Grand Master

Huma

The owl who reads you, not your cards

Watches your habits, not your card. Speaks little, is always right. The night is hers.

6 seconds

The story

Nobody remembers Huma arriving at the temple. The owl was simply there one night on the highest beam, watching a duel, and she has been watching ever since.

She speaks rarely. When she does, she tells you what you are about to do, and then you do it. Players call it mind reading. Huma calls it paying attention.

She is the last master of the ladder. Beyond her there are only shadows.

The way of Huma

Every habit is a message you send without meaning to. You open with fire because fire worked last time. You switch after a loss because losing stings. Huma does not need to see your cards, because your habits already describe them.

Her way is self-knowledge. The old saying tells you to know your enemy; Huma adds that your enemy knows you better than you know yourself. To beat her you have to see your own patterns first, and then choose, each turn, whether to follow them.

How Huma plays

Huma remembers the order you play in and notices when you repeat yourself.
She notices how you react: whether you play the same element again after a win, or switch after a loss.
She notices when you try to beat her last card, and when you only play for what your shelf needs.
When she has no pattern to read, she does not guess wildly. She plays a solid, careful game until you give her one.
She often says her read out loud. When she does, she is usually right.
She gives you 6 seconds per turn.

How to beat Huma

Vary your openings. Three fires in a row is a sentence she can read.
After a loss, do not always switch. After a win, do not always repeat.
Use Peek to check her hand when a round is decisive, and let the cycle, not your habit, pick your card.

In Huma's words

Sit. Your habits will speak, not your cards.

How the masters differ

	Peanut	Tosby	Huma	The shadow masters
Time per turn	12 seconds	9 seconds	6 seconds	6, then down to 4 seconds
What they pay attention to	Mostly their own hand. More than half of their picks are made on a whim.	Your shelf and the elements you play most often.	Your habits: the order you play in, what you do after a win or a loss, and what your shelf needs.	Everything Huma watches.
When you are about to win	Sometimes, mostly by luck.	Closes the door: plays against the element that would finish your shelf.	Closes the door, and expects the move you will try next.	Like Huma, with less time for you to think.
How to beat them	Play sound cards and build your shelf. Patience is enough.	Keep two ways to win open, so one closed door is not enough.	Break your own patterns. Do not answer a loss the same way twice.	Everything you learned, faster. Decide before the clock decides for you.

The other masters

Hop! I'm Peanut! Uh-huh, here we go!

Peanut

Hasty Apprentice

12 seconds

Haste makes waste. Sit; let us play.

Tosby

Patient Master

9 seconds

A black belt is not enough. The shadows were waiting for you.

The shadow masters

The ladder has no last step

6, then down to 4 seconds

Next master Play now Download on theApp Store