Academy: Beastmaster VS Wizard - New Card Overview with Intangible

[sdougla2]

Now the hard thing for me is going to be narrowing down what I want to do with the Straywood Beastmaster. I'm pretty sure that I want to use a bunch of Timber Wolves, a Lair, Kajarah, and Enchanter's Ring as the basis for my Johktari Beastmaster play.

[Intangible0]

I hang my head in shame for not reading Exile carefully enough! Ah! There were a few other incorrect points I made too but that was definitely the one that kept kicking me.

I am happy overall with the responses to the video though. I was a bit fearful that I'd get an ear full from the forum posts because I strongly stated my opinions (always a risk to do publicly). Instead, there's been nice conversations on your own opinions, and that's awesome. 

[Zuberi]

Don't feel too bad. I actually saw that mistake made several times as I ran the demos at gencon, especially since most people just leave the creature in the play area. If you physically move the creature and everything attached to it off to the side then it clicks with them, but then they might forget about it and not keep up with the dissipate and such. My point is, it's a common oversight. Your videos are amazing and we are all in your debt.

[Erebus]

Intangible0, even with like one minor mistake I really like hearing your opinions. Even if there's something that's not quite correct it stimulates interesting discussion. The videos were really fun to watch. I very much enjoy having an awesome video to listen to rather than just a picture of the cards, for example. Thanks

[Boocheck]

I watched all three parts and despite the fact, that in some cases i have a different opinion, you also point out things which i would never discover. Youd did a splendid job sir!

Cant wait for video of Academy Game play

[Intangible0]

Hey everybody, I appreciate the encouragement and feedback!

However... I've heard some people say they disagree with my opinions. Now, you can't just leave me hangin' there! What do you think! I'd love to hear how you feel about some of these cards. There are almost 60 new cards, let's start a discussion! 

[Bluebaron]

Ok, let me start then. Regarding joined strength I think that is an awesome card. The transfer of damage is no downside at all. It helps to keep the animal/pet alive. Beside of that, any hit against this animal/pet is not a hit against the mage directly. So I am quite happy to take 1 point of damage instead of the full blow against the mage.

Thanks for the great videos. They are awesome. Can't wait to see the playthrough of academy.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Wychood hound will be amazing with redclaw. Also, the hydra lite doesn't have slow.

[iNano78]

The Packmaster's Cowl means the Beastmaster no longer wants for Altar of the Iron Guard.  And much has already been said about the Johktari Knife and "boomerang."

All the attack spells are level 2, so they probably won't get used by anybody other than an Air Wizard.  At first I wasn't really impressed with them, but then I got to thinking that spells that deal the Stagger condition might come in handy in Domination, where you want to prevent a Minor creature from hitting an orb.  For this reason, a Ridgeback Skunk guarding an orb (whether you control it or it's currently neutral) might be interesting.

Many of the creatures are interesting, and generally pretty cheap to cast.  And the enchantments for Minor creatures will be useful for both swarmy mages and those who want a cheap buddy (like a Blue Gremlin or Timber Wolf or Asyran Defender or whatever).  Slavorg is a neat option for when your swarm has failed, or after some utility creatures have served their purposes (e.g. Darkfenne Asps).  The Genie and Lightning Raptor are two of my favourites so far. And many of the cheap animals, like Darkfenne Asps, can activate Animal Kinship for cheap.

[Coshade]

There are a lot of new possibilities for all mages with this set. The Beastmaster's Cowl allows for a lot of neat tricks with melee + creatures.

[iNano78]

There are a lot of new possibilities for all mages with this set. The Beastmaster's Cowl allows for a lot of neat tricks with melee + creatures.

It's more-or-less a piece of armor with built-in [mwcard=MW1Q19]Mage Wand[/mwcard] of [mwcard=MWSTX2FFI06]Defend[/mwcard], which is pretty good for just 3 mana (and 1 sbp).  Only works on Minor creatures and costs 2 mana for level 2's, but doesn't cost you an action, which is pretty huge. Takes up the slot of [mwcard=MW1Q07]Elemental Cloak[/mwcard] (so you'll have to find another way to gain protection from various damage types), but still provides Armor +1.

The Cowl is once per turn, but the Academy Beastmaster can sort of do this twice if he wants, since when you summon a level 1 animal, can basically [mwcard=MW1I23]Rouse the Beast[/mwcard] for 1 mana, then use that animal's action to Guard (if it doesn't want to attack).

[Coshade]

There are a lot of new possibilities for all mages with this set. The Beastmaster's Cowl allows for a lot of neat tricks with melee + creatures.

It's more-or-less a piece of armor with built-in [mwcard=MW1Q19]Mage Wand[/mwcard] of [mwcard=MWSTX2FFI06]Defend[/mwcard], which is pretty good for just 3 mana (and 1 sbp).  Only works on Minor creatures and costs 2 mana for level 2's, but doesn't cost you an action, which is pretty huge. Takes up the slot of [mwcard=MW1Q07]Elemental Cloak[/mwcard] (so you'll have to find another way to gain protection from various damage types), but still provides Armor +1.

The Cowl is once per turn, but the Academy Beastmaster can sort of do this twice if he wants, since when you summon a level 1 animal, can basically [mwcard=MW1I23]Rouse the Beast[/mwcard] for 1 mana, then use that animal's action to Guard (if it doesn't want to attack).

My tactic is to get a creature to have as high a melee + bonus as possible then defend them with the cowl, get the bonus then attack after and get the melee + again. In arena you can get a pretty ridiculous creature with it. Not overpowered or anything just fun

[sdougla2]

Divine Reversal looks really mana efficient for the Priestess. With both discount rings, you can prevent 2 damage, heal a creature for 2, and gain a life for 1 mana. I also see it as a good card to use if you want something akin to a Block that will work well against unavoidable attacks. Mostly I envision using it to support high armor creatures. Knights of Westlock particularly come to mind.

I really like the looks of Joined Strength. It's a way to make one of your creatures harder to take down, and forcing your opponent to spread out damage, rather than focus down one target at a time, is a good thing.

I already hate Minor Essence Drain.

Panther Stealth is so much cheaper than Mongoose Agility that I can see using it on lots of creatures that I wouldn't put Mongoose Agility on. The big target that comes to mind is a pet Thunderift Falcon. Put a Lion Savagery and a Panther Stealth on it and watch your opponent cry. Or just play a few Rajan's Furies so that they'll be easier to replace. That just seems like the perfect followup to a Cervere opening.

Rajah, Jungle's Talon is interesting. I think Rajah will be much better than Cervere for Lair builds, and Cervere will be a bit better for builds without a Lair. You COULD also do a cat build, but I still question the value of Makunda.

Badger Frenzy seems better in Arena than it does in Academy. The only creature I would really want to use it on in Academy is Razortusk, and I expect it to be a bit hard to get one out and keep it alive (and un-weakened). Besides Razortusk, your best attacks are 2 dice with piercing +1 or 2 dice and unavoidable, which is not that exciting. In Arena, you can use Badger Frenzy on Timber Wolves and Emerald Tegu, which you can spam out of a Lair.

I want to play 4 Rajan's Furies and then spam Steelclaw Cubs. I just think it would be fun.