The Priest has been on my Mage Wars to-do list for a long time and I'm happy to finally have a book together.
We'll see how it performs in the days/weeks to come.

This is where I stand atm

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Ehren[/spellbookname]
[mage]Priest[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]2 x  Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFA02]2 x  Hurl Rock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a08]1 x  Geyser[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j04]2 x  Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j12]1 x  Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j08]1 x  Hand of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWAPRC04]1 x  Ehren, Enduring Paladin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC06]2 x  Guardian Angel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWAPRC10]1 x  White Cloak Knight[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c22]1 x  Knight of Westlock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c06]1 x  Brogan Bloodstone[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e32]3 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]3 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e28]2 x  Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]2 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]2 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]2 x  Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01E02]1 x  Arcane Ward[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e11]1 x  Divine Intervention[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWA01Q09]1 x  Wispwillow Amulet[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q09]1 x  Enchanter's Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWAPRQ01]1 x  Asyran Robes[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01Q04]1 x  Leather Chausses[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q27]1 x  Dawnbreaker Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q11]1 x  Gauntlets of Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ07]1 x  Veteran's Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q29]2 x  Staff of Asyra[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ09]2 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q07]1 x  Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i07]3 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]2 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI06]1 x  Defend[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i19]1 x  Piercing Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i20]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWAPRI05]1 x  Remove Curse[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]1 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i25]1 x  Shift Enchantment[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

Some Notes :

Regrowth and Bear Strength are at the core of this book.

Any of this select group of creatures, including the Priest, become quite a threat with

these enchantments on them ... and Ehren fits right in, at a bargain price.

The Priest needs a third action to help him build up and compensate for the action he's

going to use to attack or Summon.

Losing the Battle Forge could be disastrous, thus a back-up is needed.

Regrowth + Hand of Bim Shalla + Asyran Robes means 4 damage can be healed per round on a

creature ( other than the Mage )

Combine that with the armor they already have and the Angels' Intercept and Guarding skills and they become very hard to kill.

Mongoose Agility obviously is there to let the Holy Avenger hit the target he wants ( to trigger his combat bonuses )

Opening :

Under pressure :
R1 19
QC Mana Crystal ( 1 zone up )
Move left
Battle Forge ( in your zone )

R2 16+1
Deploy Wispwillow Amulet
FC Guardian Angel
QC Defend

R3 10+1+1
Deploy Enchanter's Ring
FC Ehren 7 dam
QC Regrowth

R4 11+1+1
Upkeep : Regrowth 2
Deploy Asyran Robes
QC Hand of Bim Shalla ( in Starting Zone ) and heal Ehren 1
FD Bear Strength on Ehren
Ehren with 4 dam

R5 12+1+1
Upkeep : Regrowth 2 and move 1 dam to mage through Robes = at 1 dam
Deploy Leather Chausses
Bim Shalla Heal Ehren : 0 dam
QC FD Regrowth on Priest


No pressure :

You can bring out Ehren in Round 2 instead of Round 3 and swith the Enchanter's Ring and Wispwillow Amulet as well.

I'm sure people will be coming up with a variety of ways to bring Ehren into play and heal him up asap.

Some thoughts about that,

A. Incantations

I don't like to bring him along using Incantations like Mend, Minor Heal or even Heal for that matter as
1- Their cost just adds to Ehren's cost
2- They feel like wasted SBP's, but most of all
3- They are rather unreliable

Example : using "Regenerate 2" two times ( with Regrowth ) and then going for a Mend can really backfire if you roll just 2 or less.
On average you should roll 3 and do the job ... but ... if you roll 2 or 1 that's two mana wasted, 1SBP wasted and probably even more damaging to your winning chances : 1 QC wasted.


B. Renewing Spring

Renewing Spring is a much better option ( 2 x Regrowth + 1 x Spring should do it on average ) but this also means your strategy would have to be built around the Renewing Spring as well imo, thus, a rather "static" strategy. If you just cast the Spring to heal Ehren and then abandon it, that's not optimal use of your resources.
Seems best suited for a Priestess build, I think.


