Board Thread:Versus Battles/@comment-37173421-20190827001535/@comment-27123758-20190827003453

Spike has a big advantage in that he has much more experience and knowledge of the game; even if Akagi can pick up and play MTG on an expert level, that's just talent, not knowledge. Spike knows basically every card and I'm sure he has extensive knowledge on a whole bunch of powerful combos - even if Akagi has the time to catch up a bit, he won't be Spike's equal in that regard.

It would be in-character for Akagi to go for something high-risk, high-reward, but it's impossible to guarantee anything - the guy is super unpredictable, and I'd think he's unlikely to just go for obvious number one decks. His plays are often seemingly illogical and look bad, only to reap huge rewards through psychological impact and clever play on his part. Of course, just as often, he goes for the simple decisions and easy wins, and versatile options.

He's been the superior of every opponent in Akagi when it comes to brains, and what he's struggled against most are Washizu's insane luck and Ichikawa's boring, but extremely competent, game-freezing play, based on simple fundamentals taken to the highest level. He completely psychologically outmaneuvered and destroyed both, though, which is really his greatest strength here - mindgames.

Akagi is insanely good at reading people and he's just as good at preventing himself from being read. A lot of his plays are meant to confuse opponents and prevent them from getting a handle on his personality or playstyle, all while he carefully manipulates them. He ends up figuring Urabe out so thoroughly that he was able to get him to play his specific winning tile from his hand, which was mostly safe tiles with a lot of options for discards. This is without getting into his various bluffs and feigns against Washizu, which completely controlled Washizu throughout the game. With this in mind, I think Spike would have difficulty figuring out his hands by following his eyes, even more so if Akagi realizes he's doing this.

Lastly, with his life on the line, Akagi will go for reckless, dangerous plays without hesitation, plays that basically anyone else wouldn't be able to go through with.