November 23, 2024, 11:37:13 PM

Author Topic: Tool Shed Air Wizard  (Read 5942 times)

Coshade

  • Arcane Duels Host
  • Administrator
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1935
  • Banana Stickers 6
    • View Profile
    • Arcane Duels!
Tool Shed Air Wizard
« on: August 26, 2014, 01:19:44 AM »
Hey there,
I posted the spell book on the Arcane Duels post but people wanted a more in depth look at why i chose the cards. So here it is!

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname][/spellbookname]
[mage]Wizard (Air)[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWA01]2 x  Arc Lightning[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a09]1 x  Jet Stream[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]1 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]1 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a13]1 x  Thunderbolt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a07]1 x  Lightning Bolt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a08]1 x  Geyser[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a02]1 x  Chain Lightning[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j16]1 x  Mordok's Obelisk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j24]1 x  Temple of Light[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j12]2 x  Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]1 x  Wizard's Tower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j07]1 x  Gate to Voltari[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j04]1 x  Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ10]1 x  Stranglevine[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1c18]1 x  Gorgon Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c35]1 x  Stonegaze Basilisk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c05]2 x  Blue Gremlin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC03]1 x  Devouring Jelly[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC08]1 x  Gargoyle Sentry[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e09]1 x  Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e23]1 x  Jinx[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e16]1 x  Force Hold[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e13]1 x  Eagle Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e06]1 x  Circle of Lightning[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e21]1 x  Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x  Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e38]2 x  Teleport Trap[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e20]2 x  Harmonize[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e10]1 x  Decoy[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q19]1 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q32]1 x  Suppression Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q23]1 x  Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ10]1 x  Meditation Amulet[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q04]1 x  Deflection Bracers[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWQ10]1 x  Storm Drake Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q13]1 x  Ivarium Longbow[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q07]1 x  Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q08]2 x  Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i28]3 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI06]1 x  Defend[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i23]1 x  Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]2 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]1 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i21]1 x  Purge Magic[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

This was the first spellbook I ever made (I've been playing since December). The idea is of the deck is to be able to pull out the correct tools depending on what the opponent is doing. This requires a lot of knowledge on cards and proper judgement on what the opponents plans are. It is one of the few "reactive" decks I have seen on the forums.When I play a new player blind I usually open Mana Crystal and Blue Gremlin as it keeps up against most other builds in some manner.  I'm changing the deck as I learn more about the game and it is far from "perfect."

In all of these scenarios if you suspect there might be a nullify/reverse attack etc. on something just use decoy, or one of the useless enchantments (depending on the situation some of them are useless) to help identify it. My favorite is to cast harmonize on a mage to find out if there is a nullify (and usually mages seeking dispel it if they didn't have a nullify on :D).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attacked by turns 1-2 (A rush response)
The most rushy deck I have seen is turn 1 full action move one then teleport 2, then hurl a boulder as a quickcast. If I see that someone is trying to attack me quickly I usually decide that racing is the best option. I usually suspect the Forcemaster, and Warlock to try something like this. I prefer to open with a Blue Gremlin and Mana Crystal in this case. I consider it the safe way to keep up with damage if they rush, but also not lose a long game if they decide to not rush me. By turn 2 it's easy to identify this rush so I activate Voltaric Shield and wizard's tower (hurl boulder), Blue Gremlin, and punch in the face usually does more damage then anything they can muster. You can keep up the damage if they decide to commit and statistically take the victory. You can also Jet Stream and shove them into the arena wall to give an extra edge.

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

Swarm Decks - This usually focuses around the Beastmaster, and Warlords and Necromancers. Every mage can swarm in a unique way. I consider a swarm to be someone that has at least 4 creatures by turn 5. I see swarms as being either aggressive or defense. The way I identify that is if they put their spawnpoint on their side or my side (My side is not the board cut in half but more of a diagonal half since we start at the corners).  If it's on my side I usually assume I will be attacked by turn 3. If it's on their side I usually consider being attacked around turn 5-6.

Offensive swarm response - If I see the opponent run 2 spaces and put a spawnpoint two spaces away from my start point I consider this an offensive swarm. I open with Mana Crystal and Battleforge. Turn two I usually leather boots, circle of lightning and Devouring Jelly. Turn 3 you have something to defend an onslaught. Jellies are really good defenders. If the opponent wants to advance then defensive Wizard's tower Arcane Zap/Punch in the face and reveal circle of lightning. You can usually out damage the opponent with the Jelly.