C. The Malakai Priest opening

This one took me quite some time to figure out because I wanted to have

1- Ehren totally healed and ready to go in two rounds
2- No Healing Incantations used
3- Play nothing but quality spells which fit into the overall strategy
4- Improve Channeling and Actions in the process
5- Be able to stand up to R3 or even R2 aggression


Here goes


R1 19

QC Mana Crystal ( 1 zone up )
Move left
Battle Forge ( in your zone )

R2 16+1

Deploy Wispwillow Amulet
FC Guardian Angel
QC Defend

R3 10+1+1

Deploy Enchanter's Ring
FC Ehren 7 dam
QC Regrowth

R4 11+1+1

Upkeep : Regrowth 2
Deploy Asyran Robes
QC Hand of Bim Shalla ( in Starting Zone ) and heal Ehren 1
FD Bear Strength on Ehren

Ehren with 4 dam

R5 12+1+1

Upkeep : Regrowth 2 and move 1 dam to mage through Robes = at 1 dam
Deploy Leather Chausses
Bim Shalla Heal Ehren : 0 dam
QC FD Regrowth on Priest

Full action left
11 Mana left
Ehren at full Strength with Regrowth and FD Bear Strength
Guarding Angel
Priest with Aegis 1 and FD Regrowth
Battle Forge and Bim Shalla Active
3 more mana to come from Amulet.
White Cloak Knight Avenger possible next round

Comments are welcome.

Thanks to Biblofilter's success at Gencon I think Necromancer books will be seen a lot more frequently from now on.

Personally, I've always been only a half-hearted Necro player, like wanting to build a good book for him but usually being more occupied with building a book for another Mage.

I'd like to seize this opportunity provided by Biblofilter though to take his solid book, modify it slightly but importantly to my tastes to finally have a Necromancer book as well.

Biblo already mentioned losing a few key cards like Meditation Amulet, Cloak of Shadows etc could really hurt the book and I fully agree with that.

Biblo got away with running just one copy of those key spells because his book was "new an unknown" at the time of the Tournament and nobody knew how many copies he had in there.

But now that the cat is out of the bag, running just 1 Meditation Amulet could prove problematic if your opponent knows what's coming, just rushes you and takes your Amulet and/or Cloak out real fast.

So, therefore having back-ups for those spells, is necessary imo and it makes the book stronger and more reliable at the same time.

I tried to stay very focused in the choice of enchantments and attack spells, sticking to those who are most needed ( at least imo ) as I had to get the Spellpoints somewhere ...

Thanks Biblo for providing me with a Necromancer build I like.
EDITED 14/08/16

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname][/spellbookname]
[mage]Necromancer[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]2 x  Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]1 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a08]1 x  Geyser[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNJ04]1 x  Graveyard[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j11]1 x  Idol of Pestilence[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j19]1 x  Deathlock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNW02]3 x  Wall of Bones[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNC15]2 x  Skeletal Minion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c32]2 x  Skeletal Sentry[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC02]2 x  Deathfang[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC13]1 x  Skeletal Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC04]1 x  Grey Wraith[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFC02]1 x  Blood Demon[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e09]3 x  Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e14]2 x  Enfeeble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e27]2 x  Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e31]1 x  Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e25]2 x  Maim Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]2 x  Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE04]2 x  Enchantment Transfusion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNQ10]2 x  Meditation Amulet[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ01]2 x  Cloak of Shadows[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q06]2 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q19]2 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x  Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i07]4 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI03]2 x  Reassemble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]1 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]1 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

A numerous amount of posts has been made already about the Wizard being OP and what to do about it, but in the end there still are players who think he's ok as he is and nothing should be done about him.

So, I was wondering : who's right and who's not ?

