Flaming Holy Spite. A Priest

[RomeoXero]

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Flaming Holy Spite[/spellbookname]
[mage]Priest[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA01]1 x  Arc Lightning[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]1 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a11]4 x  Pillar of Light[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j08]1 x  Hand of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j12]2 x  Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j24]2 x  Temple of Light[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j09]2 x  Temple of the Dawnbreaker[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1w04]1 x  Wall of Thorns[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c06]1 x  Brogan Bloodstone[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFC01]2 x  Asyran Defender[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC06]2 x  Guardian Angel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c22]1 x  Knight of Westlock[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE03]2 x  Healing Charm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]2 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]3 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x  Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]3 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]1 x  Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e05]1 x  Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e12]1 x  Divine Protection[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e17]1 x  Force Orb[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e21]1 x  Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q27]2 x  Dawnbreaker Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q29]1 x  Staff of Asyra[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ09]1 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q23]1 x  Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q22]1 x  Moonglow Amulet[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q19]1 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q04]1 x  Deflection Bracers[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q08]1 x  Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i17]2 x  Minor Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i14]1 x  Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]1 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i20]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]3 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]2 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]


I really enjoy the way this book plays. The trick is to get at least one Dawnbreaker temple out, better if you use two but only if time allows. Every creature in the book except Brogan has a natural defense so any way to ensure normal attacks miss gains you tempo. drop one or two creatures early depending on what your opponent is doing. look for guardian angels if im using an early temple of light. if i feel pressure early i can holy avenger a Defender and prolly cast a second before the trouble hits. and of course if i really want to make them pay for hitting me or my temples, Knight of Westlock is a super expensive but awesomely powerful Holy avenger.
 A ferw well placed pilars of light (boosted by dawnbreaker ring and hawkeye ) can daze easily and stun for a wonderful surprise burst of tempo. and dazes work very much like defenses (good ones! 7 up!) and that's a great way to "stack defenses" when the target already has a natural defense.

This is the book that brought on the recent post about how much everyone hates the priest. Feel free to tell me what you think! im still working on it, this is version 3

[Mystery]

no spawnpoints? will be hard to also use your melee attack or the holy attack spells often and also get the buffs (hawkeye, etc) and the temples up. You also only run one staff of asyra and 4 pillars of light, that's all you can use your smite ability on (ok basic melee but does few dmg). The small buff of the holy avenger on the asyrian defender is cool, but a KoW itself costs only 2mana more and is equal. For a priestess you have one channeling more so in two rounds you could just have that KoW and you still have the general channel boost, and her other abilites, while you won't use smite so often (as a result of few actual "actions"). And you have 3 channel boosts, thats another 3 actions you need. I'd try to get a battleforge in at least, elemental wand is cool, but if you don't have the actions, and you could just include 2more pillars of light for fewer spell points...

That's also the problem with the priest, the priestess usually is the better choice for its initial channeling, but we get new cards with academy and also some nice buffs.

[Halewijn]

The priest only needs 1 cheaper strong creature to make him good enough.
I think you should lose a lot of creatures OR add a temple of Asyra.

Is it possible ze battled sunday? Seems very similar.

[RomeoXero]

See that's the thing, the ToA Doesn't work every turn, without help, that means either 1 action and 4 mana for a harmonize or 5 mana 1 action for a cleric, either way all you get is one action and 2 channel for 14-15 mana 2 action investment. That and a relatively squishy temple that's not needed for my current strat. If rather spend 10 or 11 mana on a moonglow and a crystal first turn and get the 2 channel that way, save 4 mana and use it for a temple of dawnbreaker and GA 2nd round. ToA Doesn't pay off for 6 rounds! I'd rather hard cast the 2 creatures I want early and then set up my temples. Or use my cheaper mage actions to buff or ranged attack things for the daze or stun early if I get a bit overwhelmed. Its not an easy build but it's so much fun! You really feel the pressure every round and I find that exhilarating.

[Halewijn]

I get your point, but if you want to summon 2 creatures and attack, why do you have 6 creatures? Why don't you settle for 3?

[RomeoXero]

Options. With the suite I have I've got a decent choice for different matches. Granted brogan doesn't see a lot of play so he technically can get pulled. Like I said it's still in construction/tweaking phase (like that ever really ends) and it morphs as it progresses.

