One card I forgot to mention: Akiro's Hammer. Granted, it is expensive and slow, but it absolutely wrecks conjurations. Great at destroying enemy spawnpoints, nasty enemy conjurations that have global effects, and a Priestess that wants to turtle in one zone. Trust me. It is worth just the 3 spell points to include it in your spellbook as an option.

Equipment:

Too much of it. In a game you rarely have time to suit yourself up with 5-6 pieces of equipment. Ring of Command isn't very good in my opinion. Also, Mage Staff doesn't fit the Warlord's playstyle at all, so I would take that out.

Conjurations:

Akiro's Hammer is situational and very slow, keep that in mind. Quicksand is amazing. I started with 1 in my spellbook but quickly amped that number up to 4. Don't use the Barracks; it is a heft price to pay and takes a while to break even mana wise. Mangler Catrops are close to useless in my opinion.

Enchantmets:

I personally rely heavily on Fortified Position, Retaliate, and Block when I play. Your set-up is fun though. You gotta figure this stuff out by playing. Playing your spellbook right is half the battle.

Incantations:

Don't use arcane incantations other than seeking dispel and dispel. Instead of using dissolve, save yourself points by including Explode instead. Don't use holy incantations other than healing ones. War incantations (obviously) work best for Warlord. Battle Fury is beast. (Helm of Command + Battle Fury = Win).

Creatures:

up to you, but don't use goblin builders or goblin bombers. I find Ludwig to be very underwhelming since he is only good from 1 zone away. I like Earth Elemental because he is hard to kill and is very resistant to elements, but I understand if you can't find room for him.

Attack:

Hurl Boulder is very powerful!!! Please look into it!!! Great way to deal with flyers!!!

Overall advice:

Making a good spellbook is half of the battle; you also need to play your spellbook the way it is meant to be played. Don't just grab a bunch of cards that are good alone. Have a gameplan. Search for cool combos. When you play a spellbook, you will ALWAYS find ways to improve it for next time. My warlord spellbook is always evolving.

Best of luck!

Just want to get a feel for how the rest of the MW community goes about when planning their spells. Personally, I am more of an "option 4" player.

Understandably, the Wizard is getting lots of love. He was my initial favorite from the original 4. Glad to see I am not the only one who can't stand to play as the Warlock or Forcemaster. Sorry, I like to have creatures. I feel vulnerable with only 1 or 2 creatures out. And yes, even though I love the Warlord, I will admit that his x3 for arcane spells is very annoying. I can see why that alone would deter people from playing as him. Arcane spells are extremely useful, which also explains why the Wizard is so popular. The Wizard, for me, is the near perfect balance of defense and offense. Voltaric Shield and Thunderbolt, anyone?

Alright. You guys have me convinced that Thorg is useful. I guess none of my opponents have ever put me on the defensive side before. Usually I am the one dictating play. I like the ideas of using Thorg to absorb damage from flyers and lure creatures into traps. Could you use Thorg's taunt to lure a creature (that can only attack with melee attacks, let us say) from the other side of a Wall of Pikes? Thus forcing them to walk through the wall and take additional damage?

Also, doesn't taunting flyers only absorb damage and not deal damage? Melee creatures can't target flying creatures. Is counterstrike an exception to this rule? Please explain.

OP here.

My opinions have changed on Hurl Boulder. It has a lot going for it. 8 mana for 7 damage, range of 2, can target flyers, takes a quick action, decent chance to slam, and there isn't any armor that gives -2 to earth spells.

As for Hail of Stones, I don't include it at all. For my taste, too situational, takes a full action, only has a range of 1. Too meh for me. I have better ways to spend my points.

But 12 life isn't really that much when you think about it. I'm thinking, if I want a creature in my Warlord's zone to absorb damage, why not use Earth Elemental instead? Yes, he doesn't have counterstrike, but that 35 life...

@Aarrow

Yes, that does work. His barracks is technically an outpost. It starts out with +1 channeling because when you control it you control 1 outpost. Now add 2 more outposts, such as the garrison posts. Channeling is now +3. Harmonize takes whatever channeling existed before and adds +1 to it. 3+1 = 4 channeling. Have fun spawning a Goblin Grunt every turn, or a Goblin Slinger/Orc Butcher every other turn