Hey there,
I posted the spell book on the Arcane Duels post but people wanted a more in depth look at why i chose the cards. So here it is!
[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname][/spellbookname]
[mage]Wizard (Air)[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWA01]2 x Arc Lightning[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a09]1 x Jet Stream[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]1 x Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]1 x Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a13]1 x Thunderbolt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a07]1 x Lightning Bolt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a08]1 x Geyser[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a02]1 x Chain Lightning[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j16]1 x Mordok's Obelisk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j24]1 x Temple of Light[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j12]2 x Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]1 x Wizard's Tower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j07]1 x Gate to Voltari[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j04]1 x Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ10]1 x Stranglevine[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c18]1 x Gorgon Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c35]1 x Stonegaze Basilisk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c05]2 x Blue Gremlin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC03]1 x Devouring Jelly[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC08]1 x Gargoyle Sentry[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e09]1 x Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e23]1 x Jinx[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e16]1 x Force Hold[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e13]1 x Eagle Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e06]1 x Circle of Lightning[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e21]1 x Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e38]2 x Teleport Trap[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e20]2 x Harmonize[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e10]1 x Decoy[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q19]1 x Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q32]1 x Suppression Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q23]1 x Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ10]1 x Meditation Amulet[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q04]1 x Deflection Bracers[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ10]1 x Storm Drake Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q13]1 x Ivarium Longbow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q07]1 x Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q08]2 x Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i28]3 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI06]1 x Defend[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i23]1 x Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]2 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]1 x Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i21]1 x Purge Magic[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]
This was the first spellbook I ever made (I've been playing since December). The idea is of the deck is to be able to pull out the correct tools depending on what the opponent is doing. This requires a lot of knowledge on cards and proper judgement on what the opponents plans are. It is one of the few "reactive" decks I have seen on the forums.When I play a new player blind I usually open Mana Crystal and Blue Gremlin as it keeps up against most other builds in some manner. I'm changing the deck as I learn more about the game and it is far from "perfect."
In all of these scenarios if you suspect there might be a nullify/reverse attack etc. on something just use decoy, or one of the useless enchantments (depending on the situation some of them are useless) to help identify it. My favorite is to cast harmonize on a mage to find out if there is a nullify (and usually mages seeking dispel it if they didn't have a nullify on
).
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Attacked by turns 1-2 (A rush response)
The most rushy deck I have seen is turn 1 full action move one then teleport 2, then hurl a boulder as a quickcast. If I see that someone is trying to attack me quickly I usually decide that racing is the best option. I usually suspect the Forcemaster, and Warlock to try something like this. I prefer to open with a Blue Gremlin and Mana Crystal in this case. I consider it the safe way to keep up with damage if they rush, but also not lose a long game if they decide to not rush me. By turn 2 it's easy to identify this rush so I activate Voltaric Shield and wizard's tower (hurl boulder), Blue Gremlin, and punch in the face usually does more damage then anything they can muster. You can keep up the damage if they decide to commit and statistically take the victory. You can also Jet Stream and shove them into the arena wall to give an extra edge.
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Swarm Decks - This usually focuses around the Beastmaster, and Warlords and Necromancers. Every mage can swarm in a unique way. I consider a swarm to be someone that has at least 4 creatures by turn 5. I see swarms as being either aggressive or defense. The way I identify that is if they put their spawnpoint on their side or my side (My side is not the board cut in half but more of a diagonal half since we start at the corners). If it's on my side I usually assume I will be attacked by turn 3. If it's on their side I usually consider being attacked around turn 5-6.
Offensive swarm response - If I see the opponent run 2 spaces and put a spawnpoint two spaces away from my start point I consider this an offensive swarm. I open with Mana Crystal and Battleforge. Turn two I usually leather boots, circle of lightning and Devouring Jelly. Turn 3 you have something to defend an onslaught. Jellies are really good defenders. If the opponent wants to advance then defensive Wizard's tower Arcane Zap/Punch in the face and reveal circle of lightning. You can usually out damage the opponent with the Jelly.
Defensive Swarm Response- If I see the opponent cast a spawnpoint on their side I usually assume I have until turn 5 to make prepare. I usually want a battle forge, 2 mana crystals, Gorgan Archer, Stonegaze Basilisk, Wizard's Tower, Mordok's Obelisk, and the Ivarium Longbow out. You can usually focus down most of the heavy threats and the weak/cripple combo is deadly if mages choose to get within range. Also strangle vine and Force Hold are great ways to exploit a mage that decided they wanted to advance cautiously. You have a firing line of 4 strong attacks that they have to get away from.
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Buddy Builds - This is type usually focuses on one strong creature that gets in your face between turn 3-4. When I play against the priest and warlock I usually try to be cautious here. A classic build for the warlock is turn 1 mana crystal and double move, turn 2 Adramelech.
Usually I open double mana crystal. If I see the opponent double move to save up the mana I suspect a buddy build. Turn 2 you can agony (this usually cuts the buddy down quite a bit), wizard's tower and lightning bolt to try and seriously delay the buddy. If that fails to seriously damage the buddy I usually Force Hold then hurl a boulder and arcane zap get him to back off. You can also use teleport trap to try and delay things. The most important things to get up is basic armor by the time he gets to you.
Against Priest/Priestess divine intervention shenanigans you can usually turn 1 double mana crystal, turn 2 wizard's tower/ hurl boulder, then agony. If they keep buffing the buddy for a delayed divine intervention then Devouring Jelly, armor, and the wizard tower arcane zap, punch combo works really well.
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Long game type of builds - I consider attacking turn 6 or later to be a long game type of play. I find a lot of new players to play very defensively and fall into this category. I usually open with one of the above opening depending on the mage. If I suspect that they are going to be hanging back I make it hard to attack. The goal is to have the Battle Forge (harmonized), Temple of Light, Wizard's Tower (Harmonized) and Gate of Voltari. I usually get the Meditation Amulet out turn 3 then all my full cast actions are spent channeling more mana so I can get creatures out of the Gate of Votlari and my equipment out. When they choose to attack I have the Temple of Light and Wizard's Tower NC with Elemental Wand Lightning Bolt while using the meditation amulet (usually I have some mana saved on the Wizard's Tower). You can Force Hold or Stranglevine to delay and use teleport traps to help you. Often you'll have creatures to help you and Akiro's Favor as well.
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Force Master - The best way to deal with creatures that have defenses is to have Arc lightning (elemental wand), Arc lightning (Wizard's Tower), and the Temple of light (1 dice with the chance of daze/stun
). Stonegaze can be great with Akiro's Favor to get the cripple.
Temple of Light - I find this as a soft way to deal more damage to mages that use Devouring Jelly. It is also great against Necromancer's. I've considered taking it out a lot. It was very helpful at the Gen Con tournament though and I still think it is worth it. On top of that the chance to stun or daze is nice if you decide to go mass lightning spells.
I often find players that don't like the basic melee attack. A lot of times they choose to defend or run away. I find that the punch in the face action is a great way to save mana while keeping up with the total dice dealt in the game.
There are mages I still haven't played against. And I hope to revise this Wizard to be able to deal with everything in the future. This Wizard got 4th place at Gen Con! I hope this write up helps you plan out alternative ways of dealing with problematic spell books!
Let me know what you think! If you think it sucks let me know why! I'll update this main post if I get questions regarding how I respond to things.
Also here's a link to the post of it being played against the Anvil Throne Warlord -
http://forum.arcanewonders.com/index.php?topic=14530.0-Justin
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