I can readily choose the right took for the job and I've cast late game replacement creatures much to the chagrin of my opponent. If you kill my HA I can probably get out a new one within 2 rounds if my dazes (or more luckily stuns) are doing the job then I can play a budget round ( FD enchant plus pillar, or arc lightning, or set up armor or a defence, next round I've got my mana and can drop that other creature.

I don't always go right for mellee either, many times I stay back and harass things from the air or burn down creatures from range 2. The dawnbreaker temples help a lot! And if they break down my ToL I've got another one, likely primed for better placement.

[Biblofilter]

Regarding the Spellbook

Why use 2 Mana Crystal and 1 Moonglow Amulet?

Thats 6 spellpoints, hard enough to keep up with Wizards and nature school with their 1 spellpoint managenerators.

Would´nt it be better to do Temple of Asyra and a Cleric turn 1, then another Cleric turn 2?
Thats only 5 spellpoints and lets you get creatures out without using an action.

id try to fit a Battle Forge as well..

19 Battle Forge+ Cleric (-13)
then
15 Temple of Asyra (-10)

seems like a good start, or?     

[RomeoXero]

Ok, so im home now, and on an actual keyboard, so let me shed a little light on my theory and you guys can all tell me if im just plain nuts or if you actually see my points.

1. My mana generators. The priest lacks mana, as everyone points out a lot. i understand this to be true and at points during my game i need to be able to reliably pay at least 3 mana for a ToL attack, 5 mana for a pillar or light/sunfire burst/arc lightning or a wand to set up next turn. plus a possible 1 to set something on fire. during that exchange without them i bankrupt my mana and im stuck with nothing. If I've got a facedown nullify/bear strength/cheetah speed surprise for someone i cant reveal it. Nor can i save any mana for the next turn. also a great many of my creatures cost a tremendous amount of mana, 12 to 13. that's 2 turns! by channeling 12 and losing some early game actions i achieve a point where i can reliably drop a creature whenever i need to. If i were to play a temple of asyra id need to "waste" first turn by either harmonizing the temple, or casting a cleric which wont apply its effect until the next turn. all this to gain an action advantage.
   Lets break that apart though, the temple is stationary, yes clerics grant me actions but those actions are mostly spoken for (when using ToA). The temple itself is going to drop out a creature pretty much whenever it has 2 mana, and those creatures arent any less expensive when they come from the temple, nor are they any more active then when i hard cast them, so why am i wasting 10+4 or 5 then more next turn for another cleric. So i choose to instead grant myself those 3 channeling points via early mana generators so i can put my creatures where i want them, when i want them there, and on my own time. that way when im done casting my creatures i have that mana with me, accruing for further Malakais fire applications, or the fabled time when i can put a boulder on a stick, or for waiting enchant reveals. bottom line, id rather have the mana with me than sitting on a spawnpoint i don't want, taking up my valuable Zone exclusive spaces.

2. battleforge. I'm willing to try this but i think its another waste of my valuable actions. I will be out of things that i need it for after it casts 2 things, my ring and maybe my staff? or my armor? a wand sure but when i need it ill probably be too far from where i put it to get what i want when i need it. all the equipment i use are justifiable quick casts that can show up when needed and not before. the only thing i guess i can keep on from whenever is the DB ring, and maybe the armor. the rest is dissolve/crumble bait and im likely to lose it before i need it. therefore theres 8 mana and a quick action to buy 2 actions which could easily be spent for budget rounds (and therefore still have value even when not attacking) and keeping my book cost down. it really doesn't pay to shoehorn in cards because its "the right thing to do" and if i don't feel i need the purchased actions a battleforge would provide me, then why cast it in the first place? i dont run leathers, or more than one different ring. doesn't really apply.

3. Openings. This priest plays very reactionary. main requirements being accomplishing a decent mana flow, them fielding creatures and planting temples. Keeping tempo is hard with this book, it needs to be... won almost. i cant start out ahead like some other mages, so instead ive loaded my book with tempo gainers. all the creatures have defences and most attacks can stun or daze and burn. its gambling, but it pays off in "found actions" when creatures miss, or damage is mitigated by re rolls, or daze rolls get failed. so for example even though the mid game is more important to this particular book some openings could go like this.

