This is for those I promised to reveal my spellbook after Gencon. To catch the interest of all others, the statistics of this build are quite impressive: From over 35 games played via Octgn I won all (you can watch some of them here:
http://www.twitch.tv/charmyna). The majority of opponents were experienced players and they used many different builds. Therefore, the success of the wizzly grizard build is not flawed by a local meta. Btw, its not only me who had such a success with this build – I told it to a friend who straightway started a win streak of over ten games. Actually, the earth wizard on fourth position of Gencon used the wizzly Grizard build with some minor changes to adapt to Gencon meta.
The strength of this build are:
- The Battle Forge combined with cheap equipment (Arcane/Enchanters Ring; Leather Boots/Gloves) produces an early action advantage and allows to adapt very quickly to the opponents strategy (i.e. casting defensive equipment on the mage, items that focus on gaining mana advantage or casting Mage Wand for agressive purpose)
- IMO, the Grizzly is the best creature in the current status of the game (there are tougher ones and the Lord of Fire does more damage because of burn, but the Grizzly is much cheaper). The grizzly survives many hits, his quick attack does nice damage and his full attack is just awesome. Btw, the full attack forces your opponent to keep moving or pay for it otherwise. This reposition effect from the bear is just great! Especially if paired with a Gorgon Archer.
- The Wizards inherent versatility (big Spellbook, voltaric shield, zap) allows adapting to the opponents strategy really well – especially if combined with the Battle Forge.
- The Wizard Tower is just incredibly useful! Especially if paired with surging wave to slam, jet stream to push, hurl boulder to focus down a creature, geyser to remove burn tokens from the mage (!!!).
- Golems in conjunction with some teleport spells or better a teleport wand have quite an impact on the game! They are good against most builds, but they really shine against a Forcemaster because of their Psychic Immunity (Charm/Mind Control can be annoying against the Grizzly). Therefore, being earth wizard somehow makes up for the wizards most important weakness: Lack of strong arcane creatures – Hydra is really bad after being weakened or being the target of agony!
First, I will show the list of cards and the openings. Then I will explain some reasoning behind these cards.
Creaturesgremlin 1
gorgon 1
grizzly 1
golem 2
Incantationspurify 1
minor heal 2
teleport 3
force push 1
dispel 5
dissolve 2
Attack spellshail of stones 1
hurl boulder 2
geyser 1
surging wave 1
jet stream 1
Enchantments nullify 4
jinx 2
falcon precision 1
bear strength 1
force hold 1
regrowth 1
cheetah speed 1
rhino hide 2
transfusion 2
harmonize 1
agony 1
turn to stone 3
Conjurationswall of thorns 1
hand of bimshalla 1
Wizards Tower 2
mana kristall 2
battle forge 1
Equipment enchanters ring 1
arcane ring 1
elemental cloak 1
leather gloves 1
dragonscale Haube 2
Mage Wand 2
leather boots 1
regrowth belt 1
The openings:The first round is always the same:
Mana Crystal
Battle Forge (preferably casted in the last QC phase to delay the time point at which the opponent notices the BF).
As I explained elsewhere (
http://forum.arcanewonders.com/index.php?topic=12881.0) it is very important to balance between increasing channeling and building up agressive/defensive stuff. Therefore, I use different openings depending on the opponents actions in round 1.
If the opponent casts two mana crystals or uses other spells that tend towards gaining mana advantage (e.g. Enchanters/Arcane ring), this tells me that I have enough time to spend the 2nd round for channeling actions as well. Therefore I cast the following:
Round 2 (channeling opening):
Battle Forge casts Arcane Ring
During main action phase I cast harmonize on my mage without revealing it yet (this is beneficial since during the opponents main action phase he doesn’t know that I increased channeling).
During last QC phase I cast a mana crystal (it gets the reduced cost from the arcane ring).
After the reset phase of round 3, I reveal harmonize (it will have reduced cost from arcane ring, since it’s a new round. But, I cant use arcane ring in round 3 again!).
