots of armor but no frontline nor major attack points. So I was able to respond with an attack to the face with my two creatures on the board, as well as launch two more creatures onto the board, including my second Battle Aurochs with frontline. Boom, four creatures on the board with a 10:1 combined attack ratio compared to my opponent. Y'all already know, so I don't need to say it again lol....remember the mantra!
The screenshot above shows what the board looked like after my opponent's move, before I made any moves. I'm showing this to display what I was looking at when the best play of the day came together for this game, all thanks to what we had set up earlier. Because it was time for Over Proof Brew.
This is the result of the turn. Knowing that I was going to use Over Proof Brew and it would deal one damage to every creature, including my own, I knew that I would lose my Battle Aurochs if I didn't use it first, so I was able to use that take out my opponent's Black Jaguar. Then I launched the Over Proof Brew and took full control. This gave me protected on both my remaining creatures and 4 and 5 attack points respectively, which I then used to attack the opponent's God and drop them down to only 4 remaining health points. Also, I was able to return protected on both creatures, which meant that my opponent would have to attack each one twice in order to destroy them on the next turn, or else I'd be able to win on the next turn, barring them launching two separate frontline creatures.
And that's all she wrote folks, the next turn was the last one, as we were able to attack with one of our creatures already on the board and walk away with the win!
Like I said earlier, I think the key to getting ahead and staying ahead is maintaining pressure on the opponent throughout. Because once you get the chance to go first, you want to have them always defending, rather than being able to take initiative and attack first. The gameplay example was a sample of how I try to do that and I hope it helped when describing the first mover advantage and the strategy when going first.
Would love to hear what y'all think of this, and hope it helps in your gameplay this weekend!
-Jumpmaster
Interesting. Like it!
Usually i try not to worry with god damage on firsts rounds. Better keep card at hand otherwise you will only spent it.
Need to combo them.
Tks for sharing.
Of course! Hope it helps!
I can't see your thumbnail :p
Noooo for real? It looks fine from here, I'll check again!
Hahahah brother I am joking because it is John Cena :p
Thank you for the play by play of your match. It is great help in understanding your thought processes. Explanations like this make it easier for others to start enjoying the game.
Of course! Thanks for checking it out, glad it helped!