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Topics - DaveW

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Events / Origins 2016?

« on: December 31, 2015, 07:01:38 AM »

I am planning to go to Origins this year instead of GenCon. Will there be MW events at Origins this year? Event submission is going on now.

If no one else is planning to do something, I can offer to run something if you all like.

Spells / Drain Soul question

« on: December 25, 2015, 08:45:32 AM »

I understand that you need to be able to place the Taints on a creature to gain the six life. I am curious whether you can place two Taints on a creature with only one to three life remaining... that is, such that only one Taint would kill the creature.

A follow-up question in case you can only place one Taint on such a creature: Do you gain zero, three, or six Life if you do this? I presume zero, since the new text says "if you do" (place two Taints).

Spellbook Design and Construction / Necromancer - Skeleton build

« on: December 12, 2015, 11:59:21 PM »

I have been working on a Necro book for a few weeks now. It started as a Zombie book, but I got tired of running away from my own creatures when I was hurt. Once I started to look at Skeletons, I was pretty happy with what I eventually came up with, so I thought that I'd share.

The name is just a working title, and is similar to at least one other posted book... so I would be happy to entertain ideas on that. Thanks in advance for any constructive criticism!

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Army of the Dead[/spellbookname]
[mage]Necromancer[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]1 x Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]1 x Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a09]1 x Jet Stream[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j18]1 x Poison Gas Cloud[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j22]2 x Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFJ04]1 x Armory[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j11]1 x Idol of Pestilence[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j19]1 x Deathlock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNW02]3 x Wall of Bones[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNC07]1 x Mort[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC14]1 x Skeletal Knight[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC13]2 x Skeletal Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c32]4 x Skeletal Sentry[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC15]4 x Skeletal Minion[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e22]1 x Hellfire Trap[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE06]1 x Fortified Position[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e31]1 x Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e19]2 x Ghoul Rot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e04]1 x Chains of Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e09]1 x Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e27]1 x Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE03]1 x Arcane Corruption[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e14]1 x Enfeeble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE04]1 x Enchantment Transfusion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]1 x Nullify[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNQ02]1 x Death Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ05]1 x Libro Mortuos[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ10]1 x Storm Drake Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ01]1 x Cloak of Shadows[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ10]1 x Meditation Amulet[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ03]1 x Deathshroud Staff[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q08]1 x Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKI01]1 x Drain Soul[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i08]1 x Drain Life[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]2 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]1 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI03]1 x Disarm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]1 x Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]1 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i25]1 x Shift Enchantment[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]1 x Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI05]1 x Unholy Resurgence[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI03]3 x Reassemble[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

Notes on some of the spells selected that don't seem terribly obvious:

Attack spells: Selected on the basis of range (range = 2, usable while Obscured defensively) and low mana cost. Jet Stream is especially useful against flyers, Acid Ball against highly armored targets, and Surging Wave to attack which trying to push creatures away. The Surging Wave theoretically could be used for use against a Battle Forge, but unless it is far forward (NC or closer), I don't see using it against the BF. The most important of these would be attached to the Elemental Wand for reusability.

Conjurations: Poison Gas Cloud is nice for use in a defensive position / major combat location, or for placing in the same zone as an opponent's Renewing Spring / Druid's Treebond location, or a Creature Spawnpoint. The Tanglevines are mostly to tie down guards. Since every Creature is a soldier, they all benefit from an Armory (which hopefully gets placed around the time that the opponent gets involved with my skeletons, providing a distraction).

Creatures: Mort is in there to reconstruct damaged creatures and to apply Taints (so the Necro can use his extra damage ability from Plague Master). I thought about adding Acolytes of the Bog Queen for additional reconstruct support, but decided to put in Reassembles and the UR incantations instead since the Acolytes can't be brought out by the Libro. All Creatures in the book can be Reconstructed and all benefit from the Armory as noted before.

Enchantments: Fortified Position is amazing with skeletons... I wish I could fit in a second one, but settled on a Shift Enchantment for repositioning it (and other purposes). I put in the trap to have a second face down enchant to keep the opponent guessing... at least until I reveal the FP... in addition to doing a little damage to a closing creature. The Enchantment Transfusion has a few purposes. It can move the Nullify to a creature in an emergency (for example if Mort is about to get Teleported [I do not have Astral Anchor]), or dump 2+ curses onto the enemy Mage at once (especially the Warlord with Harshforge Plate). It also can be used to move a curse from one enemy creature to another in a pinch. If Blur comes out as currently printed, I probably will swap one in for the Cloak.

Equipment: On armor selection, I decided to go with only one piece since I am hoping that it won't get dissolved too quickly... I am hoping that my multiple creatures will be too much trouble for him before he can attack my Necro effectively. I went with the Storm Drake Hide because I have had much more trouble with Lightning spell effects than burns. I like the Staff for two reasons, the ability to add another poison condition for the direct poison damage, and the zone-wide Melee +1 ability.

Incantations: These are only bare-bones quantities of what I consider essential. The only spell that might require a comment is the Seeking Dispel. I have that in there for trap removal and possibly to get rid of FD Astral Anchors. (I've found that to be an especially annoying spell.)

