I find defenses very good, especially if they're just a natural part of a creature's stats (can't be dissolved/dispelled).  Your mage should probably get some armor on first, but in builds that build up a bit before going on offense, they can be invaluable.  Even though there are answers for defenses, the opponent still has to spend mana, if not mana and a QC/action, on doing something that isn't increasing their dice count, which likely means more turns and more advantage for you.  And if you have more answers for their Unavoidable than they have cards that give Unavoidable, they're in deep trouble if your mage isn't close to dead.

Also, you can use the defenses that can block ranged attacks to protect your armor from Acid Ball (if your build is very defensive), which is something I don't see most players do even though giving ranged attacks Unavoidable is significantly more difficult.

I'm not sure how well a defense would translate to a conjuration, even though conjurations will probably have them in the future.   Right now only the Intercept creatures and I guess walls can give conjurations a pseudo-defense.  Being able to give epic conjurations like Spawnpoints a defense feels off though, so going non-epic with the target line should be considered.

Putting class and unique limitations on conjurations that are independently very good seems like the best solution and would make the game more thematic. 

With the corrode creatures and Acid Ball and Lion Savagery out, though, I don't think destroying conjurations is the hassle it once was.  I do feel like some cards that seem to specifically address them, particularly Earthquake and Force Hammer, are lost opportunities. 

Both cards can be used in difference circumstances but they aren't that great in either situation. 

For its cost of 9 mana and a full action Earthquake should deal direct damage to conjurations, but instead the attacks have Unavoidable, which is completely irrelevant.  A good chance to Slam a lot of creatures is fine, but you can probably get the same effect for less mana and as a QC in Force Bash and with a push effect. 

Force Hammer is, at best, mediocre.  8 dice for 9 mana is a good ratio against conjurations, but with how much armor most conjurations naturally have, a 1:1 ratio of dice to mana seems more appropriate.  Granted, it has ethereal, so maybe that would be too much utility.

Most of the time I only really include Wand of Healing because removing Sleep in that way doesn't cause a daze or damage, and it provides a healing option that could be used later on.

The wand is better if someone is afflicting different types of conditions, but that's not usually the case.

Stuff I would take out:

-Wall of Thorns
-Temple of the Dawnbreaker
-Regrowth
-Brace Yourself
-Defense Ring
-Decoy
-Reflex Boots
-Wand of Healing
-Sunfire Amulet
-Armor Ward

This would free up 47 points.  I'll explain the choices:

WoT; Good opponents play armor.  I understand people love the Force Push + WoT gimmick, but the moment your opponent plays armor, it's bad.  And pretty much all books have some kind of armor and Eagleclaw boots.

Temple, Defense Ring, Reflex Boots; With two very efficient ways to counter Defenses in Falcon Precision and Morning Star, among other cards like Tanglevine and those that inflict dazes, spending mana on improving your innate defense isn't worth it.  Think of her defense as a tax on her opponent she gets every game; your opponent pretty much has to answer it in some way while you can spend mana on things that actually help you deal more damage.

Regrowth, Wand of Healing, Sunfire Amulet; You should be more concerned about maintaining a high dice count rather than playing these.  Most of the time, if Vampirism can't give you the sustain you need to keep applying pressure, you're in serious trouble.

Decoy; Honestly, I've never seen a reason to include this card.

Armor Ward; Given that Galvitar has Cantrip, I'm not sure why you'd need this.  I think you'd prefer another Nullify.  You'll find that players are usually ok with paying extra to destroy powerful equipment like Galvitar, and Nullify can prevent cards that counter Galvitar hard, like Agony. 

I would suggest anything that can add to your actions, particularly Thoughtspores.  You shouldn't lean on them too much, but having one or two around helps a lot.  Goblin Builder is good here too, and lets you get out your conjurations while playing your enchants, and can take a couple hits guarding or removing guards before it's gone.  It can also cast Deathlock, which is my next suggestion; you'll want some ways to heal against mages that are also aggressive, but Deathlock is something defensive, late-game oriented mages can't ignore and have to destroy through attacking.  You'll probably also want a Poisoned Blood as a one-sided option against aggressive mage-centric builds so you can win the healing war.  Try the I. Stalker; though people complain about the FM's access to creatures, I very rarely see anyone play her signature creature, if any creatures at all. 

That's all I got for now.  The best advice is just to playtest and not be afraid to end a game in which your strategy just isn't working out and try something else.  This also helps you not get bogged down by losing, since it's no secret that Mage Wars can be a long game.  Even tournament Mage Wars lasts a while (1 hr 15-30mins) and they expect you to know your deck pretty well and play quickly at that point. 

Thanks for detailed input Mav.

