Blood Wolves

[sdougla2]

Here is a Beastmaster build I've been working on.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Blood Wolves[/spellbookname]
[mage]Beastmaster[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1a06]1 x  Flameblast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]1 x  Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]3 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j10]1 x  Lair[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j13]2 x  Mana Flower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j22]3 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j19]1 x  Deathlock[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC02]4 x  Dire Wolf[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c04]6 x  Bitterwood Fox[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c29]1 x  Redclaw, Alpha Male[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c38]4 x  Timber Wolf[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e20]1 x  Harmonize[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e09]1 x  Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]1 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e28]1 x  Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e27]3 x  Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e05]1 x  Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e21]1 x  Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]2 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e31]1 x  Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNQ09]1 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q23]1 x  Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q25]1 x  Ring of Beasts[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q07]1 x  Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q09]1 x  Enchanter's Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i23]2 x  Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i20]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]3 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

I've been wanting a build that makes good use of Dire Wolves and a build that makes good use of the Lair. This seemed like a good way to do both.

Deathlock is a key card against the Druid, Warlock, Priestess, and Priest, particularly with Dire Wolves to inflict Bleeds. In matchups where that doesn't work, I can play a few Timber Wolves and resort to using my mage as mobile artillery.

Thoughts?

[silverclawgrizzly]

This looks like a vicious build. I've been tinkering with something similar with the Johtari Beast Master actually.
I might take out one of the Marked For Deaths and double up on Cheetah Speed and Mongoose Agility so that your wolves can get where they need to be.

[Schwenkgott]

Looks interesting.

I'd rather go with 2 Rajans Fury and 1 Tooth and Nail, because you have lots of animals. This will be more cost effective that buffing each one with enchantments.
In terms of being able to keep your forces alive, you should consider using Renewing Spring and Etherian Lifetree.

[sdougla2]

I've been considering Enfeeble as a means of preventing my opponent from getting away. I don't particularly want to put Cheetah Speed on Dire Wolves. Blood Thirsty reduces the value of Cheetah Speed, and while they're decently tough, they're not tough enough that I want to put a lot of resources into enchanting them unless they're my Pet.

I may add Tooth & Nail back in, but Rajan's Fury is much better with Falcons and Cervere, which I run in my other Beastmaster build. When you say you'd rather run 2 Rajan's Furies and a Tooth & Nail, what exactly did you mean? Instead of what?

I'm not sure that I like Etherian Lifetree. It sounds good in theory, but mostly against Necromancers and Iron Golem/Devouring Jelly based Wizards. The problem in practice is that zombies, particularly Venomous Zombies, will still win attrition battles against animals decisively. I think I would like it better in certain Wizard matchups, and I should test it more, but I haven't found it as useful against the Necromancer as I thought it would be.

I've tried running Renewing Spring in a few builds, but I'm never willing to accept the tempo loss to actually use it.

I don't focus much at all on enchanting my creatures in this build. Fully half of the points I have in enchantments are curses. Still, it's nice to have the option to buff up a Pet and/or Redclaw. And I always have the option to enchant my mage.

[Myrddin]

Looks great: I have a similar Johktari build, though I go back and forth between the hard 'deathlock' approach and the more general wolfpack. Very vulnerable to iron golems and the like, of course!

[sdougla2]

I keep rearranging my Beastmaster builds. I've been transitioning this build away from dog swarm and more towards midrange with artillery backup. I played 2 games tonight with a similar build, and I liked the basic framework, but I wished that I had more ways to punish a Forcemaster with stacked defenses and/or Forcefield, so I added in some more Surging Waves and a Magebane before posting the list.

The game against the Forcemaster was a little absurd. My opponent threw 4 Force Hammers, 2 Hurl Boulders, and 4 Invisible Fists (it was close to that at any rate) against my mage. With armor and Cobra Reflexes, I didn't die, and managed to eventually win. It was probably a 90 minute game, which is the longest game of Mage Wars I've played in months.

