There have been multiple arguments made on the current state of MW before. Some claiming the game was ( as good as ) dead, others claiming the contrary.

I don't know the exact figure either of how many people are still playing the game but I figured there might be some "objective" numbers available somewhere who could give a good indication.

I took a look at Boardgamegeek. More specifically at the number of players who actually gave a rating to the game and its expansions.

This is what I found :

Dominion : 63.000 ratings
Mage Knight Board Game : 21.000 ratings

The Core Arena game : 6500 ratings.
Forged in Fire : 356 ratings
Domination : 140 ratings
Paladin vs Siren : 95 ratings
Forcemaster expansion : 14 ratings
Warlord expansion : 12 ratings

Obviously, the amount of players giving a rating to a certain expansion does not tell us exactly how many players are actually playing that expansion but I think it is safe to assume there is a good correlation between "number of people taking the time to give a rating on BGG" vs "people effectively still playing the game".


What do the numbers above indicate ?

MW core gets only about 10% of the ratings total of Dominion, indicating that the number of people getting into MW core is/was also roughly 10% of the number of people playing Dominion ( just to get an idea of the volume )

A game launched at approximately the same time as MW (2012) MageKnight (2011) has 21000 ratings which is more than three times the number MW got and I never got the impression Mage Knight was a hugely popular game. That number was a surprise to me. This indicates to me that the number of players actually playing MW was NEVER very high to begin with. Or at least not as high as people thought they were.

The most telling numbers however are those of the MW expansions.
Look at those numbers falling.
While FiF still gets 356 ratings, PvS only has 95 ratings and the latest ( small ) expansions can't even get to 20 ratings anymore.

This clearly seems to indicate imo that sales ( = players ) have dramatically dropped and are probably no longer enough to make a profit.

Chances are very high imo, we've seen the last of MW.

A while ago, grga provided us with an excellent spellbookbuilder which can be found here www.spellbookbuilder.com but posting spellbooks in forum code was still a tedious, time consuming chore.
Now a "Forum export" function has been added which makes posting spellbooks on the forum a piece of cake again.

No time to waste then. Let's post another spellbook.
The reason I like this book so much is because it contains so many useful, quality spells which complement each other so well and at the same time come so nicely together in the main strategy of this book.

Since it's been a while since I last posted a book - for reasons mentioned above - I kind of feel like explaining my spell choices. So, bear with me if you will


At the core, this book is built around the Wychwood Hound.
A 5 mana creature with a respectable amount of life : 7.
2 dice and no armor but with the ability to add 1 attack dice and 1 armor if at least 1 other Hound is in the same zone.
Herein also lies our basic strategy already : we're going to keep our troops together, concentrated, so they keep reinforcing each other and we are going to try to bring the opponent to us more than we're going to go to the enemy.

The Hounds are also lvl1 creatures, which means our Straywood Beastmaster can move and still bring one of them into play as a Quick Action or as a QuickCast Action.


So, how do we make them stronger, cheaper and more effective overall ?

The first and most obvious addition is Redclaw.
Add him to a couple of 3 dice, 1 armor, 7 life Hounds and you get 4 dice, 2 armor and 7 life Hounds.

I'd like to mention here that even though it was possible to play a "Redclaw/canine" book since the core game was released as you had Bitterwood Foxes available there, the Hounds fit Redclaw much better imo.
To benefit from Redclaw's boost you need your canines in the same zone, meaning the Fast ability might somewhat be lost on the Foxes and the fact they only have 5 life meant the 1 armor was often not enough of a boost to make them surive a serious attack.

7 Life with 2 armor is massively superior over 5 life with 1 armor since you need 9 dice vs 6 dice on average to make a casualty with one attack.

5 Mana is not that much but we can still get much cheaper.
Add Wychwood Faerie and Ring of Beasts and we're looking at 4 dice, 2 armor and 7 life Hounds for just 3 mana. Now we're getting somewhere.


It's obvious that Redclaw plays a pivotal role, so we need to do all we can to keep him alive.

Therefore, Joined Strength should go on him. Not only does it give him a sixth attack die but every time he's attacked and damaged, one damage is transferred to your mage giving Redclaw more staying power.
Alternatively, you can play Joined Strength on an early Pet Falcon and shift the enchantment to redclaw when the falcon goes down.

Provided you have more living objects than your opponent, Meredia's Blessing can also help remove 2 damage from Redclaw every round as well as a condition marker. Keeping Corrode Markers away as well as Dazes, stuns, Weaks etc is a strong ability.

