Best opening for: Anvil Throne Warlord
(I'll try to keep this this forum updated from your feedback and openings)
The Dwarf warlord has some interesting traits / ability that seem to often be over looked. (I won't go over the Ruins since they are pretty easy to understand).
The passive trait for "Tough -2" can really undercut condition inflicting decks (decks focusing on burn, stagger, daze, corrode, etc.) If you want to go total condition denial then you could equip "Colossus Belt", and a chest plate (fire, lighning, corrode, water, ect), with all three equiped you would have tough -6 to -7 against a specal atk (lighting, fire, ect) and tough -4 to everything else.
Battle Orders:
-Take Aim: Pic +2 to range atks from soldiers in your zone. Great for a Goblin Alchemist/Goblin Slinger swarm, but since most warlord decks focus more on melee its uses are limited.
-Quick March: Soldiers in zone gain Fast until end of turn. It is a great command if the enemy creature/mage can't run out of range, I tend to tanglevine then rush in trolls, great for unexpected ambushes. unfortunately the Iron golems are not soldiers so it don't effect them.
-Hold the Line!: +1 armor -2 tough for soldiers in zone until end of round. Good ability for Orc Butcher, Goblin Alchemist, anything that has low armor would benefit from this command.
Battle Forge *Classic Battle Forge
(most common turn 1, from there it depends on the deck style you are running).
T1 (19): Battle Forge -8, Mana Flower -5,
T2 (16): Eisenach's Forge Hammer + 1 pic Rune from BF -8, Champion's Gauntlets -1, Run/move guard/move attack.
T3 (17): Harshforge Plate from BF + Cantrip Rune -7, Kinght of the Red Helm -8, Akiro's Favor face down -2,
Pro's:
-Great versatility: It tells the opponent basically nothing, as you improve your economy.
-Battle Forge + Forge Hammer: The -2 discount + free action is great, but it can make you want to get only 1 piece of equipment per turn, this can be bad if you are wasting your qc/main action for a -2 mana discount.
-Quick Armor: Not only can you equip armor quickly, you can jump straight to the good armor.
-Dissolve resistant: Between the Harshforge Plate, Champion's Gauntlets, Runes, and possibly Armor Ward. If you have all tree it would add +10 mana. (I find that Armor Ward is a little overkill)
Bad:
-Weak vs DoT (Damage over time: curses ect) (the remove curse should make it easier, but remember that it is a full action)
-Battle Forge dependent: If the BF is destroyed early it can be difficult to recover.
-Fewer Creatures: Because this is not a spawn point deck there are going to be fewer creatures. I tend to like Goblin Alchemist, Ludwig Boltstorm, 2 Bridge Trolls or a Troll and an Iron golem.
-Soldiers are easy to kill: Despite often having high armor the creatures seem to be killed very easily. (+2 flames for Troll, +2 lightning for many dwarfs).
Duel Battle Forge
(After the early armor you can then alternative casting armor between the BF to get the most from the Forge Hammer discount. Run in close and cast a big creature (Iron Golem, Blade master, Troll, any Dwarf, etc)
T1 (19): Battle Forge -8, Battle Forge -8,
T2 (12): Eisenach's Forge Hammer + Rune from BF -8, Champion's Gauntlets -0 from BF, Enchantment Ring -2, Brace your self -1,
T3 (10): Harshforge Plate from BF + Cantrip Rune -7, Leather pants -1 from BF, Akiro's Favor face down -1, Atk/move.
Pro's:
-Great against atk spells/melee rush. (Armor, daze giving weapon).
-Battle Forge + Forge Hammer: The -2 discount + free action is great.
-Dissolve resistant: I would not go overboard on the anti-dissolve effects, since most people only carry 3 dissolves. Also you can cast replacement armor faster and cheaper then your opponent can destroy them.
Bad:
-Weak against control effects: Because you are rushing before casting a buddy. (Cripple, Tanglevine, Stuck, ect).
-Weak vs DoT (Damage over time: curses ect) (the remove curse is a full action which is huge deal against an early solo mage before going to a buddy mid game).
-Battle Forge dependent: Since you have 2 BF, this is not as important as the single BF decks. Often it takes more mana to destroy a BF then to cast it, so unless you are facing a Siren/Druid then your BF should not be targeted, unless the enemy has no other target. (since by the time the enemy mage can melee the BF, you should have already been fully equipped).
-Buddy/Few Creatures: Since you are running into the face, you want a creature that can take a beating.
Barrack Spawnpoint *Classic Spawnpoint
(There are two common opening one is Construction Yard and Barracks, the other is Garrison Post and Barracks. I prefer the construction yard since you gain mana for the Barrack and mana for war conjuration like the Garrison Post).
T1 (19): Construction Yard -7, Barracks -12,
T2 (09): 8 mana Creature from Barrack (Red Helm, Butcher, Slinger, Defender) -(8-2=6), Garrison Post -(4-1=3), Move/Atk or Guard.
