Aggro Druid

[gw]

Any ideas / experience / comments on Aggro Druids are welcome.

Start - current version: Cervere summoning

Round1 - prepared hand : Tree, Battleforge
1. Move up, QC Tree to Home Area
2. QC Battleforge to NC

Round2 - prepared hand : Magebane, Nullify
1. double move to FC
2. if opponent's mage has a hidden ench on him : cast Nullify on him
   if he doesn't : cast and reveal Magebane

--- --- --- --- ---

Round3 - prepared hand : Cervere, Ghoul Rot
0. Battleforge equips novice Armor
1. cast Cervere
2. cast Ghoul Rot on opponent's mage

Alternatively you can deploy Scimitar instead od Cevere and attack (if opp. left his home area).

Round4 - prepared hand : Wardstone or Deploy Scimitar

Druid+Scimitar and Cervere and Curses (and deployed roused Raptors) kill quite fast.
Armor is your worst enemy so try to Dissolve it asap.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Aggro Druid[/spellbookname]
[mage]A Druid Spellbook[/mage]
[mage]built by the OCTGN SBB[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWA02]2 x Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNJ12]1 x Vine Tree[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ11]2 x Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ02]1 x Corrosive Orchid[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ06]1 x Nightshade Lotus[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1W04]1 x Wall of Thorns[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J04]1 x Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ01]1 x Enchanter's Wardstone[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNC10]3 x Raptor Vine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1C36]1 x Tarok, the Skyhunter[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC21]1 x Thornlasher[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1C07]1 x Cervere, The Forest Shadow[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1E36]1 x Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E01]2 x Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E28]2 x Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]1 x Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNE01]1 x Barkskin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E03]1 x Bull Endurance[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E24]1 x Magebane[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E19]1 x Ghoul Rot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E31]1 x Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E23]1 x Jinx[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E29]1 x Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E32]1 x Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE04]1 x Force Crush[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1Q18]1 x Mage Staff[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ09]1 x Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q16]1 x Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q15]1 x Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ01]1 x Dancing Scimitar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q23]1 x Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q11]1 x Gauntlets of Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q07]1 x Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ07]1 x Veterans Belt[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWI11]3 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI16]5 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I23]2 x Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I28]1 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI02]1 x Burst of Thorns[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I24]1 x Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I12]3 x Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I19]1 x Piercing Strike[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

---

current notes:

1. Dissolve vs Acid Ball
Is acid ball only good vs. 1 armor ?
It's annoying to try to set up a wall+push and fail 2 corrode

2. Transition from opp. initiative to own initiative.
How to prep a wall+push without spoiling your hand for a turn by prepping the whole combo?

full action involves check for Nullify or Armor removal
qc end of opp : wall
qc start of own : push
! important timing window : ! deployment can add armor !

3. good spells to remove/check for nullify
nullify
jinx

seeking dispel reserved for non-nullify spells

4. Bark Skin and Lifebond/Treebond with a regenerating Tree wins any damage race

[gw]

Put in [mwcard=FWE04]Force Crush[/mwcard] _and removed [mwcard=MW1A13]Thunderbolt[/mwcard] .


Tunderbolt was intended to be a possible range 3 finisher but I never got to use it and I think [mwcard=FWA02]Force Hammer[/mwcard]_ is sufficient.
Added Force Crush because it is another fixed damage over time source. Interesting to see how difficult it will be to endure the heavy upkeep.

[gw]

Some free days ahead so time to work on my deck 

Things I am wondering atm :

Remove [mwcard=DNJ06]Nightshade Lotus [/mwcard] ?  = 3 points:
It's purpose in the deck is to have an "emergency answer" against a true biggie - like Adramelech.
Problem is that,
a) I think a Sleep condition is not a sufficient answer because it's easy to remove.
b) I have played only twice against Adramalech. The first time I put him to sleep and he was simply
woken up by a Bat. The second time I equipped my Mage some Flame -X, a weapon with Reach
and simply solo'ed that bastard.
Sleep does allow me to not get distracted too much from focussing on the opponent mage though
and puts the question onto him how to deal with the situation.
c) using it costs lots of mana.
d) I never seem to use it and it takes 3 spellbook points.

Remove 1x [mwcard=MW1W04]Wall of Thorns [/mwcard] ? = 1 point :
As cheesy and nice as the Wall of Thorns/Force Push combo is, avoiding it is quite easy.
You have to make sure that the opponent neither has armor nor a Nullify.
I like to keep it in the deck once to punish careless armor behaviour of my opponent though

Remove [mwcard=MW1E28]Mongoose Agility [/mwcard] / [mwcard=FWE03]Falcon Precision [/mwcard] ? = 1-3 points
Elusive and Unavoidable are excellent traits to have. Even though I think I have rarely used them yet,
it feels to be important to have the option against heavy guarding. I do have other ways
around guarding though - like Tanglevine / Force Push / Teleport / Curses / ranged attack spells
and Cervere.

Remove [mwcard=MW1E03]Bull Endurance [/mwcard] ? = 1 point
Intended to be a heal to buy an extra round. Never used.

Add equipment ? :
My armor slot is not taken, which feels wrong - [mwcard=MW1Q06]Dragonscale Hauberk [/mwcard] would be a nice add.
Currently I can equip up to +7 armor.

Put in duplicates ? :
In case of Dispel / Dissolve I'd like to have some duplicates in. Problem is that obvious targets like
Ghoul Rot are very expensive. Not sure in general of which cards I want to have a backup .