1. M Crystal. M Crystal. (9)
2. (20) GA. (8 ) Dawnbreaker temple (0)
3. (11) dawnbreaker ring, (8 ) FD  Hawkeye (6)
4 (17)

From there i have a guard that can intercept (for when i plant my TOL later), 17 mana in the bank (HA Knight of Westlock?) Enough to drop another Dawnbreaker or Another GA and a HoBS, get a great HA, or just let fly with a few spells and try for some stuns. maybe get some defences up myself or armor up and get a better board position. it all depends on what the other guy is doing.

1(19) HA Knight of westlock (2) FD enchant, bear strentgh or nullify maybe.
2(9) Dawnbreaker ring (6) fd enchant Bear Strength on mage (4)
3(13)Temple of Dawnbreaker (5) FD Rhino hide (3)

I can do all that while moving and im ready to throw 7 to 9 dice with my HA, 3 to 5 dice myself, with a daze chance, and malakais fire. and re roll something if needed.

1(19) Moonglow mana crystal (8 )
2 (19) mana crystal (14) GA (2)
3(15) GA (3) Dawnbreaker ring
4 (12)

Now im set up to reliably drop any creature, equipment, conjuration, or attack spell in my book at any time, with  this setup im not stuck in one place anymore so i can enchant myself or my creatures, attack enemy investments or creatures from the back for a while, or drop more creatures as needed. use this if the other guy is heavy economy as well.

Now i think these at least make as much sense as any other openings. ive used all 3 and won with them, not that thats everything, but they are all very fun! I dont know let me know what you think now that ive explained myself. lol

[Borg]

2. battleforge. I'm willing to try this but i think its another waste of my valuable actions. I will be out of things that i need it for after it casts 2 things, my ring and maybe my staff? or my armor?

Hello Friend,

I'd like to advise you to try it anyway as I'm convinced the Priest needs it.

Let's look at the situation :

What does the Priest want to do with his main action ?
- For the first 1-2 turns, play some mana and action generators and some key quick spells while moving in striking range
- Summon 1 or 2 creatures,
- Attack

Once you're engaged you like to fight every round, meaning you have only your QC to play attacks, enchantments, incantations AND equipment. There's no way you'll be able to do everything you want to do.
And since the Priest likes armor ( at least imo ) the BF is a great help.
There are way more than two useful spells to cast. I'm afraid I have to suggest adding the "leathers"

Consider this opening :

R1-19: Mana Crystal (14) - Battle Forge (6)
R2-16+1 : Moonglow Amulet (11) + Brace Yourself (9) + Bear Strength (7)
R3-18+1 : ...
You have 19 mana, channel 11+1 mana and have an extra spell action.

I would also advice to keep Brogan IN.
He's too valuable against armored conjurations and defences ( read FM )

[RomeoXero]

Ok well let's look at this from that standpoint. I add a battle forge for 4 sp. What do I pull for those 4 points? A teleport? No, the staff and a beer strength? Uh uh. On top of that I need to add leathers too at 1 sp per. What comes out for those? I also can't wear a belt because I'll need that for a regen belt, nor can I wear gloves as id rather have the deflection bracers to negate the whole attack of possible. That leaves boots. Sure I can add them, but since they don't come out till after turn 3 and I won't put a battleforge inn NC because that's where ToL goes. Not home zone either because that's where my first ToD goes. Far center is for a mana crystal, far right rear takes a 2nd ToD and near right for a HoBS. That leaves near left, and I don't think 11 mana plus 1 for equipment is going to make a huge deal. The way it looks right now it's going to take 4 to 8 mana to cast anything useful of the forge, unless I pull necessary tools to fit leathers in ( which in my humble opinion just catch and hold corrode markers that I don't have the time or actions to pull off one at a time.). And if I do armor up with them im left with 1 fewer mana each turn that makes 10 channel assuming I've got a moonglow and a crystal or 2 crystals. Not enough to drop those creatures, not enough to successfully pull off a wall of thorns push/push ( great way to curtail early aggressors, and take a big chunk of life out quick.), I'd still have to save up for further investments. Only now my focus had shifted from gaining tempo by restricting my opponents tempo (daze, stun, burn mitigation) to gaining an armor advantage. Armor advantage when healing is so efficient for this mage seems unnecessary, especially when my HA can't hit back harder if I don't get hit.
Imho the book runs on attack mitigation. Out the gate all my creatures have built in avoidance chances, and early my priest will have a force orb for ranged mitigation, when he engages (NOT always early) drop deflection bracers for 6 QC, then move in and attack. I'd much rather try to make you miss (ToD) and negate the entire attack, or maybe you will waste important spells to make them hit. Awesome I'll likely intercept if it's early, if I'm already fighting the re rolls can really take the sting out of a big spell, if not I take a chunk of damage ( tempered by 4 armor, my usual limit for a useful armor stack, chest piece and rhino hide) so unless it's a meteorite or a fireball from a lady Warlock (10+ dice) it's probably something I can heal up afterward. Again that's one QC for a heal or minor heal, and I'm still up and making your life difficult with mana to spare.
What's even better, Is I've probably got more defences than you have unavoidable attacks. Feel free to burn them, means you have to get within 1 range or use surging wave. Either way that puts you in my range and that's prime undoing time.  That and you have to be able to attack, If you fail the daze roll the attack doesn't hit, no damage tempo gained. The TOL is going to be targeting the enemy mage as well, dishing out Daze and stun. Small damage when you can't recover effectively is just as good as spike damage quick.  It's feast or famine sometimes but that's what happens when you let that yellow d12 run the table (i love it, it's so much fun!)

