Arcane Wonders Forum
Mage Wars => Mages => Topic started by: silverclawgrizzly on January 24, 2014, 12:52:15 AM
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9 times out of 10 I turn a Timber Wolf into my pet then get Red Claw and the rest of the pack out to do a little hunting. I've had a Steelclaw Grizzly as a pet once. However I was thinking that in a fast and aggressive game I might go with a Thunderift Falcon and if it dies then meh I'll make another one. What do other Beast Masters generally make into pets?
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My favorite is Thunderift Falcon, but it's also just my favorite creature. 3 dice of damage for 6 mana is a great ratio, and they are immune to the attacks of so many different creatures, it makes up for their 5 HP and no armor. However, I'm really into a fast swarm deck.
I think in the abstract Timberland Wolf is the best creature to make a pet. Armor has highly diminishing returns after 3 pts, and 13 HP is quite beefy. Investing much more in a single creature feels like overkill, and I love that Redclaw buffs him.
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Yeah I'm experimenting with throwing a host of falcons out all at once and having them just constantly pester and harass the enemy mage. I'm thinking if one of them was a pet they'd have a 4 attack, 8 life, and even a small bit of armor. That'd cost me 8 Mana for a flying creature like that? So worth it.
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Mountain Gorilla of course!
(Only joking. It's in that Dark Place with Gate To Hell, Psylok and other nonsense are kept.)
Falcon then, when it dies, either the other Falcon or Timber Wolf (the usually lone one in my book)
Grizzly feels like putting too many eggs in 1 basket, like Shaggoth gorging on Crawlers
Force Hold, Vinewhip or Sleep (on your Bear Strength Vampiric Grizzly Pet - overcommital) is too easy
And 5 mana is quite pricey
My favourite opening against Mages that turtle in their start zone (like Golem Pit) used to be
1: Double Move Near Centre, Battle Forge (Far Centre usually)
2: (Beast Ring) move 1 closer (but not same zone as Forge), Falcon Pet, Rouse the Beast
Falcon Pet dive bombs Mage in his start corner for 4 dice, opponent already feels besieged
Turn 3 Forge Enchanter's Ring for buffs etc
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I have made the Unicorn a Pet in a Swarm build. It worked well.
With Pestilence all the rage again, it may not be that shabby a retro play, back in fashion?
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Timber Wolf, Bitterwood Fox, Feral Bobcat, and Thunderdrift Falcon are all solid options. A Pet Feral Bobcat makes a pretty good guard that you can Quick Summon. Thunderdrift Falcon and Bitterwood Fox are better offensive choices. Timber Wolf is a flexible, efficient, and powerful Pet.
Higher level creatures are less efficient Pet choices.
My favorite is probably Timber Wolf, but it depends on my strategy. I'm working on a swarm build that doesn't run any Timber Wolves, so I mostly end up using Pet for Thunderdrift Falcons.
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Mountain Gorilla of course!
(Only joking. It's in that Dark Place with Gate To Hell, Psylok and other nonsense are kept.)
What are you talking about? 4x Mountain Gorilla is the only way to build a Beastmaster! ;)
But seriously I have to wonder what AW was thinking with some of the released creatures.
Anyway, I'd probably go with Thunderift Falcon or Timber Wolf; I've never really felt like I was in a situation where I should summon Redclaw as opposed to a Grizzly, Cervere, or another Timber Wolf.
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Emerald tegu is the best pet 3 armor and 11 life with rot chance. He is a bee to kill and if he is on perm guard it hurts to try
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I hadn't really thought of the Tegu but that's an interesting idea. I've been meaning to try a Dire Wolf pet too, that sounds promising.
I like the idea of using a Unicorn but then what do I cut to make up for it's cost? It's fine for a Priestess to cast them but they'd be the most expensive thing in my spellbook. Still I may give it a try.
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Darkfenne bat is also a good pet, let's him take a mediocre hit before death. Tegus 11 mana and bat is 7 both have rot and makes them great targets so BM can smash face
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Best pets: Thunderift Falcon, Timber Wolf.
Not as good: Emerald Tegu, Dire Wolf, Steelclaw Grizzly, Highland Unicorn.
