First-ish build: Earth Wizard

[andy]

I first started getting into this game about a year ago.  I bought all the expansions (not the spell tomes yet, because I couldn't decide between those or a second core set), I taught a friend to play, and we played about three games.  But this was my last year of grad school and it's been insanely busy, so I basically put the game down.  I've recently been getting back into it, because I've been watching the Arcane Duels series on YouTube.  Seeing some people play who know the game a bit better made me realize various things I was doing completely wrong when building spellbooks, so now I've put a bit more thought into my current book.

The basic idea is that Hurl Rock and the Wizard ability Arcane Zap become obscenely efficient when enchanted with Hawkeye.  I really liked the Johktari Beastmaster rush deck that was in one of the Arcane Duels videos, but it seemed like if the opponent somehow survives your initial rush, you could run out of steam.  You lose 3 Hurl Boulder in the first 3 turns, and you end up out of mana.

Instead, the goal of this build is to follow up a few initial Hurl Boulders by settling into a loop of Hurl Rock/Arcane Zap/X, where X is one of the cheap range 2 attacks.  For a total cost of 11 (the Mage's 10 channeling plus the Tower's 1) each turn, you can shoot the opponent for 12 or 13 dice per turn, and you should be able to keep this up indefinitely by putting one spell each on the Wizard's Tower and the Elemental Wand.


[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Lightning Bolt[/spellbookname]
[mage]A Wizard (Earth) Spellbook[/mage]
[mage]built by the OCTGN SBB[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWA04]3 x Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFA02]6 x Hurl Rock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A09]2 x Jet Stream[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA02]1 x Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A08]1 x Geyser[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]1 x Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A13]1 x Thunderbolt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A11]1 x Pillar of Light[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1J04]1 x Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]1 x Wizard's Tower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J12]1 x Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J16]1 x Mordok's Obelisk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ01]1 x Enchanter's Wardstone[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1W04]2 x Wall of Thorns[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC08]1 x Gargoyle Sentry[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC03]1 x Devouring Jelly[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1E21]2 x Hawkeye[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E05]1 x Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE02]1 x Akiro's Favor[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E31]1 x Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E36]1 x Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E32]1 x Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]1 x Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E29]3 x Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E23]1 x Jinx[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE04]1 x Enchantment Transfusion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E38]1 x Teleport Trap[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1Q08]2 x Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q18]1 x Mage Staff[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q11]1 x Gauntlets of Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ09]1 x Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q33]1 x Wind Wyvern Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ07]1 x Veteran's Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q32]1 x Suppression Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKQ06]1 x Eagleclaw Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q09]1 x Enchanter's Ring[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1I06]4 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I24]2 x Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I07]3 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I12]3 x Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I28]1 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I01]1 x Banish[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]


There are a variety of different openings that you can do, depending on how aggressive you want to be from the outset.  But basically, the setup you want is Hawkeye, then Cheetah Speed, then Akiro's Favor on the Mage, Wizard's Tower in the far center (or near center, but I think far center is probably better), and Elemental Wand on the Mage bound with Hurl Rock.  I'm sure the attack package in this build looks excessive (maybe it is, I haven't actually played the deck yet), but here is the reasoning behind each inclusion:

Hurl Boulder/Hurl Rock: Hurl Rock is the most efficient attack card in the game (and even more so with Hawkeye), and Hurl Boulder is close (and remains cheap for the Earth Wizard).  Probably most of the damage will be done by these.

The utility package (Acid Ball, Force Hammer, Geyser): To reduce armor, destroy conjurations, and get rid of burns if necessary.

The cheap attacks (Acid Ball again, Pillar of Light, Jet Stream, Surging Wave): These are the attacks which can fill out a Hurl Rock/Arcane Zap/X trio whose total cost is under the 10+1 channeling.  (Geyser is technically cheap enough, but the range is too short and the effect not detrimental enough.)  Which of the X you use depends on what you need.  Pillar of Light give you Ethereal damage with the chance to Stun.  Acid Ball (obviously) corrodes armor.  Jet Stream has the high chance for an extra 3 dice of damage by pushing the opponent into a wall.  Surging Wave has less chance to Push, but has slightly higher damage.  Alternatively, you can put Hurl Boulder on the Wizard's Tower.  The duo of Hurl Boulder/Arcane Zap does 11 dice of damage per turn and leaves you with 2 mana leftover to build up mana over a few turns or play out enchantments.

