The Blasting Banker

[Charmyna]

I can tell you this is one of the most fun and awesome builds I ever made! In the recent ten games I played it worked so perfectly I cant tell you how awesome it is.

So the basic idea is to use the Battle Forge and some Crystals + Moonglow Amulet to gain more actions and mana. The Forge then is used to cast many defensive stuff on the Wizard which in addition to defensive enchantments makes him nearly immune against most attacks.
To slow down the opponents buildup the Obelisk, Essence Drain and Suppression Cloak are used.
After all defensive stuff is set up the Banker starts getting rid of the opponents defensive enchants/equip and banking actions on the Opponent (Poisoned Blood+Mage Bane+Nullify) and on himself to increase the damage output when it comes to the Blast (Hawkeye, Dancing Scimitar, Fireshapers Ring).
After this preparation the Banker saved like 30-40 mana and the opponent should be left without any dragonscale hauberk or defensive enchantment (at least not in play).
Now the Blast starts: In a round the opponent has Ini, at the end the Banker casts a Fireball by himself and a Wizards Tower, which casts another Fireball. Next round the Banker has Ini and often is able to finish the opponent off with some more Fireballs/Flameblasts and with the help of the banked enchantments which prevent healing etc.
Its also important to note that a Mage Wand and/or Elemental Wand casted by the Forge really help this build since they allow to prepare for alot of the opponents defensive reactions (like the Banker has a Dissolve/Explode on the Mage Wand against a possible Dragonscale Hauberk, a Seeking Dispel and a Dispel in his hand and a Fireball on the Elemental Wand).
In all the games so far, after I started the Blast it was a matter of 2-3 rounds depending on how much defensive stuff the opponent had left.

I guess this build works so well because of the current meta. Neither high armor on Mage nor Interceptors are used that much - at least not in Octgn.
If you want to see the Blasting Banker in action, in this post you can find links to streams including audio comments:
http://forum.arcanewonders.com/index.php?topic=13428.0

Here is the book (its a Fire Wizard):

Attack Spells:
Surging Wave   1
Jet Stream   1
Acid Ball   1
Geyser      1
Fireball   3
Flameblast   2

Conjurations:
Wizards Tower   1
Hand of Bim-Shalla   1
Mana Crystal   2
Battle Forge   2
Mordok's Obelisk   1

Enchantments:
Nullify      4
Rhino Hide   1
Regrowth   2
Poisoned Blood   2
Enchantment Transfusion   3
Hawkeye      1
Essence Drain   1
Agony      1
Divine Protection   1
Magebane   1
Force Orb   1
Armor Ward   1

Equipment:
Mage Wand   2
Dragonscale Hauberk   3
Leather Gloves   2 (or 1 switching with Leather Boots)
Leather Boots   1 (or 2 switching with Leather Boots)
Veterants Belt   2
Fireshaper Ring   1
Moonglow Amulet   1
Wand of Healing   1
Suppression Cloak   1
Dancing Scimitar   1
Arcane Ring   1
Elemental Wand   1

Incantations:
Teleport   2
Dispel      6
Seeking Dispel   4
Dissolve   6
Minor Heal   1
(Might add an Explode in the future)

Creatures:
Darkfenne Bat   1


Here is the link where you can download my actual Blasting Banker build (might be a bit different from the list posted) for the Octgn Deck Builder:
http://octgn.net/sd/charmyna/the_blasting_banker


Newest Iteration:

Attack Spells:
Surging Wave   1
Jet Stream   1
Fireball   3
Flameblast   2

Conjurations:
Wizards Tower   1
Hand of Bim-Shalla   1
Mana Crystal   1
Battle Forge   2
Mordok's Obelisk   1
Enchanters Wardstone  1
Mana Syphon 1


Enchantments:
Nullify      5
Rhino Hide   3
Regrowth   2
Poisoned Blood   1
Enchantment Transfusion   3
Essence Drain   1
Agony      1
Divine Protection   1
Force Orb   1

Equipment:
Mage Wand   4
Dragonscale Hauberk   4
Leather Gloves   1
Leather Boots   1
Veterants Belt   2
Fireshaper Ring   1
Moonglow Amulet   1
Wand of Healing   2
Suppression Cloak   2
Deflection Bracers   1
Eagleclaw Boots    1
Arcane Ring   1
Elemental Wand   1

Incantations:
Teleport   2
Dispel      6
Seeking Dispel   4
Dissolve   6
Minor Heal   1
Explode 1

Removed some level two out of school spells (Dancing Scimitar, Armor Ward) and included some more defensive equips/enchants - especially Eagleclaw Boots in case the BB gets trapped in a zone with two Walls. Added a 2nd Suppression Cloak since its just too good against creature builds and added a 2nd Healing Wand to help against Corrode Tokens.



