Multiplayer Domination: Beastmaster

[iNano78]

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Aerial Dominance[/spellbookname]
[mage]Straywood Beastmaster[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWA02]1 x  Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A09]1 x  Jet Stream[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]1 x  Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNW01]2 x  Bloodspine Wall[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ03]1 x  Etherian Lifetree[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j10]1 x  Lair[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j15]1 x  Mohktari, Great Tree of Life[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWJ08]1 x  Renewing Spring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j22]3 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j03]1 x  Tooth & Nail[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFW01]2 x  Wall of Earth[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c04]2 x  Bitterwood Fox[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c07]1 x  Cervere, The Forest Shadow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c20]1 x  Highland Unicorn[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Lowland Unicorn[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWBG1C02]1 x  Oscuda[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Ridgeback Skunk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c33]1 x  Sosruko, Ferret Companion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC16]1 x  Spitting Raptor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c36]1 x  Tarok, the Skyhunter[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Tarraki, Thousand Bites[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c37]6 x  Thunderift Falcon[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Wychwood Faerie[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]3 x  Badger Frenzy[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]1 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e13]1 x  Eagle Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Gator Toughness[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Giant Size[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E20]1 x  Harmonize[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Joined Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e28]1 x  Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Panther Stealth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Iguana Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWBG1E03]2 x  Sentinel of V'Tar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Tangleroot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Wolf Fury[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q25]1 x  Ring of Beasts[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q09]1 x  Enchanter's Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q19]1 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Packleader's Cowl[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1I02]1 x  Battle Fury[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I03]1 x  Call of the Wild[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Crumble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Disperse[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I12]1 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI04]1 x  Force Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i13]1 x  Group Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Group Mend[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i23]2 x  Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I28]1 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

Here's a pretty straightforward Beastmaster book for multiplayer Domination.  The idea is to use efficient  fast/elusive creatures to grab an orb quickly and steal orbs from your opponents.  Probably open with Lair + Ring of Beasts or Wychwood Faerie or Harmonize->Lair, then start popping out a couple Falcons per round while attacking the nearest Sslak.  But there are lots of options available.

There are way more creatures, enchantments and zone-exclusive conjurations than necessary here, mainly because I'm trying things out to see what works and what doesn't.  For instance:

Is Oscuda's strong melee attack and disruptive zone attack worth his cost? How about his cousin, the Ridgeback Skunk? How annoying can Sosruko's "Taunt" be in Domination?

Similarly with all the healing/regen cards:  Is Renewing Spring too costly in terms of (wasted) actions to be useful in Domination?  Is Mohktari too restrictive?  Would I be better off with a Raincloud's mobility? Or is a Highland Unicorn the way to go? Only one way to find out: Put it in play and see what happens!

Creatures, enchantments and conjurations that get cut will likely be replaced by more copies of key incantations and attack spells, which I'm a little light on.  Changes will be noted as this book gets revised.

* This is part of a series of spell books designed for Free-for-all Multiplayer Domination.  The main discussion can be found here. *

[Brian VanAlstyne]

What is a Lowland Unicorn?

[iNano78]

What is a Lowland Unicorn?

It's from Academy Priestess. 

Animal, Horse subtypes.  6 mana, level 2 Holy, 1 armor, 7 life, 2-dice quick-action melee attack.  During the Upkeep Phase, you may heal a living creature in this zone 1 damage.
(which can stack with Regenerate since it isn't technically regenerating via the Unicorn)

It isn't a heavy hitter, but passive healing on something that can slap (or chump guard) an orb for just 6 mana that can be summoned from Lair is pretty decent.

[iNano78]

Ran it last night in a 3-way using the map with "Hidden Tunnels" in the rule book (11 V'tar goal).  Pulled out a win in 7 rounds against a Druid who was unfamiliar with his book and hasn't played in a while, and an Adramelech Warlock running Adramelech himself in an attempt to kill both opposing mages. Not sure it was a true test of the Beastmaster book, but I learned a few things.  Here are some notes:

- Wychwood Faerie is my new best friend.  4 mana quick-cast got me a "discount ring" and tapped 2 orbs during the match before succumbing to a Firestorm.  Pretty sweet deal!

