After making a long post on starting druid options and listening to the druid podcast, I want to write a comprehensive look at the druid. Here is my first draft. It details the following:
A) How a druid is better or worse at something relative to the average mage
a) Specific druid-only tactics
b) Tactics in which a druid has some advantage in
B) Tree conjurations
C) Specific druid-y spells and their combos
a) vinewhip staff
b) Togorah
c) kralathor
d) Barkskin
e) Tataree
f) Burst of Thorns
g) Fellella
g) Rhino Hide
h) [mwcard=DNJ02]Corrosive Orchid[/mwcard] / [mwcard=DNJ06]Nightshade Lotus[/mwcard]
i) Tangle/Stranglevine
k) Hunting Bow:
l) Thornlasher and...
m) push through a wall
n) Renewing Spring and regeneration(such as mohktari in the same zone)
o) Stuck/tangle/strangle and...
p) Removing corrode markers
D) Out of school(or a "beastmaster" spell/animal) synergies
----------------------------------------
A) How a druid is better or worse at something relative to the average mage
Good at
0) Good at plants, though this is implied. Plant aids include: Renewing Rain, Mohktari's Branch, Etherian Lifetree, Tataree, treebond, and vine casting
1) Hindering and immobilizing non-flying creatures(vinewhip staff vines and stuck, tanglevine, stranglevine, hindering vines, thornlasher preventing movement)
2) Passive healing(Regeneration, lifebond, [mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ01]Sunfire Amulet[/mwcard], )
3) Channelling w/ mana flowers and seedling pods which are castable by the 2 main spawnpoints
3.1) Enough spawn points(and fellella) to use mediation amulet
4) Long range vine spells which including creatures and the ability to destroy equipment
5) Negating equipment through outright destruction, or armor mitigation
6) Trained in nature school(enchantments, Enchantment familiar(Fellella), rouse the beast, ...)
7) Trained in water school(armor/equipment negation, surging wave, burn removal)
8 ) Good Bleed access(bloodspine wall, burst of thorns, hunting bow, bleed animals(wolves, lion, that promo rage animal)
Bad at
9) Opposing schools(fire(no major loss as far as i can tell), war(archers to exploit the hindered movement, goblin builders, akiros favor,
10) Fortified position, Ivarium Longbow)
11) Fire damage(flame +2)
12) Limited in-school ways to control flying creatures
13) Armour on plants aside from Rhino Hide
13.1) Mobility on plants
14)[mwcard=MW1J19]Deathlock[/mwcard]
15) Ethereal damage
a) Specific druid-only or nature-only tactics
1) Heavy Economy with 2 spawnpoints and meditation amulet
2) Heavy Economy with guardian angel and Samara tree
3) Fellella enchantment spam like the Tinkerbell build
4) Kralathor focus
b) Tactics in which a druid has some advantage in
1) pushing through walls
2) Bleed Stacking w/ finite life
3) Supported Raptor Vines
4) Plant creature Spam
5) A Bow with pushes, snatching, and immobilization
B) Tree conjurations
[mwcard=DNJ09]Samara Tree[/mwcard]: a slower opening where you put seedlings everywhere, maybe a guard on samara. the goal here is a strong endgame via superior channelling, and surviving that long with defense.
[mwcard=DNJ12]Vine Tree[/mwcard]: This is the most direct tree. it casts tanglevine really well. Decide if you are using seedling pods for a longer game similiar to the samara build.
[mwcard=MW1J15]Mohktari[/mwcard]: This one grants you regen2 and lifebond2, making you heal 4 a turn under the tree. It may be useful if you are using creatures without regen(animals and guardian angels usually). Mohktari also has more armor and is not zone exclusive. You'll want to stand under the tree, which means
a)watch for zone attacks
b)keep the enemy within range somehow
[mwcard=DNJ03]Lifetree[/mwcard]: Maybe a conjuration heavy build with wall pushing or economy. I'm not too sure. Great with plant walls, tangle/stranglevine, seedling pods, Fellella, Tataree, and who knows what else.
C) Specific druid-y spells and their combos
a) [mwcard=DNQ08]Vinewhip Staff[/mwcard]
Extra vines and Reach attack. The main draw is the ability to give any non-flier up to 2 zones away Stuck. it is amazing. its like [mwcard=MW1E16]Force Hold[/mwcard] without the upkeep or extra spellpoints. you will have to reapply it though stuck is harder to intentionally destroy(a teleport is the main way). I suggest you have a way to knockdown heavy fliers so you can give them stuck. It is also important to push them into a zone where they will be ineffective before making them stuck.
b) [mwcard=DNC18]Togorah[/mwcard]
He is super expensive, so if you dont plan for him, you will never have the mana to pull him out. He may be the best guard, has reach, can stun fliers to knock them down, and a solid attack. His attack impairs one attacker with daze/stun and his guard marker blocks another creature
's attack, so he can be good at blocking 2 creatures. Even with the starting 2 armor, i suggest a rhino hide. He is effectively slow due to not having a quick attack, though he can move and guard. If you don't need an (effectively slow) intercepting guard or a way to deal with fliers, don't pay the mana for him.