I appreciate all the comments guys (or gals)! This is awesome! But seriously, nobody thinks the book will work? Just because I've got no spawn points? Do my thoughts on budgeted actions really just book down to (and I'm obviously paraphrasing here) "nah the priest sucks, so do it like the other mages do it but worse than even though we all know it doesn't work" I know that everyone here is trying to ( and succeeding in spades!) help, it just feels a bit like "aww he wants to use the priest, how cute!" lol! If Borg can come up with fancy ways to play the only mage in the game with FEWER school cards than the priest the force master( thanks for the info Coshade!) How come it's so tough for folks to have a little Faith (Hah! Pun!) in a new take on the priest?

How many folks I wonder, just don't bother picking up a (insert "crappy" mage here) book and trying it out just because of all the nay saying they might hear about him or her. It wasn't till Intangible made the rush master that the JBM even got any attention. And even now folks treat her like an oddity. I mean the warlord is practically crippled by his arcane restriction and people love that (in my opinion awful) mage! They've made hundreds ( exaggeration) of different books for him, using holy soldiers or skeletons, out of school left and right yet people still play him and win with him.
Now I'm not upset or anything, inn fact I'm ecstatic to be involved in this discussion! I'm just trying to point out that every mage can win, every mage can be fun, they all have wacky combos they can use. I've just never seen a mage so universally ( another exaggeration, lol) cast of as not powerful enough. I mean Shark bait took a stand about the adramalech Warlock and she gets tons of play now, I barely even see ACs anymore.

 I don't know, there I go rambling on rabbit trails again. Sorry guys! Lol. I'm gonna keep working. Bringing a priest to GenCon next year of they are still gonna do arena! You just watch me!

[SharkBait]

I don't know, there I go rambling on rabbit trails again. Sorry guys! Lol. I'm gonna keep working. Bringing a priest to GenCon next year of they are still gonna do arena! You just watch me!

Do it, and keep up the good work! Had a busy week, so I haven't had a chance to properly respond to this, but I really like the ideas coming out of this post!

[Intangible0]

My friend HarryPoppins (he's never on the forums) ran a priestess that moved one space and did some mana economy on turn one. If the opponent cast a conjuration on the first turn then he'd throw down brogan on turn two and the next turn smash the conj. with bear strength, cheetah, etc. Maybe that's a contingency opening? While they're dealing with the threat it allows you to continue your plan.

Every attack spell you chose has a specific reason, I would however consider a Surging Wave or two. I do in most builds but for yours it's specifically there to counter FM which will give any medium-large creature build issues, Also it allows you to counter an opponent's attempt to attack/trigger HA/Guard with a different creature to avoid punishment.

I know this sounds crazy but I'd drop a Guardian Angel for another KoW. Keep the defenders to protect with, use angel only against ranged aggression, Brogan has obvious purposes, and the knights are your bread and butter attackers. You'll mostly be using the Defender HA (Defender Avenger, lol) as a threat to force your opponent to play a certain way. I think that's a strong combo that's efficient for it's cost.

If you cut an angel then cut a rhino hide to save points and maybe throw in another divine protection for you and the HA. Everything else here is SUPER strong, the only other thing I'd consider is removing one Nullify for a Retaliate. You have a lot of power in your creatures so the counter attack could be devastating.

