The Soul Reaper Necromancer

[Coshade]

Here is my Necromancer I've been working on. Currently I've played 4 games with it and won 3 of them.

You can see it being played in the latest Arcane Duels Video ----> http://forum.arcanewonders.com/index.php?topic=14604.0

The basic plan: I wanted to build a necromancer that had ways of dealing some damage with low mana cost and finish the game with direct damage spells like Drain Soul and Drain Life.

Rusher- Against a rush the plan is to get rots/minions/and curses to get an advantage. This is risky since melee fighting is probably going to happen (Deathshroud Staff).

Swarm Armies- Against living swarms the idea is to use Malacoda/Idol of Pestilence and minions with Mort. There are a number of ways to take the advantage then outswarm the opponent.

Swarm nonliving- Direct Damage with Ghoul Rot/Idol/Rots and use skeletons to defend yourself as much as possible. You should be able to keep up with zombies in number of creatures on the field.

Buddy Builds - Agony can reduce a buddy very quickly then Chains of agony. Hopefully you can combo with with Pestilence. Ghoul Rot is also a good choice. Getting more minions lets you get the advantage damage wise so you can use the Drain Soul to seal the deal.

When versing a lot of nullifies you should use your curses to pop the nullify and move on.

It's still in the working as a spell book. What do you guys think?

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname][/spellbookname]
[mage]Necromancer[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNA01]1 x  Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1j19]1 x  Deathlock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j11]1 x  Idol of Pestilence[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFJ04]1 x  Armory[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j12]2 x  Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNW02]3 x  Wall of Bones[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNC07]1 x  Mort[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c32]2 x  Skeletal Sentry[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC14]1 x  Skeletal Knight[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC02]1 x  Deathfang[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC13]2 x  Skeletal Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c08]1 x  Darkfenne Bat[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC15]5 x  Skeletal Minion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c23]1 x  Malacoda[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1e25]1 x  Maim Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e27]2 x  Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e24]1 x  Magebane[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x  Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e14]1 x  Enfeeble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e04]1 x  Chains of Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e22]1 x  Hellfire Trap[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e19]2 x  Ghoul Rot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e09]2 x  Agony[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1q16]1 x  Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q05]1 x  Demonhide Armor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x  Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q04]1 x  Deflection Bracers[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ02]1 x  Death Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ01]1 x  Cloak of Shadows[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ05]1 x  Libro Mortuos[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ03]1 x  Deathshroud Staff[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q15]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i07]1 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i08]2 x  Drain Life[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKI01]2 x  Drain Soul[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i11]2 x  Explode[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI05]1 x  Unholy Resurgence[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i12]2 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]1 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]1 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]1 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI03]1 x  Reassemble[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

[Schwenkgott]

1) You are using a ton of skeletons. Why only one Reassemble? It's the cheapest "healing" spell (3 Mana with Ring) in the game and only costs you 1 Spellpoint. Skeletons are very fragile and you risk of loosing 1 skeleton each round to a bunch of melee attacks or low-mana spells.
If you choose to use more Reassemble, you should also consider to use more stronger skeletons, that can take more than just one hit. Skeleton Sentries are my standard infantry, the minions are too weak at all.

2) I would not use Explode with the Necromancer. First of all, it's out of school ... ok, Dissolve is out of school too, but Dissolve has an advantage: You only pay the equipment mana cost. If you want to use both of your actions per round, it can sometimes be difficult when spending a high amount of mana for explode and having no mana left for a useful second action.

3) If you want to use Malacoda effectively, this demon has to play out his offensive qualities. Problem is slow, it's not easy to bring him close. You should consider to cast something like Tanglevine on the enemy, to prevent him of escaping and maybe force a Teleport. Jinx or Nullify on the enemy after that, could be a good combination.

4) An Opening with 2 Mana Crystals, Ring and Libro is very slow, might work against defensive enemies, but you will be in a world of trouble against rushing enemies. Walls won't safe you here, maybe buy some time, but in the end a waste of mana. The Spellpoints from the Mana Crystals could be used in a better way, maybe Medidation Amulet. Meditate would cost you your full action, but you want to summon with your Libro or cast Drain Soul/Life as Quickspells in the later game anyway, right?

5) Only 1 Dispel is a high risk and lets your guard down against enchantment specialized enemies as Warlocks (Curses), Wizards (Essence Drain), Priests (Pacify) etc... These enchantments can ensure that your bigger creatures are quite useless or very mana intensive.



