Game 5- Ranked (Signifier, Rank 2301) v Pietrzak (Aquilifer, Rank 2240)
My opening hand is all spells and Barbarian Commander, which is fine given the map; his 11 speed nets me a font and lets me contest a second while my opponent is still limping toward his first font with a Firk Mimic. I've never played against the Mimic before, nor the Mindweaver he plays next; Barbarian Commander/Wild Chieftain together mean his Mimic looks pretty frightening. He adds, over the next few turns, the new Draksar Herald and a Draksar Lord. I bunch up on his font with my barbarians, but make a poor choice not to slap a Righteous Deflection on my Chieftain (the Champion has one at this point), and lose him in a single turn of attacks. I'm still holding on, dropping hammers to stun his threats, and am set up for a big round where I abuse his Soulsphere with Strip Armor...he hammers into my Commander, dropping him to 5 health, but I'm sitting on Impervious. Impervious will improve my War-Enchanted Groble, save my Commander for a turn, and let his enraged self deal brutal damage.
Then Peitrzak plays a Mind-Shredder and kills my Commander. Although I might have been able to fight back, since I'm sitting on two fonts and two Nora Mines, I concede at this point. I'm still not a fan of facing nearly all rares/exotics...I'm working on it though.
Game 6- Ranked (Signifier, 2301) versus laserbear (Signifier, 2316)
I'm up against moga, and he gets first go with an Assault Team. I draw Renegade, Wild Chieftain, double Righteous Deflection, Hammer Strike, and then Shrine Scry for a Barbarian Commander, which I play. We're on the Ironfist map with the pass, and I lead with the Commander and back him with the Renegade on the next turn. Turn 3 I contest the neutral southern font, move my Renegade toward the central, and drop a Nora Mine. My opponent hasn't played anything yet, so I expect a big rush now that he owns a font. His units are all 9 Speed, so I contest and claim the central font...with both of my units packing Righteous Deflections to neuter his Strike Team. His next two plays are a Hyaenid Spearman and a Moga Slinger, so I get to surprise him a second time when he shoots my Commander (he'd already revealed the RD on the Renegade) and his attacks again do nothing. He drops a nasty combination of Unstable Ground and Cyclops-Eye Belt, which hurts my Renegade badly. I walk into a Rock Trap I probably should have seen coming, which results in knockback, stun, and then more knockback and damage from an avalanche...it's a bad scene for the Commander when all is said and done.
With the Commander at 9 life, I move a Savage Wolf up to contest the font and then retrieve my Commander with a Conscript. What doesn't work here is that I try to fight an attrition war with a moga deck, which I should already know is not a workable solution. I bottle things up in the center of the pass for quite some time, using a WE Groble with heavy spell support. He holds the foes off for a long time, but eventually I'm facing Dirge, the Punisher he started with, a Voil Sorceror, and some excellent commons and uncommons (plus Moga Hunters, which is an Exotic but in this case didn't have any interesting upgrades).
If I'm honest, I don't really enjoy this style of Ironfist Stronghold play, at least not at present. I'm aware of this and try to fight that feeling going into the next two rounds, but my mind is pretty focused on the Savage Tundra deck I want to make (and the paper I need to write for class).
Game 7- Ranked (Signifier 2301) versus Djinnterre (Signifier, 2395)
In a stunning reversal, my draw is all creatures...and again, the Commander is present. We're on the original Sundered Lands map, so I lead with Commander. He has two Savage Wolves, a Shaman, and a Wild Chieftain available for support, but not on turn two. Djinn is sitting on a Boghopper Spitter, and drops a Boghopper Elite the next turn. My Commander dies but I'm able to get a WE Groble and Shaman out. The Shaman ends up facing the majority of his units (Moga Cannon, Boghopper Spitter, the Elite) and I buff him with Impervious on his last turn of life. The Groble, meanwhile, contests my opponent's font and hammers away at a Massive Anuran. The Anuran disengages after a turn and drops a Rock Trap, but he drops it directly between the two units...so I destealth it when I move to renengage and kill it the next turn. My Shaman dies, but I've dropped a Nora Mine in the font zone and my opponent chooses to use the only ranged unit capable of hurting a relic to shoot my Groble. I hope to capitalize on this.
However, he Infests his Anuran the turn before I kill it, and even with me taking half damage from everything he wields he manages to put my Groble into the red. At this point I forfeit, because I still really don't care about winning with this deck.
What Would Conan Do? He'd redeem himself.
Game 8! Ranked (Signifier 2301) versus Djinnterre (Signifier, 2395)
I lose the roll again, and Djinterre leads with a Salaman Dervish. My open is double Shieldman, double Wolf, Commander. I try something different and lead with a Wolf. My Wolves battle his Dervish while two Mud Elementals come toward the font. I back the surviving wolf with a Barbarian Commander, which helps him survive the attacks of the Mud Elementals (alongside Tough, of course).
My Commander and Wolves die without removing the Mud Elementals, mostly due to physical resistance and a well-timed application of lumbering to my wolf. I plug the hole with my WE Groble and try to support him, but he's simply facing too many attacks (including a pair of Boghopper Elites) to be effective, and I (mis?)spend my Nora bringing more units into the game to support him.
I'm no Conan, clearly. I simply didn't want to be playing this BG, and don't know how much that factored into the various losses I'd suffered. I also came back to this playtesting after almost a week off (and not playing Pox at all) so I don't think my strategic play was up to par.
Thoughts: I need ways to deal with Equipment, and I should probably include a single Repair, even though I only run three constructs. I also really need some sort of AoE, even just an Earthquake. Most importantly, though, I need to recover my desire to actually run howling barbarians, and play in a manner consistent with that. There are several runes I never chose to cast and could probably drop at least one of (Shamen, Conscripts, maybe even Shieldmen) which does set me up to add some of the necessary runes. The deck does run a lot of resilient, long-lasting warriors who hit particularly hard. However, I tended to fall back on just trying to force through a WE Groble, probably due to my last major Ironfist deck being the construct deck.
Showing posts with label Ironfist Stronghold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ironfist Stronghold. Show all posts
Sunday, October 18, 2009
What is Best in Life? Testing 1
Game 1 Trials of the Savage Tundra Normal
I draw Conscripted Warrior, War-Enchanted Groble, Glorious Charge, Hammer Strike, Nora Mine. This is a phenomenal opening hand; I know that my Mine will eat an Arctic Wail if I lay it first turn, but it has enough hp to survive one without breaking and should therefore more than pay for itself. I lead with the Groble so he can start the Spellswallowing. On turn two I try out the new Shrine Scry mechanic, because I'm not seeing any other champions to cast; this reveals a Barbarian Commander I can't afford. Much like in Magic, though, I think the main value of Shrine Scry is in preventing you from drawing a bad rune at the start of your turn. I play a Commander on the next turn, then a Mountain Sentry. I'm only putting the Sentry out so that I can bounce him with the Conscript, but he conveniently reveals a skulking Jakei Icefisher before I pop him. I throw out my wolves and take the northern font very early. My tough, resilient creatures are cutting through the early ranks.
Confession time: I forgot to use my Barbarian Commander on a turn when he had 8 ap and full Enrage up. That's pretty clearly the tipping point, though I do misuse the Conscript a couple of times, by failing to leave ap up for him to use Defensive Stance. But losing the Barbarian Commander's 40 or so damage lets the northern font fall to a horde of attackers. I don't recover from that loss, or that shame, and eventually get pushed back into my shrine's deployment zone, dropping one creature each turn. This is despite getting both Wild Chieftans out at the same time and having the Renegade equipped with the Holy Blade of Valdac. A poor play at the start of this game really cost me.
Game 2- Trials of the Shattered Peaks Normal
My starting reveal is Houndmaster, Plains Savage, Wild Chieftain, Conscripted Warrior, Righteous Deflection. I lead with Conscripted Warrior just to see if I can (I can). Whenever I can test out interactions like that during single-player I attempt to do so, since learning such things in a ranked game usually comes at the expense of victory. It definitely contributed here; my second play is the Houndmaster, but he probably should have been the first. If I'd led with Houndmaster I could have taken the font and dropped a dog in the same turn, rather than my entire action being moving up into the font. I join those two barbarians with the Plains Charger, and begin aggressively pushing through the moga. The AI plays different than I'm used to, most notably by never advancing his G'hern Sustainer away from his font. Without an AoE, though, I'm not killing the moga fast enough to overcome their numbers. By the time new G'hern are spawning, each G'hern is doing around 20 damage per hit and my creatures get two-turn clocks. Righteous Deflection helps keep my Grobles in the game once I summon them, but it's just not enough and the inexorable wave washes over me.
I've learned some things about the interactions available in the BG, but 0/2 isn't a promising record. I jump back into the Protectorate Trials and see if I can give a better showing.
Game 3- Trials of the Savage Tundra Normal, the Remix
My opening hand is Savage Shieldman, War-Enchanted Groble, Groble, Houndmaster, Barbarian Commander. My WE Groble really struggles on this map due to all of the ice cutting his speed. I lead with Houndmaster. Turn two I play the Shieldman, and turn three I bring the Houndmaster back to the shrine and drop a dog. I try to bait the AI into coming directly for my shrine, but it chooses to take my southern font instead. It's never entirely clear when the AI will make this choice, but it certainly provides a small disadvantage in the early game. I contest the font with a summoned dog, Mountain Sentry, and the Houndmaster, while my WE Groble and Shieldman head north with another dog. The Shieldman eventually falls, though the number of spells I throw down keep the WE Groble going. There are a couple of spells I play in the wrong order. At one point I decide I want mobility for my Houndmaster to shift back into contest position, casting Glorious Charge, then realThe izing if I'd just cast the spell first I could have gotten multiple attacks in with certain champions who spent all of their ap on movement.
I get incredible use out of the hounds, especially now that the Houndmaster has Drive. The Sentry also contributes, both because of Drive and because I give it the Heavy Crossbow. Meanwhile, a Savage Wolf kills the Shardmaster and begins fighting some other targets. I spend about five minutes calculating how, when the wolf is down to 4 hp, I can get it close enough to my shrine that when I cast a Conscripted Warrior, the wolf will be unsummoned. I determine I can make one attack with the wolf before I flee, and its after I click that I realize I'd neglected to add the +1 ap for disengaging from 2 opponents. That turns out to matter less than the stealthed lonx directly south of the wolf, which destealths when I try to move through her and leaves me trapped. Miraculously, I'm still exactly close enough that my conscript unsummons the wolf anyway, due to the priorities given to directions in Pox (otherwise I would have unsummoned my WE Groble). Even better, on my opponent's turn its Crystal Pheonix dies from being rent, blowing up in a nova that damages both of the Lonx the wolf was fighting.
Just like in the previous ST game, that little maneuver serves as the turning point. It takes me another thirty minutes or so to get to the Boss champion, but a Wild Chieftain behind the Conscript, along with the WE Groble and a pair of Righteous Deflections, let me hold off the remaining melee units while ignoring all of the purple-base ranged units. The BG is finally working the way I envisioned that it would: tough, vicious units cut a swathe through the opposition, shaking off the various effects designed to beat them. Although stealth was a major source of frustration and injury for me, I'm not yet sure how much of that was my fault for not paying attention to where units ended their turns.
