Twilight Struggle (TS) The name is obviously a nod to the vampire series Twilight (which I loathe) and the struggle that is besting the resilient Warlock. This spellbook is an absolute blast to play!
TS: StrategyIdeally, Twilght Struggle functions as two things: A Necropian Vampiress Swarm and a Life Generator. For reference, let's quickly spotlight the belle of the ball:
Necropian Vampiress (NV) Level 4 Dark Creature; Subtype: Vampire
Cost: 16 (Full-Action)
Armor: 2; Life: 15
Attack: Fangs - Quick-Action Melee - 5 - Vampiric
Text: Frost -2; When this creature is activated, you may pay 1 mana to give her the flying trait until the end of her action phase.
She. Is. A. Beast! For the uninitiated, the vampiric trait allows for the Vampiress to heal upon attacking a living creature for half of the damage dealt rounded up.
Swarm
First, we'll discuss the swarm - how we achieve it and how to use it effectively. Lets begin...
The Warlock channels only 9 and for our purpose this is a problem, a constraint. For this reason it is a good idea to ensure that a Mana Crystal is played during Turn1. My Turn1 open is as follows:
Turn1: (19)
Hold QC
QC: Mana Flower (-5) [Starting Zone]
FA: Move1 to the left; Sunfire Amulet (-6)
End of Turn1: (4+4)
Start of Turn2: (18)
Alright, now we're working!
The action we take from this point is simple - Turn2 cast NV and an enchantment of your choosing (optional). You will either resolve Turn2 with no mana or with two mana remaining. Turn3 will see you channel 10 up to 10 or 12. At this point we can cast whatever we like so long as we have 6 mana at the end of Turn3. My Turn3 is as follows:
Turn3: (10)
QC: Nullify (on Warlock or NV)
FA: Move1 toward opposing Mage (optional)
End of Turn3: (8 or 6 mana)
Start of Turn4: (18 or 16 mana)
Easy. Done!
By holding on to 6 mana we're able to channel 10 up to 16 for Turn4 and that's enough to double down on the NV and reveal our nullify if need be. We continue this process of channeling 10, spending no more than 4 mana (or 5 on your second mana flower) on odd turns (3 & 5) to then cast a NV the following turn through Turn6. On Turn7 we have 3 active NV in play, 10 Mana and 44 Life via Sunfire.
Now, the question is: What is one NV's doing while we wait to cast the next one? The answer is exactly what you think: Putting pressure on the opposing Mage.
Upon seeing a Vampiress the average opponent's first thought is to neutralize and/or relocate the creature - force push, sleep, banish, tanglevine, force hold, force crush, turn to stone, teleport - for now any of those spells are fantastic because we want them dealing with the NV! If they're dealing with a NV they're not dealing with the Warlock.
*A strong opponent will almost certainly neutralize your first NV. Don't be tempted to sway from the strategy - stay the course, it will pay off!*
From Turn7 forward your first objective is enabling each "neutralized" NV to move and swing. The second is pushing each NV able to move and swing directly into the face of the opposing Mage. The third objective is advancing the aforementioned life generator components of the book. Let's get into it...
Life Generator
In the swarm section I briefly mentioned that by Turn7 we would be at 44 Life by way of Sunfire Amulet. TS can push that life much further! One option to consider is playing Elfic's Life Ring (4 mana, Mage gains +4 Life) in-between the turns your are casting NV. Now 44 Life is 48. LIVING! While our opponent is dealing with the NV swarm we aim to make our Warlock near impossible to defeat, and we achieve this by constantly increasing our life total. In effect, this forces our opponent to attempt to slow the Warlock from getting stronger and in doing so he or she may be compromised to the swarm.
Sans Sunfire, how do we go about gaining life quickly?
We take a step back an let our NV's to do the dirty work - we buff them with inexpensive spells (Battle Fury, Bear Strength, Falcon Precision and Cheetah Speed), and knock off pesky blocks and reverse attacks with Flameblasts. Playing spells conservatively this way we should net around 3 to 6 mana per turn on top of our 10 or 11 channel. Then, using your best judgement, and upon having sufficient mana (I suggest 18+), it is time to move in with one of my favorite spells from the Kumanjaro spell tome, Drain Soul. Lets spotlight this one:
Drain SoulLevel 4 Dark Incantation; Subtype: Vampiric
Cost: 16 (Quick Action) 0-1
Text: Magecast - Dark Mage Only; Place 2 Tainted condition markers on target creature. Then, caster gains Life+6.