Maybe we should simply compare the Wizard to a similar mage and see if we can glean any evidence from that comparison.

Let's compare the Wizard ... to the Forcemaster.

Here we go:

Exhibit 1 : Basic Stats :  120  32  0  10  vs 120  32  0  10

As you can see, at the core, these are identical mages which is exactly why it makes sense to compare them.

Exhibit 2 : Basic Melee Attack :  3  vs  3

Again, identical, perfect balance.

Exhibit 3 : Voltaric Shield  vs  Deflect

Both mages have an ability to reduce incoming damage.
The Voltaric Shield can steadily reduce 1-3 damage from the next damaging attack whereas the Deflect ability can potentially block more damage but only has a 50% chance of succeeding and can also be circumvented by unavoidable attacks.
So, it's 2 mana for a "lesser impact" but "more reliable" ability vs 1 mana for a "higher impact" but "less reliable" ability.
I can think of situations where both would be my ability of choice.
Overall : both abilities balance out vs each other.

Exhibit 4 : Arcane zap  vs  Force Pull

Again, two abilities which are very useful to have, not overpowered but very effective at what they do.
Again, I can think of situations where both would be my ability of choice.
Overall : both abilities balance out vs each other.

Up to this point, I think the Wizard and Forcemaster are as "even" as even can be.
Let's see if we can hold this up.

Exhibit 5 : Arcane  vs  Mind

Dispel, Seeking Dispel, Teleport, Nullify, Jinx, Mage Wand, Elemental Wand  vs  Force Push, Force Hammer

When it comes to "staples" or "often used cards" the advantage clearly goes to the arcane school.

Exhibit 6 : Air/Earth/Fire/Water  vs  nothing

This one doesn't need a lot of explaining. The Wizard now has his second significant advantage.

Exhibit 7 : no triple cost for anything  vs  triple cost for non-mind creatures

Considering how few mind creatures are available this is a huge sbp advantage for the Wizard.
Advantage nr 3.

Exhibit 8 : Gate to Voltari vs  nothing

Another huge advantage for the Wizard, considering the Gate is one of the best spawnpoints in the game.
If the Forcemaster wants to have a creature out, she has to summon them all herself.
Advantage nr 4

Exhibit 9 : Wizard's Tower  vs  nothing

The FM simply doesn't have an in-school Conjuration of that calibre.
The Wizard's tower is so overpowered it deserves its own comparison.
The [mwcard=FWJ02] Archer's Watchtower[/mwcard] is a simple "Outpost" but comes with the Zone Exclusive trait while the Wizard's Tower is a "Tower" and is not Zone Exclusive. I mean, you can even play a Wizard's Tower in the same zone as another player's Battle Forge or Lair or Barracks ... Incomprehensible.
Advantage nr 5

Exhibit 10 : Huginn, Raven Familiar  vs  Thoughtspore

This is the only situation where I like the Forcemaster's option better.
Being able to cast Attack spells on top of Incantations and having Spellbind is way better although Huginn is more versatile.
Unfortunately, the FM will have to spend a full action for every Spore he wants to bring into play.
Advantage score : 5 - 1

The comparison obviously doesn't have to stop there but I think the 10 exhibits mentioned above already provide enough "undisputable evidence" that the Wizard is not "in line" with the FM.

Conclusion :

I understand AW recognizes this situation and is trying to correct it by adding new cards to the mix that will deal with this situation.
Personally, I think the obvious, best and simplest solution however is to bring the Wizard and Wizard's Tower "in line" with the other mages, that way AW doesn't have to go out of their way creating cards which may have even more unforeseen effects on the game.
Why make it difficult when it can be simple ?

My suggestion, like many other people's suggestion :

- Make Wizard's Tower Epic
- x3 cost for non-trained elemental schools
- flesh out the non-arcane schools

Out with the old, in with the new.