Thunderbolt: If this is bound to the Elemental Wand and my Mage is in the center, I can hit the entire board.  With Akiro's Favor, there's a 75% chance to Stun, so you can (likely) keep the opposing mage incapacitated for several turns.  (This seems gimmicky but tempting to me.  Part of me knows it's not worth the spellbook points, and I'll never use it because it's too inefficient.  But another part of me likes the gimmick and hopes to pull it off.)

Pretty much the rest of the book is just a collection of potential answers to things the opponent might do, and some alternate routes to victory if something goes wrong.  I could equip the Mage with the Mage Staff and Gauntlets of Strength and start melee attacking.  I've got some armor and a strong defender in Gargoyle Sentry if the opponent is somehow being more aggressive than I am.  Poisoned Blood stops healing.  Mordok's Obelisk won't shut down a creature rush deck, but it might buy a turn during which I can do another 12-13 dice of damage.  Banish is there just in case they cast something large (i.e., Adramalech) to distract me.  But really, the plan is to cast almost entirely attacks.

Any comments or criticisms would be helpful.  One preemptive thing I should mention is that there's only 1 Teleport and no Leather Boots/Gloves because these cards are in another spellbook.  Eventually, though, I'll buy a second core set probably and be able to build more books at the same time.

[Borg]

I really liked the Johktari Beastmaster rush deck that was in one of the Arcane Duels videos, but it seemed like if the opponent somehow survives your initial rush, you could run out of steam.  You lose 3 Hurl Boulder in the first 3 turns, and you end up out of mana.

I assume you're referring to that Beastmistress Rushmaster vs Necromancer video ?
I'd like to point out that that Necromancer absolutely played badly beyond R1 and iirc did absolutely nothing to help himself from being destroyed. Some Armor, just a Brace Yourself, a wall and/or the Shadow Cloak would have helped immensely.
I mean, a Forcemaster is just as deadly if you let her do 4-5 turns exactly what she wants and put nothing in her way.
So, you're correct imo in your assumption that such a strategy can run out of steam fast if you play some early counters. In this game it only "looks" very powerful because the Necromancer makes all the wrong plays.

Regarding your spellbook :

Attacks

I'm missing some Fire spell(s), especially considering a potential difficult match up like the Druid ( and her fire weakness ).
The unavoidable Flameblast and 1 Fireball could serve you better overall than Force Hammer ( you already have Hurl Boulder ) and Pillar of Light ( weak spell overall imo )
Thunderbolt has range 3 of course but it's also 6 sbp's and 10 mana a pop.
If you don't play it a lot, I'd cut it as it would allow you to include a few more useful spells.

Conjurations

All solid choices.
I would like to have a second Wizard Tower however. The first one usually goes down ( sometimes quickly ) and having another one to continue your strategy may just be what you need to break the opponent.
Another conjuration which comes in extremely useful at the right time is a Tanglevine.

Creatures

Solid imo.

Enchantments

You may not need more than 1 Hawkeye. I know your strategy counts on it and therefore you probably foresee a backup but this card is usually not worth wasting an action, mana and a dispel on and remains untouched the entire game, so there's potential to save 2 sbp's there.

I wanted to suggest a Teleport Trap but then noticed you already have one. Great card.

Equipment

The first thing that sticks out : where are the Mage Wands ? I'd include 2 of them.
Gauntlets of strength I wouldn't bother with in this build. Melee is not your "game" and you can save 2 sbp's here.
Leather Gloves however would serve you much better as well as Leather Boots.
Why do you use Wind Wyvern Hide ? Overall an Elemental Cloak would help you out in more situations.
1 less armour but Flame, Frost and Lightning -2.

Incantations

Solid choices.
With a Mage Wand you could possibly go down to 3 Dispel.
Shift Enchantment would be a nice addition ( especially with Rust ) and cheaper than Enchantment Transfusion to use.
Disarm ( on a Wand ) could also be a nice addition.

