Arcane Wonders Forum
Mage Wars => Spellbook Design and Construction => Topic started by: knutenez on November 12, 2012, 10:28:05 AM
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Have there been games where one or two cards have turned the tide for one Mage? What cards? I think this could be helpful info for those of us (probably everyone) who haven't settled on a specific build for our mages yet.
Here's my example from a recent game. My buddy's priestess survived my warlock's main onslaught and prolonged the game until I was out of usable cards in my spell book. It was by far the longest game I've played: over 4 hrs.
I had a well-equipped Mage and a beefy Adramelech with bearstrength, vampirism, mongoose, and rhino hide. Fairly early into the game she had taken high twenties of damage and I was around 8-9, and Adramelech was at 2. The cards that turned it around were: the circle of lightning because the stun knocked Adramelech out of the sky and allowed her to attack them (I brought a second in after losing the first), and he bound minor heal to a Mage wand--whenever she healed she also gained a life from her special ability. At the end of the game when I was out of creatures I couldn't get my 7 dice melee roll past her dodge/temple of the dawnbringer combo (I forgot the name of the equip that gives the dodge). I learned that I need more dissolves. And I shouldn't have ignored he circle of lightning with my dispels. I should probably have more creatures then Adramelech and an army of bats, too.
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Poison blood. If played during the"late game" when the opponent is out of dispells, it can be absolutely devastating. More so to the priestess, as healing is one of her specialties.
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Mage Wand is probably the most game changing card in the game
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Here's a simple truth of spellbook design:
A well-rounded spellbook will and should defeat a myopic one every time. There are so many ways that you can "change" the flow of this game that I might just be inclined to argue that nearly every card is a "game-changing" card. It all depends on the circumstances.
Here's a few:
Teleport: The ability to throw something wherever you want it is incredibly strong. The ability to do it as a quick action is devastating.
Dispel: The ability to tear down enchantments is a cornerstone of balancing enchantments. When played on the right enchantments at the right time, Dispel is easily in the top 3 for the "game-changer" category.
Cheetah Speed: Giving Fast to your Mage or one of your creatures can completely throw off another player in terms of positioning, or surprise an opponent at an opportune time. It can be used to facilitate your Mage's escape from a bad spot, or it can be used aggressively. It is similar to Teleport in these regards.
Poisoned Blood: As someone else pointed out, it can seal the deal in games during the late game. Most Mages will include at least a few "Oh SHIT!" Healing Spells in their spellbooks, and if you drop this on a Mage when you're close to victory, they have to waste a precious action on Dispelling it (if they have one left) or be doomed. Either way, it's a strong play and can definitely change games, if not outright win them.
Seeking Dispel: While it's a shot in the dark, Seeking Dispel is incredibly cheap, both for spellbook inclusion and for casting. It can cheaply pick away carefully laid defenses or traps. The obvious fear is that you might hit a Decoy, but it's a risk worth taking more often than not.
Any quick action attack spell that hits 2 or more squares away and has the opportunity to Stun, Daze, or Push an enemy. Timing is everything, and if you pull of a lucky shot on one of these it can DECIMATE a player's carefully laid plans for an entire turn.
Reverse Magic: It's expensive, but it can ruin the day for your opponent if they throw a particularly bad spell your way. It can change games.
And the list goes on ad infinitum. There are just SO many ways to "change" the game that it's almost easier to pick out the spells that are not game-changers in one way or another...
-nihil
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Yes, I learned the hard way that a myopic spell book is trouble.
Another card that changed a game I had recently is banish. My priestess and Valshalla were beating up a wizard until he banished Valshalla. It gave him enough time to get a couple new creatures on the board catch up. It ended with my attack roll missing the kill by 1 damage and him rolling something huge and killing me with exactly enough damage.
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"Turn to Stone" is a major game-changer. Cheaper than "Banish," and if the game ends this turn you wont need to worry about Upkeep.
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Sleep! A great spell!
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Sleep! A great spell!
Yes a great spell had to waste a thunderbolt spell to wake my emerald tegu pet as the beastmaster!
Banish is my favourite if played at the optimal time! ;)
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Bear Strength. So much damage, and so cheap!