Tournament Report: HoshiCon

[silverclawgrizzly]

HoshiCon is a nice anime convention here in Charlotte NC. I took some pictures I'll try to put up later. We were raising money for Time Out Youth which is a LGBT Youth group in North Carolina. We had 8 Mage Warriors in attendance.

Silverclawgrizzly: My remade Straywood Beast Master now with more Dispel and options but without Purge Magic.

DrMambo23: Driving up from Greenville SC(bout an hour and a half drive) my friend brought a Zombie Necromancer for his first tournament.

Jimillia: The ever present Skeleton Necromancer came ready to cement her claim as the top Dark Mage in Charlotte.

Jay: The young aggressive Araxian Warlock who's insane with the rush and curse game. 70% offence and 30% defense he calls it.

Logan: Also from Greenville SC this new player brought a Johktari Beast Master focusing on the Hunting Bow.

DevilsVendetta: The man I fought two days ago with his revamped Priestess with new Academy cards. Charlottes sole Holy Mage.

Sarah: Our remaining Force Master now that TrentMagnus is in Europe. Sarah's won several tournaments in the past with her rush style.

Larrick: The man focuses on Warlord but he brought his Druid today and refined her since our Domination tournament. Leaner and meaner Larrick made good use of the little butterfly to give mana to his tree and draw fire.

ROUND 1:

DevilsVendetta VS Silverclawgrizzly: So two days ago we had a close hard fought battle where I barely got the win due to time limit and life remaining. An epic battle that could have gone either way. But that was two days ago, today I rushed in way to hard and way to fast and got the living crap kicked out of me and literally could not retreat fast enough. Though I did finally manage to kill that stupid enduring paladin I forgot Aurora ignores Guards from minor creatures and that cashed in the pain bill for me and gave Devil the win.

Sarah VS Jimillia: Nobody wants to face that Necromancer in Round 1 and Sarah went into it hungry and tired. Jimillia made short work of her I'm afraid and coasted to the fastest win of the day. I understand some dice went against Sarah and Jimillia was in no mood to go easy on her friend and female mage. When the Necromancer is out for blood then you'd best get out the way.

DrMambo23 VS Larrick: Druid VS Necromancer fights are becoming very common in Charlotte as Nature tries to fight back the darkness. This match went to time as both players seemed to be feeling each other out. I didn't see much of it but I saw Larrick take the win on time in the end.

Jay VS Logan: Jay brought the pain train early on. A solo build he uses Modoks Obelisk to distract creature based books while he lays down heavy curses and fire. At first when I looked at this it looked like Logan was coasting to an easy win as Jay was horrible hurt with no real damage on the Johktari. But the tide turned when Jay used his second Drain Soul and even though the Taints were all Purified later the momentum was all Jay the rest of the match and he eventually chased down and killed Logans Beast Master.

ROUND 2:

DevilsVendetta VS Larrick: Two meticulous players who plan well in advance most games. This game was well paced with both mages getting a number of solid creatures out. It went to time and when the life was counted Devil had a 3 life lead and took his 2nd win. A fortunate Divine Intervention saved him from a hoard of hungry plants and it looked like Larrick was just out of ways to hurt him. In the end Larrick played a strong defense late game but was seemingly losing ground slowly but surely. The Devil will wear you down if you let em.

Jay VS Jimillia: Dark Mages collide!!! Going in at a disadvantage since his beloved poison tactics were useless against the Necromancer Jay decided to try and just out muscle the Necromancer. However many of us have learned from painful experience that Millie will take a heap of punishment before breaking and her creatures are capable bringing all kinds of hurt. Faced with his usual Ghoul Rot and Drain Soul turned against him Jay used his Purify he carries for "In case of Millie" emergencies but it just wasn't enough. I've a feeling a fight for Necromancer supremacy between the Dark lady and JasonBourneZombie is inevitable.

