Arcane Wonders Forum
Mage Wars => Spellbook Design and Construction => Topic started by: DaveW on May 10, 2018, 09:12:52 PM
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Here is a few big Priestess that I've been playing with for a while now. Enjoy!
Total - 120
Attack - 27
1 x Tsunami (6)
1 x Hurl Boulder (4)
1 x Force Hammer (4)
4 x Luminous Blast (4)
3 x Pillar of Light (3)
2 x Swell (4)
2 x Dazzle (2)
Equipment - 17
1 x Elemental Cloak (2)
1 x Assyran Robes (1)
1 x Leather Chausses (1)
1 x Leather Gloves (1)
1 x Staff of Asyra (2)
1 x Resplendent Bow (1)
2 x Dawnbreaker Ring (2)
1 x Colossus Belt (2)
1 x Eagleclaw Boots (2)
1 x Sunfire Amulet (3)
Creature - 19
1 x Brogan Bloodstone (4)
1 x Artemis, Dawnbreaker's Eye (4)
1 x Dorseus, Stallion of Westlock (4)
1 x Joseph Trueblood, High Cleric (3)
1 x Messenger of Bim-Shalla (2)
1 x Light of Dawn (2)
Conjuration - 14
1 x Pillar of Righteous Flame (2)
1 x Tanglevine (2)
1 x Consecrated Ground (1)
1 x Fog Bank (2)
1 x Temple of Asyra (3)
1 x Temple of Light (2)
1 x Hand of Bim-Shalla (1)
1 x Malakai's Bassilica (1)
Enchantment - 14
1 x Rust (2)
1 x Brace Yourself (1)
1 x Restore (1)
1 x Eye for an Eye (1)
1 x Galvanize (1)
1 x Bear Strength (2)
1 x Hawkeye (2)
1 x Cheetah Speed (2)
1 x Rhino Hide (2)
Incantation - 29
2 x Heal (4)
1 x Minor Heal (1)
1 x Mend (1)
1 x Martyr's Restoration (1)
1 x Resurrection (4)
1 x Force Push (2)
1 x Lesser Teleport (1)
2 x Dissolve (4)
2 x Seeking Dispel (4)
1 x Reveal Magic (1)
2 x Dispel (4)
1 x Remove Curse (1)
1 x Purify (1)
The idea in general is to use Light attacks to inflict Daze / Stun conditions while inflicting damage. To this end, Malakai's Bassilica usually comes out early, and Hawkeye usually is one of the first Enchantments cast on the Priestess. My first pieces of equipment are nearly always the Ring and the Robes. When I go on the offensive, I like to have Bear Strength and the Staff out, and when I want to play a ranged game I use the bow. Having the weapon attacks saves mana.
The specific Creatures to be brought out generally depends on the opposing Mage; they each have abilities that complement specific strategies. Three of them have Light attacks, Brogan cuts through armor, etc. In particular, I like to have Dorseus out with the Asryan Robes equipped since that nearly forces someone to play a Deathlock or Poisoned Blood fairly early. Joseph Trublood is generally good in support of nearly any creature combination.
In addition to the Light attack spells, the Force Hammer is primarily in the book to deal with a Deathlock, Swells are for Battle Forges, and Tsunami (along with the Pillar of Righteous Flame) is general swarm defense.
The book can play Temple-heavy (if I let the enemy come to me), or just to have one or two out and go on the offensive. I like the option to deploy the Messenger from the Temple of Asyra to get passive healing during Deployment. On only having six creatures and a Temple of Asyra... I tried to play without the ToA, but having it just helped in so many cases, some action advantage, the ability to cast some of the full-action cost spells and the ability to use my actions to attack.
Did I miss anything that you are curious about?
Dave
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:o Seems strong.
Lots of attack spells and a nice light focus with the daze/stun.
Noticed no Teleport/Divine Intervention. But if you do that you would have to remove something, and that´s not fun.
Im making a list of luxurious spells in your book:
Tsunami - love that spell.
Colossus Belt - nobody uses it, still though -2 is really good.
Sunfire Amulet - only 3 spellbookpoints, might draw an early Deathlock
Joseph Trueblood - if you use him just for praying. I think i would put a level 1 cleric in. (not instead of him)
Fog Bank - not really a luxury, but a nice little wall.
Mend - well id rather have a better holy level 1 spell. Like Assyrian Cleric/Cure/Wand of Healing. Even if condition markers should not be a problem.
Cheetah Speed - love fast. Still it might be to expensive if its only used once.
Reveal Magic - just curious - whats your experience with this card?