Im thankful for any comment and if you tried this build/a similar one or played against it pls share your experiences .

[webcatcher]

I'm currently working on a similar forcemaster build using spores instead of wands and melee attacks in place of ranged.  I haven't quite gotten it working yet so I have a few questions.  1) How high do you try to get your channeling? 2) Against aggressive builds do you try to weather the storm until you've got everything in place or do you spring the trap early without a full setup? 3) Do you find more success mitigating armor with an acid splash wand or a dissolve wand?

[DeckBuilder]

A really interesting build as usual, Charmyna, this time from a surprising new angle.

This is the old-style Nuke Fire Wizard with Curse Transfusion and Mana Denial all in one.
I'm surprised there is no Suppression Orb? Also Enchanter's Wardstones against Purge Magic?
Mana Denial is best entered all-in: I see Obelisk, Cloak, Ward & Essence (vs. main Elite) but not those?
In contrast, Hand of Bim-Shalla feels like a Zone Exclusive luxury and as for Darkfenne Bat - did you mean Hydra?

I guess this build works so well because of the current meta. Neither high armor on Mage nor Interceptors are used that much - at least not in Octgn.

I'm surprised at this.
Veteran's Belt surely meant everyone goes High Armour?
Guardian Angel is standard in Holy Mages and Gargoyle in Gate to Voltari builds (nobody plays Warlord sadly)
This then leads to plenty of Corrode which then leads to Healing Wand to remove it.
OCTGN seems to have a very different meta to my local one.

With your insight about OCTGN's meta, I can see how this works.

But compare this to Tarkin's Priestess or Indy's 2 aggro books, both posted in the last 24hrs
Does this really work??? After Tarkin taught me a lesson on Meditation Amulet, I'm reluctant to cast hasty judgement.

If it does, I think it may be more its surprise factor and an indication of different skill levels against (some) opponents
Everyone knows you are one of the best players in the world
So maybe this proves that play skill, rather than book, is more important in this game?
(This also explains how Tarkin's Priestess beat 2 Grizzly FM)

I am going to have to take some time to digest if (a variant of) this build would be viable in my different local meta.
But I suspect your good results may be more a disparity in skill level (and interface familiarity) and the OCTGN meta.

The problem with these Near Solo builds (like Forcemaster) is you are so behind on Action Advantage.
Even with Wizard's Tower and what I assume is a Hydra guarding Obelisk tax, I'm surprised this works so well.
Where previously mana-intensive attack spells have been finishers, here you suggest they are a Win Condition?
Don't get me wrong - it's a strong well-thought out build but it's certainly a very high skill level build to pilot well.

I hope you're not offended by my feedback - there are many compliments  in there.

I look forward to eating humbie pie yet again!
I do hope this build works against the armoured mages I face as it would prove the diversity of this great game.

Oh - and it's good to know you no longer think "It's ALL about the spell points!"

[tarkin84]

I built a few days ago a Druid spellbook that is similar, in conception, to your creation. I chose her instead of the Wizard because I had no spellbook with her (I'm tired of my aggro Rouse the plant thing) and I still want to keep my Watergate to handle it to my girlfriend and playtest against it. In addition, Tanglevine x5 playable from the Vine tree deals with interceptors quite good. Wizard and Druid are, in my opinion, the best mages at this because they are extremely hard to kill (voltaric and treebond soak a lot of damage).

I wanted a new approach on her and decided to go with the solo route with many attack spells, using Elemental wand to cast many Hurl rocks on my opponent once I've finished armoring and enchanting myself and Acid balls has erased my opponent's armor. I haven't got the chance to test it yet, so I have no idea of how it will behave. But now that I've read how you've found this strategy to be viable, I am more confident with my awkward spellbook

Do you have any streams of this?

