Arcane Wonders Forum
Mage Wars => Spellbook Design and Construction => Topic started by: tubex on February 26, 2015, 12:57:11 PM
-
Hi!
I'm gonna play a tournament this weekend with a time limit of 75 minutes (i think it is, it's limited anyways).
This means the book can't rely on winning the long game. I love the fire warlock and all the mean things you can do to the enemy but I feel I haven't quite grasped how to play her to her full advantage. I tried going for a wildfire imp rush but it took me so long to set it up that it ended up not being a rush at all and all my little imps getting picked off one by one. So i've ended up with this book.
My plan with this book is to have a creature or my warlock put some early burns on the enemy mage, that's what lord of fire is for, or sersiryx. I will then keep stacking burns through the entire game and burn the enemy mage to cinders. Got some curses to counter a variety of situations. Haven't really decided on the best way of applying burns, so tips are needed. I'm also happy to hear of other ways of playing the fire lock, perhaps stacking burns isn't the best killer?
I like using lord of fire for spreading the flame however I kind feel like I'm putting all my eggs in one basket. I've also tried flaming hellion and attack spells.
Anyways this is my books feel free to pick it apart :) How well does it stand up to the variety of threats that I might face?
[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Fire warlock[/spellbookname]
[mage]Adramelech Warlock[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1a12]1 x Ring of Fire[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a06]2 x Flameblast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]1 x Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFA01]1 x Devil's Trident[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a04]2 x Fireball[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j08]1 x Hand of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j12]1 x Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j04]1 x Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNW02]2 x Wall of Bones[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c01]1 x Adramelech, Lord of Fire[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFC11]1 x Sersiryx, Imp Familiar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFC13]1 x Wildfire Imp[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC04]1 x Grey Wraith[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c15]1 x Firebrand Imp[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE03]1 x Arcane Corruption[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]1 x Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e40]1 x Vampirism[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE01]2 x Adramelech's Touch[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e08]1 x Death Link[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e19]2 x Ghoul Rot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]1 x Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e04]1 x Chains of Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e02]1 x Block[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e27]1 x Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]1 x Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e31]1 x Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e24]1 x Magebane[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e09]2 x Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e03]1 x Bull Endurance[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE02]1 x Circle of Fire[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e14]1 x Enfeeble[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ01]1 x Cloak of Shadows[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q10]1 x Fireshaper Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q28]1 x Ring of Curses[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q14]1 x Lash of Hellfire[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFQ01]1 x Adramelech's Torment[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFQ02]1 x Bloodfire Helmet[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i23]1 x Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i11]1 x Explode[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]2 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i08]2 x Drain Life[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]1 x Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI01]1 x Combustion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]1 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i02]1 x Battle Fury[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI05]2 x Ignite[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]1 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]2 x Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI08]1 x Sniper Shot[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 118 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]
-
throw away the two drain lifes
-
Mystery, care to elaborate?
-
Run more Dissolves and a few Disarms so that you have cheaper options for dealing with Dragonscale Hauberk and Elemental Cloak.
The way that I'm seeing this spellbook play out is to open with a Lord of Fire rush. I don't really think you need the Battle Forge in that case, as I'm having trouble seeing when you'll want to play it. I'm not sure when you would play Sersiryx in that type of opening either.
You need more reliable sources of normal attacks so that you are not completely screwed against flame immune things. I would run a pair of Dark Pact Slayers or something.
If you have them, more Flameblasts would be a good idea as a cheap attack option that scales well with Smoldering Curses, Marked for Death, Hawkeye, Akiro's Favor, and Fireshaper Ring.
Include another chest piece.
-
Expect everyone to have two Dragonscale Hauberk. Some might not (especially Druid) but it's a good gameplan against Warlock. Plan accordingly with Dissolves and such.
-
I'm curious about disarm. To me that spell seems very weak. An action for one round of a piece of gear not working.
What am I missing?
Yeah sersiryx doesnt really fit in a lord of fire opening. Would he fit i a mid-low level creature strategy?
Would wildfire imps be valid option to Dark pact slayers for instance?