Silverclawgrizzly VS Logan: Straywood VS Johktari! This match was so much fun. I cast two Rajan Fury totems and told Logan we were gonna have some fun. We both started with fairly standard BM tactics going for our Lairs on turn one(and putting them adjacent even.) I went for my Enchanters Ring while Logan went for early Leather Gloves. We both brought out some Falcons though Logan got a Timber Wolf out first. Logan is a new player and I've been around the Nature block a few times you could say. He played very well but was put on the defensive too early. I got the win and a new hatred for Ranjan Jungles Talon(he's been out my book for months and he took offense by doing something like 18 damage to me over the game.) I hope to see Logan again at events and see what new strategies he's come up with. We both agree on one thing: Necromancers are an abomination!

Sarah VS DrMambo23: Speaking of Sarah was delighted to get to fight two in a row! Much as I'm delighted to pay my bills every month I'm sure. Sarah recovered a fair bit from her first lost and brought the fight to Mambo I'm told. The fight went back and forth fiercely from what I saw. When the match was over I heard Sarah say "I got one less than what I needed, he got exactly what he needed." Turns out she'd made an easy mistake and dodged the wrong zombie forgetting that a nastier one was waiting to do some damage and it did exactly the amount needed to kill her. Mambo stated afterwards that it could easily have gone the other way and both players agreed it was a highly enjoyable match.

ROUND 3:

Due to unforseen circumstances DrMambo23 and Logan had to depart the tournament earlier than planned as they were needed back in South Carolina. We had a great time hosting these guys and sincerely hope to see them at future events.

DevilsVendetta VS Jimillia: HOLY VS DARK FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! These two have fought with their respected mages several times, it has almost always ended with the Necromancer reigning supreme. Millie is a proven Holy killer having defeated a former Mace Champion Priestess and every attempt I've ever made at a Holy Mage. She's a stone cold killer who can predict her opponents with uncanny accuracy. Devil however has been playing with a new found level of brilliance and inspiration. He generally down plays just how good he actually is. He's won several matches on OCTGN and earned no small measure of respect doing it. It looked very dark for him however with Taint markers, low life, and a Deathlock preventing him from healing. However Purify can still remove Taint and the damage brought on by them. This gave Devil new strength and broke Millies concentration long enough for DevilsVendetta to rally and win his first major Mage Wars Tournament!!!!!

Jay VS Silverclawgrizzly: I've been wanting to fight Jay for a while now. We've not had time for a casual game and have dodged each other in tournament play lately. Last time we fought he lost the ill advised "Holy Warlock" bet twice. He came wanting revenge this time and I'm sorry to say he got it. I should have NEVER taken Purge Magic out of my book as even a Mage Wand with Dispel can't get the hate off fast enough. Early cursing while building up his attack let him hit me with a one/two assault I just wasn't ready for. He killed a Pet Falcon and a Pet Tegu(I did get a Rot off though) and finished the game by saving his mana to the point he was able to reveal Cheetah Speed and Mongoose agility to chase me down and hit me with TWO DRAIN SOULS at once!!!! Holy crap life sucks when that happens and I truly hope I gave him indigestion.

Larrick VS Sarah: I watched little of this match and though I don't know a lot of details I do know Larrick picked up the win off the Force Master. Sarah was a trooper for playing but got little sleep last night and missed breakfast I'm sorry to say. After a hard day of demos yesterday she just didn't have the energy to fight at her normal level.

Overall a great tournament. I want to thank DrMambo23 and Logan for making the trip up and I along with the rest of the Charlotte Mage Warriors congratulate out HoshiCon Champion: DevilsVendetta!!!!!!

[Reddicediaries]

Great Report, are you going to post your book and strat?

[drmambo23]

It was a blast. I cant wait to come back for another tournament and stay for the whole thing lol.

The book i used for this event is in the link below

http://forum.arcanewonders.com/index.php?topic=16943.0

[silverclawgrizzly]

Great Report, are you going to post your book and strat?