Edit: I've now read that you have uploaded streams on your page. Time to check them!

[Charmyna]

A really interesting build as usual, Charmyna, this time from a surprising new angle.

This is the old-style Nuke Fire Wizard with Curse Transfusion and Mana Denial all in one.
I'm surprised there is no Suppression Orb? Also Enchanter's Wardstones against Purge Magic?
Mana Denial is best entered all-in: I see Obelisk, Cloak, Ward & Essence (vs. main Elite) but not those?
In contrast, Hand of Bim-Shalla feels like a Zone Exclusive luxury and as for Darkfenne Bat - did you mean Hydra?

I guess this build works so well because of the current meta. Neither high armor on Mage nor Interceptors are used that much - at least not in Octgn.

I'm surprised at this.
Veteran's Belt surely meant everyone goes High Armour?
Guardian Angel is standard in Holy Mages and Gargoyle in Gate to Voltari builds (nobody plays Warlord sadly)
This then leads to plenty of Corrode which then leads to Healing Wand to remove it.
OCTGN seems to have a very different meta to my local one.

With your insight about OCTGN's meta, I can see how this works.

But compare this to Tarkin's Priestess or Indy's 2 aggro books both posted in the last 24hrs
Does this really work???

If it does, I think it's more an indication of different skill levels between players
Everyone knows you are one of the best players in the world
So maybe this proves that play skill, rather than book, is more important in this game?
(This also explains how Tarkin's Priestess beat 2 Grizzly FM)

I'm going to have to take some time to digest if a variant of this build is actually possible in my different local meta.
But I suspect your good results may be more a disparity in skill level (and interface familiarity) and the OCTGN meta.

The problem with these Near Solo builds (like Forcemaster) is you are so behind on Action Advantage.
Even with Wizard's Tower and what I assume is a Hydra guarding Obelisk tax, I'm surprised this works so well.
Don't get me wrong - it's a strong well-thought out build but it's ceratinly a very high skill level build to pilot well.

I hope you're not offended by my feedback - there are many compliments on your skill level too.

Oh - and it's good to know you no longer think "It's ALL about the spell points!"

Im not offended at all! I asked for feedback and im happy about every constructive feedback (glad we dont have much if any trolls in here besides the bridge ones ).

About mana denial: Sure, often a strategy works best if you enter all in. But, this is not my main strategy. Its to keep the opponent busy till I am set up. Therefore, I dont want to spend too many spellpoints in mana denial. A suppression sometimes can be too much in the sense that an Obelisk already makes the opponent play like hes not used to (e.g. Necros playing far less creatures and not using their action advantage from the spawnpoints).
The Hand of Bim-Shalla is against curse builds because against those the extra one life per round is really useful.
The Bat is for even more "banking" since if the rot hits the opponent, i guess many dont feel like to remove it that urgently since its only slowly ticking and they are not under pressure at that time. Still, later when the Blast starts, they will feel it ticking! Btw im not too sure about the Bat, wouldnt mind replacing it. More a fun card. Still, many players go crazy when they see a potential rot and have nothing to remove it (including me sometimes).

@high armor and vet belt: I thought so too. I really wonder when people in Octgn will start equipping much more armor. This build still might work against those builds that dont bring enough copies of defensive equip since it got so many dissolves. Still, it would be alot more difficult for sure.

Not enough time for now. Will write more later.

[Wildhorn]

What would you do against a Decoy (to pop Nullify) + Purge Magic? I have feeling it would set you back so much...

[DeckBuilder]

I'm a bit worried my comments about Charmyna beating OCTGN players will be misconstrued.
I've had a good-humoured warning PM from someone I consider a friend on this forum.
So, because I don't have Dragonscale (Flame -2), I'm re-posting my reply to him on public.

I never said OCTGN players "sucked"!  And certainly not YOU!
I just said the skill difference between Charmyna (so far ahead) and his capable opponents may be a contributor
As well as the low armour meta anomaly which feels so contrary to the amazingness that is Veteran's Belt

I'm just surprised such a mana-intensive action-poor build is unbeaten!

You have to admit Tarkin's Priestess and Indy's 2 Aggro Books (variants on posted) looked very strong bulds.
I freely gave them compliments because I would be happy to pick up any of those spellbooks and pilot them.

