The Frugal Mage Warrior: Core setx1-only Arraxian Crown Warlock (4th edition)

[Sailor Vulcan]

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]The Frugal Warlock[/spellbookname]
[mage]A Warlock Spellbook[/mage]
[mage]built by the OCTGN SBB[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1J04]2 x Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1W04]1 x Wall of Thorns[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J19]1 x Deathlock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J22]2 x Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1C03]1 x Dark Pact Slayer[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1E08]1 x Death Link[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E40]1 x Vampirism[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E01]1 x Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E29]2 x Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E28]1 x Mongoose Agility[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E05]1 x Cheetah Speed[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E13]1 x Eagle Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E24]1 x Magebane[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E31]2 x Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E19]2 x Ghoul Rot[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E09]2 x Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E14]2 x Enfeeble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E17]1 x Force Orb[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E04]2 x Chains of Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E25]1 x Maim Wings[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1Q06]1 x Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q07]1 x Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q11]1 x Gauntlets of Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q14]1 x Lash of Hellfire[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q23]1 x Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q15]1 x Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q10]1 x Fireshaper Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q12]1 x Helm of Fear[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q28]1 x Ring of Curses[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q21]1 x Moloch's Torment[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q08]1 x Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q19]2 x Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q33]1 x Wind Wyvern Hide[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1I11]1 x Explode[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI11]2 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I07]1 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I28]1 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I08]1 x Drain Life[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I12]2 x Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I02]1 x Battle Fury[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1A08]1 x Geyser[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A06]2 x Flameblast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A05]1 x Firestorm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A09]2 x Jet Stream[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A04]3 x Fireball[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A12]1 x Ring of Fire[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]



Here it is! After a couple years of playing it and tweaking it, it's become pretty tough. It's my Core setx1 only Warlock, 4th edition!

Opening:
R1: Sprint to near center zone and cast battleforge in far center (if you're expecting your opponent to turtle), near center (if you're neither expecting your opponent to turtle or rush), or in the zone next to your starting zone (if you're expecting your opponent to rush).
R2: Deploy leather boots (prevents early wall of thorns push), or if you aren't expecting a wall of thorns push, deploy ring of curses first instead. Then, summon Dark Pact Slayer and make him your blood reaper.
R3: Deploy ring of curses if you haven't already, otherwise deploy moloch's torment. If the enemy mage has a facedown enchantment on themselves, cast a ghoul rot first, (since you have two of those), then cast and reveal magebane on them. If the enemy mage does not have a facedown enchantment attached, cast and reveal magebane first, then cast ghoul rot on them face down.

Continue equipping yourself with the forge, melee-attacking the enemy mage, and doing other things as the situation requires. Once their damage is high enough, finish them off with wall of thorns-push combo or fireballs, or just use the awesome melee attacks from your lash and your bloodreaper. If they're not dead after that, they probably will be next upkeep.

This spellbook, like all budget spellbooks probably do, requires a bit more skill to play successfully. Every step in your fiery dance must be accurate and precise. Even one slight misstep can cost you the game. There's very little room for mistakes here. But if you play it right, it can be quite powerful. Just make sure to wait until you've won before telling your opponent that the spellbook you played used only cards from a single copy of the core set! (this is both for bragging purposes, and because this spellbook is likely a little stronger when people don't know that you're playing it.)

Anyone is welcome to netdeck this, and customize it however you like to adapt to your local meta.
Enjoy!

UPDATE:
-replaced both knockdowns with tanglevines
-got rid of piercing strikes, turns out I didn't need it
-added a second battle forge
-added a battle fury
-replaced second dissolve with an explode
-put in a second poisoned blood

[Intangible0]

If this book works out for people then you've done a great service to this game. Proving that even core set alone is viable and that players don't need every card to win. Thanks! I'm adding this to my OCTGN list.

[iNano78]

Thanks for this.  I just pointed one of my regular play group's newer players to this spell book, as he favours the Arraxian Crown Warlock and just got his own copy of the 4th printing a few weeks ago.  As a moderately competitive MtG player of many years, and all-around experienced gamer, he picked up the game quickly and has been tough competition even when using the recommended spell list for the Warlock.  This should give him some new ideas to think about... which scares me a little... 

[coyotecloudchasr]

The deck looks great, but it is also clear how having just a few extra cards from other sets would make it better.

- Without the flying Blood Demon your demon has to get enchantments to reach his targets, and without Enchantment Transfusion you can't use him as a curse carrier or get the enchantments back if the demon dies.
- Without Brace Yourself, you are much more vulnerable to the rush
- Piercing Strike is a only a so-so way of trying to get around not having Rust (great card for Warlocks) and Acid Ball.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Those disadvantages are really not as big you make them out to be.

Blood demon can't hinder non-flying creatures. Dark Pact Slayer's hellsword has piercing +2. I actually don't have to enchant the slayer all that much. He's meant to be a source of extra damage to the enemy mage and some healing for me. I generally just put mongoose agility, vampirism and sometimes a nullify on him. The eagle wings is for the Druid matchup.