Game 4- Trials of the Shattered Peaks Normal, Again
My opening reveal is Groble, Renegade, Nora Mine, Glorious Charge, Hammer Strike. The plan is to run out with the Renegade and just burn his health down on Exertion in hopes of reaching the font in a reasonable time. Then I'll Conscript him away. Immediately after clicking Exertion on the Renegade turn one, I surmise that I should have waited at least one turn, since I would have obtained +1 ap from the shrine without paying 8 hp. Since he's not a berserker, I could still have used Exertion, just saving the ap rather than spending it. It would have been the difference of an entire turn's worth of nora, all told, as I end up a single square away from the font. The Conscript part of the plan works as intended, however. Both Savage Wolves come down, and the Barbarian Shaman gets the Holy Blade of Valdac. Chain Lightning plus the char of her melee attack kill several moga, and I move my conscript around to engage the Moga Trapspringer.
I FORGET THE DAMN ROCK TRAP. I have played this map at least a hundred times and I still forgot the rock trap. I'm disappointed in myself for this. I fight my way onto the western font, mostly on the back of a Renegade/Wild Chieftain combination bolstered by double Hammer Strikes. My Savage Wolves move toward the north and keep the attention of the moga and g'hern while the Renegade does his work, and soon I'm up by the font, though it remains contested. Things are going relatively well, with each of my units which dies killing several moga first. Then, when I'm struggling to overcome a pair of g'hern, I deploy a Hammer Strike to kill the Moga Axeman...and hit my Savage Shieldman instead. I remember when I used to read articles on the Wizards of the Coast Magic site, and the author would talk about misclicks, which are something you can't really have happen in an actual, physical game. While I want to take solace in being screwed due to a crowded screen, as opposed to a poor tactical decision, the end result is still that I smashed my own guy and stunned him.
A little later, I also manage to walk my WE Groble into the radius of the second trap on the stage...which sends him flying back into another of my units...right after I'd cast Strip Armor. Those two incidents, combined, cut my resources out from under me and make victory very unlikely. I plug the pass with my G'hern Traitor and try to build a replacement army up at the shrine. The AI somewhat accomodates me by advancing with his melee g'hern and leaving the rest behind a wall, giving me a few rounds to possibly cut them down before the 20-damage ranged attackers engage. I manage to kill the G'hern Overseer and Tyrant using a combination of Barbarian Commander and Wild Chieftain, both wearing Righteous Deflections. When the Commander gets down to less than half health, I pop him back with a Conscript, and then manage to kill the G'hern Taskmaster with the Conscript and a Savage Wolf. By now all of the melee g'hern are dead except for the Punisher (who actually ran into view on my screen as I was typing that sentence). Unfortunately, that still leaves Dirge, the G'hern Thrower, and the G'hern Isanagoma. My shrine is taking 17 points of damage per attack, and once I run out of champions to throw in front of the masses I go down in about a round.
Four games, one win, but I actually enjoy playing the deck. As I familiarize myself with some of its abilities I think I should put forth a better showing. Plus there's the all-important experience points to spend.
Leveling my runes after the first four games, I buy my higher-level Barbarian Shaman Savage and +6 hp, which results in a net -2 to her nora cost. The other Shaman gets +1 Speed and Savage. One Conscripted Warrior picks up Block 1 and Riposte 1, while the other picks up +4 hp. I buy Charge 3 and Savage for the Plains Savage; the Barbarian Rider ability, which would give me a Renegade when the Savage dies, is attractive but an incredibly costly upgrade. Speaking of Renegade, the one I actually have picks up Exertion 2. I buy a futher +2 hp for one of my Shieldmen, so that they now have the same stats. The higher level Savage Wolf gets Pounce 2 and Violent, and the other picks up Speed 11. Savage Wolves have an incredible suite of upgradeable abilities: Call (Reveal a champion rune when this unit comes into play.), Pounce 2-3 (Just increases the maximum distance you can pounce, but at level 3 that means you spend 4 ap to move up to 4 squares and attack every adjacent creature when you land.), Tough 2-3 (Reducing that much damage comes out to a huge savings in life over several rounds), and Violent (Fury is tremendous, though as I mentioned in my first post on this deck it's hard to trigger Violent in this particular deck due to the scarcity of beasts.). I'm trying to upgrade the wolves carefully in order to keep their overall cost low, so for now I'm just aiming for 11 Speed and getting Pounce 2, Violent, and Tough 2 on both. The WE Goble finishes his Reistance- Physical, and bumps his Speed to 9. One Wild Chieftan trains up to Berserker 3, and I purchase Savage for the other.
In terms of other changes, I flip out the Crossbow for an Impervious.
The deck is now:
CHAMPIONS
Barbarian Commander x2 92/5/11/20/11/13/50/1 Fearless, Battlemaster 3, Block 1, Enrage 3
Barbarian Shaman 73/3/9/14/11/8/45/1-2 Heal Champion 2, Chain Lightning, Bravery, Savage
Barbarian Shaman 82/4/14/11/10/51/1-2 Heal Champion 2, Chain Lightning, Bravery, Savage
Conscripted Warrior 64/1/11/14/8/10/45/1 Block 1, Riposte 1, Defensive Stance 3, Reinforce
Conscripted Warrior 70/2/11/14/9/10/49/1 Block 1, Riposte 1, Defensive Stance 3, Reinforce
Groble x2 86/3/10/25/9/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 2, Siege, Fury
Houndmaster 86/4/10/18/11/11/50/1 Camouflage, Summon Beast 3, Lay Trap- Frost 1, Drive, Siege
Plains Savage 78/1/14/19/9/12/50/1-2 Charge 3, Heavy Charger, Trample, Savage
Renegade 60/2/15/10/9/9/44/1 Melee Specialist 2, Exertion 1, Brutality, Savage
Savage Shieldman x2 69/2/11/18/9/10/51/1 Block 1, Shield Allies, Shield Throw
Savage Wolf 78/2/18/13/11/11/47/1 Rend 1, Pounce 2, Violent, Savage, Tough 1
Savage Wolf 74/1/18/13/11/11/47, Rend 1, Pounce 1, Violent, Savage, Tough 1
War-Enchanted Groble 89/4/10/19/9/11/47/1 Resistance-Physical 3/Fire 3, Spellswallower, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Wild Chieftain 77/1/21/14/8/12/51/1 Berserker 3, Berserk Attack 2, Charge 1, Incite Rage
Wild Chieftain 79/2/21/14/9/12/51/1 Berserker 3, Berserk Attack 2, Charge 2, Savage, Incite Rage
SPELLS
Glorious Charge
Hammer Strike x2
Impervious
Restore Life
Righteous Deflection x2
Strip Armor
Unobstructed View
RELIC
Nora Mine x2
EQUIPMENT
Holy Blade of Valdac
I draw Conscripted Warrior, War-Enchanted Groble, Glorious Charge, Hammer Strike, Nora Mine. This is a phenomenal opening hand; I know that my Mine will eat an Arctic Wail if I lay it first turn, but it has enough hp to survive one without breaking and should therefore more than pay for itself. I lead with the Groble so he can start the Spellswallowing. On turn two I try out the new Shrine Scry mechanic, because I'm not seeing any other champions to cast; this reveals a Barbarian Commander I can't afford. Much like in Magic, though, I think the main value of Shrine Scry is in preventing you from drawing a bad rune at the start of your turn. I play a Commander on the next turn, then a Mountain Sentry. I'm only putting the Sentry out so that I can bounce him with the Conscript, but he conveniently reveals a skulking Jakei Icefisher before I pop him. I throw out my wolves and take the northern font very early. My tough, resilient creatures are cutting through the early ranks.
Confession time: I forgot to use my Barbarian Commander on a turn when he had 8 ap and full Enrage up. That's pretty clearly the tipping point, though I do misuse the Conscript a couple of times, by failing to leave ap up for him to use Defensive Stance. But losing the Barbarian Commander's 40 or so damage lets the northern font fall to a horde of attackers. I don't recover from that loss, or that shame, and eventually get pushed back into my shrine's deployment zone, dropping one creature each turn. This is despite getting both Wild Chieftans out at the same time and having the Renegade equipped with the Holy Blade of Valdac. A poor play at the start of this game really cost me.
Game 2- Trials of the Shattered Peaks Normal
My starting reveal is Houndmaster, Plains Savage, Wild Chieftain, Conscripted Warrior, Righteous Deflection. I lead with Conscripted Warrior just to see if I can (I can). Whenever I can test out interactions like that during single-player I attempt to do so, since learning such things in a ranked game usually comes at the expense of victory. It definitely contributed here; my second play is the Houndmaster, but he probably should have been the first. If I'd led with Houndmaster I could have taken the font and dropped a dog in the same turn, rather than my entire action being moving up into the font. I join those two barbarians with the Plains Charger, and begin aggressively pushing through the moga. The AI plays different than I'm used to, most notably by never advancing his G'hern Sustainer away from his font. Without an AoE, though, I'm not killing the moga fast enough to overcome their numbers. By the time new G'hern are spawning, each G'hern is doing around 20 damage per hit and my creatures get two-turn clocks. Righteous Deflection helps keep my Grobles in the game once I summon them, but it's just not enough and the inexorable wave washes over me.
I've learned some things about the interactions available in the BG, but 0/2 isn't a promising record. I jump back into the Protectorate Trials and see if I can give a better showing.
Game 3- Trials of the Savage Tundra Normal, the Remix
My opening hand is Savage Shieldman, War-Enchanted Groble, Groble, Houndmaster, Barbarian Commander. My WE Groble really struggles on this map due to all of the ice cutting his speed. I lead with Houndmaster. Turn two I play the Shieldman, and turn three I bring the Houndmaster back to the shrine and drop a dog. I try to bait the AI into coming directly for my shrine, but it chooses to take my southern font instead. It's never entirely clear when the AI will make this choice, but it certainly provides a small disadvantage in the early game. I contest the font with a summoned dog, Mountain Sentry, and the Houndmaster, while my WE Groble and Shieldman head north with another dog. The Shieldman eventually falls, though the number of spells I throw down keep the WE Groble going. There are a couple of spells I play in the wrong order. At one point I decide I want mobility for my Houndmaster to shift back into contest position, casting Glorious Charge, then realThe izing if I'd just cast the spell first I could have gotten multiple attacks in with certain champions who spent all of their ap on movement.
I get incredible use out of the hounds, especially now that the Houndmaster has Drive. The Sentry also contributes, both because of Drive and because I give it the Heavy Crossbow. Meanwhile, a Savage Wolf kills the Shardmaster and begins fighting some other targets. I spend about five minutes calculating how, when the wolf is down to 4 hp, I can get it close enough to my shrine that when I cast a Conscripted Warrior, the wolf will be unsummoned. I determine I can make one attack with the wolf before I flee, and its after I click that I realize I'd neglected to add the +1 ap for disengaging from 2 opponents. That turns out to matter less than the stealthed lonx directly south of the wolf, which destealths when I try to move through her and leaves me trapped. Miraculously, I'm still exactly close enough that my conscript unsummons the wolf anyway, due to the priorities given to directions in Pox (otherwise I would have unsummoned my WE Groble). Even better, on my opponent's turn its Crystal Pheonix dies from being rent, blowing up in a nova that damages both of the Lonx the wolf was fighting.
Just like in the previous ST game, that little maneuver serves as the turning point. It takes me another thirty minutes or so to get to the Boss champion, but a Wild Chieftain behind the Conscript, along with the WE Groble and a pair of Righteous Deflections, let me hold off the remaining melee units while ignoring all of the purple-base ranged units. The BG is finally working the way I envisioned that it would: tough, vicious units cut a swathe through the opposition, shaking off the various effects designed to beat them. Although stealth was a major source of frustration and injury for me, I'm not yet sure how much of that was my fault for not paying attention to where units ended their turns.