Overall, I'd say you have 90% of a good spellbook in place already.
Playing games will allow you to tune it further.
Success.

[andy]

Thanks for the feedback.  I'll respond to some of the comments a bit out of order.

Thunderbolt has range 3 of course but it's also 6 sbp's and 10 mana a pop.

Yeah, as I said, I know it's gimmicky.  This will be the first card to come out to make space for other options, such as a Fire spell.  Flame Blast didn't make it into my cheap attack package at the moment because its range is only 1.

Gauntlets of strength I wouldn't bother with in this build. Melee is not your "game" and you can save 2 sbp's here.
Leather Gloves however would serve you much better as well as Leather Boots.

The Leather Gloves and Boots are in another deck at the moment.  You correctly identified the card I put in just to take their place (Gauntlets of Strength).  I don't really see myself using the Gauntlets unless something has gone pretty wrong (although that's true of most of the non-attack spells in the deck).

where are the Mage Wands ?

I'm not sure what I would need them for.  I want the Elemental Wand for attack spells so they don't get used up.  I don't really see the need for more than 4 Dispels or 3 Dissolves/Force Pushes, so I'm not sure what I would reasonably put on a Mage Wand.  Would it be just for Teleporting multiple times?  That seems pretty expensive.

You may not need more than 1 Hawkeye. I know your strategy counts on it and therefore you probably foresee a backup but this card is usually not worth wasting an action, mana and a dispel on and remains untouched the entire game, so there's potential to save 2 sbp's there.

Hawkeye is a 3 mana investment which should be giving me 2 extra dice per turn.  If I were the opponent, I would Dispel it.

Why do you use Wind Wyvern Hide ? Overall an Elemental Cloak would help you out in more situations.
1 less armour but Flame, Frost and Lightning -2.

I used Wind Wyvern Hide because Dragonscale Hauberk is in another deck and I needed some armor.  It's true that Elemental Cloak gives -2 to Flame, Frost, and Lightning, but there's no actual Frost damage in the game yet, right?  And what Lightning attacks are really used?  Elemental Cloak just seems like 1 less armor.

Shift Enchantment would be a nice addition ( especially with Rust ) and cheaper than Enchantment Transfusion to use.
Disarm ( on a Wand ) could also be a nice addition.

Shift Enchantment seems like a good idea, and it was something I was looking at but ended up cutting.  Once Thunderbolt comes out, it will probably go back in.  I don't know about Disarm, though.  I guess you'd use it to turn off an important equipment piece so you can have a big turn, but I'll probably need the Wizard's actions, since I'm mostly only going to have 2 or 3 actions per turn.

I'm about to go play the deck for the first time, so I'll see how things go.

EDIT: The game didn't go so well.  I was playing against a Necromancer Zombie build.  Since I built both spellbooks, I thought it was only fair that I explain what my book did before the game started (since I knew his entire book).  Naturally, the result was that the opponent opened with a Battleforge stacking armor rather than a Libro Mortuos spawning Zombies.  I rolled terribly on an initial pair of Hurl Boulders (5 total damage from 2 Hurl Boulders), and then missed killing off the Battleforge with a horrible Geyser roll.  I also found myself really lacking actions.  I needed to play out Nullifies to protect my enchantments and Elemental Wand from being Dispelled and Dissolved, but every action spent casting Nullify was an action not spent hurling a boulder.  Meanwhile, I was ignoring some damage from Zombies while I continued to try to attack, but the low damage start and Battleforge were generating too much advantage.  I switched mid-game to a mana denial strategy, with Enchanter's Wardstone, Mordok's Obelisk, and Suppression Cloak, but I pretty much switched too late.

Really horrible rolling aside, I think the lesson is that I probably shouldn't be aiming for the turn 2 or 3 rush.  I probably should open with more action/mana advantage and aim for turn 4 or 5 attacking.  I'm going to tweak the build a little bit with that in mind, and maybe plan for a Mana Crystal/Battleforge opening instead of Hawkeye/Cheetah Speed.

[sdougla2]

If you want to rush, I would focus more on using Wizard's Tower to strip armor with Acid Ball if your opponent plays at all defensively, though you'll still have trouble against walls and Cloak of Shadows.

