Aragog's nest (thunderdome 2 druid book)

[Halewijn]

Hi guys,

This was my deck I used in the Thunderdome 2 tournament. In general I'm not the biggest fan of posting decks on the forum. But I wanted to share this one since I think I found a way to make the spider viable since I've had some good succes with it. (Although it was a flop during the tournament.  )

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Aragog's nest[/spellbookname]
[mage]A Druid Spellbook[/mage]
[mage]built by the OCTGN SBB[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]3 x Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A08]2 x Geyser[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWPROMO35]1 x Acid Blast[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNJ10]1 x Stranglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1W04]2 x Wall of Thorns[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J13]2 x Mana Flower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ12]1 x Vine Tree[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ11]4 x Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNW01]2 x Bloodspine Wall[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWBG1J04]1 x Raincloud[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNC20]2 x Vine Snapper[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC06]1 x Kralathor, The Devourer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC18]1 x Togorah, Forest Sentinel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC09]3 x Giant Wolf Spider[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC21]2 x Thornlasher[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC10]1 x Raptor Vine[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1E36]2 x Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE02]1 x Divine Might[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E28]1 x Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNE01]1 x Barkskin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E01]1 x Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E03]1 x Bull Endurance[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E32]1 x Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]2 x Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E05]1 x Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]2 x Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWBG1E01]1 x Astral Anchor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E29]1 x Nullify[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNQ04]1 x Druid's Leaf Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ08]1 x Vinewhip Staff[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ06]1 x Mohktari's Branch[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWPROMO34]1 x Chitin Armor[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1I17]2 x Minor Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I06]2 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI02]4 x Burst of Thorns[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I07]4 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I23]1 x Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I28]2 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I12]2 x Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI04]1 x Renewing Rain[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]


In general my opening would be as followed:
turn 1: ring + tree
turn 2: spider + mana flower
turn 3: depends

The base strategy is to pin the enemy mage down (or creatures) and fill him up with poison. Akiro's favor is there to make sure the spiders are hard hitting. The spiders are hard to kill and the more you have the better they become. Mostly I try to cast at least 2 of them.

- The few plants are more for support then a base strategy.
- My vine tree would cast a lot of tanglevines.
- Togorah is extremely epic. I want him in every druid book.
- Since the necro is poison immune he is the worst matchup for this book. Kralathor is there only for necro's.
- I'm thinking about taking the Vinewhip staff out of it since I don't want to waste the action casting it. It would be great if the vine tree could cast all vine spells 
- I feel like I missed a purify. Maybe another mohk. branch

[Borg]

Dag Halewijn,

I think this is a good book.

Things I would consider.

Between the three spiders and Togorah, that's 66 mana.
I bet you're not going to get that out very often.
I think you should get by with two spiders max.
If you're casting a third you're just winning more.

I haven't played with Togorah yet but I'd probably prefer a Guardian Angel over him.
A lot cheaper, same sbp's and you can bring her out on R1 if necessary.

Why not a Corrosive Orchid in place of a Dissolve ?
Same sbp's , costs more alright but you don't have to check for Nullify and you get an additional attack every round which could be very effective since your going to keep the opposition in place most of the time.

Have you considered Meditation Amulet to get your costly spider(s) out quicker ?

Als je ooit eens in Aalst bent

[Halewijn]

Yeah, togorah + spiders are an overkill, but I just enjoy the option casting a third one. You are correct though.

With the ring togorah is "only" 20 mana. I just love his artwork/theme and his extreme health + regen. really would never change him.

I used to have a corrosive orchid and I took it out to save spellbookpoints. I regret it. I should put it back in. The main reason being able to dissolve something further then the 0-1 range.

meditation amulet: I just feel really action drained using it. I tried, but it didn't work out for me. With the ring I can cast a mana flower for 4 mana. This can give me 12 channeling if they don't pressure me. If they don't pressure me too bad I can cast a second spider in round 4.

[Biblofilter]

This book is really good, I played a lot with a spellbook almost identically to this book. 

Pretty unlucky for you to meet two Necromancers in the tournament, where the Spiders just aren´t as good.

I think you need more teleports and depending on which tournament (timelimit) a couple of Mage Wands seems pretty good to.

The Vinesnappers and Thornlashers really needs heavy teleport support and even Togorah gets a lot better.

I would also like one retaliate over the two Akiro´s Favor. The retaliate can be a really nasty surprise on both Kralathor and your Raptor Vine.

Other than that id probably cut Renewing Rain, Raincloud, 1 Spider and a few level 1 nature/water spells.

I think you should keep the Vinewhip Staff and cast it in round 1. (in your Spider games)
You should be able to stuck something with it and then attack with the Spiders. Besides deploying 3 Vine markers in the beginning of the game isn't bad at all.

Instead of Purify you might use Renewing Spring instead?

You might use both Corrosive Orchids and Dissolves.

[Halewijn]

Mage wand for teleport is indeed something that could work. But it costs a lot of sbp. Vinewhip staff is pretty good in this deck but in general I just keep using tanglevine to do the job.