Game 4- Trials of the Shattered Peaks Normal, Again
My opening reveal is Groble, Renegade, Nora Mine, Glorious Charge, Hammer Strike. The plan is to run out with the Renegade and just burn his health down on Exertion in hopes of reaching the font in a reasonable time. Then I'll Conscript him away. Immediately after clicking Exertion on the Renegade turn one, I surmise that I should have waited at least one turn, since I would have obtained +1 ap from the shrine without paying 8 hp. Since he's not a berserker, I could still have used Exertion, just saving the ap rather than spending it. It would have been the difference of an entire turn's worth of nora, all told, as I end up a single square away from the font. The Conscript part of the plan works as intended, however. Both Savage Wolves come down, and the Barbarian Shaman gets the Holy Blade of Valdac. Chain Lightning plus the char of her melee attack kill several moga, and I move my conscript around to engage the Moga Trapspringer.
I FORGET THE DAMN ROCK TRAP. I have played this map at least a hundred times and I still forgot the rock trap. I'm disappointed in myself for this. I fight my way onto the western font, mostly on the back of a Renegade/Wild Chieftain combination bolstered by double Hammer Strikes. My Savage Wolves move toward the north and keep the attention of the moga and g'hern while the Renegade does his work, and soon I'm up by the font, though it remains contested. Things are going relatively well, with each of my units which dies killing several moga first. Then, when I'm struggling to overcome a pair of g'hern, I deploy a Hammer Strike to kill the Moga Axeman...and hit my Savage Shieldman instead. I remember when I used to read articles on the Wizards of the Coast Magic site, and the author would talk about misclicks, which are something you can't really have happen in an actual, physical game. While I want to take solace in being screwed due to a crowded screen, as opposed to a poor tactical decision, the end result is still that I smashed my own guy and stunned him.
A little later, I also manage to walk my WE Groble into the radius of the second trap on the stage...which sends him flying back into another of my units...right after I'd cast Strip Armor. Those two incidents, combined, cut my resources out from under me and make victory very unlikely. I plug the pass with my G'hern Traitor and try to build a replacement army up at the shrine. The AI somewhat accomodates me by advancing with his melee g'hern and leaving the rest behind a wall, giving me a few rounds to possibly cut them down before the 20-damage ranged attackers engage. I manage to kill the G'hern Overseer and Tyrant using a combination of Barbarian Commander and Wild Chieftain, both wearing Righteous Deflections. When the Commander gets down to less than half health, I pop him back with a Conscript, and then manage to kill the G'hern Taskmaster with the Conscript and a Savage Wolf. By now all of the melee g'hern are dead except for the Punisher (who actually ran into view on my screen as I was typing that sentence). Unfortunately, that still leaves Dirge, the G'hern Thrower, and the G'hern Isanagoma. My shrine is taking 17 points of damage per attack, and once I run out of champions to throw in front of the masses I go down in about a round.
Four games, one win, but I actually enjoy playing the deck. As I familiarize myself with some of its abilities I think I should put forth a better showing. Plus there's the all-important experience points to spend.
Leveling my runes after the first four games, I buy my higher-level Barbarian Shaman Savage and +6 hp, which results in a net -2 to her nora cost. The other Shaman gets +1 Speed and Savage. One Conscripted Warrior picks up Block 1 and Riposte 1, while the other picks up +4 hp. I buy Charge 3 and Savage for the Plains Savage; the Barbarian Rider ability, which would give me a Renegade when the Savage dies, is attractive but an incredibly costly upgrade. Speaking of Renegade, the one I actually have picks up Exertion 2. I buy a futher +2 hp for one of my Shieldmen, so that they now have the same stats. The higher level Savage Wolf gets Pounce 2 and Violent, and the other picks up Speed 11. Savage Wolves have an incredible suite of upgradeable abilities: Call (Reveal a champion rune when this unit comes into play.), Pounce 2-3 (Just increases the maximum distance you can pounce, but at level 3 that means you spend 4 ap to move up to 4 squares and attack every adjacent creature when you land.), Tough 2-3 (Reducing that much damage comes out to a huge savings in life over several rounds), and Violent (Fury is tremendous, though as I mentioned in my first post on this deck it's hard to trigger Violent in this particular deck due to the scarcity of beasts.). I'm trying to upgrade the wolves carefully in order to keep their overall cost low, so for now I'm just aiming for 11 Speed and getting Pounce 2, Violent, and Tough 2 on both. The WE Goble finishes his Reistance- Physical, and bumps his Speed to 9. One Wild Chieftan trains up to Berserker 3, and I purchase Savage for the other.
In terms of other changes, I flip out the Crossbow for an Impervious.
The deck is now:
CHAMPIONS
Barbarian Commander x2 92/5/11/20/11/13/50/1 Fearless, Battlemaster 3, Block 1, Enrage 3
Barbarian Shaman 73/3/9/14/11/8/45/1-2 Heal Champion 2, Chain Lightning, Bravery, Savage
Barbarian Shaman 82/4/14/11/10/51/1-2 Heal Champion 2, Chain Lightning, Bravery, Savage
Conscripted Warrior 64/1/11/14/8/10/45/1 Block 1, Riposte 1, Defensive Stance 3, Reinforce
Conscripted Warrior 70/2/11/14/9/10/49/1 Block 1, Riposte 1, Defensive Stance 3, Reinforce
Groble x2 86/3/10/25/9/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 2, Siege, Fury
Houndmaster 86/4/10/18/11/11/50/1 Camouflage, Summon Beast 3, Lay Trap- Frost 1, Drive, Siege
Plains Savage 78/1/14/19/9/12/50/1-2 Charge 3, Heavy Charger, Trample, Savage
Renegade 60/2/15/10/9/9/44/1 Melee Specialist 2, Exertion 1, Brutality, Savage
Savage Shieldman x2 69/2/11/18/9/10/51/1 Block 1, Shield Allies, Shield Throw
Savage Wolf 78/2/18/13/11/11/47/1 Rend 1, Pounce 2, Violent, Savage, Tough 1
Savage Wolf 74/1/18/13/11/11/47, Rend 1, Pounce 1, Violent, Savage, Tough 1
War-Enchanted Groble 89/4/10/19/9/11/47/1 Resistance-Physical 3/Fire 3, Spellswallower, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Wild Chieftain 77/1/21/14/8/12/51/1 Berserker 3, Berserk Attack 2, Charge 1, Incite Rage
Wild Chieftain 79/2/21/14/9/12/51/1 Berserker 3, Berserk Attack 2, Charge 2, Savage, Incite Rage
SPELLS
Glorious Charge
Hammer Strike x2
Impervious
Restore Life
Righteous Deflection x2
Strip Armor
Unobstructed View
RELIC
Nora Mine x2
EQUIPMENT
Holy Blade of Valdac
Saturday, October 3, 2009
What is Best in Life?
The ashes were trampled into the earth, and the blood became as snow...
Can we talk about Conan for a moment?
Who doesn't love this movie? I'm not even talking about seeing Arnold at his peak; the first ten minutes of the film are probably my favorite. The costuming, the immersion, the pathos and violence- its a film of films. Then James Earl Jones in a wig decapitates a woman who is holding her son's hand!
Conan is relevant for more reasons than my watching it as I type this. Post my Herald box purchases, I'm in an even better position than before to craft a truly spectacular Barbarian deck (I think). There are a few key pieces I'm probably lacking, but between two Barbarian Commanders and Two Wild Chieftains, as well as one Holy Blade of Valdac I should be capable of some insane melee violence.
It should be fairly clear that this is going to be a purely Ironfist deck. Further, my goal is to cleave almost entirely to Savage-capable creatures (though I may not actually train Savage on them) due to the thematic benefits of running mostly Barbarians.
A quick update of the runes I'm considering for the concept:
Champions
Barbarian Commander x2
Barbarian Shaman x2
Conscripted Warrior x2
Groble x2
Houndmaster
Interrogator x2
Mountain Sentry x2
Plains Savage
Renegade
Savage Shieldman x2
Savage Wolf x2
Terraformer
Tundra Barbarian x2
War-Enchanted Groble
Wild Chieftain x2
Spells
Barricade x2
Consecrate the Earth
Disarm
Earthquake x2
Fortify
Glorious Charge x2
Hammer Strike x2
Impervious
Open the Earth x2
Restore Life
Righteous Deflection x2
Smite Enemy
Strip Armor
Unobstructed View
Relics
Armory
Failed Amplifier
Guard Tower x2
Ironfist Standard (Virtual)
Merchant's Quarter
Nora Mine x2
Equipment
Axeman's Fate x2
Full Plate Armor x2
Heavy Crossbow x2
Holy Blade of Valdac
The major distinctions between the dwarf and barbarian portions of the Ironfist Faction seem to be speed and damage, especially with the introduction of the Savage ability; this ability costs 15 experience, reduces the creature's nora cost by five, and strips them of all other powers should I find myself controlling a dwarf. Other than someone potentially getting clever with a UD or UD/IF deck (finding some way to control no demons with a Scorched Dwarf in play would stick me with the dwarf on my turn and thus shut off all my creatures' powers), Savage is a deckbuilding decision. I think that I have sufficient quality barbarians to make a run at the deck concept, though I will be lacking ranged attackers since I don't have any Barbarian Archers and traded down to one completely un-leveled Terraformer. I can counter that somewhat by using both of my Heavy Crossbows, though it's difficult to make the choice to include the current iteration of that equipment because I remember how good that they used to be. I could also make use of the Siege Engine sitting in my collection.
There are a few runes which seem like automatic inclusions in any barbarian deck I would make: Barbarian Commanders, Wild Chieftains, Barbarian Shamen, Savage Wolves, and the Holy Blade of Valdac. The Commanders have been an extremely powerful Ironfist card since I started playing, and the presence of one on the battlefield provides significant increase to the quality of all my other champions. The Chieftains are the new freshness in terms of making the idea of a barbarian deck viable in the first place. In addition to being melee threats in their own right, the Chieftains can grant a given barbarian 8 Action Points., alongside Berserker 3 (which is +3 Attack/Damage and +2 Speed). The Shamen aren't as exciting as the other runes, but they provide non-physical damage, range greater than one, and healing. The Savage Wolves are intended to function inside a barbarian deck; they're fast, have multi-targt ability in Pounce, take reduced damage and inflict impressive damage with each attack. An un-leveled Savage Wolf has more health than the Tundra Barbarian, which is uncommon, and actually has a better defense once you factor in Tough (takes one fewer damage from everything). Their ability to train Violent seems less useful in a full-faction Ironfist deck, because there aren't going to be many beasts in play. However, between the Houndmaster and possible inclusion of Mountain Sentries for detection, I think its an ability that may be worth training. The Holy Blade is also intended to function in a barbarian deck, though it's not explicitly terrible in other decks. The ability to turn it into a relic producing a Hallowed Ground effect provides limited healing (though that won't help most of the runes in this deck) and persistent damage against demons and undead. However, giving a barbarian's melee attacks an ongoing damage component is probably more useful.
I'd like to supplement those core runes with the Conscripted Warriors, less because they're an extremely cheap barbarian than because I view them as an Unsummon- if I can maneuver my damaged units to be closest to the deployment zone, popping them out of play for a partial refund and short cooldown is much better than having them die. The Plains Charger is awesome, and I'd love to have two of them as well as a brace of Renegades; if I enjoy playing the deck I'll probably pursue the necessary trades. My Grobles are all strong units in their own right, and provide fire defense and, in the case of the War-Enchanted Groble, more non-physical damage.