It's more like "In the wake of my local community developing stronger tactics I'm going to give new in depth thought on my book and strategy and eventually post my latest attempt to keep pace." I'll say this though Purge Magics going right back in my book or maybe Remove Curse.

[Reddicediaries]

No worries!

[Brian VanAlstyne]

Here's the deck I used:

Equipment - 14
Resplendent Bow - 1 1 1
Eagleclaw Boots - 1 2 2
Sunfire Amulet - 1 3 3
Regrowth Belt - 1 2 2
Mage Wand - 1 4 4
Asyran Robes - 1 1 1
Crown of Protection - 1 1 1

Conjurations - 13
Altar of Iron Guard - 1 2 2
Mana Crystal - 2 2 4
Renewing Spring - 1 3 3
Hand of Bim-Shalla - 1 1 1
Temple of Asyra - 1 3 3

Creatures - 43
Ehren, Enduring Paladin - 1 3 3
Guardian Angel - 3 3 9
Temple Sharpshooter - 2 2 4
Asyran Cleric - 2 1 2
Knight of Westlock - 1 3 3
Disciple of Radiance - 3 1 3
Meditating Monk - 1 1 1
Aurora Lucere, Dawnbreaker's Chosen - 1 3 3
Broken Wing Angel - 1 2 2
Brogan Bloodstone - 1 4 4
Messenger of Bim-Shalla - 1 2 2
White Cloak Knight - 2 2 4
Royal Archer - 1 3 3

Enchantments - 21
Blessed Focus - 2 1 2
Glancing Blow - 1 1 1
Circle of Protection - 1 2 2
Divine Reversal - 1 1 1
Aysra's Touch - 2 1 2
Mongoose Agility - 1 2 2
Healing Charm - 2 1 2
Brace Yourself - 2 1 2
Life Link - 1 1 1
Divine Intervention - 1 3 3
Harmonize - 1 2 2
Restore - 1 1 1

Incantations - 17
Remove Curse - 1 1 1
Cure - 1 1 1
Group Heal - 1 2 2
Dissolve - 2 2 4
Minor Heal - 3 1 3
Rouse the Beast - 1 2 2
Heal - 1 2 2
Dispel - 1 2 2

Attack - 12
Flameblast - 1 2 2
Force Hammer - 1 4 4
Acid Ball - 1 2 2
Hurl Boulder - 1 4 4


My main start and it worked all three rounds was the following:
Rd 1 (20) - Crystal & either Asyran Cleric or Disciple of Radiance
Rd 2 (21) - Temple & another cleric or Disciple
Rd 3 (17) - Deploy Ehren, Harmonize Temple, and summon Broken Wing Angel to begin the healing on Ehren.
Rd 4 (15) - Deploy Sharpshooter or White Cloak, and then my casting depended on how well Ehren got healed but I either brought out the Renewing Spring or Hand of Bim-Shalla and then

And then I probably started enchanting things with Blessed Focus or brought out the Crown and armoring creatures up to do two things, help them out and save mana so I can start bringing out the bigger guns from the Temple (Brogan, Guardian Angel, Archer, Aurora, etc).

Against the Druid in my 2nd match, Ehren got only one 1 healing from the Broken Wing Angel and then only 2 from the Renewing Spring so I had a backup plan there and it seemingly worked since I also knew it'd be a long match that came down to life...I threw a life link on Ehren and then put on a Regrowth Belt and Sunfire Amulet which healed him, healed myself, and started growing my life as well.

Against the Necro in the finals, I thought I was done. I was down to 4 remaining life, there was a Deathlock on the board but the Necro was only at one remaining life but I had Enfeeble on me and the Necro was 2 zones away and the only action I had left was my own. I knew a Drain Soul was coming if I couldn't figure something out and then I remembered something I ALWAYS forget. Restore. I removed the Tainted from a previous Drain Soul and got me those 6 life back and then I had enough creatures that I was able to swarm towards the Necro in the next round while keeping myself protected from ranged attacks with a Guardian Angel.