- Tarraki was summoned by a Harmonized Lair for just 2 mana from my mage.  He dodged 2 attacks and stole an orb!  Cheap elusive creatures are crazy good in this format.

- When a Warlock and the Father of Demons are pounding away at you, take the healing instead of the mana (from your orbs)!

Rough play-by-play:

1 - Opened with Lair in the obscured zone, then moved and summoned Wychwood Faerie in that zone.

2 - I quickcast a discounted Joined Strength face-down on a Pet Falcon that was spawned by the Lair, and put on a Packleader's Cowl (which turned out to be little more than an overpriced Leather Chausses in this match) because I didn't like the look that the Warlock's was giving me.

3 - Spawned another Falcon. Beastmaster moved and attacking the nearest Sslak (zone with the tunnel), then Pet Falcon followed and finished off the Sslak.  Wychwood Faeirie swooped in and slapped the Orb for +2 mana, and Beastmaster quick-cast a discounted Harmonize on the Lair. Thus, scored the 1st V'tar (and +1 mana) to take the early lead.

4 - Lair spawned Tarok, Sky Hunter to deal with Adramelech and I quick-cast a discounted facedown Wolf Fury on him, but my Lair's zone got Firestormed and both Tarok and the fresh Falcon took a pile of damage and 2 burns each.  Then I basically repeated the previous turn by moving through the hidden tunnel to engage the next Sslak with mage followed by Pet. Wychwood Faerie slapped her second orb (+2 mana). Adramelech got pushed towards me, then moved and hit my Pet Falcon (but rolled poorly, plus Joined Strength transferred a damage to my mage). Burn from Adramelech went away during upkeep. I scored V'tar #2-3 and got another +2 mana.  Druid gained his first V'tar.

5 - Lair Spawned Tarraki, Thousand Bites, and I quickcast Etherian Lifetree to boost the lifespans of my creatures (e.g. indirectly healing Tarok). At this point, the Warlock Firestormed my zone, killing my Faerie despite having +2 life, and Adramelech dealt more damage to my mage + Pet (+ damage transfer via Joined Strength).  Then the heavily damaged Tarok swooped into the middle zone and tapped an unguarded orb (the Druid's creatures had taken out the Usslak and didn't have enough actions to grab both orbs).  +2 healin!  ... after which Tarok was killed by a Vinesnatcher... so that was all he accomplished in his short life (and Wolf Fury was never revealed).  But I managed to hold down 3 orbs that round and scored V'tar #4-6 and healed an additional 3 (as I could tell where this was headed), while my non-Pet Falcon died from Burns.  Druid got to 3 V'tar.

6 - Lair didn't spawn.  I planned Group Heal (for my Pet + mage) with Rhino Hide as a back-up and opted not to use my opening quick-cast.  But the Warlock had initiative and made a Sweeping attack with Adramelech immediately followed by a quick-cast Fireball at my Pet, finishing it off.  No one to transfer the Joined Strength to, so it disappeared into oblivion.  My mage Guarded and quick-cast the Rhino Hide on himself face-down to save mana for next round.  Meanwhile, I lost the central orb to the Druid's forces, but Tarraki took an orb away from the Druid (making in neutral) on the final action of the round.  Still, I managed to keep the two orbs in the tunnel zones, scoring V'tar #7-8 and healing 2.  Druid was at 5 V'tar.