The main spells I see wanting are pretty standard; Righteous Deflections and Hammer Strikes help mitigate the threat I face from ranged opponents. Strip Armor is either a kill spell or helps to mitigate Resistance- Physical on my opponents. Glorious Charges also increase the range and flexibility of my band. My quick initial build comes out extremely high on creatures, which is probably acceptable. However, I strip out the Interrogators to add a pair of Nora Mines. This leaves me with 13 barbarians and 19 champions (two of which, the Conscripts, I really consider spells similar to Infest). There are other runes that don't make it into the build but might prove useful if I changed direction, specifically my Failed Amplifier and Guard Towers.
However, the starting build for the deck is:
Champions Name/Cost/Level/Attack/Defense/Speed/Damage/HP/Range
Barbarian Commander x2 92/5/11/20/11/13/50/1
Battlemaster 3, Block 1, Enrage 3, Fearless
Barbarian Shaman 74/2/9/14/10/8/45/1-2
Heal Champion 2, Chain Lightning, Bravery
Barbarian Shaman 84/3/9/14/11/10/45/1-2
Heal Champion 2, Chain Lightning, Bravery
Conscripted Warrior 57/1/11/14/8/10/45/1
Defensive Stance 3, Reinforce
Conscripted Warrior 71/2/11/14/9/10/45/1
Defensive Stance 3, Reinforce, Block 1, Riposte
Groble x2 86/3/10/25/9/10/42/1
Immunity- Fire, Fury, Pulverize 2, Siege
Houndmaster 86/4/10/18/11/11/50/1
Camouflage, Summon Beast 3, Lay Trap-Frost 1, Drive, Savage
Mountain Sentry 54/1/9/9/9/7/35/1
Flight, Detection 3, Sentry
Plains Savage 79/1/14/19/9/12/50/1-2
Charge 2, Heavy Charger, Trample
Renegade 60/2/15/10/9/9/44/1
Melee Specialist 2, Exertion 1, Brutality, Savage
Savage Shieldman 67/1/11/18/9/10/47/1
Block 1, Shield Allies, Shield Throw
Savage Shieldman 69/2/11/18/9/10/51/1
Block 1, Shield Allies, Shield Throw
Savage Wolf 68/1/18/13/11/11/47/1
Rend 1, Pounce 1, Savage, Tough 1
Savage Wolf 64/1/18/13/10/11/47/1
Rend 1, Pounce 1, Savage, Tough 1
War-Enchanted Groble 80/3/10/19/8/11/47/1
Resistance-Physical 2/Fire 3, Spellswallower, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Wild Chieftain 70/1/21/14/8/12/51/1
Berserk Attack 2, Incite Rage
Wild Chieftain 79/1/21/14/9/12/51/1
Berserker 3, Berserk Attack 2, Incite Rage
Spells
Glorious Charge
Hammer Strike x2
Restore Life
Righteous Deflection x2
Strip Armor
Relics
Nora Mine x2
Equipment
Heavy Crossbow
Holy Blade of Valdac
Can we talk about Conan for a moment?
Who doesn't love this movie? I'm not even talking about seeing Arnold at his peak; the first ten minutes of the film are probably my favorite. The costuming, the immersion, the pathos and violence- its a film of films. Then James Earl Jones in a wig decapitates a woman who is holding her son's hand!
Conan is relevant for more reasons than my watching it as I type this. Post my Herald box purchases, I'm in an even better position than before to craft a truly spectacular Barbarian deck (I think). There are a few key pieces I'm probably lacking, but between two Barbarian Commanders and Two Wild Chieftains, as well as one Holy Blade of Valdac I should be capable of some insane melee violence.
It should be fairly clear that this is going to be a purely Ironfist deck. Further, my goal is to cleave almost entirely to Savage-capable creatures (though I may not actually train Savage on them) due to the thematic benefits of running mostly Barbarians.
A quick update of the runes I'm considering for the concept:
Champions
Barbarian Commander x2
Barbarian Shaman x2
Conscripted Warrior x2
Groble x2
Houndmaster
Interrogator x2
Mountain Sentry x2
Plains Savage
Renegade
Savage Shieldman x2
Savage Wolf x2
Terraformer
Tundra Barbarian x2
War-Enchanted Groble
Wild Chieftain x2
Spells
Barricade x2
Consecrate the Earth
Disarm
Earthquake x2
Fortify
Glorious Charge x2
Hammer Strike x2
Impervious
Open the Earth x2
Restore Life
Righteous Deflection x2
Smite Enemy
Strip Armor
Unobstructed View
Relics
Armory
Failed Amplifier
Guard Tower x2
Ironfist Standard (Virtual)
Merchant's Quarter
Nora Mine x2
Equipment
Axeman's Fate x2
Full Plate Armor x2
Heavy Crossbow x2
Holy Blade of Valdac
The major distinctions between the dwarf and barbarian portions of the Ironfist Faction seem to be speed and damage, especially with the introduction of the Savage ability; this ability costs 15 experience, reduces the creature's nora cost by five, and strips them of all other powers should I find myself controlling a dwarf. Other than someone potentially getting clever with a UD or UD/IF deck (finding some way to control no demons with a Scorched Dwarf in play would stick me with the dwarf on my turn and thus shut off all my creatures' powers), Savage is a deckbuilding decision. I think that I have sufficient quality barbarians to make a run at the deck concept, though I will be lacking ranged attackers since I don't have any Barbarian Archers and traded down to one completely un-leveled Terraformer. I can counter that somewhat by using both of my Heavy Crossbows, though it's difficult to make the choice to include the current iteration of that equipment because I remember how good that they used to be. I could also make use of the Siege Engine sitting in my collection.
There are a few runes which seem like automatic inclusions in any barbarian deck I would make: Barbarian Commanders, Wild Chieftains, Barbarian Shamen, Savage Wolves, and the Holy Blade of Valdac. The Commanders have been an extremely powerful Ironfist card since I started playing, and the presence of one on the battlefield provides significant increase to the quality of all my other champions. The Chieftains are the new freshness in terms of making the idea of a barbarian deck viable in the first place. In addition to being melee threats in their own right, the Chieftains can grant a given barbarian 8 Action Points., alongside Berserker 3 (which is +3 Attack/Damage and +2 Speed). The Shamen aren't as exciting as the other runes, but they provide non-physical damage, range greater than one, and healing. The Savage Wolves are intended to function inside a barbarian deck; they're fast, have multi-targt ability in Pounce, take reduced damage and inflict impressive damage with each attack. An un-leveled Savage Wolf has more health than the Tundra Barbarian, which is uncommon, and actually has a better defense once you factor in Tough (takes one fewer damage from everything). Their ability to train Violent seems less useful in a full-faction Ironfist deck, because there aren't going to be many beasts in play. However, between the Houndmaster and possible inclusion of Mountain Sentries for detection, I think its an ability that may be worth training. The Holy Blade is also intended to function in a barbarian deck, though it's not explicitly terrible in other decks. The ability to turn it into a relic producing a Hallowed Ground effect provides limited healing (though that won't help most of the runes in this deck) and persistent damage against demons and undead. However, giving a barbarian's melee attacks an ongoing damage component is probably more useful.
I'd like to supplement those core runes with the Conscripted Warriors, less because they're an extremely cheap barbarian than because I view them as an Unsummon- if I can maneuver my damaged units to be closest to the deployment zone, popping them out of play for a partial refund and short cooldown is much better than having them die. The Plains Charger is awesome, and I'd love to have two of them as well as a brace of Renegades; if I enjoy playing the deck I'll probably pursue the necessary trades. My Grobles are all strong units in their own right, and provide fire defense and, in the case of the War-Enchanted Groble, more non-physical damage.
The main spells I see wanting are pretty standard; Righteous Deflections and Hammer Strikes help mitigate the threat I face from ranged opponents. Strip Armor is either a kill spell or helps to mitigate Resistance- Physical on my opponents. Glorious Charges also increase the range and flexibility of my band. My quick initial build comes out extremely high on creatures, which is probably acceptable. However, I strip out the Interrogators to add a pair of Nora Mines. This leaves me with 13 barbarians and 19 champions (two of which, the Conscripts, I really consider spells similar to Infest). There are other runes that don't make it into the build but might prove useful if I changed direction, specifically my Failed Amplifier and Guard Towers.
However, the starting build for the deck is:
Champions Name/Cost/Level/Attack/Defense/Speed/Damage/HP/Range
Barbarian Commander x2 92/5/11/20/11/13/50/1
Battlemaster 3, Block 1, Enrage 3, Fearless
Barbarian Shaman 74/2/9/14/10/8/45/1-2
Heal Champion 2, Chain Lightning, Bravery
Barbarian Shaman 84/3/9/14/11/10/45/1-2
Heal Champion 2, Chain Lightning, Bravery
Conscripted Warrior 57/1/11/14/8/10/45/1
Defensive Stance 3, Reinforce
Conscripted Warrior 71/2/11/14/9/10/45/1
Defensive Stance 3, Reinforce, Block 1, Riposte
Groble x2 86/3/10/25/9/10/42/1
Immunity- Fire, Fury, Pulverize 2, Siege
Houndmaster 86/4/10/18/11/11/50/1
Camouflage, Summon Beast 3, Lay Trap-Frost 1, Drive, Savage
Mountain Sentry 54/1/9/9/9/7/35/1
Flight, Detection 3, Sentry
Plains Savage 79/1/14/19/9/12/50/1-2
Charge 2, Heavy Charger, Trample
Renegade 60/2/15/10/9/9/44/1
Melee Specialist 2, Exertion 1, Brutality, Savage
Savage Shieldman 67/1/11/18/9/10/47/1
Block 1, Shield Allies, Shield Throw
Savage Shieldman 69/2/11/18/9/10/51/1
Block 1, Shield Allies, Shield Throw
Savage Wolf 68/1/18/13/11/11/47/1
Rend 1, Pounce 1, Savage, Tough 1
Savage Wolf 64/1/18/13/10/11/47/1
Rend 1, Pounce 1, Savage, Tough 1
War-Enchanted Groble 80/3/10/19/8/11/47/1
Resistance-Physical 2/Fire 3, Spellswallower, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Wild Chieftain 70/1/21/14/8/12/51/1
Berserk Attack 2, Incite Rage
Wild Chieftain 79/1/21/14/9/12/51/1
Berserker 3, Berserk Attack 2, Incite Rage
Spells
Glorious Charge
Hammer Strike x2
Restore Life
Righteous Deflection x2
Strip Armor
Relics
Nora Mine x2
Equipment
Heavy Crossbow
Holy Blade of Valdac
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Deck Construction: Gunning for Grimlic 3- Going After Grimlic
Game 5- Trials of the Forglar Swamp Normal
I'm so glad this map has the central island; it used to be utterly brutal. I draw Centaur Skirmisher, Archer Commander, Groble, Elven Archer, and Glorious Charge. I open with the Centaur and then back him with the Elven Archer on turn two. The Elven Archer kills the Boghopper Shaman in one turn, and I've got four champs on the board. Other than a weird thing where my Elven Archer dies to a Muck Dragon, my ranged attacks, combined with a War-Enchanted Groble, manage to clear most of the map in short order.
The presence of the magic-immune firk and the magic-eating Mandrake give my WE Groble pause, but I've got Mogaslicers to handle that. Strangely, the game ends the turn after it spawns the boss champion, but without me so much as touching him.
