head to head
vs
BattleForgevsEmpire: Total War
BattleForge leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
BattleForgeEmpire: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 2
BattleForge leans harder on execution: Real-time spawning and micro under pressure matter moderately
Reads4 vs 3
BattleForge leans harder on reads: PvP rewards predicting opponent deck tempo and pushes
Variance4 vs 3
BattleForge leans harder on variance: Card acquisition and unknown opposing decks hide information
Optimization8 vs 8
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.