The general idea is to bring out as many creatures as possible, with Mort coming out around turn 4-6 for his reconstruction ability. The Minions would be saved for last, when I could cast four of them in two turns to add to battle quickly (to be treated as attack spells).

Opening idea 1 / Opponent not overly aggressive:
Turn 1 = 20: Death Ring (-5), Libro (-9*)
Turn 2 = 16/1: deploy Skeletal Knight [Eternal Servant] (-11*/-1), Meditation Amulet (-4), MEDITATE (+3)
Turn 3 = 14/1: deploy Skeletal Archer (-9*/-1), MEDITATE (+3), Cloak of Shadows (-6)

Opening idea 2 / Opponent brings out one or more flying creatures by turn 2:
Turn 1 = 20: Death Ring (-5), Libro (-9*)
Turn 2 = 16/1: deploy Skeletal Knight [Eternal Servant] (-11*/-1), Meditation Amulet (-4), MEDITATE (+3)
Turn 3 = 14/1: deploy Skeletal Archer (-9*/-1), MEDITATE (+3), Elemental Wand [Jet Stream] (-5)
Guard with Knight on Turn 3 in this opening

Opening idea 3 / Aggressive opponent:
Turn 1 = 20: Death Ring (-5), Libro (-9*)
Turn 2 = 16/1: deploy Skeletal Knight [Eternal Servant] (-11*/-1), Meditation Amulet (-4), MEDITATE (+3)
Turn 3 = 14/1: deploy Skeletal Sentry (-6*/-1), MEDITATE (+3), Armor (-6)
Guard with Knight on Turn 3 in this opening

* = Discount from Ring

Mages / Necro opinion: Blur or Cloak?

« on: December 12, 2015, 03:13:39 PM »

I wasn't sure whether to put this in the Spells or Mages section, so please feel free to move this if I chose wrongly. My question is specific to spellbook building for a Necromancer, and relates to two specific spells.

I was looking at the spell Blur, and started to wonder whether the Necro even needs the Cloak of Shadows these days. My thought was to put Blur in the Necro's book and (possibly) add the Elemental Cloak instead of his iconic Cloak. I am looking for feedback on this idea.

Blur (Mind level 1 Enchantment) Mana cost 2/0 (+1 to maintain per time being hit in combat) grants Obscured.

The Cloak of Shadows (Dark level 2 Equipment) Mana cost 6 grants Obscured and Light -2.

I am not running a Battle Forge and am looking to stay at range compared with my opponents' creatures with this book. Does the answer depend on how well I am able to stay at range (and thus not needing the armor or other traits granted by the spells)?

Does the answer depend on whether I go with skeletons or zombies primarily?

Does the answer depend on whether I use the Tome, Graveyard, or both?

Does the answer depend on what additional Light attacks are added to the game with PvS or others?

I understand that both equipment and enchantments have counters in dissolve and dispel. Does the answer depend on which Mage you are facing (Druid with cheap access to Dissolve, or Wizard with cheap access to Dispel, for example)? If so, then would having Blur in addition to the Cloak (or two Cloaks) be a good idea for versatility? (It feels like too many spellbook points may be spent on Obscured going with all of these.)

Thanks in advance for your help in analyzing this.

Spells / Auto defense enchantment (don't know the name)

« on: November 27, 2015, 03:28:30 PM »

Someone played an enchantment that gave him an auto defense for one mana... I am guessing that it is an Academy spell, since I don't have that. Does anyone know what it is called?

Since it defends for one mana, why would anyone ever play Block anymore?

Rules Discussion / Odd question on Climbing

« on: November 18, 2015, 11:27:01 PM »

We came up with a strange thought tonight while playing, and wanted to check to make sure we were interpreting things correctly.

We know that you can only take one move action when you are (or will be) hindered. Is the Climbing full action modified in any way if the Creature is hindered?

The reasoning that seems to make us ask is along the lines of: Since a full action allows two move actions, and since being hindered prevents the second move action... maybe being hindered would prevent the use of a full action to use a special move action... in this case, to climb a wall.

Our reading of the rules seems to suggest that you can still climb even when hindered. You are moving only one zone, which is allowed while hindered, for example.

Thanks in advance.

Rules Discussion / Sardonyx and Banish

« on: September 11, 2015, 11:34:09 PM »

We had an interesting situation come up in one of our games tonight. Sardonyx was Banished. We were wondering whether the controller's loss of life continued while Sardonyx was Banished. We played that the loss of life continued, but couldn't work out the rules on Banish to be 100% certain. That's what it looks like in the Rules and Codex... it says "abilities that look for things happening in play... still work." We are just hoping for confirmation from our esteemed colleagues on this one.

We also got to wondering whether the controller of Sardonyx could voluntarily not lose life and remove Sardonyx from play, similar to a creature with an Essence Drain (for example) on it when upkeep is not paid. We are pretty sure that this is not the case, but also wanted to ask.