I don't see the need for Elemental Wand at all. Playing one slows you down both because of the action and the mana cost. If you want to play an attack spell that you don't run a lot of copies of, use Wizard's Tower if possible to preserve the spell. Otherwise just run 6 Hurl Rock and 4 Hurl Boulder and you'll have plenty of attack spells for damage, the trick is making that damage count. Use Rust + Acid Ball spam + Devouring Jelly to deal with armor stacking as much as possible, and use Poisoned Blood and/or Deathlock to prevent healing.

I think you will be in a better position overall if you slow down a little bit and play just one or two big threats first, since that will give you the repeatable damage that you need if your opponent plays defensively. Steelclaw Grizzly, Necropian Vampiress, and Brogan Bloodstone are all solid choices for that role. Arcane doesn't really have any strong mobile threats, so you should consider out of school options. Devouring Jelly is a good immobile threat, but you'll probably have to invest a reasonable amount in position control to keep it relevant.

[Borg]

where are the Mage Wands ?

I'm not sure what I would need them for.  I want the Elemental Wand for attack spells so they don't get used up.  I don't really see the need for more than 4 Dispels or 3 Dissolves/Force Pushes, so I'm not sure what I would reasonably put on a Mage Wand.  Would it be just for Teleporting multiple times?  That seems pretty expensive.

Having a spell on a Wand has basically the same effect as being able to select three cards during Planning instead of two.

You don't really want to select a Seeking Dispel as 1 of your 2 choices every round during Planning, correct ?

So, for example a Seeking Dispel on a Wand may be useful for you as there are quite a few face down enchantments which you'd like to take away like, Brace yourself, Block, Nullify, Reverse Attack/Magic, Enchantment Transfusion all of which can seriously mess up your strategy. The Wand allows you to have that spell available the instant you need it while at the same time keeping both your options open during Planning.

Disarm ( on a Wand ) could also be a nice addition.

I don't know about Disarm, though.  I guess you'd use it to turn off an important equipment piece so you can have a big turn, but I'll probably need the Wizard's actions, since I'm mostly only going to have 2 or 3 actions per turn.

Yes, you can use it to take away a Mage's armor for 1 round from 2 zones away for very little mana.
You can also target yourself and get rid of corrosion counters.
It's a nice little spell to have available.

I also found myself really lacking actions.  I needed to play out Nullifies to protect my enchantments and Elemental Wand from being Dispelled and Dissolved, but every action spent casting Nullify was an action not spent hurling a boulder.

That's one of the things you really need to experience rather than being told to grasp the full impact.
Sometimes people get carried away with all the nice spells they INTEND to play, only to find out they are lacking the actions ( or mana ) to do everything they want to do.

Really horrible rolling aside, I think the lesson is that I probably shouldn't be aiming for the turn 2 or 3 rush.  I probably should open with more action/mana advantage and aim for turn 4 or 5 attacking.  I'm going to tweak the build a little bit with that in mind, and maybe plan for a Mana Crystal/Battleforge opening instead of Hawkeye/Cheetah Speed.

Like I was saying about the Beastmistress vs Necromancer video.
You may get the impression that the Beasmistress rush book was really powerful because it destroyed the Necromancer in 4 rounds, while in reality the Necromancer simply played terrible.
A simple 2 mana Brace Yourself on him on R2 and R3 and you could have seen an entirely different story unfold.

So, I agree, a Battle Forge opening and being a little more patient with your Attack spells will get you a lot further.

I agree as well with the points sdougla2 is making.

[DaveW]

And what Lightning attacks are really used?

Mostly Arc Lightning, Chain Lightning, and Lightning Bolt... an Air-trained Wizard will have one Chain Lightning (maybe two), and multiple copies of the other two. Also, don't forget other lightning sources that are encountered somewhat frequently: Circle of Lightning (enchantment, but does Lightning damage), and Valshalla, the lightning angel (Creature) come to mind.

I needed to play out Nullifies to protect my enchantments and Elemental Wand from being Dispelled and Dissolved....

Please be aware that Nullify does not protect your enchantments as that spell does not target the Mage. You might want to pack an Enchanter's Wardstone for that.