T3 (09): Creature from Barrack, Armor/enchantment QC, bash face. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Pro's:
-Swarming with mid creatures. Unlike the beastmaster weak swarms (dog, cat, cub), the warlord swarms have a lot of versatility, you can improve there atk, armor, speed, etc by command, enchant, conjur, whatever you need at the moment.
-More Options: You can tank with you warlord, mana support (Meditation Amulet) or command (active buffing though commands and enchantments).
-Construction Yard mana store: since your probably not going to cast a war conjuration every turn, the Yard tend to just store up mana after a while, making it easy to cast a Ballista, or wall when needed.
-Dissolve resistant: You'll want to rush Champion's Gauntlets, since you are not starting with a BF protecting your equipment becomes more important.
Bad:
-Heavy early investment: you are spending all 19 mana turn 1, which can backfire badly if the enemy can counter it early.
-Weak to mana denial: since the remove curse incantation came out, fewer warlord player carry more then a token dispel, making mana drain enchantments a nightmare.
-FIRE: Your Barrack is kindling ready to burn, you need a way to combat fire. Some people use Raincloud, I tend towards earth wall, since it stops the atk until he destroys it (as a bonus you gain mana on the Yard when it is destroyed).
Alt Barrack Spawnpoint *Training Ground
(This a alt Barrack opening I made it so I could get a BF and Barrack up quickly, it is basically casting conjurations as you rush to face. I often include a fog bank (wall) and tanglevines to protect the barrack).
T1 (19): Construction Yard -7, Battle Forge -8,
T2 (13): General Ring from BF -2, Barrack -11, Move/Atk or Run.
T3 (09): 8 mana Creature from Barrack (Red Helm, Butcher, Slinger, Defender) -(8-3=5), Leather Armor from BF -1, Garrison Post -3, Move and attack
Pro's:
-Channelling: you only have 9 channeling, but with the barrack, gen ring, BF and yard you really have channeling 15.
-Swarming with mid creatures. You will often get -4 mana discount between the barrack and ring. (that means if mana drain is cast, it is often cheaper to just build a new creature then pay the upkeep/dispel it).
-Conjuration heavy: Since you have a huge economy, it can be useful to wall in the enemy mage early. (you gain mana when the wall is destroyed anyways, it will also keep you out of sight from curses). any delay only works in your favor.
-Construction Yard mana bank: Casting walls and Ballista's are important to control the map, you are going to want to separate the enemy creatures and destroy them (divide and conquer).
-Dissolve resistant: Mostly leather armor, so little chance for them to be targeted (corrode is still going to be a problem).
-Great versatility: if you are pressured too much turn 1 you could always switch up your plan.
Bad:
-The Yard may not be the best choose if you don't bring out the spawnpoint. (compared to mana flower).
-Weak to mana denial: The mana drain enchantments is a nightmare.
-FIRE: Because your buildings are weak to fire, I would tanglevine the enemy mage 2 zones away (since he probably won't use a fireball against any build except the barrack. (frame stream it what you have to watch out for). If the enemy mage is going after the barrack, then tanglevine him, then wall him, then have the goblin builder fix any damage.
-Late Creature development: Since the barrack do not give you a creature until the third turn, you could rouse the beast to combat this, but it is a pain.
Aggro Tank *Were's War master
(This is a shock style deck, you cast the Ballatsta then rush while equipping armor, once your in the face of the enemy mage, you can summon a creature like Red Helm).
T1 (19): Battle Forge -8, Ballista -8 (end qc),
T2 (12): Elemental Wand + -1 mana rune from BF -5, Surging Wave from elemental wand -4, Champion's Gauntlets -2, (Since most player will try to focus on the Ballasta you should QC Surging Wave for the 3+ slam, which turns into daze, this will probably waste the enemy mage's turn. Since most playes don't want to spend the points and mana on an attack spell with a 50% chance of hitting the Ballasta).
T3 (10): Enchantment Ring from the BF -1, FD enchantment (depending of enemy mage) -1, Knight of the Red Helm -8. (the creature depends of the style of deck you are against).
Pro's:
-Good early attack power with good early defense (leather armor).
-Atk spell focus Warlord: since there is a trend that warlords either melee or command, an attack spell warlord tend to throw people off. (not to mention that you are easily the most defensive [in school armor] atk spell mage out).
-Ballista: Great distraction, most players won't cast a conjuration in range of the Ballansta, and often will avoided casting new creatures within range. Use the time he spends trying to destroy the Ballasta to armor and enchant yourself.
-Dissolve resistant: Champion's Gauntlets is a must have when equipped with a wand. If you fear the enemy mage is planning to dissolve your wand, don't be afraid to use a wall or tanglevine then atk from 2 zones away. Depending of the enemy mage, I would enchant Armor Wand on myself.
Bad:
-Weak economy: Channeling in 10 if you include the BF, it is important to knockout there economy if you can't beat the enemy mage early (turn 4-6).
-Movement control decks: The Warlords atk spells are the main damage dealers, so if the enemy tanglevines you or enchants Blur you have to deal with it quickly. (I like teleport wand the most for dealing with tanglevine/blur).
-Solo/Few creatures: The knight of the red helm is still in testing, I would like more creatures but it is often a solo fight.
