That earth wizard build sounds really similar to something I'm working on. We should compare notes! And yes, my secret suspicion is that its the best book in the game at the moment, if the player can play tight enough to complete all the games in time and on plan.
Yep, I shall post my build in the books thread soon (at work with only my Excel spell points calculator to recreate it). I'm thinking of an even more control variant with Seeking Dispel Wand and Decoy for mirror control (Transfusion Wars!), maybe Chain Lightning Wand for mirror Golem clusters. Decoy (with Enchanter's Ring, used with Arcane Ring in Tranfusion "timed denial/reversal") has that bluff element I love in other games (e.g. Netrunner). This counter-strategy leads to a "rearguard" creature 2 away from Spike Pit death trap to move enchants out-of-range of enemy's Seeking. I don't know what this rearguard creature should be as points are so tight.
The worry in going so anti-control is you lose to good old-fashion aggro (though Purge has saved me against a Vampire Bear Mongoose Lord of Fire and Curse stacking). Much like magic, I find it impossible to balance books against all strategies. There's always a chink. Hurrah for that. Every build needs an Achilles heel else the game would temporarily stagnate (until new releases fixed this) and become dull as the majority net-deck "The Book".
Hmm... Thinking about it, I can't think of much that the Straywood Beastmaster has gotten in the expansions compared to what the other mages got, but I still think he's a strong mage. Of course, with just the base set, I thought that he was the strongest mage (certainly for me), so even without getting much that's relevant, I still think that he's good.
I started only recently (in fact, you/padawan/rock all gave me great friendly advice and encouragment after my first nervous post on BGG, converting me to this hobby) and yes, my analysis of the game with 1 Core was that Straywood Beatsmaster had the best options (synergies of turn 1 Forge on FC I opened at the time followed by Ring of Beasts and Enchanter's Ring). I appreciate Dark + Fire access synergies but I never felt as comfortable as a Route 1 in-your-face Bear/Cevere slowly buffed up with Bear Strength / Vampirism / Retaliate then Battle Fury and the Roused Wolf Pet similarly buffed. As attack-triggered enchants always benefit you with persistence (over cheaper commands) and cost/damage/longevity of his creature base gave the best ROI, the lack of bursty ranged finishing is a minor weakness (4 point Circle of Lightning sufficient anti-swarm in mirror); the Straywood had it all with a 1 Core pool.
I look at how my Straywood has evolved: the only new cards are Galador, Arc Lightning (Golem/Knight-heavy local meta), Storm Drake Hide (domino effect of a Golem meta) and Eagleclaw Boots (sideboard). However, I take encouragement from the Straywood's fall from 1 Core pole position. It shows that current weaker mages (the poor nerfed Priestess, the CoK mages that were built to fight each other for board control not a solo FM, unloved Warlord who needs more zonal control) can rise while current dominant ones (Warlock has been shown disproportionate designer love) can similarly fall from grace.
Each expansion release shakes up the meta. This is good. I just hope they try to keep all mages more on par. Thankfully (as a Netrunner and Game of Thrones subscriber), expansions aren't that frequent, allowing plenty of time to experiment with the recent expansion. I have been very impressed by AW's slower playtested releases. It is a hard balance as expansions generate revenue but deter entrants who sense a "slow LCG".
I do think Straywood is still a contender as Galador is just amazing, especially with Golems so popular. I will be very happy if my old favourite mage wins Gencon. I just hope the Warlock does not win again.