Round 3 (channeling opening):
Battle Forge casts Enchanters Ring
With Full Action my mage summons a grizzly
The QC is used for a hidden enchantment on me or the bear (what enchantment and which target depend on the opponents actions. Good enchantments are: Rhino hide/Regrowth as defensive options, Nullify, bear strength, Cheetah Speed as aggressive options – Nullify is agressive since it helps the bear to not get sleeped or stoned and to deliver its damage).
If the opponent used his actions in round 1 for aggressive stuff, I will use a defensive opening. As an example, the opponent could move twice toward me and spend only his QC for a mana crystal. This is dangerous since in round 2 he will be in range for two fireballs on my mage and he will have the mana to do it. Even if the opponent moves only one zone in round 1 but casts a hidden enchantment on himself (which could be a Chetaah Speed), he still might be able to throw two fireballs at my mage in round 2 or to push him through a wall of thorns. Therefore, I go for early armor since it is crucial in a damage race:
Round 2 (defensive opening):
Battle Forge casts: Leather Gloves
During QC Phase my mage casts: Leather Boots (let me emphasize how great Leather Boots/Gloves are - they are cheap and noone really wants to spend a dissolve+action to remove them)
Full Action: Gremlin
If the opponent really casts Fireballs on me in Round 2, I go the defensive route even further:
Round 3 (defensive defensive opening):
I use voltaric shield.
Battle Forge: Dragonscale Hauberk
QC: Elemental Cloak (this combo helps a lot against explode, since even after the equipments destruction my mage still has -2 flame on him against the explodes attack)
Full Action: Nullify
Alternatively, I use Nullify in the QC phase if I am afraid of the opponent casting explode before I can use my full action.
If the opponent does not cast fireballs on my mage in Round 2, I go the semi defensive route:
Round 3 (semi defensive opening):
Battle Forge: Enchanters Ring
Full Action: Grizzly
QC: Hidden Enchantment on mage or grizzly (same as mentioned above).
Now, let me explain why I decided to put in some cards:
CreaturesGrizzly:
Very tough and awesome damage if you compare to mana cost.
Gremlin:
He is cheap but still tough. The extra Action Marker can be crucial for tactical play (if you have at least as much Action Markers as your opponent one of your creatures can act after the opponent Mage moved - e.g. you can teleport a golem to his mage).
Gorgon Archer:
Good to slowly gain board control over time. The weak are great against all living targets. Usually I summone GA after the grizzly because otherwise its too easy for the opponent to focus down GA.
Golem:
Really tough creature. Its nonliving, so it cant be healed. But, nonliving sometimes has a benefit as well: Poison Immunity. Therefore, weak from Gorgon Archer, cripple from Basilik, Rot from Darkfenne Bat wont work. Most Important: The Golem is cheap to put into the spellbook and is great as a backup in case the grizzly dies. In addition, the Golem is great to protect the Gorgon Archer or to deliver really nice damage if paired with a teleport spell every other round (you need to play well with initiative and you need at least as much Action Markers as your opponent).
Downside of the golem: Many useful enchantments require a living target (e.g. bear strength, falcon precision). Fortunately, the wizard tower+surging wave somehow make up for the missing falcon precision.
Attack SpellsAll of these spells but the zone attack are meant to be casted by the Wizard Tower, since it saves an action and the spell wont be discarded after casting.
Hail of stones:
This spell isn’t really necessary in this book, but it helps a lot against Swarm builds (currently not many play swarm, but I guess it will change).
Jet Stream:
Great to push a creature into your Bear/Golem or out of the zone of your Gorgon Archer. Also this attack has +2 against flying which really helps to make up for the lack of flyers in this build. Jet Stream is especially useful against the Forcemasters Spores!
Surging Wave:
Its unavoidable and has range 2! Its best to use against a creature with a defence since the slam (chance : 10/12) prevents that creature from using the defence (e.g. the Forcemasters deflect). But, be aware of defences that are independent of slam (Dancing Scimitar).
Weaknesses: If the target is umovable (e.g. a Mage with Eagleclaw Boots), you cant slam it but daze it instead. This spell cant target flying units!