Emerald Elk Stave is not a spell I'd spend a mage action on, but played through our Battle Forge it makes sense and fits our goal. It can take another damage off Redclaw and another creature ( Pet ) every round, at a cost though.

Raincloud is just a perfect spell for this strategy.
It gives Regenerate 1 to every object in its zone. So, the more objects you have in that zone, the bigger the benefit you get from it and it just happens to be so we'd like to keep all our creatures together in one zone.
Another damage to remove from Redclaw every round.
Additionally all objects get Flame -2 and Acid -2, meaning all fire based attacks roll 2 less dice which is a pretty big deal because Zone attacks are an inherent weakness to our strategy. Ring of Fire suddenly is not as devastating anymore.
And you can remove a Burn or Corrode marker ( that's 2 markers per round potentially )
Keep in mind though : opponent's objects gain these bonuses as well.

Elephant Grass is a godsent to this book.
It can make all your non-flying objects gain the obscured trait ( thus also your Corrosive Orchid, for example ) meaning the opposition has to close in on you if they want to harm you, paving the way for your Thornlasher and Force Pushes but it also gives all your non flying animals basically aegis 2 as all attacks made against them roll 2 less dice.
Now if anything can keep a creature alive it's Aegis 2.
Not only does this make Redclaw nearly invulnerable but your 3 mana , 4 dice, 2 armor, 7 life Hounds also become very durable when you add Regenerate 1 and Aegis 2 ( not really Aegis 2 but you know what I mean ... )
Elephant Grass is so good it deserves 2 copies. One will very likely get destroyed + you may want to have a bonus terrain to take out an opposition terrain.


Equipment :

Most of our equipment is supposed to be played through the battle Forge but I don't cast BF right away.
I like to play BF a little later and throw a Falcon Pet at my opponent first to give him something to do and thus increase the survival odds of my BF. Standard opening ( see later ) BF in R3.

Packleader's Cowl can let you put a guard marker on a 6 dice rolling Pet Hound for just 1 mana or a 7 dice rolling Pet Timber Wolf for just 2 mana. Staple Equipment card for the Beastmaster.

Special mention here goes to the nice synergy between Battle Forge and Hunting Spear.
Hunting Spear has good synergy with this strategy as it can keep an opposing creature in the Hounds' zone with its Cripple effect ( on 7+ (50%) if using the ranged option )

Letting the Spear go back into your book has a few advantages :
1- Spear cannot be destroyed while hidden in your book
2- Letting the BF bring it out during Deployment costs you only 4 mana from your mana supply and it doesn't cost your mage any action
3- It keeps your BF involved and active all game

As a key weapon, you need back-up though, thus 2 copies.


Conjurations :

We've already mentioned and explained Battle Forge, Raincloud, Meredia's Blessing, Elephant Grass.
Obviously we don't leave the house without Pillar of Righteous Flame either.
Another card that has good synergy with a packed zone, Porce Push, Chant of Rage and the Thornlasher's Snatch.

Corrosive Orchid also benefits from trying to stay within 1 zone.
It can remain useful over a longer period of time as it (supposedly) will have a target to shoot at every round, it's a free bonus attack that can reduce an opponents armor with corrode markers, thus making your Hounds' job easier and can stay alive longer by benefitting from guards and the Raincloud's Regenerate 1.
The Obscured trait obviously also helps.

We round out the Conjurations with a pair of Wall of Thorns ( synergy with Force Push is common knowledge )
a pair of Tanglevines and 1 Tooth and Nail.


Creatures :

The only surprise here may be the Thornlasher but if you consider its ability to Snatch and pull an opposing creature into your death zone, it makes sense, I suppose.
One Rouse the Beast is meant for the Thornlasher, the other for the Timber Wolf.
Timber Wolf is meant to be played as a Pet at some point. Pet Hound and Pet Falcon are also great options of course.


Enchantments :

Bear Strengh, Brace Yourself for your Mage.
Rhino Hide, Regrowth for Mage or Redclaw.
Joined Strength for Redclaw.
Glancing Blow for Wychwood Faerie.
Wolf Fury for the early Pet Falcon.
Tangleroot on a high dice threatening opponent.
Marked for Death ( can raise the Hound's attack dice to 5! ) Poisoned Blood and Rust for the opposing Mage
Chant of Rage on ...


Incantations :

No surprises here.
2 Disarm, primarily to be able to neutralise the Paladin's and Warlord's Champion's Gauntlets a couple of times and get to their weapons/wands.


Attacks :

No surpises either.
3 Acid Balls to handle Armor in addition to Tooth and Nail and Rust.
Finisher Hurl Boulder.
Utility Surging Waves.


