This books designed to be able to handle a lot of different problems that can occur. I've fought A LOT of battles with it and it's always proven it's mettle even if I didn't get the win. There's nothing really fancy or tricky about it on paper, it's how you play it that matters and you sorta need to be slick playing this book. It can do a lot of different things very well and that's the strength of the Straywood in my opinion. I'll go over the various parts:
Attack Spells:
This is about as unsophisticated as it gets honestly. I'm not even trying to be subtle here. Do a little corroding and throw rocks. I typically use them to take out big creatures or conjurations unless my opponent isn't heavily armored. If they aren't then yeah they're eating rock.
Conjurations:
The idea here is to limit your movement while taking advantage of my own and making it better. 6 of my conjurations are designed to slow my enemy down while two of them benefit my fast moving creatures. Capitalize on your strengths and create weaknesses for the enemy. The flowers are for when I'm feeling like building up, I typically get one out by Turn 3 at the latest. The Lair is if I think my opponent is going to try and build up. I can normally do it faster with minor creatures at least.
Creatures:
Notice how much of these are from the core set? All but two of them. Know why that is? Cause the Arena core set creatures are solid as they come. Obviously the falcons are there to take advantage of my totems but so does every other animal in there even my grizzly. 6 dice Piercing 1 does hurt after all. I like creatures that move fast and can hit hard for their mana. If I can make my opponent focus on falcons even if it's only two of them out there I can do good damage and get them prepared to fight a small creature swarm while bringing up something beefier. Each of their deaths makes Slavorg that much more tempting, and he's an amazing guard in of himself. Timber Wolves remain the best Pet option you can have and they're why Pack Leaders Cowl is in my book. Even unbuffed they're well worth their mana but every inch you give them goes a mile. The big bear actually benefits greatly from Cheetah Speed because people always try to run from him. Kralathor was the latest change I made and while there's weaknesses I've found they're easily remedied for cheap.
Enchantments:
Here's where I start going out of school, it's easy as I'm paying cost for most of the great buffs. I rely heavily on my enchantments but they're just so good. I almost always Brace Yourself very early(like Turn 1) as it's better to have it and not need it then to be found wanting when boulders start flying. Along with Rhino Hide you can easily weather an initial burst of damage from a rush while you set up to knock them back. One of those Bear Strengths and one of the Rhino Hides is always for my mage as I believe in supporting my creatures in combat. Other mages tend to stay out of my zone when I can knock their heads crooked with a punch. Add in Wolf Fury and my melee weapon and I don't really care about a lot of armor either, well I can typically get rid of the rest I do worry about anyway. Clearly utility is kept in mind with my Unavoidable, Fast, and Elusive providing buffs but I get them all so cheap I've been known to double up on them. Marked for Death should go in pretty much any book that runs more than two creatures, even Holy should give it thought. Speaking of Holy the Divine Protection catches em off guard sometimes. Also don't let your dice screw you, ask Akiro for his favor early on. The dice may still hate you but the effort should be made. The Regrowth providing buffs are the difference between losing a good attacker and keeping them around for another turn or so. Cervere and falcons can even back off for a bit, heal some, then rejoin the fight.
Equipment:
Mainly I'm looking to stay protected and make my life easier. The cowl is so underrated I can't believe it, it's armor and a guard come on. There's no good reason not to have the boots as they're a point to stop cheap wall crap. The spear is almost purely for the piercing but the range option can't be downplayed and if I Cripple you all the better. I keep two Regrowth Belts because I want to make my opponent use up their Dissolves if they're gonna keep me from passive healing.
Incantations:
Crap I pay a fortune for Incantations. One day Arcane Wonders will notice how nice a guy I am and give me a flippin bone here. Until then I'm paying for two of the main stays so to speak. I'm also fairly paranoid so I keep a healthy Holy stack. Force Pushes are nice for walls but better for dragging mages into my animal zones. Again I don't like my opponents having much freedom of movement, I want them where I want them so 12 spell points are dedicated to making sure that happens. Dissolve is for fancy weapons, Veteran Belts, and wands. Warlords are probably keeping their wands from me but ah well. I've debated a wand of my own but don't want to remove my Lair to pay for it.
