Cervere Jinx

[Borg]

I've read Hanma's report on his tournament winning deck with much interest and couldn't help but thinking that those Jinxes could be of tremendous use in my Beastmaster/Cervere book as well as a means of hindering the opponent while a pumped up Cervere + Pet come hammering down.

However, I was taking somewhat of a break from MW during the july and august months mainly because I was a little put off by the Domination expansion which I have ( besides the cards ) no interest for and so I put the book aside for the time.

And guess what, I noticed today a post made last night by Kharhaz where he mentions the Beastmaster as the ideal Mage to get the most out of the Jinxes.

I know we have talked about it before Hanma, but Beastmaster is the way to go.

That little line just got my MW juices flowing again and I couldn't help myself picking up my Beastmaster book and starting the Jinx update.

So I figured I should just post my updated book here and hear what you folks might have to say about it.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Cervere Jinx[/spellbookname]
[mage]Beastmaster[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWA04]1 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a08]1 x  Geyser[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j22]2 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j03]1 x  Tooth & Nail[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1w04]1 x  Wall of Thorns[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c07]1 x  Cervere, The Forest Shadow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c37]2 x  Thunderift Falcon[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c04]1 x  Bitterwood Fox[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c38]1 x  Timber Wolf[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC02]1 x  Dire Wolf[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c13]1 x  Fellella, Pixie Familiar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c36]1 x  Tarok, the Skyhunter[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e23]6 x  Jinx[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]3 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE06]3 x  Lion Savagery[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]2 x  Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE03]2 x  Healing Charm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e33]2 x  Retaliate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]2 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE04]2 x  Enchantment Transfusion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x  Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e40]1 x  Vampirism[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e05]1 x  Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e13]1 x  Eagle Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e31]1 x  Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE02]1 x  Divine Might[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e09]1 x  Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x  Rust[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q09]1 x  Enchanter's Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q02]1 x  Bearskin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x  Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ09]1 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]2 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]2 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI03]2 x  Disarm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i19]2 x  Piercing Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i20]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i25]1 x  Shift Enchantment[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

I have Mage Wars on my schedule next sunday, we'll see how it goes.

[Biblofilter]

As always an intresting spellbook from you 

A few comments:

I tried Hanma´s book yesterday and still found it hard to know when to use Jinx.
It seemed i just payed a lot of mana (which i had) for not really that much.

After i started Jinxing my opponent (who knew i was playing Hanma´s book) would start waiting with his quickspell untill the end of the round and then being able to use both spell actions on the following round.

Im saying that 6 Jinx might be just a bit to much (especially in a tournament book)

Maybe Enchantment Transfusion + Jinx would work even better?

Fellella is pretty fragil and needs protection. Guardian Angel could do that, but i already think your having trouble with mana already.

(19)
Fellella 12
Enchanters Ring 2
(14)
Thunderrift Falcon 8
Bear Strenght 1
Brace Yourself 1 (on Fellella?)
(13)


I takes a while before Cevere comes out, and you need mana for revealing enchanments and Jinx.

You might be better off starting with 2 Mana Flowers.

Gotta go - Good luck sunday! - Battlereport comming?

[Borg]

Hi Biblofilter,

I'll certainly report back after the weekend's games.

I'll also try to play the book as I normally do, with Cervere coming out on R1 and build up as I usually do.
The difference should be in how I proceed once Cervere and the Pet have come online.

I suspect the Beastmaster will cast the first Jinx and maybe some more afterwards.
It remains to be seen whether I can get Fellella in play or not.
I kind of suspect that being able to cast Fellella will be like a luxury and maybe I'd be better off casting the Dire Wolf at that point.

[Hanma]

Here's what I would cut. Tooth and Nail(Tends to be a win-more card), 2x Retaliate(Better off using guard if anything, unneeded imo though), Agony(Really only strong against 1-big, which isn't really viable anyway), 2x Piercing Strike(Ew, command spells), Bitterwood Fox(Birds are just better), Geyser(0-1 is meh), Enchanters Ring(Rings aren't worth the action without forge) and Shift Enchantment(Might as well run transfusion, but you have 2 of those anyway).

Here's what you need to find room for: 3-4x Acid Ball, 2x Surging Wave, Mana Crystal, 1-2x Bull's Endurance(For Fellella and Cervere), 1x Bearskin, Leather Boots, and Leather Gloves. I might consider 1x Reverse Attack or Block for Cervere/Fellella even. With the rest of the points, I might consider going Lair with more creatures but if you want to stick more with the buff Cervere strategy then that's probably not optimal. I'd put in more things to get there at the end to erk out the final damage like Hurl Rock.

[Borg]

Hi Hanma,

Thanks for replying.
You gave me plenty to consider and reply to.

cut. Tooth and Nail(Tends to be a win-more card)
Here's what you need to find room for: 3-4x Acid Ball

I had Acid Balls in my original book but took them out for reasons I explained in my original thread
http://forum.arcanewonders.com/index.php?topic=15466.msg50407#msg50407
It comes down to the reasoning that I don't really need Acid Balls because between
Lion Savagery + Tooth and Nail + Rust + Dissolve + Disarm + Piercing Strike
I have enough cards that can deal with armor.