Game 6- Trials of the Forsaken Waste Normal
This is a low champ opening hand: Groble, Outcast of the Flame, Glorious Charge, Repair, and Full Plate. I open with the Outcast, then play a Groble; then I try something that may or may not pan out. I slap the Full Plate on the Groble. The map is small enough that the lumbering will hopefully not be a problem, and a Groble with 45 Defense will hopefully survive the entire fight. This is great. He takes no damage from anything, and I begin to play a mini-game designed around keeping him from being in a position to take damage (meaning, not letting him be hit by something with a base damage much over 10 and a decent attack). It turns out I needn't have worried, as nothing, none of the purple bases, none of the rares or exotics, have the capacity to injure my Groble. He finishes the battle with unblemished health.
Game 7- Trials of the Savage Tundra
Centaur Skirmisher, War-Enchanted Groble, Seed of Potential x2, Grimlic's Mirror. This is a sort of dream. I lead with the Centaur, but my eventual plan is to cast every rune in my opening hand before anything else. This means I'll have two War-Enchanted Grobles in position to eat up all the spells the AI casts. The best part of this is that it all goes down before a Snowblind is dropped, so I'm able to mirror my WE Groble without any misdirection. While the Skirmisher dances with the Frost Giant, being just fast enough to stay out of its reach, the Grobles work their way up toward the northern font. They hold on for a long time, though eventually one falls to the concerted efforts of 5 or so champions, and then the other crumbles a turn later.
As the armada of summoned foes draws closer, I put a Lodestone Construct in front of my shrine and equip him with the Full Plate; and again, full damage immunity. Or near-full; he can't stand up to the couple 18-Attack champions on the opposing team, and they gradually wear him out. In that time I pull out two Mogaslicers, and kill my way around the edges of the massive champion mass with them. However, once sufficient champions appear, they start just attacking my shrine, and then the odds turn against me.
Game 8- Trials of the Shattered Peaks Normal
I draw Medic x2, Groble, Dwarven Mogaslicer, Light as a Feather. The best bet here seems to be the Mogaslicer, and not just because I'm about to face a lot of moga. He's got the same speed as the Groble, but the damage aura will have a more immediate and useful effect once I'm meshed in with the enemies. He does very well in removing the first G'hern, while my Groble comes around and smashes the Scarecrow. The not-saving problem I've had with using experience comes up again, as my Outcast of the Flame somehow still doesn't have Immunity-Fire.
Things do start to clump up, with all the G'hern managing to spawn from the western font because I don't take it in time. The Groble, balanced by healing from a Medic, holds off the entire northern horde of moga. I put down the War-Enchanted Groble and when he starts taking too many hits, give him the Full Plate. Even with that boost, though, the WE Groble is still taking hits from the G'hern, all of whom have Attack in the high teens. I'm able to Mirror him before he dies, but I'm out the Full Plate facing four G'hern (including both of those brutal ranged champs) and a handful of moga. I bring out the Lodestone and the Archer Commander, but the latter isn't much by herself. By the time they're plucked off, I have nothing but my copied War-Enchanted Groble. He fights a running retreat, but Dirge is 48 Attack and 35 Damage by the time he kills me.
So that's a pair of hurtful, hurtful losses. However, they were losses which provided experience, so I plan to spend that and then delve into the battle with Grimlic for which the bg was constructed.
I increase the Archer Commander's Speed to 8 and purchase Volley Leader. I'm holding off on spending the Skirmisher xp, but I am curious as to whether or not Leap powers Blitz; if so, then buying up Leap 3 would let me get an extra move for the ap I'm spending, plus make them even better first-turn font grabbers. I buy the Mogaslicers 4 hp each, and purchase Speed 8 for the Lodestone (it'll turn into 9 with the Forest faction bonus). I max out the Medics' Heal Champion, and actually buy Immunity-Fire for the lower-level Outcast, along with upping his speed to 10. Even though they're getting expensive, I do buy Speed 10 on the Timber Wolves; I think I'll use them in a lot of split faction groups and I want them to have maximal mobility. I finally descend, lovingly, to tend to my War-Enchanted Groble. I top off his Resistance-Fire and purchase the first level of Resistance-Physical, then bump his speed and his health.
Champions Cost/Level/Attack/Defense/Speed/Damage/Hp/Range
Archer Commander 68/1/13/12/8(9 w/ Faction)/10/38/3-6, Commander:Archer, Volley Leader
Centaur Skirmisher x2 70/1/14/11/11/7(8 w/ Faction)/7/42/2-4, Mobility, Blitz
Dwarven King 97/4/14/22/9(10 w/ Faction)/14/58/1, War Cry 3, Divine Favor 3, Melee Specialist 2
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2 73/1/15/12/9(10 w/ Faction)/12/52/1, Damage Aura 3, Rend 3, Charge 2
Elven Archer x2 83/3/13/11(12 w/ Faction)/11/12/30/4-7, Barrage 1
Groble x2 86/3/10/25/9(10 w/ Faction)/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 2, Siege, Fury
Lodestone Construct 61/1/10/18/8(9 w/ Faction)/11/46/1 Blacksmith, Construct Immunities, Pilfer
Medic x2 47/1/5/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/5/37/1 Immunity-Disease, Cleanse, Heal Champion 3, Passive, Immunize
Outcast of the Flame 82/13/11/10(11 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 1, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Outcast of the Flame 84/2/13/11/10(11 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Immunity Fire, Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 2, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Timber Wolves 88/2/10/10/10(11 w/ Faction)/9/24/1 Detection 1, Skirmisher, Timber Wolves
War-Enchanted Groble 76/1/10/19/8(9 w/ Faction)/11/47 Spellswallower, Resistance-Fire 3, Resistance-Physical 1, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Spells
Ancestral Anger
Butterfly Wings
Glorious Charge
Grimlic's Mirror
Hammer Strike
Light as a Feather
Repair x2
Righteous Deflection
Spontaneous Growth
Equipment
Full Plate
Seed of Potential x2
So I'm glad I have the free units at start, because I only pull Centaur Skirmisher in my initial draw. I also have Butterfly Wings, Light as a Feather, Full Plate, and Glorious Charge. I use the Charge and Light as a Feather to get my Rangers tight up on the demons to the left and right of the shrine, and chew through them as quickly as I can. I drop the Timber Wolves once I secure a font, and they bite their way through the demons assaulting the font, though they don't do enough damage to get a kill before one of the three wolves falls. I get a Groble out on the west side and run him around, and bring out a few Centaur Skirmishers as well. However, I'm simply not inflicting sufficient damage to kill the demons fast enough. By the time I've cleared the first new wave I'm already trapped facing a second. My Medics do their best to heal, but I don't time my abilities properly in terms of addressing Inhibited Champs. It's another loss for team rock.
So I go again.
My second time, I draw Elven Archer, Timber Wolves, Righteous Deflection, Seed of Potential, and Spontaneous Growth. The Growth was a spell I never once saw last game, and I think it will really help here. I play out my Archer and set to cutting down the first rank. I give Menalaus the Seed, because he's really the one to kill in this game; no regen and vulnerability to fire means he gets hurt, and hurt bad, and hurt fast. Grimlic is tricky because many of the best ways to deal with fire exist in Wrath factions. I throw the Full Plate on Grimlic, since he's a teleporter and doesn't need normal movement. Then I realize that you can't teleport if you're lumbering, and things get a little less awesome- I'm waiting for my Lodestone to appropriate the item.
Another fun interaction lesson is that Spontaneous Growth doesn't override Scorch the Earth. These are the kinds of things it's hard to know without trying. My wolves and Groble push me up to just past the river, but a Gahlroon and fully three damn Imps drive me back. These Imps have fully 15 speed. That's just madness. It ends up being just the brothers, two Medics, a Mogaslicer at my font, and eight Ash Demons, an Imp, a Rust Demon, and a Scorpic. I'm afraid that, at present, I have to declare this experiment a sad failure.
I'm so glad this map has the central island; it used to be utterly brutal. I draw Centaur Skirmisher, Archer Commander, Groble, Elven Archer, and Glorious Charge. I open with the Centaur and then back him with the Elven Archer on turn two. The Elven Archer kills the Boghopper Shaman in one turn, and I've got four champs on the board. Other than a weird thing where my Elven Archer dies to a Muck Dragon, my ranged attacks, combined with a War-Enchanted Groble, manage to clear most of the map in short order.
The presence of the magic-immune firk and the magic-eating Mandrake give my WE Groble pause, but I've got Mogaslicers to handle that. Strangely, the game ends the turn after it spawns the boss champion, but without me so much as touching him.
Game 6- Trials of the Forsaken Waste Normal
This is a low champ opening hand: Groble, Outcast of the Flame, Glorious Charge, Repair, and Full Plate. I open with the Outcast, then play a Groble; then I try something that may or may not pan out. I slap the Full Plate on the Groble. The map is small enough that the lumbering will hopefully not be a problem, and a Groble with 45 Defense will hopefully survive the entire fight. This is great. He takes no damage from anything, and I begin to play a mini-game designed around keeping him from being in a position to take damage (meaning, not letting him be hit by something with a base damage much over 10 and a decent attack). It turns out I needn't have worried, as nothing, none of the purple bases, none of the rares or exotics, have the capacity to injure my Groble. He finishes the battle with unblemished health.
Game 7- Trials of the Savage Tundra
Centaur Skirmisher, War-Enchanted Groble, Seed of Potential x2, Grimlic's Mirror. This is a sort of dream. I lead with the Centaur, but my eventual plan is to cast every rune in my opening hand before anything else. This means I'll have two War-Enchanted Grobles in position to eat up all the spells the AI casts. The best part of this is that it all goes down before a Snowblind is dropped, so I'm able to mirror my WE Groble without any misdirection. While the Skirmisher dances with the Frost Giant, being just fast enough to stay out of its reach, the Grobles work their way up toward the northern font. They hold on for a long time, though eventually one falls to the concerted efforts of 5 or so champions, and then the other crumbles a turn later.
As the armada of summoned foes draws closer, I put a Lodestone Construct in front of my shrine and equip him with the Full Plate; and again, full damage immunity. Or near-full; he can't stand up to the couple 18-Attack champions on the opposing team, and they gradually wear him out. In that time I pull out two Mogaslicers, and kill my way around the edges of the massive champion mass with them. However, once sufficient champions appear, they start just attacking my shrine, and then the odds turn against me.
Game 8- Trials of the Shattered Peaks Normal
I draw Medic x2, Groble, Dwarven Mogaslicer, Light as a Feather. The best bet here seems to be the Mogaslicer, and not just because I'm about to face a lot of moga. He's got the same speed as the Groble, but the damage aura will have a more immediate and useful effect once I'm meshed in with the enemies. He does very well in removing the first G'hern, while my Groble comes around and smashes the Scarecrow. The not-saving problem I've had with using experience comes up again, as my Outcast of the Flame somehow still doesn't have Immunity-Fire.
Things do start to clump up, with all the G'hern managing to spawn from the western font because I don't take it in time. The Groble, balanced by healing from a Medic, holds off the entire northern horde of moga. I put down the War-Enchanted Groble and when he starts taking too many hits, give him the Full Plate. Even with that boost, though, the WE Groble is still taking hits from the G'hern, all of whom have Attack in the high teens. I'm able to Mirror him before he dies, but I'm out the Full Plate facing four G'hern (including both of those brutal ranged champs) and a handful of moga. I bring out the Lodestone and the Archer Commander, but the latter isn't much by herself. By the time they're plucked off, I have nothing but my copied War-Enchanted Groble. He fights a running retreat, but Dirge is 48 Attack and 35 Damage by the time he kills me.