Really horrible rolling aside, I think the lesson is that I probably shouldn't be aiming for the turn 2 or 3 rush.  I probably should open with more action/mana advantage and aim for turn 4 or 5 attacking.  I'm going to tweak the build a little bit with that in mind, and maybe plan for a Mana Crystal/Battleforge opening instead of Hawkeye/Cheetah Speed.

Akiro's Favor also might be an option here... one action, five mana and taking up two spell book points is not bad to spend since it will let you reroll either a miserable set of damage dice or give a second shot at that slam (which you miss more often than not otherwise).

[andy]

I don't see the need for Elemental Wand at all. Playing one slows you down both because of the action and the mana cost. If you want to play an attack spell that you don't run a lot of copies of, use Wizard's Tower if possible to preserve the spell. Otherwise just run 6 Hurl Rock and 4 Hurl Boulder and you'll have plenty of attack spells for damage, the trick is making that damage count. Use Rust + Acid Ball spam + Devouring Jelly to deal with armor stacking as much as possible, and use Poisoned Blood and/or Deathlock to prevent healing.

Yeah, I didn't get much use out of the wands.  I certainly would have been better off casting my Devouring Jelly earlier than I did, or casting Battleforge for more actions.

Like I was saying about the Beastmistress vs Necromancer video.
You may get the impression that the Beasmistress rush book was really powerful because it destroyed the Necromancer in 4 rounds

I didn't expect to have the same experience as that game.  But I would have liked to do closer to 12-15 damage off of the initial Hurl Boulders (rather than the 5 damage I actually did).  That would have been a big enough hit right out of the gate that my opponent would have had to spend more actions on things like Regrowth.  I've also identified several other mistakes I made, which were mostly about ignoring my opponent's build-up while pushing for a quick kill.

Mostly Arc Lightning, Chain Lightning, and Lightning Bolt... an Air-trained Wizard will have one Chain Lightning (maybe two), and multiple copies of the other two. Also, don't forget other lightning sources that are encountered somewhat frequently: Circle of Lightning (enchantment, but does Lightning damage), and Valshalla, the lightning angel (Creature) come to mind.

At the moment, I have only played a total of 3 games (4 including a learning game with the apprentice decks from the core set) with one other friend who does not own the game.  There may be more players at local game stores, but I'm not going to bother seeking them out because I'm about to move away anyway.  Long story short, I like to build the spellbook as if I'm planning for a metagame (and maybe I'll eventually learn OCTGN and play there), but at the moment there's 0 chance of me playing this against a Wizard.  Because I only have the one Wizard.

Please be aware that Nullify does not protect your enchantments as that spell does not target the Mage. You might want to pack an Enchanter's Wardstone for that.

Yes, sorry, I misspoke there.  The deck does have an Enchanter's Wardstone, and I played that out as well as Nullifies.

Akiro's Favor also might be an option here... one action, five mana and taking up two spell book points is not bad to spend since it will let you reroll either a miserable set of damage dice or give a second shot at that slam (which you miss more often than not otherwise).

I do have an Akiro's Favor in the book, although on average I think it's not worth it for the damage.  For the effect die, it can be worth it depending on the effect and the chance of activating that effect.  For example, Akiro's Favor gives Pillar of Light a 30% Stun chance, which I think is pretty significant.  It gives Thunderbolt a 75% Stun chance.  But if I just need more damage, I'd rather spend that 5 mana and 1 action on another Hurl Rock.

[Coshade]

Hey!
I noticed a lot of great stuff has been suggested. If you put up an update spell book I'd love to give you some further analysis. Most of the big stuff seems to have been covered. I would be really careful of starting with rushing mages until you know the game better. I really think you have a great understanding of formulating synergy between cards based on your analysis of cards.
I've never seen a rushing mage that is unstoppable, but I think they are good books to learn how to deal with high stress situations. Learning to deal with rush decks lets you use minimal actions to react appropriately. I've seen a lot of players see something about hit them and they freak out and over place on armor, or defence enchantments (while offensively have nothing to show). There are appropriate responses to every type of aggression. It applies when you face mid or even late game mages in the future.