The old Forcemaster strategy of coming in fast and hard, swinging Galvitar and Scimitar has seen better days.
Most players know how to handle that now.
Disarm her Galvitar, Dissolve the Scimitar, Dispel her Bear Strength and put an Agony on her and you have pretty much taken away her bite.

So, I wanted to design a new book for her, no longer focused on her as a melee fighter but rather as a finesse orchestrator who lets some choice creatures do the heavy lifting.
A strategy focused on her oft forgotten ability : Force Pull.

If you take a closer look at it you'll see that it is actually a very strong ability.
It would already be good at (1-1) range but at (1-2) range it is simply very powerful as this means that she can control the entire arena from within one of the centre zones.

Another aspect that makes this ability so good imo is the fact that it has so few counters.
Dissolve the enemy's ( likely single copy of ) Eagleclaw Boots and he probably has nothing else left to stop you from using it.
A Cloak of Shadows can reduce your range but not stop the use of it altogether.

And also, the fact that Force Pull is just a "Force" spell and not an incantation for instance means that it can get past a Nullify whereas Force Push and Teleport cannot.

All this to say, the FM can do something really tricky and powerful that no other mage can do and maybe this aspect of her has not been explored thoroughly enough yet.
Time to do so.

As I started playing opening after opening it was amazing to see how this continually led me to new cards and stronger openings.
I posted a spellbook named Slingshot here earlier but that book was simply the beginning.
It has evolved a lot since then and has, in my humble opinion at least, become a very fast and dangerous book.

The book now focuses on the excellent synergies between Force Pull, Teleport Trap, Spiked Pit, Astral Anchor, Tanglevine and Nullify.
But before we go into details about different openings, how these cards interact with each other and my reasons for including each card in the book let's take a look at the book first.

SPELLBOOK UPDATED 22/6/16

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Spiked Anchor[/spellbookname]
[mage]Forcemaster[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWA02]2 x  Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a11]2 x  Pillar of Light[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]2 x  Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNW02]2 x  Wall of Bones[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j22]1 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ10]1 x  Stranglevine[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c34]1 x  Steelclaw Grizzly[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC03]1 x  Devouring Jelly[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC16]1 x  Thoughtspore[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e38]2 x  Teleport Trap[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE05]2 x  Spiked Pit[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWBG1E01]2 x  Astral Anchor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01E02]2 x  Arcane Ward[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]1 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e16]1 x  Force Hold[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE07]1 x  Mind Control[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE05]1 x  Forcefield[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]1 x  Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e10]1 x  Decoy[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]1 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e05]1 x  Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]1 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWQ04]1 x  Galvitar, Force Blade[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ01]1 x  Dancing Scimitar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]3 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]2 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI09]1 x  Steal Equipment[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i26]1 x  Sleep[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI03]1 x  Disarm[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

Different openings :
Let's assume the enemy mage stays as far away as possible. ( ie in his starting corner )
If he comes closer that should just make things easier for the FM.

Fast aggro opening :

R1-20: Steelclaw Grizzly (3) - FD Astral Anchor in NC (1)
R2-11: Double move Grizzly to NC - double move FM to NC - Final QC FD Spiked Pit (9)
R3-19: move FM to FC - play FD Teleport Trap in zone adjacent to enemy mage (17) - QC Force Pull and draw enemy mage into Teleport Trap (16) - Trigger Trap and teleport mage into FD Spiked Pit (14) - Trigger Pit (9) - Attack with Grizzly.
Result : 11 dice + Stuck.

Controlled aggro opening :

R1-20: Steelclaw Grizzly (3) - FD Brace Yourself on FM (1)
R2-11: Double move Grizzly to NC - double move FM to NC - Final QC FD Astral Anchor (9)
R3-19: Guard with Grizzly - Devouring Jelly (6) - Final QC FD Spiked Pit (4)
R4-14: move FM to FC - play FD Teleport Trap in zone adjacent to enemy mage (12) - QC Force Pull and draw enemy mage into Teleport Trap (11) - Trigger Trap and teleport mage into FD Spiked Pit (9) - Trigger Pit (4) - Attack with Jelly - Attack with Grizzly - 4 mana left to turn Astral Anchor Face up if enemy mage tries to Teleport out on same round.
Result : 16 dice + possible corrode + Stuck.

