April 28, 2024, 03:54:24 PM

Author Topic: Arena Axioms 1: Opening Strategies REVISED  (Read 23343 times)

reddawn

  • Playtester
  • Sr. Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 463
  • Banana Stickers 10
    • View Profile
Re: Arena Axioms 1: Opening Strategies REVISED
« Reply #30 on: August 22, 2014, 09:46:25 PM »
Agreed.  Before NvD, armor was pretty game-warping, and other than creatures with piercing and direct damage, there wasn't much of a viable way of stopping it.  Truth be told, that is almost entirely the reason I stopped playing for a while; armor was just too oppressive and made the game feel too samey with Battleforge being an auto-include/play. 

The other reason was that class spawnpoints weren't viable in an environment where armor ruled; the actions they produced dropped off too quickly.  Considering that I like playing with lots of creatures, that took some serious fun and opportunity out of the game...

But that's all changed and I'm glad for it.  Sure, you can still remove Corrodes with Healing Wand/new armor but the point is that there is counter-play now, which is essential and healthy to any competitive game.

The other big thing for me is the recent release of the Adramelech Warlock and finally, a level 2 demon in Infernian Scourger.  I wasn't sure what to think when I first tried them, but they're pretty much exactly what I wanted; a super-aggressive demon with decent stats.  Pentagram is finally useful too, though I'm pretty sure it's better for the A. Warlock than the A.C. Warlock.

I still have no idea how to use Cerberus or Sardonyx yet (maybe Cerberus for Necro's Altar of Skulls and Sardonyx as really late-game dude for 38 hp Warlock?), but that's not a big deal.

The game feels like it's in a pretty balanced state currently and I hope it stays that way.  Let's me focus on fun stuff instead of dealing with a warped meta.
  • Favourite Mage: Arraxian Crown Warlock

sIKE

  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 4172
  • Banana Stickers 18
  • Ugh
    • View Profile
Re: Arena Axioms 1: Opening Strategies REVISED
« Reply #31 on: August 23, 2014, 09:14:57 AM »
Pretty much agree here there is a lot more balance than there was. Even Gencon shows that.

Quote
I still have no idea how to use Cerberus or Sardonyx yet (maybe Cerberus for Necro's Altar of Skulls and Sardonyx as really late-game dude for 38 hp Warlock?), but that's not a big deal.
I think of those two as adding flavor and fun.
  • Favourite Mage: Malakai Priest

Avarice

  • Full Mage
  • ***
  • Posts: 110
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Arena Axioms 1: Opening Strategies REVISED
« Reply #32 on: August 23, 2014, 10:00:09 AM »
Good convo guys. Very informative! :-)

Alexander West

  • Falconer
  • Full Mage
  • ***
  • Posts: 122
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Arena Axioms 1: Opening Strategies REVISED
« Reply #33 on: September 15, 2014, 06:43:06 PM »
@Reddawn:

The goal when casting creatures with a spawnpoint is to summon what you need; if your opponent doesn't have much armor (or any) or bigger armored creatures, you don't need large creatures with special abilities; lots of little creatures actually give you more dice than one or two big ones, and are usually not very profitable for your opponent to kill or control outside of zone-targetting cards, or cards that affect the entire arena. To make cards like zone-attacks less attractive for your opponent, avoid clumping most of your creatures into a single zone; stagger them in different zones instead, if possible.  Doing this also ensures that if an opponent attempts to block their movement with a Wall, only a couple of your creatures will lose actions getting around it, not your entire army.

On the other hand, if you see lots of armor and/or big creatures on the other side of the arena, you need to match them with strong, higher-level creatures of your own and/or armor, a defense, or other protection cards like Divine Protection, control cards like Agony to punish high dice or special attacks, and Regrowth on your mage to survive through multiple  fights.


In general I agree that smaller creatures have better return on mana in terms of damage per turn (DPT).  However, there are a few creatures that also have excellent returns in conditional circumstances:
Whirling Spirit - 4 + 50% push = +1.5 near a wall
Goran, Werewolf Pet - 5 + 3 vs. non-moving, injured target when Warlock present
Grizzly Bear - 7 + 1 piercing vs. non-moving
Darkfenne Hydra - 3 + 3 + 3 vs. non-moving
Corrosive Ooze - 5 damage + 1 corrode vs. non-moving
Iron Golem - 6 damage vs. non-moving
Sir Corazin - 4 + 4 vs. non-moving

So, it might be more accurate to say that large creatures are better when you can control your opponent's position?  (At least until they make a large creature with a 1:2 damage to cost ratio that is not limited in this way.)

When it comes to small creatures I think the best two are:
Thunderift Falcon - 3 dice + flying, fast
Blue Gremlin - 3 dice + 1 piercing, defense of 8+, 1 armor, ability to gain fast & teleport

In part they are summonable with a spawnpoint that is not conditional, so you can spam at least one a turn.  Additionally they are very hard to kill for their cost, which lets them fight much bigger creatures without dying quickly.  The other big advantage is their mobility:  with fast and either teleport or flying they can get around the board and apply damage where it is needed.  Walls aren't effective either, which is a big plus.

I think when an opponent armors up to protect themselves from a swarm of smaller creatures it is reasonable to Dissolve or Acid Ball the armor to keep them exposed to the creatures.  When they summon a big creature, it is also possible to swarm the thing to death with small creatures.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2014, 06:50:33 PM by Alexander West »
"He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not is a fool for a lifetime."