Defensive Swarm Response- If I see the opponent cast a spawnpoint on their side I usually assume I have until turn 5 to make prepare. I usually want a battle forge, 2 mana crystals, Gorgan Archer, Stonegaze Basilisk, Wizard's Tower, Mordok's Obelisk, and the Ivarium Longbow out. You can usually focus down most of the heavy threats and the weak/cripple combo is deadly if mages choose to get within range. Also strangle vine and Force Hold are great ways to exploit a mage that decided they wanted to advance cautiously. You have a firing line of 4 strong attacks that they have to get away from.

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

Buddy Builds - This is type usually focuses on one strong creature that gets in your face between turn 3-4. When I play against the priest and warlock I usually try to be cautious here. A classic build for the warlock is turn 1 mana crystal and double move, turn 2 Adramelech.

Usually I open double mana crystal. If I see the opponent double move to save up the mana I suspect a buddy build. Turn 2 you can agony (this usually cuts the buddy down quite a bit), wizard's tower and lightning bolt to try and seriously delay the buddy. If that fails to seriously damage the buddy I usually Force Hold then hurl a boulder and arcane zap get him to back off. You can also use teleport trap to try and delay things. The most important things to get up is basic armor by the time he gets to you.

Against Priest/Priestess divine intervention shenanigans you can usually turn 1 double mana crystal, turn 2 wizard's tower/ hurl boulder, then agony. If they keep buffing the buddy for a delayed divine intervention then Devouring Jelly, armor, and the wizard tower arcane zap, punch combo works really well.

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

Long game type of builds - I consider attacking turn 6 or later to be a long game type of play. I find a lot of new players to play very defensively and fall into this category. I usually open with one of the above opening depending on the mage. If I suspect that they are going to be hanging back I make it hard to attack. The goal is to have the Battle Forge (harmonized), Temple of Light, Wizard's Tower (Harmonized) and Gate of Voltari. I usually get the Meditation Amulet out turn 3 then all my full cast actions are spent channeling more mana so I can get creatures out of the Gate of Votlari and my equipment out. When they choose to attack I have the Temple of Light and Wizard's Tower NC with Elemental Wand Lightning Bolt while using the meditation amulet (usually I have some mana saved on the Wizard's Tower). You can Force Hold or Stranglevine to delay and use teleport traps to help you. Often you'll have creatures to help you and Akiro's Favor as well.

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

Force Master - The best way to deal with creatures that have defenses is to have Arc lightning (elemental wand), Arc lightning (Wizard's Tower), and the Temple of light (1 dice with the chance of daze/stun :D). Stonegaze can be great with Akiro's Favor to get the cripple.

Temple of Light - I find this as a soft way to deal more damage to mages that use Devouring Jelly. It is also great against Necromancer's. I've considered taking it out a lot. It was very helpful at the Gen Con tournament though and I still think it is worth it. On top of that the chance to stun or daze is nice if you decide to go mass lightning spells.

I often find players that don't like the basic melee attack. A lot of times they choose to defend or run away. I find that the punch in the face action is a great way to save mana while keeping up with the total dice dealt in the game.

There are mages I still haven't played against. And I hope to revise this Wizard to be able to deal with everything in the future. This Wizard got 4th place at Gen Con! I hope this write up helps you plan out alternative ways of dealing with problematic spell books!

Let me know what you think! If you think it sucks let me know why! I'll update this main post if I get questions regarding how I respond to things.

Also here's a link to the post of it being played against the Anvil Throne Warlord - http://forum.arcanewonders.com/index.php?topic=14530.0

-Justin
« Last Edit: August 26, 2014, 08:30:46 AM by Coshade »
  • Favourite Mage: Malakai Priest

Lord0fWinter

  • Warden of the North
  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 623
  • Banana Stickers 7
  • www.magewars.weebly.com
    • View Profile
Re: Tool Shed Air Wizard
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2014, 08:41:51 AM »
Thanks for the write up! What type of build do you think gives you the most trouble?