Let's take a closer look at the enemy mages' options at that point and how the FM should anticipate.

The enemy mage is Stuck and anticipates that the FD enchantment is Astral Anchor.
How can he get out of there ?
First he will have to Seeking Dispel the FD Anchor.
Then he can Teleport out.
So he will need both actions to do it and it will have to be in that specific order because if he tries to Teleport right away during the first QC phase the FM will reveal the Anchor before the Teleport resolves and thus cause the Teleport to fizzle.

That means that even if the enemy mage has Initiative, I get my First QC phase before he can cast his second spell, so :
- enemy mage : Seeking Dispel Anchor
- FM : put Nullify on enemy mage
- enemy mage : teleport fizzles and he's still in the kill zone
- FM still has an action left to pull any Guard which could show up out of the kill zone so that the Jelly and Grizzly can hit again for 12 dice + corrode chance.

Even if the enemy mage does get out of the kill zone, no problem, play another Spiked Pit and Pull or Teleport Trap him back in.

What impressed me most while trying out all kinds of different situations is that every which way the enemy turns, it's impossible to get away from the FM and his Pulling and Teleporting tricks.
If the enemy mage stays in the kill zone, great.
If he gets out, it's just for a turn or so and he will likely be thrown into a new Spiked Pit next.

Something else I noticed is how "affordable" all these actions are in terms of mana spent.
Teleport Trap + pull is just 5 mana total to move a creature 3 zones.
Try that with Teleport and it costs you nearly double ( 9 mana )
That 10 channeling of the FM is really a boost considering he's not spending any upkeep costs ( early on ) in this strategy as opposed to a solo strategy. That's probably a hidden advantage in this strategy too.


Let's take a closer look at some of the cards now and why they're included :

Astral Anchor
Careful with this card. She's trickier than you might think. Yes, when the enemy mage is in that zone he cannot Teleport out of it, but when he gets out, you cannot teleport him back in either !
And that's one more reason Force Pull is so good.
While every other mage would need a spell with a Push effect like Force Push or Surging Wave all those spells cost sbp's, cost more mana and can either be countered ( Force Push ) or are not 100% reliable ( like Surging Wave ) while the FM is the only mage who can pull you back into a zone for no sbp's, just 1 mana and with 100% certainty ( if there are no Eagleclaw Boots to dissolve first etc of course )

Tanglevine, Force Hold, Stumble
I'm sure everybody will see the synergy between a Tanglevine and Astral Anchor.
Let the enemy mage spend his Teleports (unsuccesfully) first, then pull him back into the kill zone and when the Stuck counter wears off, replace it with a Tanglevine.

Force Hold can achieve the same result but has an expensive upkeep and is probably best used to neutralize a heavy hitter outside of his mage's Dispel range ( or behind a wall )
Teleport Trap can help you putting that creature there.

Stumble has its special uses as well and can be just as effective in holding a creature in place.

Enfeeble ( EDIT : removed from spellbook. Although a very strong card, sometimes becomes useless when enemy mage is pinned down anyway, so it becomes redundant and the 4 sbp's can be put to better use. )
In this book this is an absolute "must Dispel" card for the enemy mage.
Not only does it limit his movement, likely keeping him very close to the death zone and thus allowing me to get him back in it with just a Force Pull for 1 mana but it can also take away one of his actions if he decides to move.
Dispelling this means one less Dispel in his book and if he runs out of Dispels, how is he going to deal with Forcefield ?