While on the topic of Banish, we also wondered whether hidden Enchantments on a Banished creature may be revealed. I don't think I can find anything on that anywhere.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Rules Discussion / A few questions

« on: August 28, 2015, 10:31:36 PM »

Here are a few questions from our last set of games this week. We tried to find the answers in the rules at the table, and decided how we would resolve them for the games... but we're looking for confirmation.

1) Does Taint affect living Conjurations?

We presume so, since it is specified that non-living objects have poison immunity (the theory is that all living objects might not have it.)

2) If a Creature is Dazed by a damage barrier while Sweeping against the first target, must the Creature roll to be able to attack the second target? In either case, would the Daze be removed after the Creature finishes the current action this turn, or remain until the end of the creature's next action on the following turn?

We ruled that the Daze causes there to be a roll required for attacking the second target of the Sweep, and that it would remain through the end of the creature's next turn... but we really weren't sure about either.

3) Does Aegis reduce the number of dice that Damage Barriers deal (to a minimum of one die)?

We ruled that it did, since it was an attack

4) Where does an Eternal Servant return to play the following turn if the reanimation cost is paid? I've seen people here say in the same zone where it was destroyed, but we couldn't find it in the rules. We also thought that it could possibly be in the Necromancer's zone.

This didn't happen but we were going to use the zone where it was destroyed if it had.

Rules Discussion / Walking through walls with Passage Attack

« on: July 19, 2015, 02:30:04 PM »

I know that you can climb over a corporeal wall, and that 1) it takes a full action to do this, and 2) if the wall has a Passage Attack, you are attacked as you climb.

Is the same true if you just walk through the wall? It is obvious that the Passage Attack happens... but does that take a full action to do that? I didn't think so, but someone else in our group said that he thought it did.

I couldn't find this discussed anywhere, and did not see it in the rules when I looked. Thanks in advance for any help on this rule.

Rules Discussion / Same armor for swapping

« on: July 10, 2015, 04:16:44 PM »

I know that you can swap one torso armor for another, and that the first armor comes off before the other goes on (allowing the possibility of removing corrode condition markers). That all was in another thread. While I think I saw the answer to this next question before, I couldn't find it just now:

Can you cast the same torso armor on yourself as you are currently wearing, since you won't ever have two of the same spells "on" the same object at the same time? Or is the rule such that you can't target the Mage with the spell that it already has attached to him? We played that you could, and just wanted to be 100% certain that this was true.

Rules Discussion / Target = Arena

« on: June 25, 2015, 11:39:35 AM »

I was thinking about the Gate to Hell spell. Someone said that opening it targets the Arena now instead of having a range of two zones as I had played it before. In the past, zones affected by the opening of the Gate were restricted to only those to which there was line of sight (due to targeting rules, which I learned after discussion here).

Is this the case now? In other words, must there be a line of sight from the Gate to each zone in the arena that it affects, even with the target being the entire Arena?

If so, how does this affect Renewing Rain? Does RR affect zones that are outside LoS to the caster?

Would Rolling Fog similarly limit the scope of these spells?

My guess (FWIW) is that when a spell targets the Arena, individual Zones and individual Objects are not themselves targeted... so you would never need LoS except to a small portion of the Arena perhaps... e.g. the zone you are in)... but I would like to know what those who know better than I do say about this. I can think of reasons why the ruling could be in either direction.

If these is a rule on targeting the Arena, I can't find it... so thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.

General Discussion / Discussion Forum Organization

« on: June 08, 2015, 10:12:12 PM »

Would it be better to have a separate section for things like Domination and Academy? It would allow those of us who don't care about one product or the other to more easily ignore discussion on those.

Spells / Eagle Wings

« on: May 31, 2015, 02:34:52 AM »

Someone told me that he thought that Eagle Wings could not be revealed in response to a melee attack from a non-flying creature to avoid the attack, but I don't see why it couldn't. I looked in the Rules and Codex and didn't see anything on this there. Also, I don't see anything in the text on the card. Can someone please confirm or deny that this can be done?

Strategy and Tactics / Any thoughts on how to handle Curse Angels or the like?

« on: May 23, 2015, 10:24:42 AM »

I have been reading about bats and angels with FD curses on them, transfusing these onto the enemy creatures. Has anyone worked out any strategy for dealing with these? Such a book could carry a large number of curses, six transfusions, and several sturdy curse platforms.

My initial thoughts (for what it's worth) are to close with the enemy Mage as quickly as possible so the number of actions required to set up a curse attack are minimized. After that... my guess is that it is all about getting rid of flyers (I can't wait for Gravikor) or punishing the use of massive numbers of enchantments (Harshforge Monolith, for example).

Any other ideas? Has anyone done well against such a themed attack?

Events / Priestess Apprentice Spell book not 60 points?

« on: April 12, 2015, 08:47:35 PM »

I am in the process of setting up each of the four Apprentice mode spellbooks for a set of demos that we are running at a con next weekend, and counted 61 spellbook points in the Priestess book. This was the first one that I set up, so I haven't checked any of the other three yet, but I thought that it was odd, and wanted to let you know. (I am removing one of the Clerics to make the Priestess book 60 points.)

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