Geyser:
Mostly used for removing burns. This can be a life saver – especially if your mage has finite life trait which prevents healing!
Hurl Boulder:
Great spell for damage purpose. There is no trait but aegis that lowers the dice amount (as compared to -2 flame against fireball). Its especially useful against flyers, since the slam removes flying trait.
In addition, Hurl boulder is very useful to finish off a creature during the first QC phase thereby preventing the damage the creature would have caused that round otherwise. Actually, this is the reason why there are two Hurl Boulder in this book. With only one Hurl Boulder I would be afraid of using it with the mage since it will be discarded thereafter and no big attack spell would be left for the Wizard Tower.
Incantations:Dispel:
It might look strange to have five dispels in a spellbook. The reason is that a curse warlock is a great threat against this build since the curses damage gets through voltaric shield + armor and the finite life counters regen. Therefore, it is crucial to have enough dispel+purify to get rid of all ghoul rots and poisoned bloods (magebane and curse of agony is a minor threat since its less damage/round and can be healed easily via regen+Hand of Bimshalla).
Purify:
IMO almost every spellbook needs this at least once! Its really helpful to reduce weak/rot/cripple and it shines against a curse warlock since you can remove both, ghoul rot and poisoned blood (and maybe some rot), with spending only one action!
Teleport:
Maybe the best spell in the current game. Its really useful in combination with Golem or Gorgon Archer or to counter wall focused strategies. If the opponent drops a Deathlock a teleport on the grizzly can be crucial to shut it down quickly!
Minor Heal:
Many think its better to summon a new creature instead of healing one that is nearly dead. I guess in some situations that’s right, but for this build its expensive to put in a 2nd grizzly in case the first one dies. Anyway, if the grizzly has a couple of enchantments on him, its much cheaper to heal instead of summon a new one. Additionally combining Mage Wand with Minor Heal allows the mage and the Grizzly to survive being heavily focused for several rounds.
Enchantments:Turn to Stone:
Really great enchantment to slow down builds that rely on big creatures (e.g. Lord of Fire, Angels, Grizzly).
Rhino Hide:
One of the best enchantments. Its so cheap and you can wait with revealing it until you get a benefit (its possible to reveal it after the roll dice step and before the apply damage step).
Regrowth:
Awesome spell if you need to build up defensive stuff quickly. If you have enchanters ring, you need to spend only 1 mana in the current round! The other 4 mana can be spend from the mana of the subsequent round since the upkeep phase happens after the channeling phase. This allows you to cast Dragonscale Hauberk (with the Battle Forge) + Elemental Cloak + Regrowth in one round even if you only have 13 mana!
Conjurations:Do I have to say anything? Wizard tower and Hand of Bimshalla are just awesome. Wall of thorns is great in combination with Force Push. The Battle Forge is a key element of this build and two Mana Crystals are very useful if your opponent starts with a slow opening.
EquipmentDragonscale Hauberk:
From all attack spells Fireball and Flameblast have the best Damage to Mana ratio. Therefore, IMO it is more important to reduce their damage potential compared to reducing the damage potential from other spells (e.g. Lightning Bolt). Its even more important since there is only one incantations that destroys an equipment while doing damage (explode) and thereby producing an action advantage. Since explode is fire damage, the combination of Dragonscale Hauberk and Elemental Cloak really helps to reduce the opponents damage output! All this are reasons why two Dragonscale Hauberks are included into this build.
Leather Gloves/Boots + Arcane/Enchanters Ring:
Very cheap but still useful equipment. They shine if casted by the Battle Forge since them being so cheap allows your mage to still cast two spells in that round and gaining an action advantage early on.
Regrowt belt:
Very useful since it can be casted by the Forge thereby saving you an action in mid to late game. This item somehow counters Ghoul Rot/Magebane without the need of your mages action! Often its better to cast a Regrowth Belt compared to a heal, since with all the armor this mage survives long enough to make good use of regenerate.
If you like this build, pls give it a try and let me know how it worked out for you!