Mind Control and Forcefield were extremely annoying. I may need to include another Dispel, but I'm resisting so far.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Blood Wolves[/spellbookname]
[mage]Johtari Beastmaster[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]6 x  Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]2 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j22]3 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j19]1 x  Deathlock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j10]1 x  Lair[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC02]4 x  Dire Wolf[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC03]1 x  Galador, Protector of Straywood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC16]4 x  Spitting Raptor[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e21]1 x  Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e09]1 x  Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e28]2 x  Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e20]1 x  Harmonize[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e27]2 x  Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e31]1 x  Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e24]1 x  Magebane[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e07]1 x  Cobra Reflexes[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q07]1 x  Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x  Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q13]2 x  Ivarium Longbow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q23]1 x  Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i28]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]3 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i23]1 x  Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

I can spam Dire Wolves out of the Lair as my baseline play, but in matchups where that doesn't work so well, Spitting Raptors and Galador should go a long way. Except against zombies. Against zombies I have to rush my opponent and then start focusing them down with attack spells.

[Death-from-above]

I like both builds that you have posted here. Did you find that Redclaw wasn't as useful as he looked like he would be?

Also, is this more recent build an answer just to the Forcemaster or is it an adjustment to some weakness you found during some of your matches?

[Myrddin]

I find walls of thorns quite pleasing against forcefields... also against Forcemasters in general, as they sometimes rely on defenses more than armour.

[sdougla2]

My issue with Redclaw is that he's fairly expensive, and not as tough as I would like. His individual attack is not fantastic for how expensive he is, and he's not tough enough to survive the beating likely to come his way. The bonus to canines is nice, but he's usually killed before it amounts to much. He should get a little more survivable if you add in Defend, but overall he wasn't performing as well as I wanted.

The more recent build was not a response to the Forcemaster, though the inclusion of Magebane and so many copies of Surging Wave was.

I've been finding that range 2 is where you want the Johktari Beastmaster. That is the range on bows, and you can use your mobility advantage to maintain that range pretty effectively. It's hard for melee opponents to hit you from there, particularly if you use Tanglevine and hinder them with creatures. Surging Wave is fantastic at that range, as it allows you to shut down guards, break Block/Reverse Attack, and bypass defenses. It also makes it harder for people to chase you, as it sometimes pushes.

I don't like Wall of Thorns for this build, as it blocks line of sight for my ranged attacks, and my creatures can't move through it efficiently.

[Lord Petiso]

Following the idea of sdougla2, what do you think about this?

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Nature powers[/spellbookname]
[mage]Johtari Beastmaster[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j02]1 x  Animal Kinship[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j08]1 x  Hand of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j10]1 x  Lair[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j13]2 x  Mana Flower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j22]3 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j03]1 x  Tooth & Nail[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j04]1 x  Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c38]3 x  Timber Wolf[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c29]1 x  Redclaw, Alpha Male[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c04]3 x  Bitterwood Fox[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c13]1 x  Fellella, Pixie Familiar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC02]2 x  Dire Wolf[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e21]1 x  Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e02]2 x  Block[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e27]2 x  Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e04]1 x  Chains of Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]3 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e28]2 x  Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE03]2 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e13]2 x  Eagle Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]3 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e05]1 x  Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q02]1 x  Bearskin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q09]1 x  Enchanter's Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ02]1 x  Hunting Bow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q25]1 x  Ring of Beasts[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q30]1 x  Staff of Beasts[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q07]1 x  Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i23]2 x  Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i03]3 x  Call of the Wild[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i02]2 x  Battle Fury[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]2 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI06]2 x  Power Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i13]1 x  Group Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]1 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]1 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i17]2 x  Minor Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i19]2 x  Piercing Strike[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

[sdougla2]

I have a number of problems with that build. From a general strategy perspective, you're too focused on enchantments for your creature base. I don't really like to enchant Timber Wolves because they're slightly too squishy, and Dire Wolves aren't much better. Focusing on enchanting creatures works better with bigger creatures like Steelclaw Grizzly. It works fine on a Pet Timber Wolf, but you're playing Johktari Beastmaster, not Straywood. With Timber and Dire Wolves, I'd rather focus on supporting them as a group with Marked for Death and Acid Ball than supporting them individually. Enchanting mid sized creatures like Timber Wolves might work better with Defend from Forged in Fire, but I haven't gotten the chance to play with that yet.

If you're going to use Fellella, use more curses. Overall she's too expensive and vulnerable to direct damage and Unavoidable attacks to be consistently good in my experience, but if you're going to use her, at least give her more options.

You only run 1 bow, and no attack spells. That makes Hawkeye likely to become irrelevant, and you won't be able to harass your opponent from range 2 nearly as well as you want to be able to with the Johktari Beastmaster. If you plan to maintain range 2, use Eagleclaw Boots, not Leather Boots.