I'm not a fan of moonglow either, but in this instance not because of the mana generation. I'd replace it with sunfire amulet to give yourself a little extra bought time since you're casting creatures out of pocket. Running out of time to talk here, but all I've got left, is find room for another Heal, it's a privilege to run for so little cost, don't pass that opportunity up; One quick action Heal is one less full action creature.

Those are all minor adjustments. The opening I suggested is just a contingency. You keep the concept of your book intact, don't let anyone shift you away from this guy. You've put some TLC in the build and now it's time to show everyone what it can do. 

[Coshade]

Hey Romeo!

Just wanted to say I really enjoy your thought process and this book. The suggestions given by other players are definitely well thought out, and I really appreciate your lengthy response in how you envision your play. The fun thing about this game is that there is always the capacity for players and mages to improve. What is considered the best way to play a mage will change, but the skill of developing new ways to play the game is what is consistent. While you don't like the idea of adding a spawn point now, don't be afraid to experiment with it later.

Spawnpoints --> I like that you're not using spawn points. The major advantage you gain without using it is that you gain a timing window because you have more mana on the field for a period of turns. With this kind of build you want to maximize that window to make sure your opponents spawn points don't let him get the edge. Here's some thoughts I had! I hope this adds to how you view your book. Although everyone here has taught me a lot already.

Opponent spawnpoints - If they cast creatures from a spawnpoint, focus those down first so the mana total doesn't accumulate on their field. If they have a battle forge don't be afraid to bring out acid balls or dissolves on your wands. If you can predict when the big armor comes out and you counter it that turn, you've made sure that no ones board presence has changed, and thus you widen the timing window. Some people prefer to take out the Battle Forge. I've been experimenting with letting them invest mana into some equipment that I counter that turn. It's more risky, but with risk comes reward!

[mwcard=MW1J09]Temple of the Dawnbreaker[/mwcard] - I love this card! I've run into a lot of problems with having more then 1 in my book. I'm curious how often you manage to cast both of them. That being said it's pretty important for your book to run. It basically adds value to every creature you run. Thus it widens that timing window again 

As a side note I find that whenever I use the Dawnbreaker temple to reroll damage, it always rolls higher. I wish you luck on your rerolls to avoid death.

HA -> I really love how you create a situation where you use defenses in conjunction with your avenger. You're not putting all your eggs in one basket. Either your opponent misses you entirely with your defense, or your Avenger gets a nice little bonus to even up the field. If they choose to hit the you have that part covered with the ToD.

Moonglow Amulet --> I'm not sure you need this compared to Mana Crystal. I think you want to spend the extra 1 mana difference so you have room to cast your other conjurations. I would suggest saving that 1 mana and changing the amulet for a crystal, and as you move start casting the temples. You don't need to cast the temple of Dawnbreaker until you are going to use it. Ideally you're moving at least 1 square before you engage in combat. It's also a surprise when the temple comes out (for now). Although if you're getting hit from range 2 in your starting zone  then I could understand the 1 mana difference. It may seem like a little, but 1 mana could mean the difference between your [mwcard=MW1C22]Knight of Westlock[/mwcard] or a [mwcard=MWSTX1CKC06]Guardian Angel[/mwcard] that round.

Heal - I would honestly suggest another heal. I would suggest dropping a Rhino Hide and replacing it with a Heal

3 Nullify - > how often are you using all three! Is the purpose to prolong your wands? Either way I like Nullifies. I would suggest taking 1 out though and adding another Dragonscale Hauberk.

I would suggest removing an Arc Lightning and replacing it with a Flameblast. I personally prefer the burn over the  ethereal since you have other options for ethereal. With your ele wand you can get the flamblast for a few turns, and get an edge over the druid.

I noticed you have a Hurl boulder! It's really good for bursting down things, however I would suggest taking it out and replacing it with 2 hurl rocks. The dream is to get the ele wand out and hurl a boulder every round. But having a cheaper more efficient attack spell will give you more options. It allows you to keep your timing window open longer by eliminating multiple threats with decent burst, vs one threat with a big burst. Just a thought.

[mwcard=MW1W04]Wall of Thorns[/mwcard] - you cheeky bastard

Anyway I hope this helps! I would love to see an update on this book as you change it. Good luck and have fun!

