Nope.
So when, for example, you have +2 from Link Traits and +2 from Banner and you have a Tranformer that only needs 10 to cast and there’s only a match that could be either a 3 or 4, you take the 3 to chance a surge, where 4 guarantees you’re humped probably for the rest of the match. It doesn’t come in to play that frequently, but it’s a useful strategy to keep in the back pocket for those rare occasions.
Wow that was a bad run-on sentence.
Matching 3 ends your turn though, doesn’t it? What am I missing?
There are rare cases where you know that if you don’t take a chance at the Surge, you’re probably going to wait a long while before that troop sees, never mind gathers, enough Mana to cast.
As a random example if you need Blue, and there is only JUST enough Blue on the board to make EITHER a 4 or a 3, you take the 3 (if your team is such that you are trying for a fill on a 3 match - I’m sure there are other scenarios as well I just can’t think of them atm)
Interesting. I usually take the 4 and extra turn, hoping that a match 3 of that color falls from the top. I will have to try this out the next time I see it.
@htismaqe If there is no other match of that particular color you need, you might end up waiting 3-4 more turns till you are able to charge your troop, where you could have charged him if you had received the mana surge. For that, giving up the extra turn might be worth.
And I was calculating what are the chances I drop an extra of that color upon taking the extra turn, considering if there are random gems of that color that could be matched etc.
(seeing @KrudlerTheHorse was faster than me - basically what he says ¯_(ツ)_/¯ )
I really should have let you explain since you initially mentioned it.
I’m sorry 
I was just so excited to talk about it when you brought it up that my exuberance carried me away lol
See you guys, that’s something I NEVER would have considered. The next time the opportunity arises, I’ll have to try it out. I’m usually reluctant to give up extra turns, especially when it might actually give the AI an extra turn on top of it.
Ok maybe I’m just completely confused but I could have sworn that I have received mana surges from match 4 and 5s… Didn’t I? 
5s always. 4s never.
I actually take the three match over the four match frequently given certain teams. Alchemist/terraxsis combo for example. It depends on what the rest of the board looks like. If there is one match 4 red and 1 match 3 brown and everything is mixed up, I’ll probably just take both. If there is one match 4 red and a few different brown options but one of them is in the corner next to some blues, I’ll probably take a red as a match 3 and hope I can start off my spell chain without disturbing the alignment. If there is only a match 4 red and no other browns or reds available, I’ll just take it as a 3. Also, when converting out stuff for this combo, I prioritize converting to drop match 3 reds into alignment and fill alchemist so he can eliminate even more colors. Of course, after a few converts, you have a ton of match 4s or 5s to clear, but knowing I have plenty of yellow, I try to eliminate the yellow in ways that will give me the extra turn for yellow and drop either 3s or 5s into alignment for me on other colors to fill other troops.
This team is still one of my favourites. I LOVE how every troop of it has to fulfill its role perfectly in order for the team to work, and also the aspect of having half of your mana generation sacrificed in every cycle is imo one of the most beatuiful crazynesses I’ve ever seen/produced.
My unusual perspective? I love teams that build around unusual mechanics and/or work together like a clockwork, even if they’re not quite as efficient as the “Hit-'em-dead”-Meta is. Those teams have imo such an elegance and beauty within them, it’s almost hard to describe it for me. 
(Also, wiping a whole enemy team by just once casting your Hydra that you’ve before tediously prepared for this very moment is just glorious 
)
I’m always completely pre-occupied with either making sure Bone Dragon can’t cast or Wraith doesn’t slip in a random Death Mark. It pretty much dominates every match and since nearly every match contains both Wraith and Bone Dragon, there’s not much room for experimenting or taking risks.
It does pose a question of why wouldnt 4 matches surge? I know they dont but dont understand why o.o
I don’t get it either. It’s weird because despite playing this game regularly for six months+ I never noticed that you never get surges from four matches until about a month or two ago. I just thought I was unlucky every time I watched for it.
This is pure speculation on my part, but I think it acts as a soft combo breaker, also keeping both the AI and Human from gaining outrageous amounts of Mana when transforming. It has the ultimate effect of preventing fights from getting too compressed or lopsided.
@DonBoba can you imagine Mab Justice team surging from 4-gem matches? Please no…
@htismaqe I personally dislike teams that bring lots of reward for very little effort. If I can, I go by high-effort high-reward teams. For that, I usually pick an interesting troop and build around it (Werewolf ->Terraxis → Villager sequence or alike). For that, having the understanding of the statistics and when dropping new gems for cascade actually has higher chance that the enemy has it than you do is essential.
Also, no problem @KrudlerTheHorse . Actually thank you for helping me explain. The point is to get the message accross =)
Me as a human want outrageous amounts of mana every time. They can keep it turned off for AI tho! 
Oh yeah sounds divine 
If I remember correctly, this is yet another PC/Console difference. I believe we have a chance of getting a mana surge on a 4 match, but it isn’t guaranteed like it is on a 5-match.
Edit: this is confirmed.
I’ve actually gotten into that as well as multiple enemy death with a troop that does multiple team hits (Like Rowanne or TDS or a number of multiple hitters who can take out in one shot)