Animal Kinship is incredibly inefficient if you're going to play it for only 1 of the bonuses. Run other types of animals or take it out.

Staff of Beasts is only good if you plan to run in and hit things, and use the spell to support your creatures. This works better for the Straywood Beastmaster than the Johktari. And if you're going to run Staff of Beasts, why run Power Strike?

You have no creature that are really exciting to use Battle Fury on. It's awesome with Lord of Fire, but getting an extra 4-5 dice attack with it isn't so exciting. If you used 2+ Tooth and Nails, it would make more sense, as the Piercing bonus works for multiple strikes.

I would drop either the Lair or the Battle Forge. Based on the rest of your cards, I would drop the Battle Forge.

[Ashoran]

I ran a few games with a similar build to sdougla2's Johktari Beastmaster. It worked really well. Those ranged attacks are a constant pain in the ass for your opponent since they are hard to stop and they constantly put corrode on the opponents creatures and mages.
I included a few nullifies and jinx to keep the mage where he is at the crucial points.

How do you play your opening turns? Ever tried to put the lair on FC? And might it be worth it to include an extra mana flower?

[sdougla2]

I've been opening with Lair, sometimes Harmonized, with the placement depending on my opponent. Against a more passive opponent I'll generally place it in FC. This allows me to put them under pressure quickly, and allows me to summon creatures into the zone I'll want to be standing on if they stay in their start corner. Against an aggressive opening, I'll generally put it in NC, and try to keep it between me and my opponent in order to maximize the benefit of hindering.

I've gone back and forth on including Mana Flowers. Mana Flowers allow me greater diversity in opening options, and would allow me to summon out of the Lair more frequently without wasting my mage's actions, but at the expense of slowing down the pressure I can put my opponent under if I'm going to use the Lair.

I've also been debating changing the creature mix a little bit.

Maybe something like

Creatures (24) [8]

1 Galador, Protector of Straywood (5)
3 Dire Wolf (9)
2 Spitting Raptor (6)
2 Timber Wolf (4)

That would save me a few points for extra utility, and give me a cheaper creature option.

[Myrddin]

I've been opening with Lair, sometimes Harmonized, with the placement depending on my opponent. Against a more passive opponent I'll generally place it in FC. This allows me to put them under pressure quickly, and allows me to summon creatures into the zone I'll want to be standing on if they stay in their start corner. Against an aggressive opening, I'll generally put it in NC, and try to keep it between me and my opponent in order to maximize the benefit of hindering.

I've gone back and forth on including Mana Flowers. Mana Flowers allow me greater diversity in opening options, and would allow me to summon out of the Lair more frequently without wasting my mage's actions, but at the expense of slowing down the pressure I can put my opponent under if I'm going to use the Lair.

I've also been debating changing the creature mix a little bit.

Maybe something like

Creatures (24) [8]

1 Galador, Protector of Straywood (5)
3 Dire Wolf (9)
2 Spitting Raptor (6)
2 Timber Wolf (4)

That would save me a few points for extra utility, and give me a cheaper creature option.

I find I get most bang for my buck out of Lair when I can summon smaller creatures out of it. Being able to put down a Lair FC and then summon foxes, cats and falcons is incredible. The fast creatures can attack even a completely camping opponent, and it's quite common for an opponent with initiative to advance a single square in one direction or the other, meaning that you can drop a Lair at their feet and then use it to summon a bobcat, rouse it, and get a 4-dice attack on them on the second turn. If they run from your cat, it gets more dice, if they stay you get them pinned down to shoot at. And its dodge makes swinging at it somewhat unreliable. Opening against a squishy wizard can be something like

Turn 1: double move, Lair FC, harmonise it (0 mana left)
Turn 2: (9 mana, 3 on Lair): summon cat (2), rouse (1), attack with it. If they stay in the square, bear strength on self and go and join the attack. In case they don't, prepare something else (Ring of Enchantments, Hawkeye and armour are all good).

Falcons are particularly good in my experience against the (zombie) necromancer, as most of his troops can't guard...

[sIKE]

Falcons are particularly good in my experience against the (zombie) necromancer, as most of his troops can't guard...

They can guard and get the counterstrike against the Falcons, as they are pests you do not have to attack them when they are guarding.