To answer the first question, since this is a more mage-centric build, I value sweeping a lot, mainly to get past guards and even the odds against an opponent with more creatures than me.  I could run other ways to get around guards, but those ways are more easily dealt with than a creature.  Corazin is pretty much just a big Kriegsbiel that is equally good against single targets.  Butchers are there as a cheap way to gain dice and they'll survive for a few rounds.  Alchemist helps do whatever, including take on fliers, but you're right that I could stand to include more ways to deal with them and Grimson and Ludwig were already high on my list for that.

Flank Attack I took out even though I'll mourn the loss of cool goblin art, but Sniper Shot feels pretty essential to me.  I don't know if it was GenCon or something else, but I'm running into a lot of Reverse Attacks, and having a way break them at key moments is important if I want to use Hurl Boulder but suspect a trick.  The amount of value someone can gain from RA is pretty stupid, so 1 point to prevent that and defenses/Block isn't a big price to pay.

You're right about the weapon count, I cut a Morning Star.  Elemental Cloak instead of those 2 armors is also probably a better deal.  I think being well-prepared against defenses is justified, though; some of the best creatures, like Gremlins and Knights, are just too unapproachable without having a plan for their defenses.  Falcon Precision also gives your Sledge 2 unavoidable piercing +1 (with Rune) attacks with a solid chance to daze, which helps your other creatures get hits too.

The Arc Lightning is there mainly for Brogan Bloodstone.  He counters 2 of the Warlord's runes (armor and defense) and has been a major problem for me in the past.  It's also good against the holy Knights.  Basically, I play against a fair amount of priestesses both IRL and online, so a often repeatable 5 dice attack for 4-5 mana seems justified to me.  Flameblast/Hurl Rock is usually how I deal with fliers, but that could not be enough.

Finally, I find it hard not to justify Enchanter's Ring with the dwarf.  It costs pretty much nothing with the Forge Hammer and Battleforge, not any mana from the mage's mana pool at least, and starts netting mana after the first enchantment.  It actually seems a little better with the Warlord than the other mages, but maybe I'm missing something.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname][/spellbookname]
[mage]Anvil Throne Warlord[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFA02]2 x  Hurl Rock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a06]1 x  Flameblast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a08]1 x  Geyser[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]1 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA01]1 x  Arc Lightning[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA03]1 x  Hail of Stones[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]1 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j04]1 x  Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j08]1 x  Hand of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWJ02]1 x  Archer's Watchtower[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWC01]1 x  Dwarf Kriegsbiel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC11]2 x  Orc Butcher[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFC06]1 x  Goblin Alchemist[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFC05]1 x  Anvil Throne Crossbowman[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC14]1 x  Sir Corazin, Blademaster[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x  Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]2 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE06]1 x  Lion Savagery[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]1 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]2 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e33]1 x  Retaliate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e09]1 x  Agony[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q23]1 x  Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFQ05]2 x  Harshforge Plate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ10]1 x  Storm Drake Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q04]1 x  Deflection Bracers[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFQ03]1 x  Eisenach's Forge Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q08]1 x  Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ09]1 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x  Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q09]1 x  Enchanter's Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ05]1 x  Helm of Command[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFQ06]2 x  Morning Star[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ11]1 x  War Sledge[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i17]1 x  Minor Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI08]1 x  Sniper Shot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i02]1 x  Battle Fury[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i18]1 x  Perfect Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i20]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]2 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i04]1 x  Charge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]1 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]1 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]1 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI06]1 x  Defend[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI04]1 x  Flank Attack[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i19]1 x  Piercing Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI06]1 x  Power Strike[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 112 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]


My most recent AT Warlord build; basically, I start with a Hand of BS and a Battle Forge, then adapt from there.  I usually choose to go second, though with a Wizard opponent I may want to be first to prevent mana on a Gate.

The general idea is to draw out the fight to midgame against more aggressive decks and go on the offensive against defensive decks.  I feel that the dwarf Warlord is a very mid-game oriented mage, though I think he's particularly strong against aggressive builds with the Defense +2, Armor +1, and Cantrip runes in combination with Harshforge plate. Akiro's Favor also ensures either hammer has a good chance for attack-cutting dazes.

The issue I'm running into now is that, at 112 points and most of my bases covered, I'm not sure what else to add.  I'm missing a second ring, but I don't think the General's Signet Ring is good here; builds with the Barracks are just better with the BW Warlord, and I usually don't have the opportunity to cast more than 4 creatures.  I could include an elemental ring, but 2 points for a situational +1 die doesn't seem worth it, and the Command Ring feels slow given the dwarf's Power rune.

Any suggestions or comments?

Dwarf Kriegsbiels in particular are good, since they let you smash through multiple guards and have solid stats.  I find myself liking them more every time I play them.

Dispel/Dissolve/attacks for the healing source, Harshforge Plate to punish Drain X cards.

Just having a lot more dice than your opponent helps too.  If the Necro manages to trigger Altar of Skulls, though, it's pretty much game unless he's nearly dead.