Party Composition
This article was first broadcast in Episode Twelve on 21st February 2018. Lennon: That was close! Ryu: Next time we go to Ixalan, we should probably balance our party better. Ostron: Now we’re safe backstage, let’s take a Short Rest… But I do think it’s worth talking about party balance! Conventional wisdom says that the most effective parties have the holy trinity: damage dealer (frequently called the DPS by video-game aficionados), Tank, and Healer/support. The fourth person is ideally a character who can soak up some damage while dealing a modest amount themselves, usually called the Off-tank. If you’ve got 5 people, that fifth person should be acting as some sort of controller to either buff their allies, apply penalties to the enemies, or both. It’s only when you acquire a sixth party member that the purists are comfortable saying there are no restrictions or requirements on what…