Now that the new forum-spellbook feature is in beta, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share the Warlord spellbook I've been putting together. I was getting tired of all the "whatever the Warlord can do, the Earth Wizard does better" comments, so I set out to make a spellbook that the Earth Wizard couldn't do. I took some hints from reddawn's comments in various Warlord threads, and ended up with a defensive deck that uses War's strong creatures to control the battlefield, outlast any pressure, and strike back quickly. Without further ado...
[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Warlord Creature Control[/spellbookname]
[mage]Warlord[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWA04]2 x Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE01]1 x Armor Ward[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE02]1 x Divine Might[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE06]2 x Fortified Position[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE08]1 x Mind Shield[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e33]2 x Retaliate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE09]1 x Standard Bearer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e40]1 x Vampirism[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWJ01]1 x Akiro's Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWJ03]1 x Barracks[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWJ04]2 x Garrison Post[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j13]1 x Mana Flower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWJ06]1 x Mangler Caltrops[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j15]1 x Mohktari, Great Tree of Life[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWJ07]2 x Quicksand[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC01]1 x Bridge Troll[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC01]2 x Dwarf Kriegsbiel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC07]1 x Dwarf Panzergarde[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC11]3 x Orc Butcher[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC14]1 x Sir Corazin, Blademaster[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC15]1 x Thorg, Chief Bodyguard[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC09]2 x Iron Golem[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c36]1 x Tarok, the Skyhunter[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i02]2 x Battle Fury[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i04]2 x Charge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]2 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i10]2 x Evade[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i18]2 x Perfect Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i19]2 x Piercing Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI06]2 x Power Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i25]1 x Shift Enchantment[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWQ05]2 x Helm of Command[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ06]1 x Horn of Gothos[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ08]1 x Ring of Command[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]
This book's opener is: put the Mana Flower down in your start zone and run to near center. You want to start hemming them in ASAP. On turn 2, you have 24 mana and freedom to summon something based on what you think the enemy will do.
-If you think they'll summon a big creature (or a few mediums), bring out Thorg.
-If you think they'll swarm, summon Sir Corazin and the Kriegsbiels after.
-If they're gonna turtle, out-turtle them with the Barracks and Outposts.
After that, you play it kind of like the Forcemaster Grizzly opening: for each round, alternate between summoning something big and casting small buff spells.
Now I'll go through some of the cards and explain my thought process behind them.
Armor Ward - it's easy to get around a Nullify to Dissolve something with cheap extra spell. This card on the other hand isn't "consumed" by a throwaway incantation or enchantment. Lots of players plan their mana costs out pretty precisely, so an extra 4 mana when they don't expect it can really screw with their plans for the turn, and might even end up preventing that Dissolve anyway.
Fortified Position, Standard Bearer, Mohktari - With all the full-action-attack or Slow creatures in this book, they have a tendency to stay in a particular zone for three or more rounds. These cards will help your troops take far less damage from Zone Attacks or whatever else if they get locked down or focus a single target.
Tarok - great anti-flyer control. He probably won't stop an Angel, but he'll give them a good bit of trouble.
Vampirism, Mangler Caltrops - For Thorg! Put the Vampirism on Thorg and he'll last a long time. Place the Caltrops in Thorg's zone for a little extra damage every time he Taunts something.
Bridge Troll - lasts forever and can be buffed by the Warlord's innate abilities. Just don't bring him out against a Warlock.
Orc Butchers - amazing attack and health for their cost.
Sir Corazin, Kriegsbiels - Two creatures with Sweeping in a zone will clear it out in an awful hurry. Two Kriegsbiels alone can handle a low level Beastmaster swarm.
All the Command Incantations - with the Warlord, I prefer to use the Command Incantation equivalent of other enchantment spells (for example, Evade vs. Mongoose Agility) for a couple of reasons. One, they're not dispel-able or counterable (unless your opponent wants to burn all his Nullifys on your creatures). Two, they're super cheap! Each of the Strikes only costs 1 spellbook point and 1 mana per use with Command Ring. Three, reacting to an opponent's plays is far cheaper, both in mana cost and spellbook points (switch your Helm to Piercing Strike if they bring out a high-armor creature, switch it to Perfect Strike against something with a Defense, etc). It ends up costing extra actions, but hey, with this defensive commander style of book and your strong creatures, you have room to do so.
Some changes I'm considering:
-Ditch Mohktari for more Blocks, Shift Enchantments, or Fortified Positions
-Ditch the Barracks and Outposts for another creature or two, maybe Akiro's Battle Cry.
-Maybe another Ring of Command. It is such a mana-saver in this book that smart opponents may Dissolve it, so a backup would be handy.
-Trade the Vampirism for Regrowth, which is cheaper in both mana and spellbook points. Vampirism heals more on average though. Maybe make room for a Circle of Lighting on Thorg, too.
Let me know what you think. I've had some great fun with this book.
