Meditation Graveyard (Gen-Con 2016)

[Biblofilter]

I've never really played Necromancer much. I have been mauled a lot by Necromancer though.

After Alexander (one of our never Copenhagen players) beat me pretty big with a spellbook with this idea - I build one myself.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Meditaion Graveyard[/spellbookname]
[mage]Necromancer[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1a08]1 x  Geyser[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1a06]1 x  Flameblast[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]2 x  Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA04]2 x  Hurl Boulder[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNW02]3 x  Wall of Bones[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j19]1 x  Deathlock[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1j11]1 x  Idol of Pestilence[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNJ04]1 x  Graveyard[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNC15]2 x  Skeletal Minion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1c32]2 x  Skeletal Sentry[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC02]2 x  Deathfang[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC04]1 x  Grey Wraith[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC13]1 x  Skeletal Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFC02]1 x  Blood Demon[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC14]1 x  Skeletal Knight[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE04]1 x  Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWE06]1 x  Fortified Position[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e24]2 x  Magebane[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e09]3 x  Agony[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e25]1 x  Maim Wings[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE03]2 x  Arcane Corruption[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e14]1 x  Enfeeble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e31]1 x  Poisoned Blood[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKE04]2 x  Enchantment Transfusion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e29]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x  Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e32]1 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1e27]1 x  Marked for Death[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=DNQ10]1 x  Meditation Amulet[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q19]1 x  Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNQ01]1 x  Cloak of Shadows[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1q06]1 x  Dragonscale Hauberk[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=mw1i12]1 x  Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNI03]1 x  Reassemble[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i28]1 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i08]1 x  Drain Life[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i06]3 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i24]2 x  Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i25]1 x  Shift Enchantment[/mwcard]
[mwcard=mw1i07]4 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 119 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

+1 Arcane Ward

Typical opening is Stay in the corner + Meditation Amulet and then Graveyard (final QC)

normal placement of the Graveyard would be 1 away in the zone that can't be blocked by one wall.

Then pump out creatures and meditate. Try to do something useful with my QC.
Pretty easy to play.

One of the thing id liked the most was the "extra" spell I got to prepare each round. Typical a curse if an enemy creature should get onto range.

Ill be back if there's any questions or comments.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Just so we're all on the same page, this book won the Gen Con  Championship. Biblofilter went undefeated in the tournament all the while displaying the class and sportsmanship of a champ. I personally lost to this book twice and I strongly suspect he was holding back against me.

[Boocheck]

Name of this Topic should be GenCons Winner Spellbook I nearly missed it

Here are some of my questions.

1. Was there any special reasons for Graveyard instead of Libro? I have my thoughts about Graveyard but would like to hear it from someone who had more games during one trip than i during few months

2. Wall of Bones

3. No Force Hammer or Anti-Conjuration or Ethereal tools. Was your expectation that you will not met them?

4. Did Grey Wraith see the play?

5. Arcane Coruption, was ever dispeled?

Now i really looking forward to Arcane Duels vids

[silverclawgrizzly]

I saw the Gray Wraith used in the final match. But then as I removed the time limit and declared it was to the death there wasn't much that wasn't played in a three hour beat down.

[aridigas]

You changed the formar during the tournament?

[Powlich]

I'm really happy to see that this deck won the Gencon championship! That's because it's very similar to one of my favourite decks. The biggest difference is that my deck is a bit more focused on soldiers. I actually played it against Biblos deck right before his trip to US and Gencon. His teleport wand ruined that game for me. :/

Right after Domination had been released, I added the altar of domination to my deck. It has paid of really well in many games. Maybe you should consider it for your deck.

[Halewijn]

This book is pretty straightforward but, why the blooddemon? 

[SharkBait]

Name of this Topic should be GenCons Winner Spellbook I nearly missed it

Here are some of my questions.

1. Was there any special reasons for Graveyard instead of Libro? I have my thoughts about Graveyard but would like to hear it from someone who had more games during one trip than i during few months

2. Wall of Bones

3. No Force Hammer or Anti-Conjuration or Ethereal tools. Was your expectation that you will not met them?

4. Did Grey Wraith see the play?

5. Arcane Coruption, was ever dispeled?

Now i really looking forward to Arcane Duels vids

To help Biblo out a little, I can answer some of these .

4. I'm pretty sure it came onto the field more than once, but definitely in the epic finals match

5. I know that I dispelled the first in our match, but not the 2nd.

[Reddicediaries]

Name of this Topic should be GenCons Winner Spellbook I nearly missed it

Here are some of my questions.

1. Was there any special reasons for Graveyard instead of Libro? I have my thoughts about Graveyard but would like to hear it from someone who had more games during one trip than i during few months

2. Wall of Bones

3. No Force Hammer or Anti-Conjuration or Ethereal tools. Was your expectation that you will not met them?

4. Did Grey Wraith see the play?

5. Arcane Coruption, was ever dispeled?

Now i really looking forward to Arcane Duels vids

Personally, I perfer graveyard to libro, as it takes more resources to take down. That being said, I'm all about destroying spawnpoint/ conjerations, before the owner gets use of of them. So what would you if your graveyard was killed T2 or T3.