So that's a pair of hurtful, hurtful losses. However, they were losses which provided experience, so I plan to spend that and then delve into the battle with Grimlic for which the bg was constructed.
I increase the Archer Commander's Speed to 8 and purchase Volley Leader. I'm holding off on spending the Skirmisher xp, but I am curious as to whether or not Leap powers Blitz; if so, then buying up Leap 3 would let me get an extra move for the ap I'm spending, plus make them even better first-turn font grabbers. I buy the Mogaslicers 4 hp each, and purchase Speed 8 for the Lodestone (it'll turn into 9 with the Forest faction bonus). I max out the Medics' Heal Champion, and actually buy Immunity-Fire for the lower-level Outcast, along with upping his speed to 10. Even though they're getting expensive, I do buy Speed 10 on the Timber Wolves; I think I'll use them in a lot of split faction groups and I want them to have maximal mobility. I finally descend, lovingly, to tend to my War-Enchanted Groble. I top off his Resistance-Fire and purchase the first level of Resistance-Physical, then bump his speed and his health.
Champions Cost/Level/Attack/Defense/Speed/Damage/Hp/Range
Archer Commander 68/1/13/12/8(9 w/ Faction)/10/38/3-6, Commander:Archer, Volley Leader
Centaur Skirmisher x2 70/1/14/11/11/7(8 w/ Faction)/7/42/2-4, Mobility, Blitz
Dwarven King 97/4/14/22/9(10 w/ Faction)/14/58/1, War Cry 3, Divine Favor 3, Melee Specialist 2
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2 73/1/15/12/9(10 w/ Faction)/12/52/1, Damage Aura 3, Rend 3, Charge 2
Elven Archer x2 83/3/13/11(12 w/ Faction)/11/12/30/4-7, Barrage 1
Groble x2 86/3/10/25/9(10 w/ Faction)/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 2, Siege, Fury
Lodestone Construct 61/1/10/18/8(9 w/ Faction)/11/46/1 Blacksmith, Construct Immunities, Pilfer
Medic x2 47/1/5/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/5/37/1 Immunity-Disease, Cleanse, Heal Champion 3, Passive, Immunize
Outcast of the Flame 82/13/11/10(11 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 1, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Outcast of the Flame 84/2/13/11/10(11 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Immunity Fire, Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 2, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Timber Wolves 88/2/10/10/10(11 w/ Faction)/9/24/1 Detection 1, Skirmisher, Timber Wolves
War-Enchanted Groble 76/1/10/19/8(9 w/ Faction)/11/47 Spellswallower, Resistance-Fire 3, Resistance-Physical 1, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Spells
Ancestral Anger
Butterfly Wings
Glorious Charge
Grimlic's Mirror
Hammer Strike
Light as a Feather
Repair x2
Righteous Deflection
Spontaneous Growth
Equipment
Full Plate
Seed of Potential x2
So I'm glad I have the free units at start, because I only pull Centaur Skirmisher in my initial draw. I also have Butterfly Wings, Light as a Feather, Full Plate, and Glorious Charge. I use the Charge and Light as a Feather to get my Rangers tight up on the demons to the left and right of the shrine, and chew through them as quickly as I can. I drop the Timber Wolves once I secure a font, and they bite their way through the demons assaulting the font, though they don't do enough damage to get a kill before one of the three wolves falls. I get a Groble out on the west side and run him around, and bring out a few Centaur Skirmishers as well. However, I'm simply not inflicting sufficient damage to kill the demons fast enough. By the time I've cleared the first new wave I'm already trapped facing a second. My Medics do their best to heal, but I don't time my abilities properly in terms of addressing Inhibited Champs. It's another loss for team rock.
So I go again.
My second time, I draw Elven Archer, Timber Wolves, Righteous Deflection, Seed of Potential, and Spontaneous Growth. The Growth was a spell I never once saw last game, and I think it will really help here. I play out my Archer and set to cutting down the first rank. I give Menalaus the Seed, because he's really the one to kill in this game; no regen and vulnerability to fire means he gets hurt, and hurt bad, and hurt fast. Grimlic is tricky because many of the best ways to deal with fire exist in Wrath factions. I throw the Full Plate on Grimlic, since he's a teleporter and doesn't need normal movement. Then I realize that you can't teleport if you're lumbering, and things get a little less awesome- I'm waiting for my Lodestone to appropriate the item.
Another fun interaction lesson is that Spontaneous Growth doesn't override Scorch the Earth. These are the kinds of things it's hard to know without trying. My wolves and Groble push me up to just past the river, but a Gahlroon and fully three damn Imps drive me back. These Imps have fully 15 speed. That's just madness. It ends up being just the brothers, two Medics, a Mogaslicer at my font, and eight Ash Demons, an Imp, a Rust Demon, and a Scorpic. I'm afraid that, at present, I have to declare this experiment a sad failure.
Deck Construction: Gunning for Grimlic 2- Initial Testing
Game 1- Beginner Forsaken Wastes Normal
I open Archer Commander, War-Enchanted Groble, Elven Archer, Dwarven Medic, Spontaneous Growth. I lead with the Elven Archer and manage to also deploy the Groble...then realize it's because I misclicked and deployed the Commander instead of the Elven Archer. I always enjoy playing new runes and being surprised by things; like how the Lodestone Construct is a large-base. My mechanical men stomp their way over the broken bones, and I only lose one Timber Wolf the whole match! Medics are a nice cheap healer, and Immunize saves one of the wolves. Other than that and the need to heal a War-Enchanted Groble one time, there's no notable challenge.
Game 2- Beginner Savage Tundra Normal
I open to Centaur Skirmisher, Groble, Groble, Full Plate, Dwarven Mogaslicer. I drop the Skirmisher, and a second one two turns later; Speed 12 means they're still getting 7 ap on ice, which is nice. I put Full Plate on a Mogaslicer and he becomes fully immune to most of the enemies on the screen. I briefly consider just destroying the shrine, but instead I let my Centaur run around and throw spears into things, while my Mogaslicers mow through the northern shrine's defenders.
I'm once again going to shift my play over to the Trials, because I don't think I learn a ton playing against the Beginner missions.
Game 3- Trials of the Ironfist Stronghold Normal
I open all three archers, Timber Wolves, and Glorious Charge. I drop the Wolves since I know I'll be running into dogs when I spring the Mead Trap. I take the first font and clear the first wave with no real difficulty, though all my aura guys get bunched up when I'm fighting the Earth Golem- I only have an Outcast of the Flame for non-physical damage. That means my Slicers are weakened enough that when I cavalierly charge into an Earthmover/Barbarian Commander, they die pretty quickly...both go down in one round, actually. That misplay costs me, because now I'm facing down a horde of melee fighters with a bunch of...archers. And a wizard. I slap Full Plate on a Centaur Skirmisher, using him to clog the entrance for a couple rounds. That actually works pretty well; with Mobility and Speed 7 he's able to shift and attack without worry. He goes down and my Seed of Potential-Bearing Archer Commander dies when I forget that Ancestral Rage sets your Range to 1. The War-Forged Groble, however, is a true champion. He's got a Seed on him, and then I also slap the Righteous Deflection down. Since he's bolstered by Ironfist spells, and he's a Spellswallower and Adaptive-Ironfist, with the AI spamming Unobstructed View, his damage is well over 20. Every time I heal him with Repair, too, that increases his hp by a further 5. Sadly, he can't survive Stone Dragon/Groble Pulverizer/Ghoulhunter. The Lodestone's just a big sack of dying, and then it's two Medics facing...everything. A Full Plate-wearing Groble tries to assist, but I pay the price for my hubris and go down bleeding. The Groble puts up a great fight though; Defense 45 and Resilient means he's really not being hit by anything.
Game 4-Trials of the Ironfist Stronghold Normal, Redux
I'm shamed by my previous misplay so I decide to run this map again. I definitely feel that it had been my game to lose. Sapelah and his gang are back for blood, and I pull Groble, Archer Commander, Outcast of Flame, Grimlic's Mirror, Repair. It's my 11 Speed Outcast of the Flame, so he hits the ground first. I use a Medic to trigger the mead trap (he ends up very dramatically in the center of all three dogs. My Mogaslicer tears up the Beastmaster, and then I drop a delicious Repair to take him from 10 hp to 48. I'm much more careful with my auras this time, and they let me avoid a lot of attacks by killing creatures on the end of my turns. I manage to get the War-Enchanted Groble out early on, and it's glorious. He's getting +2 Damage, +1 Attack, and +1 Defense with every useless Unobstructed view my opponent casts.
The pass is clearer this time, meaning I can move my small base figures up while the Outcast deals with the Earth Golem. One of the Slicers spends a big chunk of time stuck away from the enemies because there's no room for him, but I do get to put a Barbarian Commander between 3 Aura 3s at one point. Two War-Enchanted Grobles (thanks to Grimlic) can kill the Dwarven Sharpshooter in a single attack each. Even my standard Groble is doing 20 damage by the time the AI starts spawning purple-base champions. My War-Enchants have over 100 hp and are regenerating 4 hp a turn, and I wipe everything the turn it lands.
Obviously most games won't work out that same way with the War-Enchant, but that was sure fun. A full-faction group sounds even more appealing; I can't say that I was drawing a ton of benefit from the K'Thir end other than the speed boost, but I think it'll prove more valuable in a more challenging game. The Ironfist Map bunches things up and lets a few big melee characters really hold their own- mobility isn't much of a factor.
Spending XP, I buy Rend 3 for both Mogaslicers. My Groble without Pulverize 2 gets it. I increase the Lodestone's Speed to 8, and buy Speed 9 and Immunity-Fire for the unleveled Outcast of Flame. Both Medics pick up Cleanse, which heals as well. Keeping an eye on the goal of beating Grimlic, I buy Resistance-Fire up to 2, looking longingly at the Resistance-Physical I will one day purchase. Four games is also where I like to consider what is and isn't working within the bg, and make the necessary changes. Unfortunately, I don't see any rune that demands to be removed. I'm keeping the Commander in until she can get the ability to grant Rain of Arrows, and will decide if that's awesome once I get a chance to use it. Similarly, I haven't had a cause to summon the Dwarven King, but can easily see benefits in doing so at some point. I leave the bg completely unchanged for now.
Champions Cost/Level/Attack/Defense/Speed/Damage/Hp/Range
Archer Commander 56/1/13/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/10/38/3-6, Commander:Archer
Centaur Skirmisher x2 70/1/14/11/11/7(8 w/ Faction)/7/42/2-4, Mobility, Blitz
Dwarven King 97/4/14/22/9(10 w/ Faction)/14/58/1, War Cry 3, Divine Favor 3, Melee Specialist 2
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2 71/1/15/12/9(10 w/ Faction)/12/48/1, Damage Aura 3, Rend 3, Charge 2
Elven Archer x2 83/3/13/11(12 w/ Faction)/11/12/30/4-7, Barrage 1
Groble x2 86/3/10/25/9(10 w/ Faction)/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 2, Siege, Fury
Lodestone Construct 57/1/10/18/7(8 w/ Faction)/11/46/1 Blacksmith, Construct Immunities, Pilfer
Medic x2 45/1/5/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/5/37/1 Immunity-Disease, Cleanse, Heal Champion 2, Passive, Immunize
Outcast of the Flame 65/13/11/8(9 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 1, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Outcast of the Flame 84/2/13/11/10(11 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Immunity Fire, Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 2, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Timber Wolves 83/2/10/10/9(10 w/ Faction)/9/24/1 Detection 1, Skirmisher, Timber Wolves
War-Enchanted Groble 64/1/10/19/7(8 w/ Faction)/11/45 Spellswallower, Resistance-Fire 2, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Spells
Ancestral Anger
Butterfly Wings
Glorious Charge
Grimlic's Mirror
Hammer Strike
Light as a Feather
Repair x2
Righteous Deflection
Spontaneous Growth
Equipment
Full Plate
Seed of Potential x2
I open Archer Commander, War-Enchanted Groble, Elven Archer, Dwarven Medic, Spontaneous Growth. I lead with the Elven Archer and manage to also deploy the Groble...then realize it's because I misclicked and deployed the Commander instead of the Elven Archer. I always enjoy playing new runes and being surprised by things; like how the Lodestone Construct is a large-base. My mechanical men stomp their way over the broken bones, and I only lose one Timber Wolf the whole match! Medics are a nice cheap healer, and Immunize saves one of the wolves. Other than that and the need to heal a War-Enchanted Groble one time, there's no notable challenge.
