Decks (Rivals)

In the battlefield the player can bring a commander and six units. The Harvesters can be built even if they are not part of the deck.

When building a deck, several things should be taken into account :


 * There should be at least one, preferably two, counters to every unit type — infantry, vehicles and aircraft.
 * Deck should not be made up of entirely single type of units.
 * Each unit in the deck should help to achieve the battle plan.

Each deck has some strengths and weaknesses. Part of the planning is figuring out how to overcome the weaknesses and how to maximize the strengths.

Aggro decks
Aggressive deck that are aimed at finishing the game as soon as possible. Usually requiring a constant charging of the pads. Units are somewhat cheap and can fight effectively on their own.

The main weakness is Tech units, so delaying the Tech units by prioritizing charging the missile and harassing the harvesters is a sound tactic.

Combined arms
Deck has two or more units, that are especially powerful when they function together.

GDI
The Slingshot can be replaced with Pitbull

Nod
Oxanna can be replaced with Seth, Phantom with Banshee

Banshee can be replaced with Stealth Tank, Oxanna with Jade.

Mid range decks
These decks are built to be most effective in the middle game and put up a considerable fight against Tech units.

GDI
Jackson can be replaced with Liang, Rhino with War Dogs, Hammerhead with Talon.

Strongarm can be replaced with Liang, Drone Swarm with Talon and Orca with Mohawk Gunship.

Nod
Wheels can be replaced with Buggy, Laser Squad with Scavengers.

Laser Drones can be replaced with Shade, Militants with Cyberwheel and Phantom with Banshee.

Splash decks
A five card aggro deck, that has a single Tech unit in it. Plays like a mid range deck, but if the game is stalling, the Tech unit is there to provide the firepower to win the late game.

Nod
Laser Drones can be replaced with Shade.

Tech decks
These decks rely on the Tech lab / Temple of Nod units to win the game. The goal is to stall the game for as long as possible and spend as little as possible to be able to afford the heavy hitting units. Usually is played by deploying both harvesters.

Super Unit decks
Similar to Tech decks, but the only tech units are the Avatar or Mammoth. It takes a lot more time to get the super units on the field, but the game can be stalled with five non-tech units, instead of the usual four.

GDI
Jackson can be replaced with Liang, Orca with Mohawk Gunship.

Fortress decks
Similar concept to combined arms deck, but the fortress is less mobile. The goal is to set up units in a cluster that is able to withstand any attack. They tend to be weak early on, but if they succeed in setting up, they tend to be very difficult to break up.

No-harvester decks
These decks play very cheap units that don't require playing harvesters. The plan is to take control over the map as soon as possible and to charge the pads at all times. These decks gives one extra population slot for the combat units, extra Tiberium early on and there is no need to protect harvesters.

Novelty decks
Played for fun. They either exploit interesting mechanics or are challenging.