-
Wildfire Imps do not solve your problem with fire immune targets because they don't do significant damage against any target without burns. For instance, you want to have a way of knocking down Wall of Earth, and Wildfire Imps won't cut it.
Disarm has a number of uses. It lets you temporarily shut down Dragonscale Hauberk/Elemental Cloak very cheaply, but the key is that it is perfectly acceptable to run it into a Nullify, whereas running a Dissolve for 6 into a Nullify is pretty bad for you. So it lets you try to get more damage through while hedging against Nullify. It's also extremely cheap, so you can still do other stuff, whereas a Dissolve takes more than half of your mana for a round. The other main use for Disarm for an Adramelech Warlock with few creatures is to remove corrode conditions from your own mage. If you are at zero armor due to corrode stacking, you can Disarm your own chest piece in order to remove 2 corrode conditions, so that next round you'll be back up to 2 armor for just 1 spellbook point and 1 mana.
-
The Lord of Fire needs Battle Fury :)
-
Wow, does disarm work as a way to permanently remove corrodes? I guess it make me go down to zero or negative armor for a bried moment, and that's enough.
Other than that, is burn stacking any enemy mage a valid option? I guess they could stop it with a geyser or renewing rain, but not many people have those cards in their book. At least that's my experience.
-
Burn stacking is valid if you can stay alive long enough for them to burn to death. You'll need to be on guard for those that do have [mwcard=MW1A08]Geyser[/mwcard]. A key [mwcard=MW1E23]Jinx[/mwcard] could spell certain doom for the opponent or you can preempt their geyser with your own [mwcard=MWSTX2FFI01]Combustion[/mwcard] getting some extra damage in there.
Also, if you really want to burn stack you should have [mwcard=MWSTX2FFI05]Ignite[/mwcard] on a Mage Wand. Ignite something in the enemy's zone (one of your own creatures works as long as it's not fire immune.) and then use your Warlock's burn move to stack it onto the enemy mage.
I also agree with everyone that you need to be ready to deal with at least 2 Dragonscale Hauberks and 2 Elemental Cloaks. Now, if all you're doing is relying on burns then Ignite will still keep the burns on the enemy without having to deal with the "Flame -2" since it doesn't reduce the burn damage. Also, if you curse them you can use [mwcard=MWSTX2FFQ01]Adramelech's Torment[/mwcard] to put a burn back on them. This also works instead of the Mage Wand + Ignite, but it does require a creature to have a curse on it so the Mage Wand + Ignite is more reliable long term.
Just my thoughts.
-
Im thinking burn stacking combined with dmg from lord of fire and fire attack spells from my mage. Will also try to get a dark pact slayer or another solid creature out.
How would my survivability be with this book? Im worried i wont put enough pressure on the enemy to get him to back off , hence the battle forge, for casting gear. I might remove it though
-
Adramelech, Lord of Fire means PRESSURE. If he's your strategy, then "all you need to do" is make sure he's still a threat. That can be attempted with a nullify or two or some dispels and seeking dispels to prevent banish or agony, enfeeble, maim wings or rust.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of ways to effectively neutralize creatures and if you're only packing one big one he's going to take all of the enemy's hate. You need to either 1) make sure that buys you enough time for the kill or 2) have a plan for a follow up target when he's taken down.
-
Yep thats what I'm thinking, lord of fire is by no means hard to kill, mind control, banish or whatever. Is he actually a suitable creature for a burn build or should i go for mid level creatures?
If I go the lord of fire route, what would be a suitable follow up creature? He does cost a lot and that kind of mana takes a while to regain.
Perhaps there's a better way to use the adramelech warlock?
-
Between the two warlocks, I would say that the Adramelech Warlock is the 'swarmier' of the two, while the Arraxian crown warlock prefers a more select group of creatures. Two of her abilities (Smoldering Curses and Demonic Reward) benefit from having lots of lower-level creatures making lots of smaller attacks, rather than 1-2 big ones making larger attacks. More attacks means more bonuses from the curses, and smaller creatures benefit more from healing.