 

[Ahlano]

Im.building similar book but with zombies.. Any speciic reason behind the skeletal choice? Faster damage?
Have you tried to get a bone tower working? Its pretty dam hard but seems to work excelent with your build..

[Coshade]

@Schwenkgott

Thanks for the reply! It definitely made me think about some changes I want to make.

1) When it comes to running Skeleton Minions, I find that healing them is a waste unless its a zone or arena heal. I don't run a lot of healing because I want Mort to be that role. I find that using actions to kill the minions puts the enemy behind. With Libro and Deathring it costs me 3 mana and it does 3 dice for an attack. If I get one attack off I think it already pays for itself. The only exception is an area affect spell that kills multiple minions at once.
I also like to get more creatures out faster to combo with death shroud staff.

If I did go for skeleton sentries I would definitly run more reassembles or a mage wand.

2 + 5) This is a really good comment. Originally I wanted to use the Explodes because I do not have many attack spells. I like to think Explode is a attack spell and dissolve spell all in one. The mana is a big concern as well. I think I'll take out both explodes, then put in 2 dissolves and 2 dispels. (so 3 of both total.) That should keep me versatile for the enchantment mages.

3) I really like Malacoda because of it's odd playstyle. I like to combo it with Idol of Pestilence. Usually when I face a Beastmaster or Warlord I use him. Otherwise he usually does not see game play. What I do with him is stay on the Necromancer's zone or between swarms. This buys me the time to gather an army. Usually minions can combo and finish off medium sized creates. The lower level creatures can die pretty quickly with him. As later game he usually paid for himself already (even if he didn't attack anything). I then just follow the enemy mage and hinder and cause the 2 damage. If he's lucky he gets an attack off. Force Hold or Tanglevine would be good choices. I'm not sure if I want to invest more spellpoints into a creature I only use in a few matchups.

4) You and I have very different philosophies on the game (which is awesome). I like the 2 Mana Crystals because I find a lot of players don't want to spend actions or mana killing it. I use the double Mana Crystals when I vs a Wizard or I am not sure what the opponent will be doing. The reason i use it on the Wizard (and I'm not sure if it's correct) is the double move wizard's tower rush will destroy the Ring/Libro combo opening. If I have two Mana Crystals it allows me to react with an advantage. If they choose to attack the crystals then I bought myself a lot more turns then if they just dissolved my Libro.

Thanks for the insight dude. I will definitely be changing my spellbook around because of your comments.

[Coshade]

@Ahlano

I find that skeletons don't rely on the burst technique like the zombies do. I wanted to make a Necromancer that wasn't considered super defensive until later in the game. Skeletons are all about board positioning using a mobile spawnpoint (The board game Duke inspired me).

The problem you will run into with the zombies and doing this is that the slow will cause you huge problems! You lose the range units using zombies (although you could just put in skeleton archers).

I never tried to bone tower. It seems too defensive for me, but you could make it work in this deck. If you make a long corridor with the bone walls you can use sentrys to hinder the way.

I have been considering using Plague Zombie in this with Sacrificial Altar. The idea is to use your eternal servant marker on the Plague Zombie then kill it every round giving the opponent and any minions the rot. It's great for releasing your Plague Master ability and does tons of damage in the long game.

The one big weakness I find in this spell book is when versing zombie Necromancers.

Thanks for the reply!

[Ahlano]

Plague Zombie + altar is just great...buff your skellies with him ..ot your necro with his bone staff... Stack them rots!... Also would you consider taking out the hellfire trap...maybe add a teleport trap...idk i think positioning might be more important than a fire attack... Or if you want the burn chance...why not go directly for the ignite...stacking direct  damage per turn.. Rots, burn, plague master, idol, ghoul rot... And malacoda or poison cloud... Poison cloud also very nice..as offensive or defensive option...place iy on the oponents spawnpoint or on yourrself to keep away melee...in ideal situations up too 9 direct damage per turn... Or at least 4-5...

And one more thing... No brace yourself? Its a life saver and sooo cheap...

 Side note...the first necro i saw and fell inlove with was the one from diablo...so many spells from that game would fit well in mage wara and i would love to see...bone spear attack spell..bone teeth..bone shield...corpse explosion... Fetid corpse explosion..aoe curses...maybe cursed totems...with a 1 or 2 zone radius..mage wars is such a flexible platform for spell design..

