Let me tell you why I do not like seedling pod. It is because it have a cost of 3 mana it takes 3 rounds for it too be able too do anything and then in order for them too give any benefit I would have too wait a total of rounds and I think that is way too slow. Now you might be arguing that it only takes 3 rounds because of my ring but the ring gives no discount for spells cast by spawn points.

what about a couple seedling pods to use as diversions. They cost 2 mana to play (ring), if they pop and can summon a creature, bonus. if they get killed, at least they weren't attacking you.

Casting a plant spell for you is not the only benefit. For 2 mana, why not? (assuming you have nothing better to do) I always include at least 2 just in case.

You should include at least 1 dissolve. Not for armor, but for nasty equipment that you want gone. As a druid, dissolve costs only 1 spellpoint, so this doesn't require giving up very much.

And yes, tanglevines are fantastic. Knockdown + Tanglevine in a kill zone is a nice combo for dealing with flyers.

I have tried a similar strategy as a Warlord, walling off half the board to give me time to build up my base. It didn't work (Somehow, I still won, but not because of the wall).  The problem is that the with amount of mana and time spent on the wall, your opponent can summon an enormous creature that tears down the wall and then massacres everything. Walling off the middle might work, but not as an opening strategy. Walls across 3 different zones are just impossible to maintain effectively, and will most likely leave you behind in resources.

Of course, this is just my experience as Warlord, and I was using more expensive (though also tougher) walls, so your experience may be different.

Yeah - I will probably give this a pass, for the sake of simplicity/portability. Granted, I don't even use the board or the action/quickcast markers, so my take on this product is likely in the minority.

Unfortunately, you cannot use [mwcard=MW1I25]Shift Enchantment[/mwcard] on enchantments you do not control - so if your opponent puts Poisoned Blood on you, you cannot shift it to either one of your creatures or to the enemy.

Still: a spell which could do something like that would be very nice.

You mean like [mwcard=MW1I27]Steal Enchantment[/mwcard]?

turn 5: (18 Mana) Barracks (6) - Thorg, Chief Bodyguard (17-6= -11), Battleforge (1): Battle Helm of command (3) with Rouse the Beast linked; Mage QC: activate Rouse the Beast (-4) +  + Meditation(+3); Anvil Throne Crossbowman shot/ Thorg, Chief Bodyguard move or guard.

[mwcard=MW1I23]Rouse the Beast[/mwcard] is not a command spell, so you can't bind it to the helm. I recommend binding [mwcard=MWSTX2FFI06]Defend[/mwcard] instead; it works nicely with a strong bodyguard like Thorg.

I wouldn't bother with [mwcard=MW1Q19]Mage Wand[/mwcard]. Do you really expect to be rousing more than 6 beasts? Since you are already short on actions and mana, scrap the wand and just cast rouse the beast from the start. BoomFrog's suggestion of [mwcard=MW1E05]Cheetah Speed[/mwcard] would be a much more effective use of that 5 mana for this build. If you do run out of copies, your existing creatures should be able to keep the enemy occupied while you wait for new summons to wake up.

And if they try a zone attack, jinx or teleport them, or use tanglevine then force wave your swarm out of the blast radius. The enemy mage will likely already be high on damage from the initial rush by the time such tactics are used.

Unfortunately, there isn't really a very good defense against a zone attack for a swarm.

- Jinx doesn't work (zone attacks are full actions)
- Teleport/tanglevine/forcewave don't work because you can't see it coming; you would need an enchantment to prevent it.

Some possible options are [mwcard=MW1E37]Sacred Ground[/mwcard]/[mwcard=FWE06]Fortified Position[/mwcard] to boost your swarm's defense or a QC [mwcard=MW1I09]Drain Power[/mwcard] to deplete their supply. [mwcard=DNJ03]Etherian Lifetree[/mwcard] is also a must-have for any swarm oriented mage that will significantly reduce the likelihood of a 1-hit kill for your summons, and you could keep a [mwcard=MW1I13]Group Heal[/mwcard] prepared to clean up the damage after a zone attack.

In general, though, [mwcard=MW1A12]Ring of Fire[/mwcard] is going to be pretty devastating.

What if the only change to balista was the range, from 1-2 to 2-2?

I also like this idea. It definitely makes for a more interesting positioning game.

My biggest problem with seedling pods are that you need to play the life tree as well or they are killed when you get 2 Mana on them.

I've tried using them before in previous druid builds and they never popped into something better, because they always died.

When I've played against druids using the pods, I would attack the pods as well.

Is that so bad, though? Any attack on a pod is an attack that is not targeting your mage, and the pods will only cost you 2-3 mana each, cheaper than a block. If you are using them to avoid wasting actions, this can be a very good thing. If you are using them to postpone making a decision, of course, it is less good.