I just found it hard to swallow the viability of Blaster Banker piloted by Joe Average or even a competent player.
Unlike the other 3 spellbooks I have mentioned, I would not be comfortable piloting it as it breaks all the rules.

It's actually a Bat!!! And I thought it was a Hydra guarding the Obelisk and Tower! A Bat!!! Seriously?
I honestly don't get it but, after being burned on Meditation Amulet, I'm gonna have to suck it and see myself.

I am really setting myself for a huge helping of humble pie here!
But hey, it's fun to be friendly opinionated and be proved wrong.

Before I get Angry OCTGN emails (I know yours was good humoured), I think I will post this public with an apology.
I never said OCTGN players suck so please don't flame me!

I hereby apologise to all OCTGN players who were offended by my comments about disparity in skill level.
I would be thrashed by Charmyna too, both on OCTGN and IRL (hopefully less thrashed).
However, for those of you who have been beaten TWICE by this strategy, I say:
"Fooled by him once, shame on him. Fooled by him twice, shame on you!"

[Zuberi]

I didn't hear you saying OCTGN players were below average, just that Charmyna is above average and the OCTGN meta is different from your local meta. I have to agree that he is a top notch player. I have never faced him in the arena, but watching his work I know he is more than competent. And every meta is different.

[Alexander West]

I have a different insight on why low armor is the current metagame: Acid Ball.

It used to be that Leather Gloves and Leather Boots were superior to, say Rhino Hide because it cost seperate Dissolve/Explodes to remove each piece.  By having many different pieces of armor, it was possible to ensure having some armor almost all the time.  Now a player can have a good chance of trading 1 Acid Ball (5 mana + 1 action) for Leather Boots and Leather Gloves (4 mana + 2 actions), and still have a good chance of getting a critical damage in on top of it!

I also think that in a high-Acid Ball metagame, Veterans' Belt is weakened.  If an opponent can corrode/Dissolve all of your armor, they don't care about your Veterans Belt.  Playing the belt (which is quite powerful if all is going well) is an opportunity for an opponent to gain advantage without having to directly counteract it.

[Charmyna]

I have a different insight on why low armor is the current metagame: Acid Ball.

It used to be that Leather Gloves and Leather Boots were superior to, say Rhino Hide because it cost seperate Dissolve/Explodes to remove each piece.  By having many different pieces of armor, it was possible to ensure having some armor almost all the time.  Now a player can have a good chance of trading 1 Acid Ball (5 mana + 1 action) for Leather Boots and Leather Gloves (4 mana + 2 actions), and still have a good chance of getting a critical damage in on top of it!

I also think that in a high-Acid Ball metagame, Veterans' Belt is weakened.  If an opponent can corrode/Dissolve all of your armor, they don't care about your Veterans Belt.  Playing the belt (which is quite powerful if all is going well) is an opportunity for an opponent to gain advantage without having to directly counteract it.

That is a very good point! There are ways to remove corrode tokens but the action efficient ones are only accessible to specific mages (e.g. priestess and druid). The general methods to remove tokens cost more actions than acid ball (healing wand, renewing spring). Still one way to go is to replace your body armor (e.g. dragonscale hauberk). Since you will always have two armor after reequipping. This doesnt change much about veterans belt being week in a high acid ball meta though. Since with only two total armor, the belt isnt that useful.

@Interceptors: Sure they will be annoying when it comes to the blast. But, the opponent has to spend quite some mana into getting an interceptor which will do nothing but sits there till the Blasts begins ...
In addition, I guess playing the Banker I would just bank even more mana and cast the wizard tower before the Blast starts. Next round I start with a four zone teleport away from the interceptor and into the range of the wizards tower (almost at the end of the current action phase). So chances arent too bad that the opponent will still get hit by two fireballs in that round and by two fireballs+flameblast (to counter a block casted in QC phase) in the subsequent round. The Interceptor will have saved him from a fireball thats granted, but it will not save him from one every round. So unless the opponent still has some armor left, I doubt he will survive ...
So, the best answer against the Banker IMO still is to invest many spellpoints into defensive equip+enchantments. But, most dont put body armor+leather stuff more than twice in their spellbook - not even if they include more than one veterans belt.