Bad choice: Everything else.
(Note that a Tegu pet would actually have four armour.)
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Mountain Ram from the new promo set
It really is the new standard upon which all other animals will be measured.
As a pet it is:
2 armor
10 health
quick melee 3 (4 in same zone) with charge +2 and a natural push chance (which will usually mean either wall of thorns bonus attack or edge of arena wall bash)
And it will drop 7 - 8 die when it charges into a conjuration as well ;)
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I like the idea of using a Unicorn but then what do I cut to make up for it's cost? It's fine for a Priestess to cast them but they'd be the most expensive thing in my spellbook. Still I may give it a try.
Just a warning Silverclaw, Unicorn is only for a swarm build (like BM Swarm stickied - it had one until Aylin added a cooler idea).
I totally agree about the prohibitive points so very situational.
I've never really felt like I was in a situation where I should summon Redclaw as opposed to a Grizzly, Cervere, or another Timber Wolf.
I agree (this is getting an embarrassing habit). You have to really commit to Dog Swarm to justify Redclaw.
Although I'm intrigued by the "Redfang" idea by Cvntvs (easy to remember as Polish uses v instead of u).
It's of course suboptimal but looks a fun take on the Necromancer, not everyone plays Tier 1 spell books.
Emerald tegu is the best pet 3 armor and 11 life with rot chance. He is a bee to kill and if he is on perm guard it hurts to try
In following my new "try something new" philosophy, I really must give Tegu more of a chance.
I used to be very phobic of d12 effects, defences etc (that dice hates me) but I'm better now
However, I don't think current meta (we recently got Undead, Jellies, Healing Wand) is not right for a Tegu
Until they solve Jokhtari issue (I'm trying, been called "a pain" = my job is done), it's Tier 2 with Dire Wolf
Darkfenne bat is also a good pet, let's him take a mediocre hit before death. Tegus 11 mana and bat is 7 both have rot and makes them great targets so BM can smash face
Oh aquestrion, you were doing so well - and then you spoilt it! :)
I've always found bats too slow, fragile, and they cost 2 SPs too
While I can see them fixing the Wolf > Tegu issue, it's going to be hard to fix the Falcons > Bats issue
I think it was you who suggested Ichthellid Larvae on own Bats? (it's difficult to co-ordinate, is it legal?)
Apart from that, I just find it really difficult to justify Bats, especially with Pestilence so common current
My issues is with Tegu vs. Wolf and Bats vs. Falcon are:
1 more dice is on average 1 more damage now (maybe killing it before it attacks back)
This is because if you can't attack the mage, you eliminate threats 1 at a time, not spread damage
Also if you go with 1 less dice, that small amount of armour will become more effective
Quite often, you can't attack the mage so might as well nibble on the Mana Crystal with 1 less dice
Falcons are the only true skirmishers so far, Fast Flying safe/unhindered, unblocked by walls, just awesome
In an aerial dog fight, I'll run away until I have off initiative last move attack then follow-up if kill if it is still alive
The poor bats really don't have a chance comparing to one of the most under-costed creatures in the game
I think the Rot mechanic is great for a rare slower more control build that kills its opponent slowly
I really hope AW release mechanics that promote slow kill because it's far more fun than turbo kill
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My favourite is - again - the Timber Wolf. For a decent amount of mana, you get a real beast which helps to distract from your premium creatures (Redclaw).
Second favourite: Highland Unicorn. Mean charge attack and extremely hard to kill, it becomes a great leader for a swarm due to the shared Regenerate.
Tegu: I never thought of trying that, but I have to admit it sounds like a very interesting idea.
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I like the tegu. It ends up with lots of armor. And the extra health gives it more time to generate rot.
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I'm not gonna lie I'm looking forward to trying out the Mountain Ram with some Cheetah Speed on it. It could be a wrecking machine as a pet.
Now in relation to the Steelclaw Grizzly I have found that mid to late game if you don't have a pet or have already lost it, if you're able to drop the enormous amounts of mana into it then a pet grizzly is an awesome way to totally change the tide of battle. Again this is situation only though but if it works.....
I'm also intrigued by the new Pharoahs Cheetah from the promo set. That could be awesome.