Dark pact slayer with flying from eagle wings costs more mana, but it's also potentially more powerful than blood demon, since he has piercing +2 and more life. I can reveal it to fly him over a wall or vine markers, which are really some of the only situations I need him to fly. If the wings get dispelled I have much worse enchantments, so that actually benefits me for them to waste their dispel like that. And even though he can be hit by non flyers with melee attacks, he might be able to take melee attacks slightly better than a blood demon, and if they're focusing on my bloodreaper,  that's more attacks that aren't focused on my mage.

While blood demon is usually preferable to dark pack slayer, the slayer still has its advantages.

While enchantment transfusion would definitely be quite useful here, it's not actually necessary. Baiting nullifies doesn't leave me feeling deprived of enchantments or actions.

I do have some decent armor here. Sure it costs more than two mana but that's at least partially offset by the fact that the armor doesn't disappear at the end of the round, so it costs fewer actions.

Piercing strike is awesome! This card is pretty good and people really need to try it more. It only costs 2 mana, and isn't cast on the defender, but on the attacker (who's less likely to have a nullify on itself) Rust can trigger nullify or be dispelled, corrode can be removed by a priestess or a wand of healing or just changing out of your current armor equipment. Plus, piercing strike does not just 2 piercing, but 3! For only two mana. You could put this in a beastmaster deck and have a feral bobcat charge down a wizard tower in one shot!

Also, this deck plays very aggressively and deals a ton of dice, and has the chance to put burns on things, and use drain life. Direct damage and excess normal damage both get past armor

Also, I have dissolve, which is what I would normally use anyway against dragonscale hauberk for any warlock.

[Coshade]

I am a big fan of Piercing Strike. All the reasons you gave are completely valid. I was wondering why you put in a Wind Wyvern Hide? I wonder if a Rhino Hide would have more versatility since you could cast it on your creature. I know the action off your BF is nice, but how often do you use it in a game?

How often do you win games when your Battle Forge is destroyed? Do people go after it often?

[Sailor Vulcan]

I am a big fan of Piercing Strike. All the reasons you gave are completely valid. I was wondering why you put in a Wind Wyvern Hide? I wonder if a Rhino Hide would have more versatility since you could cast it on your creature. I know the action off your BF is nice, but how often do you use it in a game?

How often do you win games when your Battle Forge is destroyed? Do people go after it often?

Armor switching for corrodes.

If they destroy the forge super early then that can cause me to lose. It also depends on what their strategy is and where I place it. But they'll be occupied dealing with me and my blood reaper. And I do need the forge. I use it quite a bit, some games more than others.

[coyotecloudchasr]

Yes, I had the same question about the Battle Forge when I read about your opening. Throwing your Forge out first in the middle of the board makes it the obvious target for any early attackers summoned by your opponent turns 1-2 (e.g. Raptor Vine or Cervere, or the Forcemaster).  I have the same concern with my warlock's Forge as it's a huge beacon for attackers/Force Hammer if I'm the aggressor, since you can't use it effectively if it's hidden in your back row.  I plan to cast it only after I've got my demon out to serve as a guard or threat.

[Coshade]

I've considered running 2 forges because sometimes I really need it out. You usually break even on spellbook points (unless they melee or get lucky), gain mana, and actions over your opponent with it. It delays the game but in your benefit!

[V10lentray]

As soon as I see a battle forge I do my best to hit it with a lot of water.

[Sailor Vulcan]

I've considered running 2 forges because sometimes I really need it out. You usually break even on spellbook points (unless they melee or get lucky), gain mana, and actions over your opponent with it. It delays the game but in your benefit!

I've tried using two forges. It doesn't work that well at giving me better action advantage, because not enough mana to deploy from both each round while still keeping up the agression. Not unless I drop the bloodreaper, which I really don't want to do, for obvious reasons. Using TWO forges and a creature would make my opening take a while. This deck doesn't want to be guarding the forge. It wants to be attacking the enemy mage. While since the forge only has 6 life it can technically be brought down in a single basic melee attack, but since it has 4 armor, they'd have to get lucky, and if they don't get lucky it puts them further behind. A force hammer on my forge can technically one-shot it, but it's not always a good enough chance for people to feel sufficiently confident about it. If they don't succeed, they're now behind by 9 mana for the rest of the game.

I suppose the battle forge can be vulnerable to being one-shotted early, but only if the enemy mage is willing to take a gamble in the early game, which they usually aren't, since people usually don't like to gamble in the early game.

[sIKE]

Sailor,

I don't think he meant running two, but carrying two in the event of a loss of one.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Sailor,

I don't think he meant running two, but carrying two in the event of a loss of one.

Oh. That's actually a very good idea. For some reason, a while back I thought that putting myself another 8 mana behind would be an issue, but now that I think of it the actions are more of an issue, and people run extra copies of wizards tower without being too far behind...


At some point I need to go back and reevaluate all of my mental heuristics in regards to rules and strategy in mage wars that I've formed over time and update them to my current overall level of understanding and skill. Most of them are fine, but I'm starting to notice a few unquestioned assumptions from my newb days that have slipped through the cracks..

[Sailor Vulcan]

UPDATE:
-replaced both knockdowns with tanglevines
-got rid of piercing strikes, turns out I didn't need it
-added a second battle forge
-added a battle fury
-replaced second dissolve with an explode
-put in a second poisoned blood

[Coshade]

Thanks for the update. What made you want to put in an explode? I often find the mana is very difficult to come up with.