Moreover, most books have ways to deal with corrode markers and as such I like the Pierce+1 from Tooth and Nail because it cannot simply be removed with say a Disarm but needs a bigger effort to remove from play.

cut. 2x Retaliate (Better off using guard if anything, unneeded imo though)
I might consider 1x Reverse Attack or Block for Cervere/Fellella even.

I agree that two may be one too many but I like the ability to have a hidden and unmandatory counterstrike for 6 dice with Pierce+1 for just 3 mana net that I can use against the attacker of my choice and possibly take out an enemy creature unexpectedly or deal some unexpected damage to the enemy mage.

I may be wrong but I consider Reverse Attack and Block some of the worst hidden enchantments you can put on Cervere because I have the impression that most opponents are going to attack him with unavoidable attacks anyway rendering both enchantments mostly ineffective and turning them into wasted mana and actions.

cut. Agony(Really only strong against 1-big, which isn't really viable anyway),

You're correct in that the Agony is in there to use against 1-big as you call it or against solo mages like the Forcemaster.
Probably too much of a niche card indeed and at 2 sbp's can be replaced by something more useful overall like a Hurl Rock or Surging Wave like you mentioned.

cut. 2x Piercing Strike(Ew, command spells)

Honestly, I think you just might be underestimating how good these are.
These are simply my Conjuration Killers.

QC a 2 mana Piercing Strike on a Bear Strength / Lion Savagery Cervere and you're looking at an 8 dice, Pierce+4 Elusive and Fast bomb that can one-shot your 6-8 mana Battle Forge, Wizard Tower, Harshforge Monolith etc

Conjurations like these will always be prime targets for this book because it's so easy for Cervere to reach and hit them and take them out with a little help from an extremely cheap and effective Piercing Strike.

cut. Bitterwood Fox(Birds are just better)

Birds are indeed just better.
I just figured it might come in handy at some point to also have a cheap ground dweller who can hinder and cost 1 mana less at the same time but maybe I'm taking that too far
Bird it is.

cut. Geyser(0-1 is meh)

Geyser is actually in there for the same reason that Purify is in there, as a catch all.
However, since I added Wand of Healing to this latest build, I may not need the Geyser anymore.
So yes, replace it.

cut. Enchanters Ring(Rings aren't worth the action without forge)
add. Mana Crystal

Here I don't quite get the reasoning why the ring wouldn't be worth the action without forge while casting a Mana Crystal would get your approval.

The Mana Crystal costs one Quick Action and 5 mana, then gives you 1 mana/turn
The Enchanter's Ring also costs just one Quick Action but costs only 2 mana and then, provided that I cast 1 enchantment on my creatures every turn nets me a 1 mana advantage/turn. ( which will happen most of the rounds )
So I actually save 3 mana, meaning, I can even skip 3 rounds using the ring and the cost still evens out.

I might still be tempted to use a Mana Crystal instead however but the problem is I cannot play it on Round 1 together with Cervere. ( 19 mana vs 20 needed )

cut. Enchantment Transfusion

I just find it a very handy spell, ( Rust eg ) useful in various situations, cheap and only 1 sbp.
If I find that I don't use it in the next couple of games it goes out.

Here's what you need to find room for: 2x Surging Wave, 1-2x Bull's Endurance(For Fellella and Cervere), 1x Bearskin, Leather Boots, and Leather Gloves.  With the rest of the points, I might consider going Lair with more creatures but if you want to stick more with the buff Cervere strategy then that's probably not optimal. I'd put in more things to get there at the end to erk out the final damage like Hurl Rock.

Surging Wave is a good spell overall but I'm not sure why I really need this one.
Could you elaborate on why you like this one to be put in ?

Bull's Endurance is a card I've never really used but in this situation you may have a good point.
I'll put one in.

Bearskin already is in the book. Gloves and Boots are obviously OK, only question is, am I going to cast these without a Forge

And finally, adding a Lair simply means making another book.
It would also make the book a lot slower.
This book is built around Cervere and obviously I want to keep it that way.

A big thank you for your response and suggestions.

[Kharhaz]

This book is built around Cervere and obviously I want to keep it that way.

The biggest suggestion I could give is to remember that the Jinx book is built around Jinx, not Cevere.

You get at most 6 rounds where the enemy mage does not get his quick cast. During that window you have to win the game, or at least set yourself up in the position to win.

Cevere can be a part of it but Fellella is much more important.

I would recommend cutting enchantments by like 20% - 40%. Fellella is going to be busy doing other things than healing charm, E tanks, and the like. She needs to commit to a course and if that course is jinx, that's it. She reapplies right after the current one is revealed.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience with it. My current book is a blast to play now that I added [mwcard=MW1C33]Sosruko, Ferret Companion[/mwcard] (Which was a surprisingly effective addition that Hanma recommended)

[ringkichard]

Are you doing anything special to get Sosruko to work? I simply can never get him to proc.

[Kharhaz]

Are you doing anything special to get Sosruko to work? I simply can never get him to proc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJpGHR6ofus