Also, how did your tournament matches go? I know you had a bad roll with Chain Lightning against the eventual champion, but how were the other ones?
  • Favourite Mage: Darkfenne Necromancer
Visit my Mage Wars blog at www.magewars.weebly.com, also check me out on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MageWarsBlog and on twitter at @MageWarsBlog

Biblofilter

  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 836
  • Banana Stickers 1
    • View Profile
Re: Tool Shed Air Wizard
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2014, 10:01:33 AM »
Thx for this! Much appreciated from an apprentice mage. (and keep the videos comming)

I have a ton of questions:

Whats [mwcard=MW1J16]Mordok's Obelisk[/mwcard] doing in your build? You have quite a few creature yourself, and you have [mwcard=MW1J24]Temple of Light[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1A02]Chain Lightning[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1C18]Gorgon Archer[/mwcard] and an [mwcard=MW1Q13]Ivarium Longbow[/mwcard] which should take care of swarms?

[mwcard=DNJ10]Stranglevine[/mwcard] - whats that for?

[mwcard=MW1E13]Eagle Wings[/mwcard] - what that for? thats one pretty expensive for you.

[mwcard=MW1E20]Harmonize[/mwcard] - why 2?

On equipment: If you use the bow you can´t use [mwcard=DNQ10]Meditation Amulet[/mwcard] or [mwcard=MW1Q08]Elemental Wand[/mwcard], and you only have 1 [mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]Wizard's Tower[/mwcard], so if you want to be able to throw a lot of attack spell this might be worth looking into?

Why the [mwcard=FWQ10]Storm Drake Hide[/mwcard]? Thematic(one spell point save)? or you just not afraid of fire?

[mwcard=MW1I23]Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]. Do you ever use it?

and finally [mwcard=MW1I21]Purge Magic[/mwcard]. Thougts?

On openings: What good would a Blue Gremlin in turn one do, if you expect a Lord of Fire (or similar) would´nt fx Temple of Light be more usefull (and if ToL is in your deck, why not add Hand of Bim Shalla to your build?)

Thats it for now :)

ps: How do i make does codes for spell-pop-up? (thx i tried to edit them all in)


« Last Edit: August 26, 2014, 05:30:11 PM by Biblofilter »
  • Favourite Mage: Wychwood Druid
"Töten". "Alles Töten".
Best strat advice ever

sIKE

  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 4172
  • Banana Stickers 18
  • Ugh
    • View Profile
Re: Tool Shed Air Wizard
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2014, 10:26:03 AM »
Quote
ps: How do i make does codes for spell-pop-up?
At the top of the page click the Cards link and go from there.
  • Favourite Mage: Malakai Priest

Snotwalker

  • New Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 40
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Tool Shed Air Wizard
« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2014, 01:28:35 PM »
I like the versatility here.  I do question why you'd chose Blue Gremlin as a 1st Turn summon?  He's a pest, so he can be ignored as a guard and doesn't hinder.  Don't get me wrong, I love the Gremlin... but as an early summon?  There are better fast creature options that don't require paying mana to make them fast.  Just wonderin'. 

Coshade

  • Arcane Duels Host
  • Administrator
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1935
  • Banana Stickers 6
    • View Profile
    • Arcane Duels!
Re: Tool Shed Air Wizard
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2014, 11:37:38 PM »
Thanks for the write up! What type of build do you think gives you the most trouble?

Also, how did your tournament matches go? I know you had a bad roll with Chain Lightning against the eventual champion, but how were the other ones?

@LordofWinter -
Right now I consider my biggest problem to be the Wizard. Getting an accurate read on my opponent is difficult due to the extreme versatility of the class. Also in my meta everyone has been playing a lot longer then I have so they already played and don't want to use their wizards anymore. I also lack a lot of direct damage, this can cause problems with high armor/equipment builds.

Gen Con Tourny question - I'll try to answer this question as best as possible. It's all based on memory so sorry if it seems vague.

