Hi guys,

me and my local group of MW players are huge fans of the Arena warlords. We were thinking of a way to scale up the elven academy warlord to join ranks with his orcish and dwarven brethren and this is what we came up with:

Health - 35
Channeling - 9

Instead of his academy ability, he would get three unique battle commands applying to all soldier creatures in his zone until the end of the round:
Always prepared - gain Counterstrike
Overdraw - +1 range for non-spell ranged attacks
Alphastrike - while guarding counter attack before the attacking creature rolls its Dice

As an additional ability, we considered something like:
Hire mercenaries - the warlord may extend the range of creature spells by 1 if he pays level -1 mana

What do you think about these abilities? Do you think they are balanced?

From a gameplay and "lore" perspective, we considered the Ivarium warlord to be more of an pragmatic and flexible fighter, while the Bloodwave represents more agressive and brutish side of war and the Anvil Throne more the defensive and disciplind side of war.
To set him apart from the Paladin, which is also from Ivarium, he should be more opportunistic and less honorable.

Thoughts?

Ps.: English is not my native language, so please excuse my spelling.

This seems like a solid deck. I am tinkering around with a similar strategy for a while now.
Sadly PvS is not out in Germany quite yet 
Backofen to the cards.

Attackspells
Not much to say here. I personally like one Surging Wave and one Jet Stream in almost every deck to answer one creature with flying or defence really fast.

Conjurations
They all seem pretty solid.
I think the Banner is a must though. It helps to get two lvl 2 dudes fast to the enemy for only a quick action and 5 Mana against a defensive tactic or turn one to defend against a rush.
Although the Basilica might bei a consideration with the Sword, Light of Dawn and the Blast.

Creatures
This is what makes the deck shine. A bunch of lvl 2 creatures that can do anything. It is amazing how many versatile lesser creatures holy has gotten.
I would consider adding a Messenger of Bim-Shalla to burst heal Ehren if needed.
The Unicorn I do not like, because the body is bad and the one heal is meh. Instead I would prefer a Temple Semetry for the instant guard.

Entchantments
Here I like to mention Cassiel. She is what makes this deck even stronger. You can use her to get all these cheap defensive enchantments onto your army to make it even more durable. In this regard I would cut Rhino, Regrowth, Critical Stike and one Bear for cards like Iguana, Paladin's Valor, Asyra's Touch and Divine Reversal all of which Cassiel  can cast. Knight's Courage and Blessed Focus are awesome with multiple creatures too and super cheap mana and sbp wise.

Equipment
Nothing to add exept maybe leather boots^^

Incantations
Great toolbox, perhaps a Knockdown aganist flying and defenses. I would not run a Mage Wand and three Dissolve/Dispel. With Remove Curse and Purify I would lose at least one Dispel.

I hope this helps you refine your deck. It has great potential.

Hi guys,
I am new to this forum, but I am playing Mage Wars for over 2 years now, so I guess I join right in.

I think to find the niche for the Bloodwave is to
1. figure out what sets the Bloodwave apart from his competitors (Anvil Throne -> Same training and Paladin -> Holy creatures supported by the war and holy school)
2. decide if this playstyle is (competitivly) viable.

Anvil Throne Warlord
The Anvil Throne pushes the Bloodwave out of any solo mage and  (pure) tank builds. Due to the runes he can use the forge and especially wands way more effektivly. Also the tough is gold for a tanky playstyle. The vet ability is yet useless in such a strategy.
If you run a book with a few creatures that need a severe amount of support (e.g. Iron Golem, Titanodon), the Anvil Throne is again the better choise, because the wands allow better support. The Bloodwave on the other hand wants to attack every round to use his Battleskill instead of supporting too much. Also it is quite hard getting a vet on these guys for not that much pay off.
The way to go is imo to rely on your creatures and fighting on the frontline.

Paladin
The Paladin is also a melee figther mage. He can support his creatures not only with the war, but additionaly the holy school. The creature pool however is different, relying on holy creatures. While he can take up to war lvl 2 at cost, he has a much better arsenal (e. g. Vanguard, Red Helm) at his disposal.
But that does not mean the Bloodwave gets outclassed in that playstyle. While has no benefits from holy training, he can utilise commands in a superior manner with Helm/Ring of Commands and his Battleorders maybe combined with the Horn. In addition the Paladin can not get war creatures via spawnpoint.
Another advantage of the Bloodwave is again the Battleskill.

Bloodwave Warlord
As I evaluate it, there a two strategies to play him using his abilities to their fullest.

1. Gearing up with "Warlord only" equipment like the War Sledge, Forgehammer, Buckler and Hashforge and smashing in faces, while you have two or three bigger guys fighting alongside you. Ideally a Battleforge equips you and your creatures are self-reliant like the Bridgetroll, Dwarves, Thorg or the Minotaur. A Greatbow can shoot from the back. An added bonus is that the Warlord weapons can dish out daze and even stun to disturb the enemy.

2. You can also run the Baracks to beat your opponent with a swarm of orcs and goblins supported by mass and global commands. Using the Garnison Posts the reinforcements can reach almost any point in the arena. In this scenario you can use cheap equipment and your Battleskill to fence of agression and apply pressure. Sweeping and daze is herein amazing too. Also the Altar of Carnage can do an incedible job in this build.

Finally I wants to mention Gurmash. He can really support both Bloodwave playstyles. He can save his Warlord lots of actions commanding the forces. Unlike other familiars I would delay playing him, since Most commands are incantations so there is not much to do early game.

Any thoughts?

PS. : English is not my native language so please excuse any spelling and grammar errors.