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Author Topic: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)  (Read 5222 times)

Satenus

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First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« on: August 14, 2014, 07:54:51 AM »
This is my first try to Spellbook building, until now I've been playing with the suggested Spellbook. This book probably has too many creatures and almost no focus, I built it with versatility in mind. Your opinions and suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Thanks.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Wizard's Fury[/spellbookname]
[mage]Wizard (Earth)[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWA04]2 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j16]1 x  Mordok's Obelisk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j12]2 x  Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j07]1 x  Gate to Voltari[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j14]1 x  Mana Siphon[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ01]1 x  Enchanter's Wardstone[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]2 x  Wizard's Tower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j21]1 x  Suppression Orb[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKW01]2 x  Wall of Steel[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c05]1 x  Blue Gremlin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC03]1 x  Devouring Jelly[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c35]1 x  Stonegaze Basilisk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c09]1 x  Darkfenne Hydra[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c18]1 x  Gorgon Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC08]2 x  Gargoyle Sentry[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c27]2 x  Moonglow Faerie[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c21]1 x  Huginn, Raven Familiar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC09]1 x  Iron Golem[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC05]1 x  Screech Harpy[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e15]2 x  Essence Drain[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e20]1 x  Harmonize[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE04]1 x  Enchantment Transfusion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e23]1 x  Jinx[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x  Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e01]1 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e05]1 x  Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE06]1 x  Lion Savagery[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e19]1 x  Ghoul Rot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e30]1 x  Pacify[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q19]1 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q01]1 x  Arcane Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q08]1 x  Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q23]1 x  Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q32]1 x  Suppression Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q22]1 x  Moonglow Amulet[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i28]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i25]1 x  Shift Enchantment[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]2 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI06]1 x  Defend[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]2 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i09]1 x  Drain Power[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

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The master always said that duels must be decided by the skill of the mage, not the number of his minions... he didn't know what he was talking about!
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Satenus

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2014, 12:11:07 PM »
So I had 3 games this weekend with the book, went 2-1, not bad for a first try!
Learned a few things: gremlin is great, the correct placement of the gate is critical and mana denial is a bad strategy for a friendly game.

So for now the only change is -1 faerie/+1 gremlin.
What do you think? I'm still looking for a focus for the book.

I'd love to get some feedback on this one, thanks...
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The master always said that duels must be decided by the skill of the mage, not the number of his minions... he didn't know what he was talking about!
It requires great skill to summon and control an army of creatures, and great is, also, the reward!

Jon.Ambriz

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2014, 04:23:09 PM »
If you are trying to go for something like an Earth Wizard, I'd say take out some creatures for more Earth Attack spells. Two Hurl Boulders are nice, but with one bound on your Wizard's Tower that means you are relying on your creatures to do the bulk of the damage, which can be costly if they get Pacified or Charmed.

With only 6 ways to get rid of enchantments, it's not out of the realm of possibility that you'll run out of those Seeking Dispels/Dispels/Nullifies way before the big enchantments are placed.

Also, how do you deal with a Forcemaster who has Charmed your Hydra and your Gorgon Archer, and has put your Stonegaze Basilisk to sleep, while you've run out of Dispels on getting rid of her enchantments?
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That's a nice spell you have there. It'd be a shame if something happened to it.

silverclawgrizzly

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2014, 07:30:05 PM »
You'll do well without that Screeching Harpy. Diversify is a good thing but put it into your attack spells. Surging Wave, Acid Ball, Flameblast, etc  can help you get through your opponents weaknesses.  A few more Dispels will help, and given the number of creatures you have I'd take out the Modoks Obelisk. Looks fairly solid as a book though.
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Intangible0

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2014, 01:32:55 AM »
Both responses were well said. When I make a book I try to visualize what it's trying to accomplish. With Wizard you have plenty of versatility which is obviously its greatest strength. Generally with an Earth Wizard your strategies are less subtle and are more about strong plays.

Hurl Boulder and Hurl Rock are usually the best bang for their buck when it comes to damage. Iron Golem is considered a very impressive creature if you're willing to invest the teleports into it. Iron wall is the heaviest wall but expensive to extend.

You obviously are boasting strong creatures so Gate to Voltari seems to be the emphasis of your book. That being said you should perhaps play to these strengths and go for versatility with your creatures.