First match - I was versing a Beastmaster Straywood. He told me that he plays his fiance a lot that plays an air wizard. When he found out I was playing an air wizard I could tell he had a practiced strategy. It was an aggressive lair with rajin's fury. I played my typical Gate of Voltari/Harmonize. I got a gremlin out and wizard's tower. By turn 3 he was attacking me with wolves. I decided to hurl boulders (wizard's tower) arcane zap/punch in the face and blue gremlin all the creatures to death. I manged to get a gorgan archer out and only shot at his Beastmaster. I think by the end of the match I had 6 weaks on his mage and various other weaks on other things. I had armor and regrowth belt and he had leather boots on. There was a lot of tactical positioning with teleport traps and teleports. I tried to delay his onslaught as long as possible while dealing as much damage to him as I could. In the end he got a girzzly out and I used force hold on it. He ran away and i charged him down with arcane zap and fast gremlins. His major problem was he used attacks to try and kill my tower and gate of voltari. Both of those actions allowed me to get more weaks on him. I was happy on my first tournament win ever.

Game 2 - I was disappointed that in game 2 I was versing Nathan. He and I play all the time and we have known each other for over a decade now. We came to Gen Con to play other people because we train to have fun matchups against strangers. But I know the program was all random so there is no reason to blame anyone or anything weird like that. It was of course the Wizard Vs Warlord that you see us play in the 3rd episode of Arcane Duels. He and I knew each other's spell booksreally well since we both spent time helping each other build it.
The match was fun. I knew his opening so I decided to change mine up a bit. I went with double mana crystal on  the left side in positions to prevent him from advancing his outposts (they are not allowed to be place adjacent to each other). I used Devouring Jelly and got my bow out. I used cirlce of lightning and started devouring all of his goblin minions. My Jelly ended up munching on his mages face and I got some really lucky dice rolls. I ended it with teleporting him repeated back to my jelly and Wizard's tower/hurl boulder, devouring Jelly, Arcane Zap, and punch in the face. It was a match that ended around round 7 and we both just wanted to finish the game quickly. He did manage to wittle me down quite a bit though! This unfortunately prevented him from advancing to the top 8 where we wanted to really vs each other :D

Game 3- This game was against a Fire Wizard (he took 2nd place in the tourny) then went heavy armor (first turn battle forge) and heavy enchantments. He tanks up then kills you with fire attacks. This build scared the hell out of me since I never played a wizard before. I messed up a lot of my turns by casting the wrong cards or not revealing his nullify's the right way. Every creature I made I questioned if I wanted to keep alive because it had upkeep costs from card he would play on me. All the damage I did was negated completely and he had regenerate 2 and  sunfire amulet on. I really should have mage wand/dissolved a lot more. I did mange to get a purge magic off that killed a bunch of enchantments. He took the win and played an awesome game that I learned a lot from. I didn't realize just how powerful equipment is in the game. I'm not one to call a strategy overpowered or anything, but this does make me want to take special considerations in how to counter it in every spellbook I make (3 dissolves is the minimum I actually think you need way more to properly deal with it). There are other options such as corrodes/rushing/or dealing direct damage.

Game 4 - I was versing a zombie necromancer. This game was just fun. Nathan recommended to me that when versing necromancers to be as aggressive as possible. So turn 1 I moved 2 and cast wizard's tower/hurl boulder. He did ring/libro combo. I managed to get 3 hurl boulders before he decided to wall out my tower. I got a bow and Jelly while he was getting zombies. The game was definitely in my favor. But I had to close it out or he would quickly be able to make up the dice lost. I teleported him to the jelly and kept shooting him/arcane zap. He zombies were attacking my Jelly which was probably a mistake. Once my jelly died he summoned a healing fountain and I was worried. I just kept getting pummiled in the face by his zombies while trying to do 5 more damage to kill him (dice gods hated my cheese). It was the last turn where if I didn't kill him he would easily have killed me with zombies. My initiative we both pass quick cast I decided to Thunderbolt and it managed to get me the win :D

Top 8 was after this. I was bummed that Nathan didn't make it (he lost to a forcemaster that also went top 8). If we didn't play each other he probably would have made it.

Game 5 - I was versing the original warlock that played the buddy build. It was a ruthless match with him attacking on turn 4. I had my ooze and some equipment and wizard's tower ready. He casted a lot of curses that dealt direct damage to me. I didn't want to use spells since it would damage me so I did a lot of punching and using buildings to cast spells. In the end it was my 1 life remaining to his 4. He had a defense and I had a thunderbolt in my hand. He was all out of spells to kill me at range so he would have let his ghoul rot kill me. I cast Thunderbolt, he missed his dodge and I electrocuted my way to top 4.

