I like the druid more than the necromancer, but I haven't played her against an especially aggressive opponent yet.
Samara Tree – At first I was amazed at the amount of actions that could be saved but then I analyzed and playtested this card and realized it’s rather weak. Casting only seedling pods means that the investment in this tree is astronomical. It takes three rounds for a seedling pod to be able to deploy, and potentially 2+ to break even with its casting cost. This, coupled along with their vulnerability since your enemy can attack one and waste its mana. The only saving grace this tree has is making seedling pods gain cantrip. However, being zone exclusive and its cost make that rather prohibitive.
Samara tree is fantastic. The big advantage is in having a spawnpoint that you can use every round cheaply without having to decide immediately what it will cast. This essentially guarantees that you will be gaining the benefit of all the extra actions, whereas with other spawnpoints you often either waste actions if you don't have a good spell to cast that round, or else force yourself to spend mana on spells you don't really need to gain the benefit.
Etherian Lifetree – When I first read this I thought it would be extremely powerful for swarm builds and her plans in general. Then I read the recent FAQ and realized the +2 life is for everything on the board, including enemies. Also, because it’s innate life even the undead gain the benefit! This tree quickly became extremely situational in which its main benefit would be if you had far more creatures than your opponent and gained “more” of an advantage. That being said, if I was on the losing end of creatures vs this tree I’d just focus all I could on the mage rather than get tangled up.
Does not affect nonliving objects. (edit: already beat me to it).
Togorah – Disappointing without some kind of quick melee attack. This means that even though he is always guarding, its purpose is strictly to be used as a meat shield and nothing more. The worst part is its armor isn’t even that high. Considering this thing costs 2 mana to move and can’t swing if it does I find it’s 21 mana investment a complete liability. I don’t even feel using cobra reflexes on this is worth the time summoning this guy.
Quick melee attack would border on being broken. I don't use this, but it seems comparable to Earth Elemental (less life, but more armor and regeneration, as well as the ability to be buffed by nature enchantments). I would not say it is strictly a meatshield, though it does accomplish that nicely on its way to its target.
Tanglevine – It has 8 health which I find more reasonable than its “big” brother Stranglevine. This card can be used to keep a nasty monster from coming at you or to lock one down so it can’t escape (at least on foot). I’ve been in absolute woe since teleport completely destroys this. I can’t count the number of times I wanted to deploy a tanglevine on an enemy and then teleport them into my vine snappers. Sure, I can use a quick cast teleport then full cast a tanglevine but what if he has a teleport prepared? I’d rather have two ready if I was going for this kind of play.
Possibly the most useful spell in the druid's arsenal, considering her play style.
Rhino Hide – Amazing to cast on yourself or Kralathor. Couple this with a Veterans Belt and Barkskin and you are truly a tank!
Considering the lack of armor on the druid's plant creatures, this is a must include in any druid deck. Makes a huge difference to her creatures.
I am disappointed at her lack of variety with her plant creatures. I honestly wouldn't even mind if I could put more than four vine snappers, thornlashers or raptor vines in my book, but I can’t. That means I have very few creatures that synergize with the Druid well. Please release at least four more creatures for her in future expansions!
I find thornlashers and vine snappers enough, actually. They work well together too - the advantages of polyculture, I suppose. The druid's real strength lies in her conjurations.
My biggest complaint I have about the druid is her creatures / conjurations that can’t be moved and mages simply avoid their zone. The Vine Snapper and Corrosive Orchid are the main two that cause me woes. I feel like I’m wasting their potential if I spread either of them out and don’t make a kill zone. Speaking of a kill zone, I think it’s pretty cool to set up a few vine snappers and orchids together and teleport a mage in. This has the same feeling of the Golem Pit.
Thornlasher, tanglevine, stranglevine, and vinewhip staff can help a lot with this.
Bloodspine Wall – Much better than the wall of thorns; I’d go as far as to say it makes it obsolete. Not only does it cost less mana, but the attack affects any monster that passes through. Plus it’s unavoidable. Plus it can bleed living creatures with 66.4% chance. Extremely reasonable to use extendable on since it has a low mana cost and the spell is only level 1. Also, using thornlashers to snatch creatures through the walls is delightful. I’d definitely keep a couple in my book.
What I like most about Bloodspine wall is that it does not block LOS.
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