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Pet Spitting Raptor is pretty boss.
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Pet Spitting Raptor is pretty boss.
Its my favorite after Falcon pet. It makes the raptor as strong as a Grizzly for 2 less mana (and just 3 less hp).
For the Tegu pet, I confirm that if you are not a Necromancer, it hurts bad to have this thing chasing you.
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Also, honorable mention to the lesser used Pet Darkfenne Bat.
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End of the day the pet token is 1 / 2 melee, 1 armor, 3 health buff regardless of which creature for Level +1 mana.
On a falcon or fox you get the best deal as that is a 2 mana boost. The tegu or unicorn have arguably the best chances of keeping it up longer and making the most out of the ability. I think the ram is more fun but yes one of the defensive themed creatures is probably the best bet for it.
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Or a half bear strength, a half rhino and a 75% bullendurance all in 1 package - safe from dispell.
If there were no limit on the amount of pets, then BM's wouldnt be casting nothing BUT pets. - the exception being grizzlies'.
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Or a half bear strength, a half rhino and a 75% bullendurance all in 1 package - safe from dispell.
If there were no limit on the amount of pets, then BM's wouldnt be casting nothing BUT pets. - the exception being grizzlies'.
And is stackable with all the aforementioned spells.
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Or a half bear strength, a half rhino and a 75% bullendurance all in 1 package - safe from dispell.
If there were no limit on the amount of pets, then BM's wouldnt be casting nothing BUT pets. - the exception being grizzlies'.
And is stackable with all the aforementioned spells.
Yeah it's really easy to get really disgusting on a creature fast! Beast Master has his weaknesses but decent help isn't one of them.
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I haven't tried using Pet on a Spitting Raptor. I mostly like Spitting Raptors for the ability to remove armor, and while a Pet's melee attack gets buffed, their ranged attacks are not improved.
I've tried using a Pet Emerald Tegu, and while it is certainly functional, I prefer Timber Wolf, even with just the core set. With the addition of undead, Iron Golems, and Devouring Jellies, Emerald Tegu has become more situational.
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I've tried using a Pet Emerald Tegu, and while it is certainly functional, I prefer Timber Wolf, even with just the core set. With the addition of undead, Iron Golems, and Devouring Jellies, Emerald Tegu has become more situational.
Agreed,
It is more about the 4 armor and 11 health. With the added bonus of every animal kinship you drop giving you +1 armor. Beastmaster has a lot of potential to spin out of control in a very good way. He only needs one or two more things to click.....
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He only needs one or two more things to click.....
I big dose from a mana pump once Orb and Obelisk are dropped....
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If you think Orb and Obelisk are a problem, you can run Mana Prism, you can use Fast creatures to kill the conjurations, and/or you can lead off by improving your channeling. I often like to lead off with a pair of Mana Flowers anyway. Besides, Orb and Obelisk only matter significantly against swarm. If I only plan to play 2 Steelclaw Grizzlies and a Pet Timber Wolf, Orb and Obelisk aren't going to cripple me the way that it could against 6 Bitterwood Foxes.
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Yeah the Orb and Obelisk can be an issue, or you can just Force Hammer then into oblivion 8) Not exactly a "Nature friendly" way to do it but sometimes you gotta steal a trick from another mages book.
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You have to have mana to play force hammer and to make those fast critters go in the first place. I would drop orb and obelisk after the swarm was built not before. Then I start having fun with push, also now is the time to go beat up the so called master....
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After the swarm is built you don't really need mana for much else. The Obelisk is another good arguement for that Mountain Ram when it comes out.
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After the swarm is built you don't really need mana for much else. The Obelisk is another good arguement for that Mountain Ram when it comes out.
Wait till you play against your first well played mana denial deck, you will be totally frustrated, I was....
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After the swarm is built you don't really need mana for much else. The Obelisk is another good arguement for that Mountain Ram when it comes out.
Wait till you play against your first well played mana denial deck, you will be totally frustrated, I was....
Ok until then I will continue to have my opinion though.
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Or you could just set up a couple hydras, a wizard tower, suppression clock and an elemental, swam goes poof :D.