Wall of Bones
The book's answer to Wizard's Tower. Put a Wall between the Tower and your kill zone and proceed as planned. The wall should hold at least a couple of rounds before giving in, if the mage is willing to pump mana into that effort, that is. When destroyed, simply play your second wall.

Cheetah Speed
A very important card.
Included primarily as a counter to Enfeeble. Being Enfeebled would obviously hurt this strategy big time. Instead of just dispelling it, it may be better to just leave the Enfeeble in place, as he might have multiple copies anyway.
Being Fast is obviously also a big advantage when playing a postioning game ( to be able to move two zones to a position from where you can Pull )
Another advantage is that you can stay far away at range three, move two, probe for a Nullify and Dissolve his Eagleclaw Boots all in one go

Decoy
This is my first book ever with a legitimate reason to include a Decoy.
Usually, a Decoy can be replaced by something better.
Of course it is a great card to probe for a Nullify and either exchange it as a 2 for 4 mana or if there's no nullify you're guaranteed to get your 2 mana back and you can leave the enchantment FD on the enemy mage until you need the mana and to play some mind games with him.
But the real reason this book needs at least one Decoy is because you need a way to instill some doubt in your opponent and make him hesitate before using his Seeking Dispel.
Without a Decoy he just knows that every FD enchantment is just a Spiked Pit or Astral Anchor especially when you have played each other a few times and you start to get to know each other's book. Decoy brings doubt and uncertainty.

Pillar of Light EDIT and UPDATE
Please see post #25 in this thread for more details on this spell's role in the book.

I could be wrong of course, but based on what I've learned from the book so far, I think this strategy looks very solid and could spell trouble even for the Wizard.
We'll see.

Thanks for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed it.

Is [mwcard=FWE01] Charm[/mwcard] destroyed when
1- the charmed creature takes poison damage from an enemy Poison Gas Cloud ?
2- the charmed creature is attacked by an enemy non-mage creature ?

The "controller" part is not entirely clear to me.
Does it refer to the mage specifically or also to creatures and effects controlled by that mage ?

Thanks.

I agree with the common idea that the Forcemaster doesn't handle well "being undressed"

When she goes solo you can really hinder her by Dispelling her Bear Strength, put an Agony on her, Dissolve the Dancing Scimitar etc.

It came to a point where I felt it was a real uphill battle with her against an opponent who knew what he was doing.

So, I figured it was time to shelve my old book and come up with a new one.
No longer solo but with some heavyweight assistance and the Forcemaster as orchestrator before finally taking up her Galvitar.

Steelclaw Grizzly, Devouring Jelly, Necropian Vampiress are all creatures that fit her well and have been discussed at length but one that I haven't seen mentioned with her yet is Cervere.

I didn't end up with him until after about 10 different opening tries but eventually I got to an opening which had me pretty excited.

I'll let you judge for yourself and hear what you have to say about it.

If possible, you should get initiative, so let's do that opening first.
Let's assume the opposing mage stays as far away from you as possible, thus in his starting corner.

R1-20: Cervere (5) + FD Lion's Savagery on C. (3)
R2-13: FM double moves to NC + Force Pull Cervere (12) + Cervere moves to FC and Guards
R3-22: QC Brace Yourself on FM (20) + Cervere attacks and reveals LS (17) + Steelclaw Grizzly (0)
R4-10 : Cervere attacks + Move FM to FC and Force Pull Grizzly to FC (9) + QC Cheetah Speed on Grizzly (4) + Attack with Fast Grizzly
R5-14 : QC Forcefield on FM (2) + ...

So, ( in theory ) at the end of R4 the opposing mage has a Grizzly and Cervere on his back and has been hit with 17 dice already.
The FM is willing to take some hits early on because at the start of R5 it's possible to put out a Forcefield.

It's still untested but the build up certainly seems "potent" to me.

In case I lose initiative I would open with

R1-20: Thoughtspore (12) + FD Brace Yourself on Spore (10)
Then proceed like above.