Moonglow fairies tend to get popped out of the air with ease from the right spell so I wouldn't run two... maybe not even one. They don't do great damage but instead are descent for their ethereal trait. I would recommend replacing them with something that capitalizes on that trait to a better extent, something like an arc lightning or Divine Might. These are more versatile and are easier to cast.

I would cut a mana crystal. Between harmonizing the Gate and the other mana crystal you have all the mana generation you're going to need. 

Also I would cut down a Wizard's Tower. If your opponent destroys it then they've already wasted resources on it and it's time to move on. You'll have plenty of other damage dealing things with all your creatures. Oh and it's free to change out your attack spells on a tower so throw some more versatile spells in there like geyser, acid ball and jet stream.

Definitely remove the Obelisk and Suppression Orb. I feel like you won't have time to cast them and they hurt you too.

Personally I feel like your Jelly does the same thing that the Hydra is doing so I'd focus on one. Plus if you summon an Iron Golem and have the Jelly out that's 11 dice of damage and makes your opponent think twice about assaulting you.

With my suggestion you wouldn't have many creatures that would benefit from bear strength. So as great of a card as it is, unless you're planning on putting on a gremlin I would swap it out for another teleport or two dispels.

In your equipment I wouldn't run the arcane ring or moonglow amulet, you're already spreading your strategy so they won't help much. I think another mage wand would help and elemental cloak is nice if you're not being creature swarmed (since the suppression cloak takes up the same slot).

 I'd stick with Enchantment Transfusion over Shift Enchantment. You probably won't need both and the Transfusion has so many uses. Drain power is useful but Jynx somewhat does the same thing, you just aren't going to have the mana to the point where you wouldn't want to cast something else.

Last thing. Dispels and Teleports are one reason the Wizard shines. Think about how many times you're going to cast those with the mana lock you currently have in your deck, then adjust those numbers appropriately.

I hope this helped and sorry for the outburst. If you have any more questions always feel free to post me or check us out on Arcane Duels. We'll be doing a video on deck construction soon.
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DaveW

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2014, 06:22:01 PM »
One of the great benefits of being trained in Earth is the great attack spells. Hurl Boulder is good, but the shorter ranged Hurl Rock is awesome in my mind (excellent damage dice to cost ratio). I know that my opponent will be closing with my squishy Wizard, so a range 0-1 attack spell is fine. Also... Earth attacks currently do not have any specific reducers that I can think of. The Elemental Cloak is favored for its reduction to Fire and Lightning, just as the Dragonscale Hauberk and Storm Drake Hide are. Your opponent will generally take all 5-7 dice that you throw his way with Earth attack spells.

In addition, if you do go a little heavier on attack spells, then I would suggest a Hawkeye enchantment. You would add one die to every ranged attack... even the Wizard's Arcane Zap. A one mana cost spell doing four dice of damage is pretty awesome.

If you decide to stay with many creatures, then you might want 3-4 Teleports... mostly for moving the enemy Mage either away from guards or into a zone where there are several of your high attack but Slow creatures (Iron Golems and Devouring Jellies, for example). I don't know that having more than two teleports in other cases really pays off.

You will find spells that you really love and really hate. I am more a fan of Shift Enchantment than most, but I feel that it is at least as versatile as the Enchantment Transfusion. They each have their niche. Shift Enchantment can preserve the Harmonize on your spawnpoint so that you do not lose your mana generation. Enchantment Transfusion can allow several neat tricks (there are threads just on that subject).

I have played serious mana denial as an Earth Wizard before, but found that I overindulged in it to the point where I had no way to finish the opposing Mage off at the end of a game and/or didn't have enough of the right tools to use in other specific situations. Diversity, I believe, is the key in any spellbook. Having some mana denial is ok as a tool, and especially useful against specific Mages... but you don't want to overdo it.

If you are going Mordok's Obelisk and Suppression Orb (which together about kill a Beastmaster and hurt a few other Mages... Priestess and Necromancer primarily), then you will not want a Creature focus in your book. I'd either get rid of one or both conjurations or limit yourself to 4-6(?) mid-sized Creatures. My Earth Wizard includes MO but not the SO, and still only has four Creatures. Of course, there are more than a dozen attack spells in the thing also.

If you want a ton of creatures... go for it. An atypical spellbook may take some more experienced players by surprise. Note also that other Mages are more efficient at heavy Creature play, however, so if you want to play that way, you might consider switching to a Beastmaster or Necro or Priestess, for example.