Standard opening :

R1 19    Wychwood Faerie - FD Brace Yourself or Glancing Blow
R2 23    Move (to C3 after Faerie-from C4) Ring of Beasts - Pet Falcon
R3 24    Move (to NC after Faerie) Wychwood Hound - Battle Forge (in C3)
R4 22+1  Packleader's Cowl - Redclaw - Wolf Fury (on Pet Falcon)
R5 12+1  Leather Chausses - Meredia's Blessing (in B4) - Move (to FC after Faerie) - Wychwood Hound - Guard on Hound
R6 10+1  ...


Thanks for reading this far.
Hope you got something out of it.

And finally ... the book.

Updated 20 april 2017

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]A Pack of Canines[/spellbookname]
[mage]A Straywood Beastmaster Spellbook[/mage]
[mage]built by http://www.spellbookbuilder.com[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=lg1]1 x Chitin Armor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01Q01]1 x Emerald Elk Stave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=lg3]2 x Hunting Spear[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01Q04]1 x Leather Chausses[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q16]1 x Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01Q05]1 x Packleader's Cowl[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q23]1 x Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q25]1 x Ring of Beasts [/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1J04]1 x Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ02]1 x Corrosive Orchid[/mwcard]
[mwcard=pvs_conjurations5]2 x Elephant Grass[/mwcard]
[mwcard=lg27]1 x Meredia's Blessing[/mwcard]
[mwcard=pvs_conjurations7]1 x Pillar of Righteous Flame[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWBG1J04]1 x Raincloud[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J22]2 x Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J03]1 x Tooth&Nail[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1W04]2 x Wall of Thorns[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=lg21]1 x Mountain Ram[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1C29]1 x Redclaw, Alpha Male[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC21]1 x Thornlasher[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1C37]2 x Thunderift Falcon[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01C20]1 x Wychwood Faerie[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01C21]6 x Wychwood Hound[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1E01]1 x Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]1 x Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=pvs_enchantments3]2 x Chant of Rage[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWAPRE05]1 x Glancing Blow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01E11]1 x Joined Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E27]1 x Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E31]1 x Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E32]1 x Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E36]1 x Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01E15]1 x Tangleroot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01E16]1 x Wolf Fury[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWA01I01]1 x Crumble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI03]2 x Disarm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I06]3 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I07]1 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I12]3 x Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=pvs_incantations1]1 x Lesser Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWAPRI05]1 x Remove Curse[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I23]2 x Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I24]2 x Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I28]1 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNA01]3 x Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]1 x Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]2 x Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

When a new set of cards is released, you have to reexamine all the previously released cards as well.
Especially those older, totally unused and off-the-radar cards.
Some of them may suddenly have gotten a boost in power and warrant a spot in some or most of your books, yes you read that right

I haven't yet finished my "old cards review" but here are three old cards which have seen little to no play before and who, imho, may soon reach "staple" status.

[mwcard=FWE08] Mind Shield[/mwcard]

This is the card most players already know about.
Totally unplayed before, until Chant of Rage, Song of Love and the Siren came along.
Now I find this card taking at least one spot in most of my books.

The last thing you want is your main offensive/defensive piece wandering off into a den of Vipers due to that lone Chant of Rage your opponent has packed.
Summon Main Creature + Mind Shield on it immediately ( certainly if your opponent has initiative the following round ) qualifies as a good play imo.


[mwcard=MW1I25] Shift Enchantment[/mwcard]

Now here's a real bomb.
Sparsely played before. Lately nearly extinct.

But picture this :
Chant of Rage on opposing creature.
Let the creature move/attack, then Shift CoR to another enemy creature to get two uses out of one CoR in 1 round.

Other situation :
Creature with CoR has double moved towards you and is in great position to be finished off this round, so the CoR, with still one Dissipate token on it, will be wasted.
Solution : during First Quick Cast, Shift CoR to another creature

Chant of Rage is Unique, and as such you can have no more than 1 in play at a time.
Shift Enchantment allows you to work around that restriction and affect two creatures in 1 round.

Forcemaster and dark mages can fully exploit this for minimal sbp's
and think of the Siren's possibilities with her formata.


Ballad of Courage
Another fantastic card to use with Shift Enchantment.
Play BoC on your Minotaur and let him Fast Charge in for 8 attack dice 2 zones away.
Then, Shift BoC to your second minotaur and repeat.
1 sbp and 2 mana to facilitate an 8 dice attack two zones away : what's not to like ?

Shift Enchantment is an absolute power card imo when it comes to maximizing the effect of Unique/Dissipate enchantments.
I'm quite sure they are going to be staples soon in books using those types of enchantments.