Possible spells on Spore :
- Minor Heal : pretty good choice imo in a damage race not to mention the Spore can keep himself healthy as well and stay in the back and accumulate mana until the time comes to move forward.
- Teleport : arguably best choice vs Druid
- Disarm : Disarming opponent's Galvitar ... or wand
- Acid Ball : no explanation required, I guess
- Surging Wave : probably best vs Wizard
- etc

Can't wait to try it out.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname][/spellbookname]
[mage]Forcemaster[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA02]2 x  Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]2 x  Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j22]2 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNW02]1 x  Wall of Bones[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1w01]1 x  Fog Bank[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c07]1 x  Cervere, The Forest Shadow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c34]1 x  Steelclaw Grizzly[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC16]1 x  Thoughtspore[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e01]3 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]2 x  Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e28]2 x  Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]2 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e05]1 x  Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e16]1 x  Force Hold[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE05]1 x  Forcefield[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e23]1 x  Jinx[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE06]1 x  Lion Savagery[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e25]1 x  Maim Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x  Rust[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWQ04]1 x  Galvitar, Force Blade[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ01]1 x  Dancing Scimitar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ09]1 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i06]2 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]2 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i14]1 x  Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i17]1 x  Minor Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i15]1 x  Knockdown[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i19]1 x  Piercing Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i20]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI03]1 x  Disarm[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

This is my updated Adramelech Warlock build.

Originally this was a pure aggro firethrower build looking to finish the game in as few as possible rounds but it has evolved over time to being able to be played as a DOT build as well, so that probably qualifies the book as a "midrange" spellbook now.

I find that I usually try to incorporate a possible aggressive opening in my spellbooks, just so I have that option should the situation be fit for it but I don't want that to be my only strategy. I often consider it too risky so I need something more solid to fall back onto.

I think I've managed that with this build.

I can still open with Akiro's Favor and Hawkeye and double Fireball something on R2 but I might just as well go Battle Forge + Mana Crystal on R1 when going up vs a 10-channeling mage for example and take a more cautious approach, playing patiently and mana conserving to set up my Fireballs/Flameblasts to be fired at the right time.

I've just recently trimmed down my assortment of Curses to leave just the essential ones and incorporated an Ignite strategy which allows me to play a damage-over-time strategy as well.
Ignites are very cheap ( 2 mana ) allowing me to conserve mana for the fire spells and their damage can really mound up over the rounds with Adramelech's Touch in play.

As long as there's an enemy creature in the enemy mage's zone I can target that Creature with the Ignite, followed by the Warlocks Fireweaving ability to move the burn token onto the enemy Mage.
When facing a solo mage I can cast a Darfenne Bat to Ignite and move the burn marker off.
The Bat's potential to put Rots on the enemy mage is extra DOT potential.

Bottomline : the DOT strategy is to be used to force the opposing mage's hand and to set up openings to fire the Fireballs/Flameblasts.

As always, reactions and input are welcome.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]FireLock[/spellbookname]
[mage]Adramelech Warlock[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1a06]6 x  Flameblast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a04]4 x  Fireball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a12]1 x  Ring of Fire[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFA02]1 x  Hurl Rock[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j04]1 x  Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j12]1 x  Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j22]1 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNW02]1 x  Wall of Bones[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j19]1 x  Deathlock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j16]1 x  Mordok's Obelisk[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c08]1 x  Darkfenne Bat[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e14]3 x  Enfeeble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e09]3 x  Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE01]2 x  Adramelech's Touch[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]2 x  Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x  Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e21]1 x  Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x  Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e31]1 x  Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e28]1 x  Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q10]1 x  Fireshaper Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q28]1 x  Ring of Curses[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q08]1 x  Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q19]1 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ09]1 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ01]1 x  Cloak of Shadows[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q23]1 x  Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x  Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI05]6 x  Ignite[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI03]3 x  Disarm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]1 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]1 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI08]1 x  Sniper Shot[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]