c) [mwcard=DNC06]Kralathor, The Devourer[/mwcard]
Yes, +2 to undead. Protect him early until he has a few growth markers. I normally wouldn't bother casting him unless you can tell the enemy plans on making more than a couple creatures all game. Great at dealing with light fliers. He is the only plant you can make fly to avoid attack.
d) Barkskin
A good emergency card. Cantrip means that you can cast it early without fear of a seeking dispel and that opponents may not bother with dispelling it. Be cautious of the upkeep cost, but if you have enough mana, it makes you much more survivable. It is a good backup regenerate if you main source(such as standing under mohktari) is removed.
e) Tataree
Be extra wary of zone attacks. It is only of the few ways to heal a living conjuration. I suggest it helps channel mana on a seedling pod one zone away from your lifebonded tree, so if the tree is about to die, it can fly in for the save. Brace yourself, Bulls endurance, or lifetree are ways to keep it alive
f) Burst of Thorns
One of the few in-school ways to damage fliers. Stacking bleed is even better than stacking rot if they cant heal. It cant be removed with purify and it can effect poison immune necromancers. the bloodspine wall push is a more reliable way to apply bleed.
g) Fellella
Brace yourself, Bulls endurance, or lifetree are ways to keep it alive. I suggest both of those enchantments if she is crucial to your strategy.
g) Rhino Hide
Every single plant creature wants this. level 3+ plant creatures will live far longer if they get one. Armor makes every life point worth more life, so the creature has more life and the regenerate and vampiric effects restore more effective life.
Example:If 2 armor always blocks 1/3 of all damage, it takes 150% the damage to kill you. you have effectively 150% life, regenerate 2 is more like regerate 3, and the vampiric trait healing 4 life is more like healing 6 life.
h) [mwcard=DNJ02]Corrosive Orchid[/mwcard] / [mwcard=DNJ06]Nightshade Lotus[/mwcard]
There is a trick to deploying the "attack flowers" from a spawnpoint. Deploy it when you have initiative so that they only get one quickcast to prevent its Mist attack. The enemy will try to kill it or move away and if they get a full creature action they are likely to succeed.
I think of the attack flowers as level one creatures with one charge of an incantation spell(dissolve or sleep) which bypasses incantation defenses(defenses such as nullify or [mwcard=MWSTX2FFQ05]Harshforge Plate[/mwcard]). Forcefield, divine intervention, and intercepting guards are the only ways i know of to avoid these Mist attacks.
i) Tangle/Stranglevine
Cast tanglevine at the start of a round and stranglevine at the end of a round. If you want to stall your enemy(especially on an early rush), tanglevine is invaluable. Stranglevine on the enemy mage is either good for making the enemy use a teleport or a gameender if you give it enough support. Make sure the enemy is out of teleports, guard the zone, and make sure the enemy mage cant kill the stranglevine with his own melee attacks.
j) Rouse the beast [or (A)rouse the beast as my girlfriend calls it]:
Togorah to get a stunning heavy attack and a guard marker at once
kralathor to get a growth marker
Thornlashers for an early chance to snatch, though i would just spend more mana and cast a reliable force push
k) Hunting Bow:
with an animal for bleed
with tangle,strangle, surging wave, force push, thornlasher to keep distance.
l) Thornlasher and...:
bloodspine walls, caltrops, enchantment "traps", slow/rooted/fullattack creatures(Vinesnapper, Togorah, attack flowers)
m) push through a wall:
(Thornlasher, surging wave, force push) through a (wall of thorns, bloodspine wall)
n) Renewing Spring and regeneration(such as mohktari in the same zone)
A zone with a few vinesnapper which has a renewing spring can help them rapidly heal
o) Stuck/tangle/strangle and...:
slow/rooted/fullattack creatures(Vinesnapper, Togorah, attack flowers)
p) Removing corrode markers:
This is a way to remove up to 6 corrode markers and get back to 6 armor in 2 actions and 2 revealed enchantments. It is easier if you are only getting back to 2 or 4 armor.
destroy barkskin via upkeep, reveal a rust on yourself, disable chestpiece or swap out your chestpiece with another(first action), enchantment transfusion rust to an enemy, recast barkskin(second action).
D) Out of school(or "beastmaster" spell/animal) synergies
1) Veterans belt
2) [mwcard=MW1J11]Idol of Pestilence[/mwcard]: due to your forces' regeneration it mostly hurts your (non-necromancer) opponent.
3) Poisoned blood: combos well with bleed and prevents regen in longer games.
4) guardian angel(heals 4 a turn guarding Mohtari): Great for guarding your treebonded tree. Way cheaper on mana than Togorah
5) [mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ02]Hunting Bow[/mwcard](i say out of school because some people think its only for the beastmaster):it deals with fliers and creatures you keep away from you quite cheaply. combine with an animal for bleed.
6) [mwcard=MWSTX1CKC03]Galador, Protector of Straywood[/mwcard]: the closest thing you have to an in-school answer to incorporeal objects. knocks down fliers. combos with hunters bow. can be enchanted to fly unlike your plants.
7) maim wings or Tarok, the Skyhunter to cover her air weakness