Game 2- Beginner Savage Tundra Normal
I open to Centaur Skirmisher, Groble, Groble, Full Plate, Dwarven Mogaslicer. I drop the Skirmisher, and a second one two turns later; Speed 12 means they're still getting 7 ap on ice, which is nice. I put Full Plate on a Mogaslicer and he becomes fully immune to most of the enemies on the screen. I briefly consider just destroying the shrine, but instead I let my Centaur run around and throw spears into things, while my Mogaslicers mow through the northern shrine's defenders.
I'm once again going to shift my play over to the Trials, because I don't think I learn a ton playing against the Beginner missions.
Game 3- Trials of the Ironfist Stronghold Normal
I open all three archers, Timber Wolves, and Glorious Charge. I drop the Wolves since I know I'll be running into dogs when I spring the Mead Trap. I take the first font and clear the first wave with no real difficulty, though all my aura guys get bunched up when I'm fighting the Earth Golem- I only have an Outcast of the Flame for non-physical damage. That means my Slicers are weakened enough that when I cavalierly charge into an Earthmover/Barbarian Commander, they die pretty quickly...both go down in one round, actually. That misplay costs me, because now I'm facing down a horde of melee fighters with a bunch of...archers. And a wizard. I slap Full Plate on a Centaur Skirmisher, using him to clog the entrance for a couple rounds. That actually works pretty well; with Mobility and Speed 7 he's able to shift and attack without worry. He goes down and my Seed of Potential-Bearing Archer Commander dies when I forget that Ancestral Rage sets your Range to 1. The War-Forged Groble, however, is a true champion. He's got a Seed on him, and then I also slap the Righteous Deflection down. Since he's bolstered by Ironfist spells, and he's a Spellswallower and Adaptive-Ironfist, with the AI spamming Unobstructed View, his damage is well over 20. Every time I heal him with Repair, too, that increases his hp by a further 5. Sadly, he can't survive Stone Dragon/Groble Pulverizer/Ghoulhunter. The Lodestone's just a big sack of dying, and then it's two Medics facing...everything. A Full Plate-wearing Groble tries to assist, but I pay the price for my hubris and go down bleeding. The Groble puts up a great fight though; Defense 45 and Resilient means he's really not being hit by anything.
Game 4-Trials of the Ironfist Stronghold Normal, Redux
I'm shamed by my previous misplay so I decide to run this map again. I definitely feel that it had been my game to lose. Sapelah and his gang are back for blood, and I pull Groble, Archer Commander, Outcast of Flame, Grimlic's Mirror, Repair. It's my 11 Speed Outcast of the Flame, so he hits the ground first. I use a Medic to trigger the mead trap (he ends up very dramatically in the center of all three dogs. My Mogaslicer tears up the Beastmaster, and then I drop a delicious Repair to take him from 10 hp to 48. I'm much more careful with my auras this time, and they let me avoid a lot of attacks by killing creatures on the end of my turns. I manage to get the War-Enchanted Groble out early on, and it's glorious. He's getting +2 Damage, +1 Attack, and +1 Defense with every useless Unobstructed view my opponent casts.
The pass is clearer this time, meaning I can move my small base figures up while the Outcast deals with the Earth Golem. One of the Slicers spends a big chunk of time stuck away from the enemies because there's no room for him, but I do get to put a Barbarian Commander between 3 Aura 3s at one point. Two War-Enchanted Grobles (thanks to Grimlic) can kill the Dwarven Sharpshooter in a single attack each. Even my standard Groble is doing 20 damage by the time the AI starts spawning purple-base champions. My War-Enchants have over 100 hp and are regenerating 4 hp a turn, and I wipe everything the turn it lands.
Obviously most games won't work out that same way with the War-Enchant, but that was sure fun. A full-faction group sounds even more appealing; I can't say that I was drawing a ton of benefit from the K'Thir end other than the speed boost, but I think it'll prove more valuable in a more challenging game. The Ironfist Map bunches things up and lets a few big melee characters really hold their own- mobility isn't much of a factor.
Spending XP, I buy Rend 3 for both Mogaslicers. My Groble without Pulverize 2 gets it. I increase the Lodestone's Speed to 8, and buy Speed 9 and Immunity-Fire for the unleveled Outcast of Flame. Both Medics pick up Cleanse, which heals as well. Keeping an eye on the goal of beating Grimlic, I buy Resistance-Fire up to 2, looking longingly at the Resistance-Physical I will one day purchase. Four games is also where I like to consider what is and isn't working within the bg, and make the necessary changes. Unfortunately, I don't see any rune that demands to be removed. I'm keeping the Commander in until she can get the ability to grant Rain of Arrows, and will decide if that's awesome once I get a chance to use it. Similarly, I haven't had a cause to summon the Dwarven King, but can easily see benefits in doing so at some point. I leave the bg completely unchanged for now.
Champions Cost/Level/Attack/Defense/Speed/Damage/Hp/Range
Archer Commander 56/1/13/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/10/38/3-6, Commander:Archer
Centaur Skirmisher x2 70/1/14/11/11/7(8 w/ Faction)/7/42/2-4, Mobility, Blitz
Dwarven King 97/4/14/22/9(10 w/ Faction)/14/58/1, War Cry 3, Divine Favor 3, Melee Specialist 2
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2 71/1/15/12/9(10 w/ Faction)/12/48/1, Damage Aura 3, Rend 3, Charge 2
Elven Archer x2 83/3/13/11(12 w/ Faction)/11/12/30/4-7, Barrage 1
Groble x2 86/3/10/25/9(10 w/ Faction)/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 2, Siege, Fury
Lodestone Construct 57/1/10/18/7(8 w/ Faction)/11/46/1 Blacksmith, Construct Immunities, Pilfer
Medic x2 45/1/5/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/5/37/1 Immunity-Disease, Cleanse, Heal Champion 2, Passive, Immunize
Outcast of the Flame 65/13/11/8(9 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 1, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Outcast of the Flame 84/2/13/11/10(11 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Immunity Fire, Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 2, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Timber Wolves 83/2/10/10/9(10 w/ Faction)/9/24/1 Detection 1, Skirmisher, Timber Wolves
War-Enchanted Groble 64/1/10/19/7(8 w/ Faction)/11/45 Spellswallower, Resistance-Fire 2, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Spells
Ancestral Anger
Butterfly Wings
Glorious Charge
Grimlic's Mirror
Hammer Strike
Light as a Feather
Repair x2
Righteous Deflection
Spontaneous Growth
Equipment
Full Plate
Seed of Potential x2
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Deck Construction: Gunning for Grimlic
For my next build I'm looking at putting together a construct-heavy bg. This is partially to take advantage of the Repair spell, which is a massive 40 healing to a select construct, and partially because I want a Protectorate bg that can handle the first level of Grimlic's Descent on Hard. Grimlic's Descent swarms you with Ash Demons, Rust Demons, and the occasional Imps, Gahlroons, and Waroggs. There's also liberal use of lava, and the Ash Demons are monsters for Inhibiting champs. Also, the AI pops its champs wherever it wants; so as you're pushing over the river toward its shrine, it can just spawn three Ash Demons at yours.
So I'm looking for a bg which has resistance/immunity to fire, the ability to navigate lava, cleansing ability and healing, high damage, and shrine defense. Is that a tall order? Probably, but there's nothing for it but to try. I'll experiment with a full-faction build first, but I imagine I'd do well to consider mixing; I'm thinking specifically here of adding K'Thir Forest, so I can pick up Light as a Feather for my heavier constructs like Earth Golem and Catapult/Siege Engine. I'd also be able to run two Outcasts of the Flame, which can ignore the Ash Demons and slaughter anything else.
Okay, that actually convinced me to consider the split faction first.
As before, let's start with the full-on list of all my available runes. First, I consider Ironfist options. The fact that Mogaslicers count as constructs mean I'll probably take two of them for mobility alone. Full Plate is also a good combination with Light as a Feather. Obviously I want two Repairs, since they're a major draw for building the deck in the first place. I consider at least one Righteous Deflection and one Hammer Strike standard choices for any IS deck that isn't firmly anti-spell; I also like Glorious Charge because I believe it should give Lumbering units cheaty movement. I'm tempted to also include Strip Armor, since I'll be primarily dealing in physical damage. I may want to come back later for an Impervious as well, since that would help with shrine destruction. If I plant a creature with Siege next to someone's shrine, one turn's worth of Impervious might make all the difference.
Having at least one Nora Mine grants a significant advantage, and this bg might actually be expensive enough to warrant two. However, the IS side is already getting pretty full, so I'm going to try running the deck without nora gen for the moment. Most of my construct pieces are unleveled and thus should be fairly cheap; hopefully once they're in play their resilience will keep them there.
Cuts are tough, and I begin to think seriously about abandoning the half-faction concept and going full IS, so I can pack in more constructs (Earth Golems, specifically, and some siege engines) more healing, and a few hardy dwarves. I'm hoping to make up for the lacking elements on the KF side though, with a focus on range and speed.
Champions
Dwarven King
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2
Groble x2
Lodestone Construct
Medic x2
War-Enchanted Groble
Spells
Glorious Charge
Hammer Strike
Repair x2
Righteous Deflection
Equipment
Full Plate
The Forest has some ground to cover. I know I want both Seeds of Potential, since it provides healing and a trail effect I can use to build a path over lava for non fire-immune creatures. I can also drop it as a font defender in a pinch, then pick the relic up before it's destroyed and redrop a few turns later. I'm considering a Prismatic Crystal as well, since i have some passive units who can self-heal and use the Crystal to clog an area. I don't know that I have the space for it, though, so I move on to spells. Butterfly Wings got a boost when they added Mobility, which is useful for a shrine end-run. Ancestral Anger speeds my units while increasing their damage, so I'll take that as well. Spontaneous Growth is a heal that can also undo a lava spell.
Where Champs are concerned, I'm looking seriously at range. Given that the map I'm building for does grant a couple Elven Archers already, and I have two of my own, Archer Commander will provide some serious benefit. The Outcasts of the Flame were one of the major reasons I went K'Thir, so I'm obviously taking two of those. Timber Wolves provide a quick boost on the board, though they'll crumple fast against UD. With two spots left I toss in a pair of Centuar Skirmishers; they're a new rune I haven't played much, but they have range 2-4 and several mobility options.
