I haven't had time or the opportunity to test it more than a couple of games, but I've been working on a new book that has 3 goals:
- Uses a neglected mage well
- Performs passably against agro Forcemaster, and Temple spam books
- Takes some of the new cards for a test drive
Here's what I've got so far:
Warlord (Bloodwave)
4 Iron Golem
2 Dwarf Panzergarde
2 Grimson Deadeye, Sniper
1 Thorg, Chief Bodyguard
(30 points)
2 Mage Wand
2 Helm of Command
1 Dragonscale Hauberk
1 Eagleclaw Boots
1 Regrowth Belt
1 Ring of Command
(23 points)
2 Teleport
2 Force Push
2 Charge
2 Battle Fury
1 Whirling Strike
1 Sniper Shot
1 Perfect Strike
2 Dissolve
2 Dispel
(34 points)
2 Mana Flower
1 Archer's Watchtower
3 Wall of Steel
(11 points)
1 Standard Bearer
1 Fortified Position
2 Spiked Pit
1 Nullify
1 Armor Ward
1 Enfeeble
18 points
2 Hurl Boulder
4 points
TOTAL POINTS: 120
The heart and soul of this book is the 4 Iron Golems. They're ridiculously cheap for what they are capable of. 5 Armor, 13 health, and 6 Melee for 13 mana is the most efficient attritional creature in the game. And unlike the legendary creatures, you can bring all 4 into play at once. If your opponent cannot avoid fighting the Golems, he or she is in some real trouble. They'd be the best creature in the game by a wide margin if they were not slow.
The rest of the book is dedicated to improving on the Golems' strengths and addressing their weaknesses. Which basically means "Forcing your opponent to fight the Golems, and punishing them when they do."
Charge, Teleport, and Force Push (2 of each) provide the mobility your Golems lack. The Warlord can re-use those spells with 2 Mage Wand and 2 Helm of Command. Steel Wall, Enfeeble, and Spiked Pit can help him keep his targets in place. This book is committed to playing positionally, and has the tools to do it.
The soldiers in the book are all anti-kite. The Panzergarde can take a hit, and can step in front of attack spells for the Warlord. Grimson's range is effective against dancing enemies, and Thorg is especially good at luring enemy creatures to their deaths. His taunt is as good as a push against most creatures.
The book has 2 main ways of increasing the effectiveness of its Golems: the Standard Bearer enchantment and Veteran tokens. While the Standard Bearer must enchant a Soldier (Dwarf Panzergarde for preference), its +1 Melee and +1 Armor applies to "all other friendly creatures in the same zone". Veteran tokens are awarded "whenever a friendly non-Mage creature melee attacks and destroys an enemy creature." Unlike most other buffs, these abilities work on the non-living, non-soldier, Iron Golems.
Aside from that, the book generally lacks ways to increase the power of its creatures. This is a book designed to do an efficient and powerful thing over and over again. It's not interested in building a Pet Steelclaw with Vampirism, Bear Strength, and Cheetah Speed. For that price, this book summons three Iron Golems and uses brute force to smash that Bear to death. In a pinch, the Warlord can use his Battle Orders ability to buff Thorg and the Panzergarde, or to give Grimson +1 Ranged (and if the Warlord is wearing the ring, the spell is free), but Iron Golems should be doing the heavy strategic lifting, and those kind of tactical plays aren't the planned path to victory.
There's one exception to this, and that's the temple build. The plan against Temple of Light is to block Line of Sight with a Wall of Steel and then chip it down with Grimson in the Archer's Watchtower. Whenever the Laser Tower player breaks the wall, summon another one. The book has two copies of Grimson, because the first one will probably die, and it'll be important to summon a Panzergarde or two to soak up ranged spell attacks.
The book has a few tricks. If you cast Spiked Pit and then teleport your opponent's mage into that zone, he or she is going to be stuck there for the entire next activation (baring teleport). If you do this after the opponent has activated, you've bought yourself quite a bit of time to beat with Iron Golems. And don't forget that you can stack Nullify and Armor Ward. The requirement of baiting the Nullify makes the Armor Ward more likely to prohibit, rather than just tax.
The gameplan against a Forcemaster book with multiple Hands of Bim-Shalla is for the Warlord to hug a Guarding Iron Golem. A fully charged Forcemaster does a terrifying amount of dice in damage, but is still only going to kill one Iron Golem a turn, worst case; 5 Armor counts for a lot. If the Forcemaster comes into the zone on turn 5, you should have 2 Iron Golems, a defensive enchantment (Nullify or Armor Ward), A Mage Wand of Teleport, and Eagle Claw Boots waiting for her. If she holds off to ready a decoy and a dissolve, you can buy yourself even more time with Walls and Spiked Pits, and then cast Grimson to let him take shots at the Hands. Just don't give the Forcemaster a chance to unload a full action attack with Battle Fury, and feel free to use Teleport and Force Push defensively. The goal is to stick with the guards until you have enough muscle to win a damage race. Save your Dispels for Force Field, and buy as much time as you can. If you get to 4 large guards (Thorg, Golems) you can kill her in two consecutive turns.
The book does have some unfavorable matchups: Wizards can be a problem. Air Wizard especially (Elemental Wand of Chain Lightning looks like a beating), but any opponent who can buy Teleport and Mage Wand at wholesale price is going to to be a tough nut to crack. Thankfully, Iron Golems are immune to poison effects, which makes your Sniper better than their Gorgon Archers, and your Golems really don't care about Poison Gas Cloud. And they're probably the best creature in the game for beating through Wall of Stone/Steel. I expect that this matchup would have difficulty finishing within tournament time limits.
Curse focused Warlock can also be an issue. You need to block LoS with walls, because you've only got one Nullify and only two Dispels. Without positional support, the Golems will have to work hard to corner the Warlock. Best plan is probably to hide while building up Golems, then telegank the Warlock into the Golem Pit to end the game quickly.
Other than that, there are some individual cards to be careful of. Valshalla has a lightning sword, which is unpleasant because nearly every creature in the book has Lightning +2, and Brogan Bloodstone has Piercing +3, which makes him really unpleasant with Hand of Bim Shalla + Bear Strength + Battle Fury.
Let me know what you think!
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