Combos are an integral part of your overall win condition when dueling against other players in Match Masters. The game has different combos that you can take advantage of depending on how you set it up with the pieces available on the board. Special tiles are rewarded depending on the pattern of each combination when four or more tiles are combined, so it’s a good idea to understand how this mechanic works and how you can use them efficiently.

Match Masters - A Guide to Combos

Even though many players believe that special tiles are a product of luck, there are so many ways they can influence the creation of these pieces manually to produce the tiles that they need. We do not deny that the luck factor plays a huge part in the game’s overall winning mechanics, but that is not to say making intelligent decisions is never rewarded in the game. Generally, the better player always wins in PvP games, so it’s good to learn valuable tips that will help you attain victory.

Special Tile Combos

As already mentioned, special tiles are pieces produced when combining four or more tiles together. These special tiles can be activated by matching them with three or more tiles, matching them with another special tile, or using boosts and tools to detonate them. The main objective is to get as many special tiles as you can during your turn to score a huge amount of points over your opponent and try to deny them from using the special tiles available on the board.

Match Masters - A Guide to Combos

Special tiles are pretty tricky to access, but luckily, matching four or more tiles gives the player an extra turn they can use to try and use the tiles they created from combos. In our Beginner’s Guide, we talked about how the tiles work with the core game mechanics, so check that out if you have time. There are three types of special tiles in the game so let’s dive into each of them and how you can use them efficiently when you’re playing Match Masters to score a ton of points.

  • Arrows

Arrows are the most basic combo tile available. This is created when a player matches four tiles in a straight line. Players can create either vertical or horizontal arrows with the effect’s orientation. Depending on the arrow’s orientation, the arrow tile erases an entire column or row of tiles. For example, if you match a tile from the left or right side, you’ll create a horizontal arrow tile, while matching a tile from the top or bottom of the screen will result in a vertical arrow tile. 

Match Masters - A Guide to Combos

Keep in mind that a special tile’s effect can activate another special tile if that piece is within the radius or area of effect of the combo tile. It’s good to check how you want to match it because you can use this tile to combo it with other pieces. The best way to use this tile is by trying to get rid of problematic rows that don’t offer any good combinations for you or will give the opponent a really good turn on the next turn. You’ll see this tile commonly since it’s pretty easy to create.

  • Lightning

Lightning is a special tile created when a player matches five tiles in a straight line. This special tile removes several random pieces on the board. It doesn’t matter which orientation you match the piece because this special tile’s effect remains the same regardless of its position. This is one of the weirdest pieces to play as well because it doesn’t have a clear target for its effect, so it can either make the board state better or worse depending on the available pieces before its activation.

Match Masters - A Guide to Combos

It’s advised that players use this piece with caution and try to clear out all the match-4 or more combinations on the board before activating this effect. The more special tiles you have on the field before activating the lightning piece, the better the chances you can have a good combo with its interaction. Activating this tile and hitting multiple special tiles is the best application for this effect because it can essentially clear out almost all the tiles on the board and gain a lot of points.

  • Bomb

The Bomb is the final special tile available in Match Masters. This is created when five tiles are matched together in an L or T shape. The orientation at which you match this effect doesn’t change, but the position where you detonate the piece can affect its ability. The bomb tile explodes, detonating an area of the board and collecting all the tiles within its radius. If it’s detonated on the board’s edges, the effect will be forfeited on the side that doesn’t have any tiles.

Match Masters - A Guide to Combos

The best way to activate the bomb tile is in the middle of the board because it maximizes its effect and gives the player a higher chance of getting better pieces by replacing active ones on the field. Make sure that you have special tiles nearby so that when you activate this effect, you’ll gain bonus points by activating special combos. 

Special Combos!

We’ve mentioned special combos quite a bit in this article, but let’s take a look at what it means. A special combo is when players combine two or more special tiles to activate unique effects. These unique effects act like an upgraded version of the tiles. They are very hard to pull off, but the good thing is that you can match special tiles together regardless of their color. 

Match Masters - A Guide to Combos

A special combo is activated when you match two special tiles together. For example, matching an arrow tile with another arrow tile will destroy two rows, two columns, or both in a shape of a cross, depending on the orientation of how they matched. The other special combos work similarly, but the main difference is the effects of how they are matched. It doesn’t matter which special tiles are being matched since each combination has a unique effect.