[RomeoXero]

Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!!! everyone! Those last few comments really pepped me up! i was starting to think i was chasing down a dream only to find a dead end. I have gotten some new ideas and Id like to respond to a couple things, but i really appreciate you all taking the time to listen and even respond! Im elated, truly! Now onto buisness! We ride!

Temple of the Dawnbreaker - I love this card! I've run into a lot of problems with having more then 1 in my book. I'm curious how often you manage to cast both of them. That being said it's pretty important for your book to run. It basically adds value to every creature you run. Thus it widens that timing window again 

how often do i cast both of them? 90 percent of the time. 95 %. sometimes im forced to wait on the 2nd one, whether danger has come close to its preferred zone, or i was forced to react and mitigate a threat early, or perhaps i dropped the TOL early and im content to fire 3s or 2s because for some reason i value the effect die more. But it hits the table early then the 2nd follows usually not long after, even at the expense of an otherwise more valuable action. I think it was you who said if you think about it like an enchantment that works for all your creatures its value goes up. they are pretty ' nessesary for the book to run well. the 5 percent when i dont cast the second one are usually because ive "won" before i needed it, or lost.

Heal - I would honestly suggest another heal. I would suggest dropping a Rhino Hide and replacing it with a Heal

Running out of time to talk here, but all I've got left, is find room for another Heal, it's a privilege to run for so little cost, don't pass that opportunity up; One quick action Heal is one less full action creature.

Yeah. i definately have to have another heal. its too good at this price (is that the staghorn?) I dont know how i feel about pulling a rhino hide for it though. may i ask why you both dont feel rhino hide to be useful past the first here?

3 Nullify - > how often are you using all three! Is the purpose to prolong your wands? Either way I like Nullifies. I would suggest taking 1 out though and adding another Dragonscale Hauberk.

Yup thats what they are for, but a wily nullify can save you from having to deal with a teleport you dont want your enemy making, especially when you put it on him. i seriously made my buddy mad when he found that out. agressive nullifys are fun and i get some weird form of entertainment probing for nullify with another nullify, or even better a healing charm (which i can honestly say ive done more often than use it to heal with in this book!) You are prolly right and i can safely pull one for other things. wish i had academy. i want arcane ward so bad.

Moonglow Amulet --> I'm not sure you need this compared to Mana Crystal. I think you want to spend the extra 1 mana difference so you have room to cast your other conjurations. I would suggest saving that 1 mana and changing the amulet for a crystal, and as you move start casting the temples.

I'm not a fan of moonglow either, but in this instance not because of the mana generation. I'd replace it with sunfire amulet to give yourself a little extra bought time since you're casting creatures out of pocket

Nobody likes the old Moonglow eh? well the reason i chose it was not for the mana advantage specifically but because it doesn't eat up a zone, and theres only one way to get rid of it. not for nothing but mana truly IS important to this mage. like for real, so if you dont have anything better to do than take out a crystal, or someone gets all piercing happy on my crystals early, i can legitimately be in a very bad way. if you are going to take me under 10 channeling, you're gonna have to spend a Dissolve or an Explode. at least thats the way i saw it. but now i feel like a sunfire would be super useful. but thats 3 SP even for a holy mage.
Are you recommending i have 3 crystals instead? cuz maybe but thats rough, they are too easy to destroy and i dont have the zones to plant them all safely. 

Wall of Thorns - you cheeky bastard

Yeah, but i find that no body sees it coming from a priest, and with my prefered mana flow, and the crazy effective manner by which taking 20 dice of damage can put someone on the back foot, pretty useful. it makes people regret an early rush. hard. and divine protection and any armor all but protect me from them trying the same trick with my own wall. 5 dice is not nearly as bad, rolled one at a time.

I know this sounds crazy but I'd drop a Guardian Angel for another KoW. Keep the defenders to protect with, use angel only against ranged aggression, Brogan has obvious purposes, and the knights are your bread and butter attackers. You'll mostly be using the Defender HA (Defender Avenger, lol) as a threat to force your opponent to play a certain way. I think that's a strong combo that's efficient for it's cost.

