When is the best time to summon Redclaw?

[webcatcher]

What it says in the subject header - I'd like to use Redclaw to buff my canines, but am not sure when to summon him. Conventional wisdom says to summon Big Bads during the early turns, but Redclaw's Alpha Male trait doesn't help on turn 1, and he'll have a bullseye painted on his chest as your opponent tries to deal with him before the Bitterwood swarm or Timberwolves make their appearance. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'll have the mana available in the mid- to late-game for a big summon.

[DeckBuilder]

Caveat: I've only tried Redclaw "Dog Swarm" once so I'm not best qualified, others will have better insights
Like many factors in MW, it depends on your enemy mage and if you know opponent's strategy preference


If you definitely know opponent isn't playing Control (e.g. Obelisk, Orb, Idol), I would suggest turn 2 like...
"Basic" Dog Swarm Opening
(19) Beast Ring (17) Wolf Pet (6) - cheap threat, can also guard RedClaw
(15) Red Claw (0)
(9) Move 1 Fox (5) Fox (0)
(9) Move 1 Fox (5) Fox (0)
(9) Move 1 Fox (5) Fox (0)
My reasoning is Redclaw lacks Fast so should come out early, he's your vanguard leading your Fast Foxes
(In reality, you will need to alter your play to react to enemy plays; it rarely ever pans out like the plan above)
This opening should be strong against Super Aggro when enemy is spending action resource closing you


There's a slower version that protects Redclaw which goes...
Sprint to NC, Battle Forge (NC or FC dependent on match-up)
(Beast Ring) Redclaw + Final QC Harmonize Forge
(Enchanter's Ring), move 1 + buff on Redclaw + Final QC Fox
repeat, bringing out Wolf Pet instead at an opportune moment
Ideal method uses Moonglow (Forge) + 2 Harmonize (Ring) for Mid Range Channeling with Aggro
For an example of this build, there is a Beastmaster Aggro-Tempo build in the Spellbooks section
It doesn't have Redclaw but it uses Forge + Beast Ring + Enchanter's Ring as its "Tempo Engine"
You can easily rebuild it for a Dog Swarm build (the disadvantage is you'll lack a creature toolbox)


And then if you are playing against Control, you avoid Swarm and instead go for Mid Range Mid Size with...
Flowers, Lair (NC/FC), Wolf Pet then 1 Wolf a turn (make Lair pay off), insert Redclaw when first affordable
Or something like that (I haven't done the maths to see how it pans out, I've never liked Lair for Straywood)
The reason why I'm so unsure of this path is because Redclaw is by definition a Swarm strategy "general"
And a Swarm is not the best way to play against Control (but neither is putting too many eggs in 1 basket)
This thread is not about different play styles against different strategies (that deserves another big article)
Mid Range Flowers + Lair + Wolves + Redclaw may work best if you insist on playing Redclaw vs. Control


Unfortunately, there really is no one definitive answer to your question
If there was, Mage Wars would not be the deep strategic game that it is

[Zuberi]

How do you achieve the movement and double summon in the same round? The Quick Summon ability is only usable once per round.

[DeckBuilder]

How do you achieve the movement and double summon in the same round? The Quick Summon ability is only usable once per round.

Good point! Doh. Got confused with the Rajan's build. Should have checked fully before posting.
Damn you, Zuberi, and your eagle eyes...
(I'm going to Edit my reply now)