If anyone wants anymore specifics, let me know.

[silverclawgrizzly]

One thing I plan to do is to start using the remove curse I mentioned earlier. I'm also looking at ways to increase my defenses and perhaps even some anti- swarm.

[Reddicediaries]

One thing I plan to do is to start using the remove curse I mentioned earlier. I'm also looking at ways to increase my defenses and perhaps even some anti- swarm.

From what you you said on the magecast your book is pretty sweet. Well balanced and able to deal with a variety of threats.

[Reddicediaries]

Silverclaw, how often do you run tourements? Just curious.

[silverclawgrizzly]

My book is fairly well balanced and in fact I've beaten both Devil and Jay with it against their primary mages. But I redid it recently to try something new and failed to anticipate changes in other books. I'm a good player with a strong book but it just wasn't my day.

Charlotte has on average two tournaments a month. I normally play with JasonBourneZombie judging. I won the last two with Jimillia, Sarah, and Devil bring regular winners among others not at this event. I'm also the Gen Con lead judge.

[Brian VanAlstyne]

Yea, I'll admit I was surprised not to see the Kinship book that wrecked me the last time we played.

[Reddicediaries]

If you care to share what's the decks theme/ opening. All competitors are welcome.

[silverclawgrizzly]

I'll post the book when I've more time but the theme is fairly flexible.

I normally start with an Enchanters Ring followed by step and Lair in beat corner.

Turn 2 lately has been deploy falcon then Mana Flower and normally Beat Strength with a step.

After that I normally get out either another falcon or Timber Wolf on Turn 3 while continuing to buff myself.

The idea is with just a single Rajah Fury I can make my creatures scary enough to focus on while I grow stronger myself. It's a combo swarm/super mage but can very easily bring out bigger guns when needed. It's been working amazingly well for me my entire MW career honestly but even the best laid plans can go awry.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Yea, I'll admit I was surprised not to see the Kinship book that wrecked me the last time we played.

Last time we fought I used this same book but barely won as you know. The strength of your book that night made me want to strike hard and fast at HoshiCon and I underestimated your resolve and defense. You played very well and took full advantage of course. Still fun match I enjoyed immensely. I can promise I won't make the same mistake at Mace lol.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Here is my book:

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]HoshiCon Beast Master[/spellbookname]
[mage]Beastmaster[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA02]1 x  Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFA02]2 x  Hurl Rock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a08]1 x  Geyser[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j10]1 x  Lair[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j13]2 x  Mana Flower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J01]2 x  Rajan's Fury[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j22]3 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1w04]1 x  Wall of Thorns[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c07]1 x  Cervere, The Forest Shadow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c12]1 x  Emerald Tegu[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c13]1 x  Fellella, Pixie Familiar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c34]1 x  Steelclaw Grizzly[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c37]4 x  Thunderift Falcon[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c38]2 x  Timber Wolf[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x  Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e21]1 x  Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]3 x  Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]2 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e05]1 x  Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]1 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]1 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE06]2 x  Lion Savagery[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e28]1 x  Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]2 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWBG1E01]1 x  Astral Anchor[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x  Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q02]1 x  Bearskin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q19]1 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q09]1 x  Enchanter's Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q23]2 x  Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q18]1 x  Mage Staff[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i28]1 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i17]2 x  Minor Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i20]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]2 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i03]1 x  Call of the Wild[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i23]2 x  Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 108 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

Other 12 points were:

Wolf Fury
Tangle Root X2
Badger Frenzy
Iguana regrowth
Slavorg
Leather Pants
Pack Leaders Cowl

It's got good mobility, good offense, and decent defensive capabilities. I recently before the tournament shifted around about 6 points and didn't fix it back. It didn't prove a huge problem against Devil as I made my own mistakes there but against Jay I really missed that Purge Magic.