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>Joseph Trueblood - if you use him just for praying. I think i would put a level 1 cleric in. (not instead of him)
One opening is JT turn 1 and Temple of Asyra turn 2, when JT can pray if nothing else is needed.
>Fog Bank - not really a luxury, but a nice little wall.
This is mostly in there to give a small amount of ranged defense, especially against conjurations with attacks.
>Mend - well id rather have a better holy level 1 spell. Like Assyrian Cleric/Cure/Wand of Healing. Even if condition markers should not be a problem.
I put it in for use in case I want the Life gain for little mana, while healing just a little. I had a second Minor Heal in there instead at one point. I'll have to consider the Wand though as an alternative. Thanks for that suggestion.
>Cheetah Speed - love fast. Still it might be to expensive if its only used once.
It is a luxury, and one of those spells that I sometimes think about taking out for something else. I don't really need Fast... usually just to surprise my opponent when I decide to close sometimes, maybe to be able to double Swell a Forge, or to get a couple of attacks on a Deathlock when my opponent thinks I can't get to them quickly.
>Reveal Magic - just curious - whats your experience with this card?
I don't use it often, but I really like it. For one thing, when I'm planning and realize that I will be out of mana, I can give myself a life and have a side benefit. I usually use it more to keep my opponent from revealing Hydrothermal Vent, or an enchantment on the Mage. It is also nice to disable a fragile creature's enchantment defense should I decide to kill off Fellela, etc. I look at it as a sort of in school temporary Seeking Dispel.
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I like it a lot Dave. It looks plenty strong to me. Let us know how it plays for you.
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I like it a lot Dave. It looks plenty strong to me. Let us know how it plays for you.
I played something similar at GenCon last year. If I remember correctly, I had to Tanglevine my own Artemis twice that tournament due to Chant of Rage.
I haven't finished in the top half anywhere in tournaments with it, but I think that's more a reflection of the player than the book. I enjoy playing it because of the variety. I think I used three or four different openings in one tournament (WinterWar) with this book.
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I think the spell that is most likely to be removed is Resurrection, so I could put something like a Teleport in, if I wanted one.
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I think I might pull boulder for few extra points, I would try to put in maybe knight of wrst lock or few other level 2 like messager or bin or light of dawn. Also would surgeING wave be better than swell? If no forge then slam might be nice to deal with creatures rather then push
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I put in the Swells for the lower mana cost. You're right, the conditions are better if attacking creatures, but I have other ways to deal with creatures anyway. The book can sometimes feel very tight on mana, depending on what I'm doing with it at the time.
I really like the Hurl Boulder as a Mage killer... last turn attack... the damage that you can do with one or two of those can finish your opponent off before he gets to react. At one point I did have a second Light of Dawn and a second Messenger, but I think those got cut due to not being used often.
Thanks for the input.
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Was wondering if it would be better to run metatron or anendell rather then artimes? I wish she hand normal spear as quick attack
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I toyed with the idea of adding Metatron. I think I finally decided not to put him in due to Altar of Infernia and due to not always using temples. It might not be bad putting him in for those cases where I do play temple heavy games. Good call there. If he was put in, I probably would change my enchantment support slightly also.
Artemis is just too good in terms of answering specific challenges... in particular she is a Forcemaster killer.
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Why focus so many points on attack spells? You could easily get more utility from putting in an Elemental Wand. You are also quite vulnerable to ranged attacks because you are lacking a couple of Guardian Angels. With only six creatures, you will also find that creature heavy books like Necromancers and Warlords will overwhelm your defenses pretty quickly without suffering much in the way of pain. I would also suggest adding a Mage Wand and a couple of Teleports and I would replace the Colossus Belt with a Regrowth or Veteran's Belt (Priestesses should not care about condition markers, as they can remove them with minimal effort).
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Why focus so many points on attack spells? You could easily get more utility from putting in an Elemental Wand. You are also quite vulnerable to ranged attacks because you are lacking a couple of Guardian Angels. With only six creatures, you will also find that creature heavy books like Necromancers and Warlords will overwhelm your defenses pretty quickly without suffering much in the way of pain. I would also suggest adding a Mage Wand and a couple of Teleports and I would replace the Colossus Belt with a Regrowth or Veteran's Belt (Priestesses should not care about condition markers, as they can remove them with minimal effort).
Disregarding the other points, no a creature heavy book will not overwhelm his defenses quickly without suffering much in terms of damage. That just is not true, I know I have and I'm sure Dave and many others have played against such strategies and been just fine. As long as you play the matchup well, you won't get overwhelmed.