I'd take out Adramelech and focus on imp swarms instead, using a Pentagram to relieve yourself of the job of summoning. The nice thing about imp swarm is that Ring of Fire the most common zone attacks used to clear swarms (disclaimer: this is just my personal experience, I don't actually have data to back up this claim), but your imps are immune to it, removing one of the major weaknesses of swarms. Add another Marked for Death, as it will almost certainly be dispelled.
Other have mentioned walls (and Wall of Earth in particular); other ways you can deal with this are with brute force (Force Hammer) or by pre-empting it (wall of fog on a critical border). As long as you have a burn on the enemy, there is no escape from your wildfire imps. Against Flame-Immune creatures (typically other demons), a Dark Pact Slayer or Necropian Vampiress will be effective.
-
As long as you have a burn on the enemy, there is no escape from your wildfire imps.
You do have to have LOS unlike the [mwcard=MW1C05]Blue Gremlin[/mwcard] to teleport to the target.
-
Good points ACG. I guess if I go with the arraxian warlock "burn stacking" is out of the question since he doesnt have as much synergy with burns. The nice thing with lord of fire and the adramelech lock though, is that lord of fire can put on burns with ease which synergize well with the mage.
What would be the major threats against lord of fire? And how would I counter them?
-
Did not know that.
-
Anything that pierces or removes his armor is going to cause you problems. He only has 14 health which is decent, but not amazing. As soon as that armor isn't protecting him, he'll go down like sack of bricks. Additionally, he has flying so you should be able to dodge most attacks, but be careful of Maim Wings or Knockdown. There's not much you can do against this except Nullify.
The way I've seen most people deal with him is to remove flying and then stick him in place with a Tanglevine, a "Stuck" condition or a Force Hold.
You can Rhino Hide him to make it even less appealing to attack him. You can give him Vampirism; you can give him Cheetah Speed or Bear's Strength.
The trick is to be careful not to go all in unless you're certain you can pull it off. The more you invest in one creature the more you stand to lose if it dies.
Like Schwenkgott says, Battle Fury will get an extra attack off for him which is really good. You want to make sure you're hitting a really high priority target to get the best effect out of the Battle Fury.
-
Yep...
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFC13]Wildfire Imp[/mwcard]
"Teleport to a Target Zone" are the key words
-
I actually didnt have a rhino hide in the book. Added it! :)
Say I wanna go for an imp swarm. I guess I need the pentagram even though I kinda feel like I'm loosing momentum with it. Tried the imp swarm + pentagram once and I felt it took a little too long. My imps ended up getting picked off one by one. Also i would need to equip the bloodfire helmet to really benefit the most from the imps. On top of that, marked for death. That would make each imp hit for 6 dice (correct me if im wrong :) ). That is a lot of dice for a 5 mana creature but they are one shot kills usually and really need to time their attack correctly.
Would an Etherian life tree be a terrible idea for an imp swarm?
Man my head is spinning :)
-
I actually didnt have a rhino hide in the book. Added it! :)
Say I wanna go for an imp swarm. I guess I need the pentagram even though I kinda feel like I'm loosing momentum with it. Tried the imp swarm + pentagram once and I felt it took a little too long. My imps ended up getting picked off one by one. Also i would need to equip the bloodfire helmet to really benefit the most from the imps. On top of that, marked for death. That would make each imp hit for 6 dice (correct me if im wrong :) ). That is a lot of dice for a 5 mana creature but they are one shot kills usually and really need to time their attack correctly.
Would an Etherian life tree be a terrible idea for an imp swarm?
Man my head is spinning :)
Nope. Etherian lifetree is a great idea!
-
Keeping those imps alive is tricky sometimes. If you can mind game the enemy properly, a key Fortified Position will help a lot as well. You can throw them for a loop and Shift Enchantment on it when they leave the zone. This might be too much for trying to kill quickly.
As I've found out before, more than any other mage, the Adramelech Warlock with an imp swarm can just hang back until the right moment and jump in with the swarm. A clutch Disarm on a piece of armor they were counting on to save them from the swarm can really hurt.