@Darkfenne Bat: Its an experiment. In some games it increases my chances to kill him quickly later, if he got some damage on him before the Blast starts (he might not care about a few points of damage). In some games the Bat is killed quickly but often the opponent invested more resources than I did since he was so scared of a potential rot.
@Not guarding Obelisk or Tower: The Obelisk is just meant to be a distraction for the opponents creatures to give me time for equipping my mage and banking mana/actions. I dont want to spent too many resources into guarding him. One reason I dont cast creatures besides the bat is, that damaging them is by far more efficient than damaging my mage! A reason why this build works possibly is that the opponents creatures dont have easy targets to damage.

@action disadvantage for solo mages: The Battle Forge helps immense here! I use it every round. Btw a couple small creatures dont really give the opponent an action advantage. They barely scratch my Wizard. Sure, they will kill my conjurations but until then the conjurations payed for themself.
One big creature can slowly damage my Mage, but it needs to roll like six crits to get through vet belt+voltaric shield. Sure he might use the attacks from his small creatures to trigger my shield, but he still needs to roll three crits to do that. And then my Wizard got regrowth.
In the end, if you really want to damage this mage you need a couple of dispels/dissolves.

@Tarkins Priestess build:
It looks very solid. I played the Priestess with a similar opening (Forge+Cleric in round one, Temple +using meditation amulet in round two) and found it quite attracting. Against the Banker his build will have the advantage of potentially more actions from the two spawnpoints. Since he will often use the meditation amulet I guess, he somehow "looses" an action again. So action wise we might be equal. Channeling wise his build has an advantage because of the meditation amulet. But, at least till the Obelisk is dead this might be countered by the upkeep.
The biggest issue with Tarkins build will be his defensive equip+Forge. Still, after dissolving his four armor granting items he will be left with only a divine protection and a useless veterans belt which wont be enough to survive the blast. Since he has "only" three dispels/seeking dispels and four dissolves my Mage would be left with enough defensive stuff to survive many rounds. Therefore I feel like the Banker has good chances at winning.
In the end as you said before what often matters more than the build is player skill. Especially if the Banker faces his Priestess I guess the game will be decided by who stacks more minor mistakes and maybe a well placed Divine Intervention which could work alot in his favor.
Another issue which might be in his favor is the potential healing from the clerics. I cant just dispel that ... I can hope he uses his dispels against something else than poisoned blood though. Mhh he has two purify so its unlikely my poisoned blood sticks. I guess I would try to kill the clerics with the scimi+maybe a zap before the blast starts if I feel like I got enough time.
Well, actually if he uses interceptors and I need to teleport him anyway, that will help against his clerics for a while as well. So hopefully he has no teleport left by that time (or didnt trigger the nullify on him).
Its so many "when"s and "if"s but thats what I like about MW - many ways to treat a given situation .

[tarkin84]

Wow! Great analysis of the match-up.

I absolutely agree with you: what an awesome game!!!

[DeckBuilder]

Yes, awesome analysis and counter-arguments on all points, Charmyna.
Looking back, it's a bit amusing seeing my genuine shock in my PM about the Bat - that really threw me.
I actually thought this was some sort of German Practical Joke!

If this works, then I'm thinking my Necromancer Mana Denial Curses build with just 1 Eternal Knight may work too.
Uses Cloak of Shadows + kiting (Cheetah/Mongoose/4 Enfeebles) to Transfuse Curses from self to bypass Nullify.
I put it on hold because I didn't feel Necro + Forge + just Eternal Knight was sufficient actions in the current meta.
Your build, Charmyna, has certainly opened my eyes that it's possible.

"BB" is a very high skill book to pilot (unlike Golem Pit or Brute Squad which you can write an algorithm to play).

Oh, how I envy all you guys with your vibrant meta.
The only way I get locals to play me is if I use my playtest cards to "coo!" over then give them the print-out cards.
I shall learn OCTGN soon and be humiliated by you, Charmyna, like so many others.
(Poor sIKE is still obsessing over losing with his Necro to BB even though Mana Denial was always going to win)

I have a different insight on why low armor is the current metagame: Acid Ball.

It used to be that Leather Gloves and Leather Boots were superior to, say Rhino Hide because it cost seperate Dissolve/Explodes to remove each piece.  By having many different pieces of armor, it was possible to ensure having some armor almost all the time.  Now a player can have a good chance of trading 1 Acid Ball (5 mana + 1 action) for Leather Boots and Leather Gloves (4 mana + 2 actions), and still have a good chance of getting a critical damage in on top of it!

