Should I study Black's defences or Red's attacking systems first?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.
Direct answer
Whichever colour you actually play more often, not a fixed order. Neither Red's attacking systems nor Black's defences are inherently more important to learn first; the useful order is decided by which one you are actually sitting behind in your own games, since that is where the study will pay off soonest.
Why there is no universally correct order
Every game is one colour or the other, and both sides need real understanding eventually. Prioritising whichever side you play more, rather than following a generic recommendation, means your study time goes directly toward positions you will actually reach, which is a better return than working through a fixed curriculum in an order that does not match your games.
A reasonable way to decide if it is close to even
If you play both colours roughly equally, start with whichever feels less comfortable right now, since that is where the biggest and fastest gains are available. Comfort with one side and struggle with the other is common early on and is exactly the kind of gap a training log makes visible, as described in keeping a useful training log.
Related questions
Do I eventually need to understand both equally well?
Ideally, yes, but there is no rush; understanding either side deeply is more valuable early on than a shallow grasp of both.
Does this apply to studying Central Cannon and Screen Horses specifically?
Yes, the same logic applies there directly: study whichever role, attacker or defender, you actually play more often.
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