Game 5 - I was versing the original Beastmaster. He played an aggressive lair with no rajins fury. I got really greedy and played Gate of Voltari/harmonize. Bad move. He got birds out which was perfect since I played against a bird build in some training games. My strategy was to use my bow to reduce the birds to low health then wrap it all up with a chain lightning. As an alternative you can elemental wand/jet stream/wizard tower arc lightning/ arcane zap the birds effectively. I decided to go for the chain lightning route. I again got greedy and used my first strike on the beastmaster, then I went for the pet with 4 dice and failed the roll completely. I should have switched gears then and gone for the arcane zap,bow focus down build but instead decided to run. I had circle of lightning and it worked really well. I lost my focus and he totally deserved the win! I am pretty confident that I can beat that spell book with this one, I just need to gain more experience in keeping my cool in tough situations.

Game 6 - I was versing a water wizard. I was thinking more about the fire wizard I lost to earlier and decided to stonegaze basilisk/temple of light/wizard's tower. I just couldn't figure out what he was up too. We both played 2 mana crystals. He played a Jelly and luckily my temple of light was properly able to kill it in 3 turns. I lost the match by not equipping armor and getting pushed through walls of thorns. I should always consider having at least 2 armor when versing odd builds that I can't read. I learned a lot from this match and he was a really nice guy.

The entire Gen Con tournament was a lot of fun for me. Lots of strong players and I made some friends out there. Feel free to ask me if there's anything you want me to elaborate on.
  • Favourite Mage: Malakai Priest

Coshade

  • Arcane Duels Host
  • Administrator
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1935
  • Banana Stickers 6
    • View Profile
    • Arcane Duels!
Re: Tool Shed Air Wizard
« Reply #6 on: August 27, 2014, 12:17:06 AM »
Thx for this! Much appreciated from an apprentice mage. (and keep the videos comming)

I have a ton of questions:

Whats [mwcard=MW1J16]Mordok's Obelisk[/mwcard] doing in your build? You have quite a few creature yourself, and you have [mwcard=MW1J24]Temple of Light[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1A02]Chain Lightning[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1C18]Gorgon Archer[/mwcard] and an [mwcard=MW1Q13]Ivarium Longbow[/mwcard] which should take care of swarms?

[mwcard=DNJ10]Stranglevine[/mwcard] - whats that for?

[mwcard=MW1E13]Eagle Wings[/mwcard] - what that for? thats one pretty expensive for you.

[mwcard=MW1E20]Harmonize[/mwcard] - why 2?

On equipment: If you use the bow you can´t use [mwcard=DNQ10]Meditation Amulet[/mwcard] or [mwcard=MW1Q08]Elemental Wand[/mwcard], and you only have 1 [mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]Wizard's Tower[/mwcard], so if you want to be able to throw a lot of attack spell this might be worth looking into?

Why the [mwcard=FWQ10]Storm Drake Hide[/mwcard]? Thematic(one spell point save)? or you just not afraid of fire?

[mwcard=MW1I23]Rouse the Beast[/mwcard]. Do you ever use it?

and finally [mwcard=MW1I21]Purge Magic[/mwcard]. Thougts?

On openings: What good would a Blue Gremlin in turn one do, if you expect a Lord of Fire (or similar) would´nt fx Temple of Light be more usefull (and if ToL is in your deck, why not add Hand of Bim Shalla to your build?)

Thats it for now :)

ps: How do i make does codes for spell-pop-up? (thx i tried to edit them all in)