I also think that in a high-Acid Ball metagame, Veterans' Belt is weakened.  If an opponent can corrode/Dissolve all of your armor, they don't care about your Veterans Belt.  Playing the belt (which is quite powerful if all is going well) is an opportunity for an opponent to gain advantage without having to directly counteract it.

Firstly, you make a good point, AW: I fully appreciate that Corrode was designed to combat a Heavy Armour meta
That's why Healing Wand (or Priestess) is de rigeur, even if not action-efficient (Acid Ball does not equal Corrode 2)
What I find is a slight double standards is that, if there is so much Corrode, what is Blasting Banker's answer to it?
You have to Corrode his armour down to zero before replacing works as removal (Forge does it but mana inefficient)

There was an intrinsic dichotomy in the meta-assumption used here:
(a) I am relying on a low armour meta on OCTGN because of Corrode
(b) I am perfectly safe playing High Armour with no Corrode removal
That crux is what I initially found to be a flawed premise in the build.

Which is why I've been building a direct damage "banked mana" build which assumes High Armour by both mages
As my answer to High Armour was to go down a direct damage route.
(As it was your request, Tarkin, in "How to beat the Wiz", I will get the build fine-tuned but I'm sure you've tried it.)

Just when you think you've seen all the current meta has to show you, we get a sudden spate of interesting builds.
Damn, this game is awesome!

[webcatcher]

There was an intrinsic dichotomy in the meta-assumption used here:
(a) I am relying on a low armour meta on OCTGN because of Corrode
(b) I am perfectly safe playing High Armour with no Corrode removal
That crux is what I initially found to be a flawed premise in the build.

I don't think this is an unusual dichotomy,  it's just how metas work. X beats Y, so everyone stops using Y.  Eventually,  everyone stops bringing X because it mostly just counters Y and no one uses Y. Since no one uses X, an enterprising player is free to once again bring Y.

[DeckBuilder]

I don't think this is an unusual dichotomy,  it's just how metas work. X beats Y, so everyone stops using Y.  Eventually,  everyone stops bringing X because it mostly just counters Y and no one uses Y. Since no one uses X, an enterprising player is free to once again bring Y.

Good point, Webcatcher (dammit, why are games forums full of clever people? Probably why I like them)

However (there's always a "but" when I compliment), you have to admit the meta needs to be pretty mature to turn full circle.

Corrode is a DvN mechanic. I'm impressed at the dynamism of the OCTGN meta if it is already so mature to do this.

It also presumes 2 match-up variables
(a) you are not playing High Armour like me
(b) you are not playing Corrode

I contend that if one statement is false, the solid book and great play will triumph
However, what about the match-up where both variables are false?

Surely every Wizard's Tower has Acid Ball in its Toolbox?
Surely every Wizard leverages the synergy of High Armour + Veteran's Belt + Voltaric Shield?

Which is why I concluded that if Charmyna has beaten other Wizards with this, then it's due to his play skill.

I'm not attacking Charmyna (although I admit I'm not exactly endearing myself to OCTGN players on this forum).
In fact I've been profuse in my compliments.

But (there's always a "but") the fact that it is unbeaten just does not make sense.
Maybe because Charmyna has used Voltari as his spawnpoint and I've used Forge due to Golems/Spirits.
Maybe Watergate has so influenced the OCTGN meta while Golem Pit influenced my local meta down high armour.

I will test and I will no doubt need to eat huge helpings of humble pie (like I did over Procrastination Amulet).
I'm just speaking my honest impressions.

I hope it works because that means my build will work too.

But at best, I believe this to be a "moment in time" meta build that card gamers know all about.

[webcatcher]

Remember that my experience is all from table top games and may not apply exactly,  but I find that metas evolve pretty quickly.  The first stage (X beats Y so everyone stops using Y) happens almost instantaneously.  Most people will take Y out of their builds as soon as X is released because they know what's coming. The rest will follow within a couple of weeks.  The next stage (everyone stops playing X because no one uses Y anymore) can take a few months to a year,  but I bet in Mage Wars it happens pretty fast compared to a miniatures game because you can play a lot of games in a relatively short period and because there's a lot of competition for book space.