You cant beat +6 Life! Drain Soul's +6 Life, stacked with our +1 Life per turn Sunfire and our +4 Life Elfric's Ring puts us in a very comfortable position on top of the Warlord's superior and inherent 38 Life. For the uninitiated, a single Tainted condition marker is essentially a damage token of 3 which cannot be healed and therefore
must be removed by paying the removal cost (3 mana per Tainted condition marker).
Now, in the event our Warlock has sustained significant damage due to godlike rolls, rather than Drain Soul we begin setting up the healing component of the life generator. We start with Death Link on a NV - that translates into 2 healing for you and 2 damage to your NV (that she will conveniently heal off of herself when she attacks). Also, equipping a regrowth belt will double the amount of healing you are receiving, taking you from 2 to 4 healing per upkeep while Sunfire is still working in the background.
Whether you opt to go the healing route or chose to Drain Soul, by Turn10 or 11 your Life Generation should be up and running like a champ. Alternatively, if your opponent has rolled poorly against you (or not at all), skip the healing cog of the life generation and instead reach for your attack spells to end the contest quickly.
Fun Fact: I have resolved longer sessions where I have ended with 60+ life and 0-10 damage.
YUUUUPP!!
TS Counter SpellsI already dislike this part, reveal a strategy only to knock it down. However, Im afraid this is a necessary evil and also one that allows solid tactical play in-game to be rewarded. As the goal of these articles is to spark debate on even more effective counters I will only briefly touch on the spells that I feel cause this book some problems.
In short, Wizard and Forcemaster spellbooks pose the greatest threat to TS. This is because early on TS is a book where you have very little flexibility with your mana - if and when your channeling is disrupted prior to Turn4 you are in a difficult spot as it concerns implementing the core strategies of the book. Also, if your NV cannot swing for some reason then it is an expensive waste of arena space - enchantments like Essence Drain and Pacify, Charm and Mind Control are ones you do not want to see.
**Remember that Nullify and Mind Shield put to good use will effectively slow these counter-strategies down.** Keep in mind that a conjuration like Deathlock will neutralize your Sunfire, Life Ring, Death Link and Regrowth Belt. Poisoned Blood is an Enchantment that achieves a similar outcome. These spells freeze your ability to gain life while also forcing you to spend resources and time to remove them from play.
There are numerous other strategies to counter TS. What counters do you think would be most effective?
Alternate Paths To VictoryTo be honest - this spellbook doesn't
need the NV or Life Gen to win.
For example, if you sense mana denial coming then opt out of the swarm - bring out the Morning Star (5 mana) which swings an unavoidable 4 (+1 w/ Warlock Battle Skill), then equip some Gauntlets of Strength (3 mana), a Bear Strength and go mix it up with the opponent.
Your attack spells are also very effective (Hurl Boulder and Flameblast), don't neglect them. Playing both in tandem (13 mana) ensures that you blow past almost any defensive enchantments while also potentially inflicting burn and slam conditions across 11 dice of damage. Ouch!
Beyond this, my math puts the optional spell count at 14 spellbook points and that should be plenty to adjust for what you are seeing out of your local players or to add a favorite spell of your own that I have not included. Ghoul Rot in particular is one I might have to get back in - TS 2.0, now w/ Ghoul Rot!
And if Forcemaster is popular in your playgroup then grab two Wall of Thorns, an extra Force Push and Eagleclaw Boots - thats my Anti-Forcemaster/ Forcefield toolkit.
There are other creative ways to win with TS - Sacrifice 1 of your NV into your Bear Strengthened NV with the Altar then Battle Fury. Double Ouch! What ideas do you have?
ConclusionI very much thank you for joining me on this journey through Twilight Struggle. I'm proud of the book and sincerely hope you give it a try, it is fun to play and in the right hands it can be very difficult to beat.
I'm always ready for a good constructive debate so all critiques and criticisms are encouraged and appreciated - together lets make the spell book even better! I look forward to your feedback.
Till the next installment…
Constitution 1 Signed,
Diji