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Why focus so many points on attack spells? You could easily get more utility from putting in an Elemental Wand. You are also quite vulnerable to ranged attacks because you are lacking a couple of Guardian Angels. With only six creatures, you will also find that creature heavy books like Necromancers and Warlords will overwhelm your defenses pretty quickly without suffering much in the way of pain. I would also suggest adding a Mage Wand and a couple of Teleports and I would replace the Colossus Belt with a Regrowth or Veteran's Belt (Priestesses should not care about condition markers, as they can remove them with minimal effort).
Disregarding the other points, no a creature heavy book will not overwhelm his defenses quickly without suffering much in terms of damage. That just is not true, I know I have and I'm sure Dave and many others have played against such strategies and been just fine. As long as you play the matchup well, you won't get overwhelmed.
This
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Why focus so many points on attack spells? You could easily get more utility from putting in an Elemental Wand. You are also quite vulnerable to ranged attacks because you are lacking a couple of Guardian Angels. With only six creatures, you will also find that creature heavy books like Necromancers and Warlords will overwhelm your defenses pretty quickly without suffering much in the way of pain. I would also suggest adding a Mage Wand and a couple of Teleports and I would replace the Colossus Belt with a Regrowth or Veteran's Belt (Priestesses should not care about condition markers, as they can remove them with minimal effort).
you casually throw out that he needs 22 points of cards in his book, suggesting only to cut a few attack spells and a swap of one belt for another. 22 points is a huge number.
part of the awesomeness of this game is the deck building. everyone has so many different views/approaches to how they would do it. and it is a ton of fun to face different strategies in the arena. the struggle to see how well your build fares against others.
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I think that there is 24 spellpoints of bloat in the book. Tsunami, the Pillars of Light, and the Dazzles can go (I would actually suggest two Hurl Boulders instead of a Force Hammer and a Hurl Boulder), which gives 11 spellpoints. Collosus Belt, Eagleclaw Boots, and Resplendent Bow can go, which gives 7 spellpoints. Resurrection and Lesser Teleports can go, which is 6 spellpoints. Of course, this is only my opinion as a player, so take it with a grain of salt.
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So a few things Mage Warriors. This book is very solid with a lot of surprises and options. That being said Obsidian Soul "came of age" shall we say fighting two fantastic swarm players so I can understand his concerns regarding creatures.
Now that being said you've been out of your meta for some time my friend and even we've adapted somewhat to a more global outlook. Our books are a little different. Then again there are global books and strategies I imagine have been influenced by us. I look forward to getting some matches with you this week for mutual gain.
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And I look forward to playing this week. As a Priestess player, I think that the book has promise, I am just offering constructive criticism. Without an Elemental Wand and a Mage Wand though, I do not see the book having enough depth to survive. Without the other spells, I do not see the book having enough flexibility to survive.
When it comes to absorbing damage, the Paladin, Priestess, Warlord, and Wizard have intercepting creatures that allow them to take ranged attacks for them (the Paladin and Warlord also have the ability to sport heavy armor, which makes them like very difficult to damage late game without more than two dissolves and/or more than two disenchants). When it comes to dishing out ranged damage, the Priestess is not really the best option, as any mage with an alemental school is better at dishing out ranged damage. The strengths of the Priestess is in surviving massive amounts of damage, as the average Priestess book can heal 40-60 damage in a game without any major effort (4 Heals and 4 Minor Heals average 56 points of healing) and a solid cast of capable creatures (Crusader Griffons, Guardian Angels, Knights of Westlock, Temple High Guards, etc). I think that it is better to build on the strengths of the Priestess rather than to ignore them, which is why I made my suggestions.
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The element of surprise is also a useful tool. I lost a game once to a priestess that sported 4 boulders. She used everyone to kill me before my creatures could finish the game.
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Why focus so many points on attack spells? You could easily get more utility from putting in an Elemental Wand.
Other than I've never been a huge fan of Elemental and Mage Wands: Note that this is a Priestess that likes to play up close and personal... Elemental Wand therefore is easily Dissolved or Stolen. It also takes an extra action to bring it out that I would rather use to ramp up elsewhere. Yes, it is the same action (and mana cost) for my opponent to get rid of the wand... but I don't want to have to invest in it in game. My actions early on are used up in getting out the right mix of creatures and conjurations, and in setting up extra dice for my attacks (usually an early Ring and Hawkeye, or whatever), plus the minimum in survival spells (Robes and one piece of armor usually).
You are also quite vulnerable to ranged attacks because you are lacking a couple of Guardian Angels.