7 - Lair then summoned my big gun: Cervere, Forest Shadow!  With initiative, my mage used his opening quick-cast to Teleport Adramelech as far away as possible, which turned out to be into a zone containing the Druid's fresh Tarok that he'd summoned the previous round (!). While Tarok and Adramelech exchanged blows (which Tarok dodged), my mage Guarded and Tarraki managed to steal an orb from the Druid (on a bit of a misplay, as the Druid's plant creature should have tapped a neutral orb instead of Guarding it).  That secured V'tar #9-11 for the win!
(Even if the Druid hadn't misplayed, Cervere + Tarraki were pretty much guaranteed to keep at least 1 and more likely 2 orbs for me in round 8, and I was at 17 damage against 38 life thanks to Etherian Lifetree, and planned a healing spell + Gator Toughness, and still had a face-down Rhino Hide in addition to my Cowl (e.g. 3 armor), so I nearly certainly have won next round anyway)

I really do love Multiplayer Domination!!   

[aridigas]

I'm afraid you can't move and summon Wychwood Faerie in the same turn. But as both could have moved the next turn, no harm was done.
Other than that, sounds like a cool game. Taking on 2 oponents, going for the kill seems though

[iNano78]

I'm afraid you can't move and summon Wychwood Faerie in the same turn. But as both could have moved the next turn, no harm was done.
Other than that, sounds like a cool game. Taking on 2 oponents, going for the kill seems though

Doh!  You're right.  Faerie isn't an "animal."  But as you mentioned, wouldn't have changed anything if I summoned the Faerie in the starting zone and they moved into the obscured zone on round 2, since neither moved nor took a full-action in round 2.

As an aside, I had Rouse the Beast prepped when the second Falcon was summoned, but it wasn't needed because the Beastmaster + Pet were enough to kill the first Sslak, so I tossed Harmonize on the Lair instead.  And in a later round when Adramelech wailing away on me, I had Lowland Unicorn prepped and planned to summon and then use Packleader's Cowl to make it Guard (and then heal my mage or Pet for 1 during upkeep), but I was either pressed for mana or could just guard with my Beastmaster, so I never got it out.  But I'd like to try the unicorns another time.  I think they'd be particularly effective in a 1-on-1 Domination match since they provide some insurance against mage death, which is a more viable opposing strategy in that format.

[iNano78]

Here is an update with some cards from PvS and Lost Grimoire v1.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Aerial Dominance v2.0[/spellbookname]
[mage]Straywood Beastmaster[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1A09]1 x  Jet Stream[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Swell[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWBG1A06]1 x  Windstorm[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNW01]2 x  Bloodspine Wall[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Elephant Grass[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ03]1 x  Etherian Lifetree[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j10]1 x  Lair[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Meredia's Blessing[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j15]1 x  Mohktari, Great Tree of Life[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j22]3 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j03]1 x  Tooth & Nail[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFW01]2 x  Wall of Earth[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c07]1 x  Cervere, The Forest Shadow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Kumanjaran Leopard[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Lowland Unicorn[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Mountain Ram[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Rajah, Jungle's Talon[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Shoalsdeep Crocodile[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Slavörg, Fang of the First Moon[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c33]1 x  Sosruko, Ferret Companion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC16]1 x  Spitting Raptor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c36]1 x  Tarok, the Skyhunter[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Tarraki, Thousand Bites[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c37]6 x  Thunderift Falcon[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Wychwood Faerie[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]3 x  Badger Frenzy[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]1 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e13]1 x  Eagle Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Gator Toughness[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Giant Size[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E20]1 x  Harmonize[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Joined Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Panther Stealth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWBG1E03]2 x  Sentinel of V'Tar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Tangleroot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Wolf Fury[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q25]1 x  Ring of Beasts[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q19]1 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Packleader's Cowl[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1I03]1 x  Call of the Wild[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Crumble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Disperse[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I12]1 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI04]1 x  Force Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i13]1 x  Group Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Mending Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i23]2 x  Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I28]1 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

I'm considering adding Raincloud to deal with some protection from Corrodes and Burns, including those from Domination terrain. But I don't like that it helps living enemy creatures as well.

* This is part of a series of spell books designed for Free-for-all Multiplayer Domination.  The main discussion can be found here. *