Champions
Archer Commander
Centaur Skirmisher x2
Elven Archer x2
Outcast of the Flame x2
Timber Wolves
Spells
Ancestral Anger
Butterfly Wings
Grimlic's Mirror
Light as a Feather
Spontaneous Growth
Equipment
Seed of Potential x2
As it stands, then, the final build is then:
Champions Cost/Level/Attack/Defense/Speed/Damage/Hp/Range
Archer Commander 56/1/13/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/10/38/3-6, Commander:Archer
Centaur Skirmisher x2 70/1/14/11/11/7(8 w/ Faction)/7/42/2-4, Mobility, Blitz
Dwarven King 97/4/14/22/9(10 w/ Faction)/14/58/1, War Cry 3, Divine Favor 3, Melee Specialist 2
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2 69/1/15/12/9(10 w/ Faction)/12/48/1, Damage Aura 3, Rend 2, Charge 2
Elven Archer x2 83/3/13/11(12 w/ Faction)/11/12/30/4-7, Barrage 1
Groble 82/3/10/25/9(10 w/ Faction)/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 1, Siege, Fury
Groble 86/3/10/25/9(10 w/ Faction)/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 2, Siege, Fury
Lodestone Construct 57/1/10/18/7(8 w/ Faction)/11/46/1 Blacksmith, Construct Immunities, Pilfer
Medic x2 38/1/5/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/5/37/1 Immunity-Disease, Heal Champion 2, Passive, Immunize
Outcast of the Flame 65/13/11/8(9 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 1, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Outcast of the Flame 84/2/13/11/10(11 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Immunity Fire, Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 2, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Timber Wolves 83/2/10/10/9(10 w/ Faction)/9/24/1 Detection 1, Skirmisher, Timber Wolves
War-Enchanted Groble 61/1/10/19/7(8 w/ Faction)/11/45 Spellswallower, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Spells
Ancestral Anger
Butterfly Wings
Glorious Charge
Grimlic's Mirror
Hammer Strike
Light as a Feather
Repair x2
Righteous Deflection
Spontaneous Growth
Equipment
Full Plate
Seed of Potential x2
I'll run this through the standard testing gamut of four beginner matches, four trial matches; but then I'll be taking it into Grimlic's campaign instead of PvP.
So I'm looking for a bg which has resistance/immunity to fire, the ability to navigate lava, cleansing ability and healing, high damage, and shrine defense. Is that a tall order? Probably, but there's nothing for it but to try. I'll experiment with a full-faction build first, but I imagine I'd do well to consider mixing; I'm thinking specifically here of adding K'Thir Forest, so I can pick up Light as a Feather for my heavier constructs like Earth Golem and Catapult/Siege Engine. I'd also be able to run two Outcasts of the Flame, which can ignore the Ash Demons and slaughter anything else.
Okay, that actually convinced me to consider the split faction first.
As before, let's start with the full-on list of all my available runes. First, I consider Ironfist options. The fact that Mogaslicers count as constructs mean I'll probably take two of them for mobility alone. Full Plate is also a good combination with Light as a Feather. Obviously I want two Repairs, since they're a major draw for building the deck in the first place. I consider at least one Righteous Deflection and one Hammer Strike standard choices for any IS deck that isn't firmly anti-spell; I also like Glorious Charge because I believe it should give Lumbering units cheaty movement. I'm tempted to also include Strip Armor, since I'll be primarily dealing in physical damage. I may want to come back later for an Impervious as well, since that would help with shrine destruction. If I plant a creature with Siege next to someone's shrine, one turn's worth of Impervious might make all the difference.
Having at least one Nora Mine grants a significant advantage, and this bg might actually be expensive enough to warrant two. However, the IS side is already getting pretty full, so I'm going to try running the deck without nora gen for the moment. Most of my construct pieces are unleveled and thus should be fairly cheap; hopefully once they're in play their resilience will keep them there.
Cuts are tough, and I begin to think seriously about abandoning the half-faction concept and going full IS, so I can pack in more constructs (Earth Golems, specifically, and some siege engines) more healing, and a few hardy dwarves. I'm hoping to make up for the lacking elements on the KF side though, with a focus on range and speed.
Champions
Dwarven King
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2
Groble x2
Lodestone Construct
Medic x2
War-Enchanted Groble
Spells
Glorious Charge
Hammer Strike
Repair x2
Righteous Deflection
Equipment
Full Plate
The Forest has some ground to cover. I know I want both Seeds of Potential, since it provides healing and a trail effect I can use to build a path over lava for non fire-immune creatures. I can also drop it as a font defender in a pinch, then pick the relic up before it's destroyed and redrop a few turns later. I'm considering a Prismatic Crystal as well, since i have some passive units who can self-heal and use the Crystal to clog an area. I don't know that I have the space for it, though, so I move on to spells. Butterfly Wings got a boost when they added Mobility, which is useful for a shrine end-run. Ancestral Anger speeds my units while increasing their damage, so I'll take that as well. Spontaneous Growth is a heal that can also undo a lava spell.
Where Champs are concerned, I'm looking seriously at range. Given that the map I'm building for does grant a couple Elven Archers already, and I have two of my own, Archer Commander will provide some serious benefit. The Outcasts of the Flame were one of the major reasons I went K'Thir, so I'm obviously taking two of those. Timber Wolves provide a quick boost on the board, though they'll crumple fast against UD. With two spots left I toss in a pair of Centuar Skirmishers; they're a new rune I haven't played much, but they have range 2-4 and several mobility options.
Champions
Archer Commander
Centaur Skirmisher x2
Elven Archer x2
Outcast of the Flame x2
Timber Wolves
Spells
Ancestral Anger
Butterfly Wings
Grimlic's Mirror
Light as a Feather
Spontaneous Growth
Equipment
Seed of Potential x2
As it stands, then, the final build is then:
Champions Cost/Level/Attack/Defense/Speed/Damage/Hp/Range
Archer Commander 56/1/13/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/10/38/3-6, Commander:Archer
Centaur Skirmisher x2 70/1/14/11/11/7(8 w/ Faction)/7/42/2-4, Mobility, Blitz
Dwarven King 97/4/14/22/9(10 w/ Faction)/14/58/1, War Cry 3, Divine Favor 3, Melee Specialist 2
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2 69/1/15/12/9(10 w/ Faction)/12/48/1, Damage Aura 3, Rend 2, Charge 2
Elven Archer x2 83/3/13/11(12 w/ Faction)/11/12/30/4-7, Barrage 1
Groble 82/3/10/25/9(10 w/ Faction)/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 1, Siege, Fury
Groble 86/3/10/25/9(10 w/ Faction)/10/42/1 Immunity-Fire, Pulverize 2, Siege, Fury
Lodestone Construct 57/1/10/18/7(8 w/ Faction)/11/46/1 Blacksmith, Construct Immunities, Pilfer
Medic x2 38/1/5/12/7(8 w/ Faction)/5/37/1 Immunity-Disease, Heal Champion 2, Passive, Immunize
Outcast of the Flame 65/13/11/8(9 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 1, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Outcast of the Flame 84/2/13/11/10(11 w/ Faction)/14/37/3-6 Immunity Fire, Fire Aura 3, Incinerate 2, Dissipate, Confuse Attacker
Timber Wolves 83/2/10/10/9(10 w/ Faction)/9/24/1 Detection 1, Skirmisher, Timber Wolves
War-Enchanted Groble 61/1/10/19/7(8 w/ Faction)/11/45 Spellswallower, Construct Immunities, Adaptive-Ironfist, Loyalty
Spells
Ancestral Anger
Butterfly Wings
Glorious Charge
Grimlic's Mirror
Hammer Strike
Light as a Feather
Repair x2
Righteous Deflection
Spontaneous Growth
Equipment
Full Plate
Seed of Potential x2
I'll run this through the standard testing gamut of four beginner matches, four trial matches; but then I'll be taking it into Grimlic's campaign instead of PvP.
Rolling Update: Ironfist Stronghold Collection
This post is a continually updating display of the runes I have in the Ironfist Stronghold. Last update 1/3/10
Ironfist Champions
Aspect of Granite x2
Barbarian Commander x2
Barbarian Shaman x2
Battlerager
Brubaker Brothers x2
Conscripted Warrior x2
Council Elder x2
Deep Miner
Drunken Thug x2
Dwarven Axe Guard
Dwarven Catapult
Dwarven Defender
Dwarven Handler
Dwarven King
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2
Dwarven Sergeant x2
Dwarven Sharpshooter x2
Earth Golem x2
Exorcist
Griffin Rider x2
Groble x2
Gronk Rider x2
High Mason x2
Houndmaster
Interrogator x2
Ironfist Brawler x2
Ironfist Collector
Ironfist Glider x2
Ironfist Paladin
Lodestone Construct
Medic x2
Mountain Sentry x2
Plains Savage
Priest of Valdac x2
Renegade
Savage Shieldman x2
Savage Wolf x2
Siege Engine
Stalwart Defender
Terraformer x1
Tundra Barbarian x2
Turret Team
War-Enchanted Groble
Wild Chieftain x2
Ironfist Spells
Barricade x2
Consecrate the Earth
Disarm
Earthquake x2
Fortify
Glorious Charge x2
Hammer Strike x2
Impervious
Increase Gravity
Last Stand
Macadamize x2
Open the Earth x2
Repair x2
Restore Life
Righteous Deflection x2
Smite Enemy
Spell Ward x2
Strip Armor
Unobstructed View
Valor x2
Ironfist Relics
Armory
Failed Amplifier
Guard Tower x2
Ironfist Standard
Merchant's Quarter
Mystic Forge
Nora Mine x2
Sanctuary of Hope x2
Wind Generator
Ironfist Equipment
Axeman's Fate x2
Earthgod Sigil x2
Full Plate Armor x2
Heavy Crossbow x2
Holy Blade of Valdac
Stonearm Sash x2
Ironfist Champions
Aspect of Granite x2
Barbarian Commander x2
Barbarian Shaman x2
Battlerager
Brubaker Brothers x2
Conscripted Warrior x2
Council Elder x2
Deep Miner
Drunken Thug x2
Dwarven Axe Guard
Dwarven Catapult
Dwarven Defender
Dwarven Handler
Dwarven King
Dwarven Mogaslicer x2
Dwarven Sergeant x2
Dwarven Sharpshooter x2
Earth Golem x2
Exorcist
Griffin Rider x2
Groble x2
Gronk Rider x2
High Mason x2
Houndmaster
Interrogator x2
Ironfist Brawler x2
Ironfist Collector
Ironfist Glider x2
Ironfist Paladin
Lodestone Construct
Medic x2
Mountain Sentry x2
Plains Savage
Priest of Valdac x2
Renegade
Savage Shieldman x2
Savage Wolf x2
Siege Engine
Stalwart Defender
Terraformer x1
Tundra Barbarian x2
Turret Team
War-Enchanted Groble
Wild Chieftain x2
Ironfist Spells
Barricade x2
Consecrate the Earth
Disarm
Earthquake x2
Fortify
Glorious Charge x2
Hammer Strike x2
Impervious
Increase Gravity
Last Stand
Macadamize x2
Open the Earth x2
Repair x2
Restore Life
Righteous Deflection x2
Smite Enemy
Spell Ward x2
Strip Armor
Unobstructed View
Valor x2
Ironfist Relics
Armory
Failed Amplifier
Guard Tower x2
Ironfist Standard
Merchant's Quarter
Mystic Forge
Nora Mine x2
Sanctuary of Hope x2
Wind Generator
Ironfist Equipment
Axeman's Fate x2
Earthgod Sigil x2
Full Plate Armor x2
Heavy Crossbow x2
Holy Blade of Valdac
Stonearm Sash x2
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