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Author Topic: Cervere  (Read 4033 times)

Borg

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Cervere
« on: April 29, 2015, 02:54:00 PM »
My latest book is a Straywood Beastmaster built around [mwcard=MW1C07] Cervere, The Forest Shadow[/mwcard]


So far, I'm surprised at how effective this base set critter has become with the help of some expansion cards.

He has also become a phenomenal threat to staple conjurations like Battle Forge or Wizard's Tower which he can just 1-shot with the help of just one 2-mana spell.

My "goldfish" opening vs a mage staying in his corner goes like this :

R1-19 : Cervere + Enchanter's Ring
R2-11 : FD Bear Strength + Pet Thunderift Falcon + move Cervere to NC and guard
R3-11 : FD Lion Savagery + Force Push Cervere to FC + attack opposing mage with 8 dice + Pierce+1
             His Fast and Elusive traits allow him to repeat this 8 dice + Pierce+1 attack every round.
R4-10 : ...

Things also become interesting when an opponent makes a very common early move like dropping a Battle Forge :

R1-19 : Cervere + Enchanter's Ring
R2-11 : FD Bear Strength + Pet Thunderift Falcon + move Cervere to NC and guard
R3-11 : FD Lion Savagery + [mwcard=MW1I19] Piercing Strike[/mwcard] + attack BF with 8 dice + Pierce+4
            That's a destroyed BF even with a relatively poor roll ( like 6 dam out of 8 dice )
R4-11 : ...

Overall the book intends to attack with Cervere, a Pet Falcon backed up by a pet Dire Wolf or pet Timber Wolf, and the Beastmaster himself and 1 or more other small creatures depending on how many creatures the opponent Summons. I'd like to have 1 more action than my opponent. It's not a swarm build, though it has the capacity to swarm ( to a certain extent )

Stopping Cervere is not simple since he has a built-in ability to ignore Guards so opponents have to take other measures to stop him or slow him down like walls or Tanglevine which leads me in turn to pre-emptively put a FD [mwcard=MW1E13] Eagle Wings[/mwcard] on him if I suspect something like that coming and as such not only prevent Cervere from being tied down but also wasting the opponent's Tanglevine spell in the process.

In short, I like Cervere more the more I play him ...
« Last Edit: April 30, 2015, 06:35:33 AM by Borg »
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Mystery

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Re: Cervere
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2015, 02:57:29 PM »
what if your enchanted cervere dies? 16mana+bear strength+lion savergy=26mana, but I do also use him like this

Borg

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Re: Cervere
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2015, 03:11:34 PM »
what if your enchanted cervere dies? 16mana+bear strength+lion savergy=26mana, but I do also use him like this

That's what [mwcard=MWSTX1CKE04] Enchantment Transfusion[/mwcard] is for ;)
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rodriguekhalil

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Re: Cervere
« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2015, 04:56:57 PM »
 
   I guess your worst enemy would be a curse Warlock: [mwcard=MW1E14]Enfeeble[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1E04] Chains of Agony[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1E19]Ghoul Rot[/mwcard], and, [mwcard=MWSTX2FFE03]Arcane Corruption[/mwcard] can hurt Cerver a lot.

  I'm assuming you equiped yourself with a couple (or more) of [mwcard=MW1E29]Nullify[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1I06]Dispel[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1I24]Seeking Dispel[/mwcard] or a [mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ05]Dispel Wand[/mwcard] at the very least even if it works against level 1 enchantments only.

  And what would be the best counters against [mwcard=MWSTX2FFJ01]Harshforge Monolith[/mwcard] and [mwcard=MW1J21]Suppression Orb[/mwcard] ?

  However, even those threats are reduced if Cervere has some support from fellow creatures and Mage.

  Also, what I like in your strategy is that all the spells you mentioned, except Cervere itself, are level 1 spells, so you can have a lot of them in case they get dispelled.

   

Borg

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Re: Cervere
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2015, 03:53:35 AM »
    I guess your worst enemy would be a curse Warlock: [mwcard=MW1E14]Enfeeble[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1E04] Chains of Agony[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1E19]Ghoul Rot[/mwcard], and, [mwcard=MWSTX2FFE03]Arcane Corruption[/mwcard] can hurt Cerver a lot.

That's correct, and I don't have the actions to deal with every curse one at a time,
that's why the book's most expensive spell is a [mwcard=MW1I21] Purge Magic[/mwcard]

It's 6 SBP's but they are worth it imo as you can really swing the game with this one by gaining a lot of action advantage.
And it's not only usable vs a curse warlock but can also be used against an opposing pumped up creature.
To avoid having to destroy your own enchantments in the process you can use 1 of the two [mwcard=MWSTX1CKE04] Enchantment Transfusion[/mwcard]


  I'm assuming you equiped yourself with a couple (or more) of [mwcard=MW1E29]Nullify[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1I06]Dispel[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1I24]Seeking Dispel[/mwcard] or a [mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ05]Dispel Wand[/mwcard] at the very least even if it works against level 1 enchantments only.

The book has 3 Dispel and 2 Seeking Dispel. ( on top of the Purge Magic )

I don't run Nullify because I don't want to play too many defensive cards.
Besides, Nullify might just catch a spell you wouldn't even bother about otherwise.
I'd rather see what happens first, then react accordingly ... if reaction is necessary at all.

Dispel Wand is action intensive and also costly SBP wise and I already have Purge Magic.
It also doesn't help against face down enchantments ( Brace Yourself, Enchantment Transfusion ) and it can't do anything to the more serious enchantments ( lvl 2+ like Enfeeble, Ghoul Rot, Adramelech's Touch etc ), so that's a no go for me in this book.

  And what would be the best counters against [mwcard=MWSTX2FFJ01]Harshforge Monolith[/mwcard] and [mwcard=MW1J21]Suppression Orb[/mwcard] ?
  However, even those threats are reduced if Cervere has some support from fellow creatures and Mage.

Harshforge Monolith would no doubt cost me some upkeep, but that should be for no longer than 1 round.

Suppose the opposing mage plays HM during his final QC ( and then plans to follow up with a wall to shield off the HM or a Tanglevine on Cervere during his first QC of the following round for a worst case scenario :) ) that would be my queue to select my Teleport and [mwcard=MW1I19] Piercing Strike[/mwcard] next. That would mean 8 dice vs 7 life, so a more than 50% chance to finish it in 1 attack. If it still would not be enough, the Pet Falcon should be enough to deliver the missing 1 or 2 damage.

Suppression Orb would really not be all that painful imo.
Opponent spends 8 mana on it and with Cervere spending 2 mana on it just to get there it might already be finished. Even if another creature might also have to spend 2 mana to get a strike at it it's still a 4 vs 8 mana advantage.

  Also, what I like in your strategy is that all the spells you mentioned, except Cervere itself, are level 1 spells, so you can have a lot of them in case they get dispelled.

That's my thinking as well. If my opponent wants to dispel a Bear Strength or Lion Savagery, that's OK.
It's his 5 mana vs my 4 mana ( Enchantment Ring ) and I just cast the spell anew.
There's 3 of both spells in the book ... and an [mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ01] Enchanter's Wardstone[/mwcard] for certain match ups who like to dispel a lot.

The fact that the nature enchantments come so cheap SBP wise means you have significant room for "counter" spells.
There are 30 spells in the book costing only 1 SBP each. That means 30 cards already and still 90 SBP's leftover :o
« Last Edit: April 30, 2015, 07:01:42 AM by Borg »
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rodriguekhalil

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Re: Cervere
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2015, 01:31:19 PM »
  Well then, I guess you got it all covered! It also seems like a fun book to play.