Ranged attacks don't bother me too much. Asyran Robes and Dorseus work together wonderfully, and there is healing available from Joseph Trublood and my incantations. Also, as noted before, I tend to be fairly aggressive with this book... so long range attack spells usually are no better than my cheaper eight-die Luminous Blasts when fighting in the enemy's zone, or whatever.
With only six creatures, you will also find that creature heavy books like Necromancers and Warlords will overwhelm your defenses pretty quickly without suffering much in the way of pain. I would also suggest adding a Mage Wand and a couple of Teleports and I would replace the Colossus Belt with a Regrowth or Veteran's Belt (Priestesses should not care about condition markers, as they can remove them with minimal effort).
Thanks for the suggestions. I have tried many different combinations of creatures, and settled on these (though I have revised the book to add two more creatures recently).
My main thought about Teleport: It uses a lot of mana and maybe an action that I'd like to use to attack with. If I am getting the Mage into the front lines, I don't feel as if I need one so much.
I've not really gotten to play against warlord swarms yet, but I tend to take out most swarm-type animals quickly with my ranged attacks. Nonliving creatures aren't nearly as dangerous when you have the Pillar and the attack mix in the book (Light attacks, including the Temple; Creatures that get extra dice against them; and Daze/Stun effects that limit the amount of incoming damage from affected creatures). Tsunami also is useful against any kind of non-flying swarms. At one point I had a Force Wave in the book for use in pushing smaller creatures into the Pillar or against a wall, but found that it wasn't needed. Also, Aegis is a magnificent trait when someone comes at you with a swarm. Sometimes swarms will get me, but maybe not as often as you might think.
I don't need the Regrowth Belt since there is the life gain ability from many Holy spells and the amulet, and the healing granted to me by my creatures and HoB. I don't want the Priestess to be Slammed or Stunned or whatever horrible other condition you can think of when I want to be attacking with spells or bringing out creatures on those turns. The Veteran's Belt is pretty much useless to her... she uses so little armor at any given moment, mostly relying on Aegis and healing instead.
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I think that there is 24 spellpoints of bloat in the book. Tsunami, the Pillars of Light, and the Dazzles can go (I would actually suggest two Hurl Boulders instead of a Force Hammer and a Hurl Boulder), which gives 11 spellpoints. Collosus Belt, Eagleclaw Boots, and Resplendent Bow can go, which gives 7 spellpoints. Resurrection and Lesser Teleports can go, which is 6 spellpoints. Of course, this is only my opinion as a player, so take it with a grain of salt.
I actually swapped out the Force Hammer for a second Boulder in my latest revision.
Dazzle is a remarkable attack spell... think about it... unavoidable (Asp killer, etc.), ethereal, can do six dice of damage to nonliving creatures in this book (with Hawkeye, Ring, and Mal's Bassilica bonuses), all for two mana. I wish I could fit a third in.
Pillar of Light also is surprising useful. Two is the absolute minimum in my mind. Put a condition on a creature that just moved in range to attack you next turn? Absolutely!
I swapped out the Resurrection and Cheetah Speed to add two creatures (Metatron and a GA) in the latest revision also.
Lesser Teleport is helpful for positioning Artemis sometimes, or another creature that is at range two and wants to get a melee attack off in the current round.
I like the Bow, add two or three from Light plusses, and you have a nice attack at range for zero mana cost.
So many things in there that I like that you would do away with... but try it out without those things and let us know how it plays!
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Pillar of light is better IMO then dazzle, if u enjoy bow was wondering wondering if u have tried a priest with lots of stats cards, bow and even alfia. Loads of fun sira
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I don’t want to use Alfia until it becomes tourney legal. When I get to play it usually is in getting ready for a tournament or in helping someone else get ready for one.
I haven’t tried the Priest yet... or the Paladin.
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Dave... my man... my brother... you have GOT to try the priest! I think you'll love him honestly. Especially if you like to get up close and personal. The on board daze chance and light attack from his holy pimp slap is sweet, and directly buffable with the basillica, DB ring, Alfiya etc. Plus slapping on a burn can provide you with insane value. HA provides you with the biggest life buff in the game, which is underrated imo. I'm not saying you need to try it with this specific book, but you should do yourself a solid and give him a shake. You probably wont be disappointed. I love the priest! Badass in holy robes whi slaps the wrongdoers and sets them ablaze with his righteous fury! It's just too cool.
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Promise I will... just making a warlord for zot to beat up just now, but right after that, I'll give it some thought.
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hehe
also do want to state his priestess is legit. it has won games.