[Coshade]

@Ahlano

Good call with the Hellfire trap. The original intent (like the explode) is try and be faster with the damage so you can end it quickly with drain soul. A teleport trap will probably help you get more then the 4 dice of damage. I took out an explode, deathfang, and hellfire trap and put in the altar/plague zombie and added a dissolve and dispel. I kept the other Explode in because I really want to do more damage, but it is totally understandable to take it out for another dissolve and dispel.

I look at Malacoda and Poison Cloud as being the same. One is mobile the other isn't and you pay the mana for it. If you're lucky you get the attack with Malacoda. Since this spellbook is designed around a mobile spawnpoint I think Malacoda is better. If you could teleport trap into a corner with poison cloud and malacoda that would be a ridiculously awesome play. I guess there's a lot of ways you could play this spellbook with minor adjustments.

You're absolutely right. Brace Yourself is a great spell. I'm not sure what I would take out to put that in. Maybe the leather gloves. Or take out the Leather Gloves and the Deflection Bracers and put in 3 of them.

I have been thinking of taking the armory out. I like the play a lot but it seems like the minions wouldn't benefit as much as I originally thought. It would free up all the points to take this book to a more tournament level.

On your side note - Diablo 2 Necromancer was the first character I played in that game! I would love to see a Decrepify curse or a lower resist type of curse (in Mage Wars terms giving you + to toughness). Bone spear would be a sweet unique attack spell with sweeping. I think Bone Cage would be awesome (perhaps they won't do it because it would be like making another tanglevine)
I remember playing that game and getting a full party all new characters as paladins and stacking the auras up! 

[drmambo23]

I'm not sure how viable this will be but would an archers watch tower work with skeletal archers?  They have indirect and range +1 so they roll 5 die and can shoot over a wall.  Also, if mort is there he could reconstruct the archers.

 But the only downside is they could just attach the watch tower. :b

[Coshade]

I'm not sure how viable this will be but would an archers watch tower work with skeletal archers?  They have indirect and range +1 so they roll 5 die and can shoot over a wall.  Also, if mort is there he could reconstruct the archers.

 But the only downside is they could just attach the watch tower. :b

Thanks for the necro! Still one of my favorite books. I think the Archers Watchtower with the archers could work, but you'll need to pray they dont rush into your zone with two archers in it. it'll be round 4 when you manage to get the walls down and probably round 5 when you get the tower up. Even then you can only get 1 archer shooting from the tower. My usual use for the archers has been while i've been on the running away and all my minions are dealing damage. If you cast an archer while retreating sometimes it works as bait and they will try to kill the archer (and this book usually wins if that happens).

If you're curious here is what the book eventually evolved into!
[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Soul Reaper[/spellbookname]
[mage]A Necromancer Spellbook[/mage]
[mage]built by the OCTGN SBB[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNA01]1 x Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNW02]3 x Wall of Bones[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J12]2 x Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFJ04]1 x Armory[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J11]1 x Idol of Pestilence[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNC14]1 x Skeletal Knight[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1C32]2 x Skeletal Sentry[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC13]2 x Skeletal Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC15]6 x Skeletal Minion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC07]1 x Mort[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1C23]1 x Malacoda[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E31]2 x Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]2 x Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWPROMO79]1 x Blur[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E18]1 x Force Sword[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E17]1 x Force Orb[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E09]1 x Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWPROMO30]1 x Plagued[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E27]1 x Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E19]2 x Ghoul Rot[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNQ03]1 x Deathshroud Staff[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ05]1 x Libro Mortuos[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q06]1 x Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q16]1 x Leather Gloves[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q15]1 x Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ02]1 x Death Ring[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFI05]1 x Ignite[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI11]4 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I12]2 x Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I28]1 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I08]2 x Drain Life[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKI01]2 x Drain Soul[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI03]1 x Reassemble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I07]4 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 118 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]


Notice there's 2 points missing? It's because I switch it literally all the time. I have no idea what I want to commit those two points for. Maybe you could Archer's Watchtower? I would consider a regrowth belt, but drain soul/life is way better. Maybe another force push. I would avoid deathlock since you rely on them attacking your mage and you stealing it back from them to survive. I suppose another Acid Ball would be appropriate too. IDK if anyone have a good idea let me know!

[Laddinfance]

[mwcard=FWJ02]Archer's Watchtower[/mwcard] is a great addition. I know that it's not 2 spellpoints, but I love [mwcard=FWE06]Fortified Position[/mwcard] with skeletons.