Put in a Wand ? (Elemental / Mage)

[Sailor Vulcan]

I don't know if aggro Druid works, but if it does, it won't work like a beastmaster. Replace the mage staff with two vine staffs. Vine staff lets you place more vine markers, which hinder enemy movement and can (basically) extend the range of your spells. It also can give stuck conditions, which will be vital for an aggro Druid. It gives you a 4 dice attack with reach as well.

I think the best thing you an do is make this a buddy build with Vine Tree and Kralathor, the Devourer.

Round 1 place a vine marker, qc vine tree in corner, make it your tree bond and move twice
Round 2 place a vine marker or two, deploy a vine spell that costs 4 or 5 mana, and summon Kralathor.

The great thing about aggro Druid IMO would be that you can get vine markers closer to the enemy sooner, so you can start hindering them and casting spells at them sooner. However, you really will need to control enemy position. If they get behind you then they won't be in your vine marker territory any more.

Most of your creatures will probably have to go. You should probably keep the thornlasher. Also, you might want a surging wave or two. You need some Bloodspine walls. You also will probably need more burst of thorns and more teleport.

I could be wrong about a lot of this though. No one has ever tried an aggro Druid as far as I know. Hope this helped. GL!

[gw]

Yes, thanks for the input.

I actually have been playing this Druid for some months and the Druid supports aggro quite well because...

1. Vine Tree can deploy directly into the heat (Raptor+Rouse)
2. Vines hinder
3. Druid starts with innate Regen+2 (Tree/Lifebond). Some armor added and she is a superb tank - and she is fighting upfront. From R4 onwards I try to only use the QC and deployment each round and use the FullAction to attack.
Actually, the damage output of Druid+Scimitar and Cervere and Magebane/Ghoul Rot (and QC and roused Raptor) is very high and quick. The curses actually add a lot of pressure.

And the creature choice has been evolving for quite some time - I am not sure about Tarok but I am quite convinced about the Raptors and Cervere (alhough Cervere is being tested atm, but I love his fast/elusive combo)
The vine spread is ok I think. In R3 I deploy a vine in opponents NC. In R4 Cervere starts hindering and from then on the mage will be perma-hindered as the vines arrive.

I decided in favour of the Mage Staff vs Vine because it has Reach and Ethereal (not only Reach) and I never felt the need to Stuck.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Well then I suppose I stand corrected. That's actually a lot better than I thought it was. In my defense it's kind if hard to read the spell lists on my cell phone.

[gw]

Still any criticism is appreciated because it makes me think about stuff.
Like your post made me think about " Why going aggro with the Druid and not MageX ?"

Don't want to sound too harsh when I reject ideas. I really do appreciate input.

Also, putting the strategy / first turn ideas below the spellbook probably is not very clever of me too. Probably gets overread easily.

[gw]

Removed [mwcard=MW1I12]Force Push [/mwcard] and [mwcard=MW1W04]Wall of Thorns[/mwcard].
Put in [mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ01]Enchanter's Wardstone [/mwcard] to have the option to cast it on R4 to protect
a succesful Magebane and Ghoul Rot cursing.
Also put in [mwcard=MW1I07]Dissolve [/mwcard] because I had 1 spellbook point left.

updated start post

[Wildhorn]

Summoning Cervere only on 3rd round make you do not attack until 4th round. Kinda late for an aggro build.

Also, puttig BF in NC make that you can't go in your opponent corner or lose benefit of it.

[gw]

I would like to attack earlier, but the only alternative I see is to double-move R1+R2 and then attack R3.
That's only 1 turn earlier and Mage is solo - or is there any other way to speed things up ?
This of course assumes that the opponent stays in his home corner (=longest distance). If opponent moves out one might consider not summoning Cervere R3 but deploy Scimitar or so and then attack immediately.
That's how I play(ed) it. In theory I always assume longest distance til I can attack.

But true probably casting BF one turn later in FC is better - it loses one mana but has better board placement .

Summoning Cervere only on 3rd round make you do not attack until 4th round. Kinda late for an aggro build.

Also, puttig BF in NC make that you can't go in your opponent corner or lose benefit of it.

[Wildhorn]

Cheetah Speed to allow you to make the distance and still cast stuff. And a Force Push on Cervere to give it the extra zone needed to attack if opponent stay in corner

[gw]

I love the Cheetah Speed idea. Let's see..

R1: 19

QC    Cheetah -5
F   Double Move + Tree -9

R2: 15
F   Cervere -15

R3: 10
QC   Force Push -3

Cervere attacks home area.
Mage doesn't.
No BF
7 mana left, Full / DoubleMove+QC left


It's tempting...Cheetah opening is really sexy.
Not sure if I like leaving out the BF though.
Do Forcemaster open this way ? Cheetahing and
QC-equipping while running ? That's actually cool.
I feel that Cheetah and the FullAction demand of a
summon don't go together well.

Cheetah Speed to allow you to make the distance and still cast stuff. And a Force Push on Cervere to give it the extra zone needed to attack if opponent stay in corner

[sIKE]

I loved this style opening for Core and FvW releases, but CoK in my opinion really sucked the life from this hyper aggressive style of play.

Counter
Round 1 - Armor + Guardian Angel or other Intercept type creature.
Round 2 - Wall of Thorns + Push
Round 3 - Push thru WoT (if possible) or Hurl Boulder + Hurl Boulder

If there is a round 4 next biggest attack spell I have ....