Hey Biblo these are good questions. I too have been questioning if I want some of these in my book.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mordok's Obelisk - I don't actually consider my book to be very swarmy. I usually just pull out the Jelly or the gorgan in most games. When an enemy is playing really weak creatures (bobcat/ minion cratures etc.) I cast Mordok's when I see 2 of those creatures. They usually don't actually do enough damage to really hurt me (with armor or voltaric shield). If the opponent chooses to ignore Mordok then I watch their mana a lot. If they focus it down I find the minions can't really deal with it effectively. I agree that this isn't really necessary in the book.It could be replaced to better fit how you play.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stranglevine - I like this card because it deals with buddy builds very well. Agony and Gorgan Archer combo with it decently. IA lot of times it forces the mage to use a teleport which delays a turn which then allows me to shoot another volley of damage to them (i usually have a telport in my hand after stranglevine is casted). It could be replaced with tangle vine but the direct damage is really nice IMO.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eagle Wings- I use this only for Gorgon Archer. I don't think I have ever used it on the Basilisk but it would be good as well. It deals with mages that wall themselves into corners (you can chain lightning through most walls and gorgan them to death). It also gives your Gorgon a lot of survive ability if they manage to muster a good ground force. Akiro's Favor/Eagle Wins on a Gorgon is great against buddy builds.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harmonize - In long term games I tend to use it on Gate of Voltari and Wizard's Tower. The extra mana gives a nice edge. You can also use it to get rid of nullifys on opponent mages (assuming they didn't harmonize themself). Taking out one of them seems fine to me.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ivarium Longbow - The bow combos with Hawkeye pretty well. I find that I save a lot of mana by using the bow and it can best be used when stonegaze and gorgon is out. you can get there with teleport traps and teleports. akiro's favor on the stonegaze can really casue problems for solo mage builds. Getting a second wizard's tower is probably a good route to go with in this book. I use the bow probably in 2/3 of the matches I play.
 The meditation amulet I find useful when you have a combination of Gate of Voltari/elemental wand/ wizard's tower/Temple of light. It is purely used in long game scenareios (opponent does not show signs of attack after turn 6). Basically if you have your actions used by other things then you might as well meditate. Problems are a reduction of damage because you miss an action, but you have a lot of mana to work with. This is the original idea of this book so it might be time to look into more solid ways to close the game earlier.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Storm Drake Hide - the 2 armor is really useful. I am not too afraid of fire since I have a geyser in the deck and wizard's tower is super versatile. It is the cheapest spell point wise as well. If I end up versing someone that uses lightning I also have some sort of protection to prevent the dreaded stun.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rouse the Beast - I use it all the time with my stonegaze. I have used it on my gorgan as well. Usually I don't use it on my gargoyle since defend is really awesome for him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purge Magic - I think that equipment is way stronger in general. There are not a lot of direct ways of dealing with equipment in comparison to enchantments (I find a lot of the cards dance around the problem). I think I have used Purge Magic once and it worked wonders. Otherwise it has sat there doing nothing. Not a lot of players I vs use enough enchantments to make Purge Magic useful. It is the only tool I really have to deal with mass enchantment buddy build/solo build types and it would wreck it. If you were to take it out I would suggest putting in another mage wand or something to deal with equipment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Snot also asked a question about the opening.

I started my opening with Blue Gremlin/Mana Crystal because I didn't know that much about the game. I found that whatever the opponent was doing this build was able to keep up with it in some way. I like to think of it as how much power a mage can do in a turn, there is immediate rushing on one side and very long game on the other. This plays more for the safe route against all of that. So it's probably not better then a lot of other openings, but it does deal with all the other openings equally better. Also I find the people hate that Gremlin! Once they see that 3 damage a turn they devote way more resources then they should to crushing it. I would consider the Temple of Light opening against a necromancer but I have never done it! The non mobility of the temple is my first problem thought about it. I think the temple and elemental wand (lightning spells of some sort) would be a good choice. Might as well go full stun lock and add in wizard's tower. About the Bim-Shalla. I used to run it! I took it out because I found my use of the Temple of Light was not enough to justify it. If you wanted to go more pure stun/lock then definitely put in the Bim-Shalla.

Thanks for the great questions. I opened up my book and really had to analyze why I put some cards in. I might consider updating it sometime in the future.
« Last Edit: August 27, 2014, 12:20:59 AM by Coshade »
  • Favourite Mage: Malakai Priest

Alexander West

  • Falconer
  • Full Mage
  • ***
  • Posts: 122
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Tool Shed Air Wizard
« Reply #7 on: August 27, 2014, 12:30:34 AM »
Thanks for sharing your book and tactics, it was an interesting read!

I really like that you have a flexible plan supported by not just a toolbox of spells, but also a toolbox of creatures.  Blue Gremlins are excellent, and I am glad to see you've found good uses for them.  :)
"He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not is a fool for a lifetime."