Be aware that only Arcane creatures can come into play via the Gate to Voltari, so you might also remove the Gate if you find yourself removing too many Arcanes from your spellbook.

Anyway, those are some of my thoughts... hope you find some of this useful. Whatever you do, however, make it a book that you enjoy playing regardless of what everyone else says.
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Marhem

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2014, 11:02:56 PM »
1: it would be nice to add a couple quicksands (only use to buy time or if your opponent is unlucky that day)
2: if your going to waste teleports on the iron golem, might as we'll replace it with earth elemental
3: plan to take stuff out soon for hurl meteorite
4: I recommend taking out suppression orb, unless you mainly play beast master/necro

DaveW

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #7 on: August 23, 2014, 05:12:05 PM »
I forgot about Quicksand. I used to include that and/or Earthquake off and on, both of which I think are ok for an Earth Wizard if you have room for one or both toward the end of the spellbook construction process.

You usually (over 75% chance) don't destroy a creature with Quicksand, and a (usually) less expensive teleport will overcome it. Even if not teleported out, there is a 42% chance that it just delays the creature one turn. Also, Quicksand doesn't make the creature helpless... it can still use its actions normally (except for movement, flying and the protecting something else with the Intercept trait, if it has it).

Earthquake is kinda neat for being able to damage corporeal conjurations and walls, as well as having a pretty good chance of slamming many non-fliers in either of two zones. It can be used tactically in a few different ways, but it is a bit pricey in terms of mana cost.

One other comment: You might want to put in a Heal spell or some other form of healing ability beyond just the Regrowth Belt.
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Marhem

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #8 on: August 23, 2014, 05:53:52 PM »
It delays if you choose to get out.

DaveW

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #9 on: August 23, 2014, 11:04:05 PM »
Did I say otherwise? It delays at least one round if you choose to get out (42% chance to get out after one round, somewhere around 75 or 76% chance to get out by the end of four rounds.
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Satenus

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2014, 11:31:40 AM »
Thanks to you all for the feedback, I've been making changes to the book and playing a little during the past week, and right now it looks like this:

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Wizard's Fury 2.0[/spellbookname]
[mage]Wizard (Earth)[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNA01]1 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a06]1 x  Flameblast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA02]1 x  Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a08]1 x  Geyser[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]2 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a09]1 x  Jet Stream[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]1 x  Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFA02]2 x  Hurl Rock[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWJ07]1 x  Quicksand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j07]1 x  Gate to Voltari[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j12]2 x  Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j16]1 x  Mordok's Obelisk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]2 x  Wizard's Tower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j04]1 x  Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c05]2 x  Blue Gremlin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c09]1 x  Darkfenne Hydra[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC03]1 x  Devouring Jelly[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC08]1 x  Gargoyle Sentry[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c18]1 x  Gorgon Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC09]2 x  Iron Golem[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE04]1 x  Enchantment Transfusion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e15]1 x  Essence Drain[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e20]1 x  Harmonize[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e23]2 x  Jinx[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e39]1 x  Turn to Stone[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e21]1 x  Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e36]1 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e19]1 x  Ghoul Rot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e31]1 x  Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q07]1 x  Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q08]2 x  Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q19]2 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q23]1 x  Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q32]1 x  Suppression Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ10]1 x  Storm Drake Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ07]1 x  Veteran's Belt[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i06]4 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]2 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

I'm beginning to streamline the idea of the book, and my play style.

So as of now the book is based on the wizard's tower delivering stones, waves and other nasty stuff in the enemy front door, while been guarded by  a regenerative Gargoyle. I changed most of the buff enchantments for de-buff ones to put pressure on the mage and elites. Also lowered significantly the mana denial (angry people around) and greatly enhanced the attacks suite. Quicksand, Battle Forge and Veteran's Belt are new additions and haven't been tested, hope they work cause I like them a lot. Hopefully this week I'll play a lot more and will have the chance to test the changes.

Again thanks to all of you who gave me your opinion, this is really a great game with a great community, I hope to learn a lot and help others as well.
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The master always said that duels must be decided by the skill of the mage, not the number of his minions... he didn't know what he was talking about!
It requires great skill to summon and control an army of creatures, and great is, also, the reward!

Marhem

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Re: First Spellbook (Earth Wizard)
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2014, 02:47:38 PM »
I myself would make one last change, to switch the storm drake hide and the leather boots for reflex boots