[mwcard=FWI04] Force Wave[/mwcard]

Another card with potential star power.
At least 1 copy of this card should go in every book that uses Pillar of Righteous Flame ( who doesn't ? )

Take one of these frequently happening situations :
Opponent is building up an army in his starting zone, or is moving his creatures altogether for protection, or any other situation where the opponent's forces are situated in 1 zone.
Let's consider a Mage + 3 creatures.

The bomb :
QC Pillar of Righteous Flame in a zone adjacent to the enemy army.
Move your Mage in the opposite direction, then cast Force wave on the opponent's zone and push them all into the Pillar's zone. That's 16 dice + potential Dazes and Burns.

If that's a mage + 3 non-living creatures we're even talking 22 !!! dice.

And the fun is not yet over.
They better stay in that zone, to be hammered just once the following rounds ... because if they move out ... you might pull out another Force Wave and "highlight" them again

Hope I've given you something to think about

Situation: ( not saying this is smart play but ... if ... this were to happen )
Titanodon has Ballad of Courage ( Slow and Fast cancel each other out ) and opponent plays Enfeeble on it, giving it slow again.
Ballad drops off, now Titanodon has double slow, which as far as I know has no additional effect besides simply being slow, correct ?
Then a new Ballad of Courage is played. Does this cancel both Slows ? I assume, yes.

There are of course hundreds of possible creature-enchantment combinations
but there are a number of combinations that stand out imo.

Ask yourself : if you could put just 1 enchantment on a certain creature, what would it be ?

These are the best combinations I've encountered so far :

Cassiel - Divine reversal
Thoughtspore - Glancing Blow
Bridge troll - Rhino Hide
Blood Demon - Demonic Bloodlust
Crusader Griffin - Lions Savagery
Fellella - Brace Yourself
Brogan - Divine Protection
Cervere - Lions Savagery
Eligor Larington - Bear Strength
Gorgon Archer - Hawkeye
Grimson - Hawkeye
Necropian Vampiress - Bear Strength
Adramelech - vampirism
Alandell - Akiro's Favor
Titanodon - Cheetah Speed

Which combinations would you suggest ?

Titanodon is one of those creatures that you want to try out and build a book around.
So, what spells do you need to get the most out of this creature ?

The first thing I always look for is the "best" enchantment to put on that creature. The enchantment that makes him OP so to speak.

With a potential 2 attacks for a total of 12 to 14 dice every round but with the slow trait, the enchantment that really stands out for him and that allows him to use both attacks in 1 round is Cheetah Speed of course.

Best play this on an off-initiative round so you can Arcane Ward the Cheetah Speed during First QC of the next round as this is going to be a prime target for Dispel.

To increase the Titanodon's effectiveness even more and to make sure he's got targets to hit in two adjacent zones in a reliable way I'd stick a Force Push on a Cantrip Mage Wand ( thus AT Warlord )
( QC Force Push on enemy target right before activating Titanodon to either bring a target to be Trampled in his zone or provide a target in the adjacent zone )

Some might consider Lesser Teleport instead but that option has two major drawbacks compared to Force Push.
- LT has only range 1 and thus your mage may be out of range to target Titanodon more often than not.
Range 2 of Force Push allows for much more maneuverability and doesn't require your mage to stay up close to the "danger zones".
- LT can only target friendly creatures whereas FP can target any creature and as such has much more tactical abilities ( pushing through or into walls for addtional attacks, anyone ? )

So, what are we looking at as the basis of this strategy ?

1 Titanodon 5 sbp
2 Cheetah Speed 4 sbp
2 Arcane Ward 2 sbp
1 Mage Wand 6 sbp
2 Force Push 4 sbp
Total 21 sbp's

Support cards you'll likely also want to add may include

2 Critical Strike 2 sbp
1 Regrowth 2 sbp
1 Heal 4 sbp

That makes a total of 29 sbp's, leaving you 91 sbp's to flesh out the book.

What other cards would you suggest to add to a Titanodon book ?

Situation :
Cervere is in zone adjacent to Siren.
Siren tags Cervere with Siren's Call.

Question : Can Cervere move into the Siren's zone ( to answer the Siren's call ) and then back out ?

Example : Vampiress has been targeted with CoR.
Target is in adjacent zone, separated by non-passable wall.

Q : must the Vampiress activate her Flying ability so she can attack her target across the wall or can she choose not to gain flying and move around the wall ?

RAW seems to indicate she must do everything she can to attack target, thus spend 1 mana to gain Flying.