Ive debated about this pretty hard. I love the KoW but lightning doesn't like them. there may or may not be an air wizard in an upcoming tournament im in. dangerous. i hate wizards. but this particular tournament allows a 10 point sideboard so i might just do it anyway for the utility. On the regular though i think you might be right but id ove to find a way to do it without pulling my other GA, people don't like her and even though its tough to do, if they take her out i like to be able to recast. i dont know. believe it or not settling on these 6 creatures was tough, it went through several revisions. and it'll have more looks like.

My friend HarryPoppins (he's never on the forums) ran a priestess that moved one space and did some mana economy on turn one. If the opponent cast a conjuration on the first turn then he'd throw down brogan on turn two and the next turn smash the conj. with bear strength, cheetah, etc. Maybe that's a contingency opening? While they're dealing with the threat it allows you to continue your plan.

that is one use for him! sans the cheetah, thats mine! lol. but more importantly, Harry Poppins is Hilarious! I havent seen him on a video in a while but i think hes great, he thinks things through so tactically, then something unexpected happens and his reactions are priceless. its a particular brand of resigned, passive outrage he has, i just think its awesome. Since im talking about it Arcane Duels is awesome and  i love the stuff your doing online and streaming and such now, but its been a while since we saw one of the old school match ups. Give us one for old times sake yeah guys? Tell Harry to come out and play too!

I noticed you have a Hurl boulder! It's really good for bursting down things, however I would suggest taking it out and replacing it with 2 hurl rocks. The dream is to get the ele wand out and hurl a boulder every round. But having a cheaper more efficient attack spell will give you more options. It allows you to keep your timing window open longer by eliminating multiple threats with decent burst, vs one threat with a big burst. Just a thought.

yeah im gonna do that.

Do it, and keep up the good work! Had a busy week, so I haven't had a chance to properly respond to this, but I really like the ideas coming out of this post!

I will! and if you are gonna comment still id love to hear what you have to say! Fact!

Thanks for everything again everyone! I really believe this guy is gonna be something to see! Thanks for the support! Ill post the updated book likely this weekend after i play it again. Maybe sooner though!

[SharkBait]

Good news! I've had time to collect some thoughts. The priest is on my list of mages I want to make a book with once I sit down and fiddle with some Academy cards. Then again, now that I think about it, I have a lot of books I want to develop, but I digress...


These are my random thoughts in no particular order:

- Having played a similar book recently (albeit with less creatures), I still feel that sometimes a conjuration can still be a real PAIN. (Deathlock, I'm looking at you). I love Deathlock, but it really screws with the priest. I know you have Brogan as your general conjuration solution. Speaking from experience, some mages do not have a difficult time knocking out a big creature (and, tbh, Brogan's a pretty easy one.) I'd personally bring a hammer along for those conjurations that just need to die quickly/RIGHT NOW.

- I think staying with 3 nullify is fine unless you migrate to 2 nullify and 2 wards once you get academy

- I actually like Moonglow in your book due to the conjuration space being taken up. I typically think 11 channeling works with the way I play too, so you may not need to cast all 3 (2 x crystal and amulet). Results may vary though.

- I concur with another heal (ew.... I feel dirty now)

- Swap arc lightning for flameblast.

- Speaking of, Fun (though somewhat expensive) trick I've been trying: Add an Adramelech's Touch or two. Burn stacking can get around high armor targets. When you throw down a pillar every turn, you can stack daze and burn like it's your job. Mostly, because it is actually the mage's job to do so.

- Personal opinion: Bear strength is a luxury, but not a necessity. You can probably cut 2 of them and be fine. Your creatures will do enough damage. You don't need to do high amounts of dice with each attack. Instead, stacking Burns and daze and defense etc should mean you still do more damage to them in a faster time frame. If the burns stick, they will supplement the dice you're not rolling with bear strength and save you casting actions/prep time.

- If you can find room, bring a back up Akiro's favor and a back up Hawkeye. They will come in handy against anyone who goes dispel happy on you

- I think 2 Rhino Hide is a good idea.

- Not a fan of cheetah speed, myself. I find its usefulness decreases as the game goes on and really doesn't do much for me that a force push wouldn't instead. Force push gives you more options though

- On that note: I don't like the thorn push gimmick. It's too easy to make it not worth using. I'd rather use the WoT sbp elsewhere, but that's a personal preference. Some people have a lot of success with thorn pushes.

Seriously though, keep developing this. I'd love to see more priests around. When in doubt, they can still kill it with fire.