[Reddicediaries]

I saw the Gray Wraith used in the final match. But then as I removed the time limit and declared it was to the death there wasn't much that wasn't played in a three hour beat down.

Did the compiters know before hand that this was happening?

[Biblofilter]

Name of this Topic should be GenCons Winner Spellbook I nearly missed it

Here are some of my questions.

1. Was there any special reasons for Graveyard instead of Libro? I have my thoughts about Graveyard but would like to hear it from someone who had more games during one trip than i during few months

2. Wall of Bones

3. No Force Hammer or Anti-Conjuration or Ethereal tools. Was your expectation that you will not met them?

4. Did Grey Wraith see the play?

5. Arcane Coruption, was ever dispeled?

Now i really looking forward to Arcane Duels vids

1. Might not be that big off a difference between Graveyard and Libro. Mostly I hoped it would help me in a Necro vs Necro, and I did not like the -3 life if someone dispelled libro. Graveyard seemed like a better way to have a creature out each round and as I did not plan to move. Both Alexander (strong local Copenhagen player) not to mention the Thunderdome G finals - tanky Necro with Graveyard and Zombies. Besides in a lot of my games people have taken a few swings at the Graveyard, then gave up. The mana return meant I didn't care much if my creatures died.

2. Wall of Bones "No book is viable without at least 2 walls" Borg is one of my mage wars heroes
I'm pretty low on defenses - a wall helps lot, 2 is better. Amazing vs. Druid.

3. Nope its just 1 die less for a boulder. I usually end up using hammer vs. mage instead anyway, so its Boulder for me. Ethereal is a big problem, but I did switch a Plauge Zombie+ Sacrificial Altar for a Gray Wraith.

4. Yes Gray Wraith did see play - he can teleport trough walls, no sense in tanglevine vs. him and he has a 5+ chance of weak - that's a poison condition. Finally he's got an Etheral attack. I did get beat twice by "The Elemantal Lord" just before leaving Copenhagen, but no I did not expect to see any incorporeal creatures.

5. Arcane Corruption wasn't as useful at Gen-Con as most of my opponent didn't use a lot of enchantments but I did use it vs. Sharkbait. Its more or less my Purge Magic.

6. I added Blood Demon after losing to Coshade's Beastmaster in Chicago just before Gen-Con. I didn't really think anyone would run BM, but the Blood Demon, Archer and Fortified Position was my counter.
Blood Demon is really good with the Walls and very useful as a enchantment transfusion carrier. He is the only one that can carry Poison Blood.

Got outplayed vs. one of the Gen-Con BM after the tournament. Poison Gas Cloud instead of Fortified Position is usually good vs. a living swarms. Anyway I would rather have a third Boulder or a second Teleport, rather than the Fortified Position. With Fortified Position gone id cut Shift Enchantment.

[Biblofilter]

"Personally, I perfer graveyard to libro, as it takes more resources to take down. That being said, I'm all about destroying spawnpoint/ conjerations, before the owner gets use of of them. So what would you if your graveyard was killed T2 or T3."

Well actually you can see that in one of the videos

I created this book with the 75 minutes time limit in mind. Found that the number of creatures was really good - never ran out, but casted like 8 of them in almost every match.

Did not know about the no-limit in the Finals (pretty sure nobody else did), but Mage Wars is supposed to be about killing the other mage, so that's cool.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Yes players knew the format for finals ahead of time. I'd mentioned the likely change before and after several requests from competitors made the change. This will be the standard for all future Gen Con. Both Biblofilter and his final opponent Mr Rose were very happy with this decision.

[Borg]

This looks like a very well built and effective spellbook, Biblofilter, and the results clearly proved it.
Great job.

Some of my questions were already answered above but I am still interested to hear

1- what was the role of the lone Flameblast ?

2- You explained the inclusion of the Blood Demon already.
My first thought was he might have been added to give you an advantage in a Necro vs Necro matchup. ( Bloodthirsty getting around any Undead Guards ... )

Of course the Demon having Flying and thus be visible to your Necromancer from behind his Walls also leaves some nice tricks to be explored. ( Enchantment Transfusion )

btw great to hear you took that "2-walls-minimum" to heart Walls are so underrated and so effective if timed well. Imo there's a moment in nearly every game where a wall is the best card to play.

3- Why 2 Magebane's and just 1 Marked for Death ?
I could see the book be even more efficient if it were the other way around.

4- Two more cards that could be really helpful for this book imo : Eagleclaw Boots and Astral Anchor.
Were there games where they tried to push/teleport you away from your defensive position and if yes, how did you solve it ?

5- Was the inclusion of a Zombie Brute an option at one point ?

Overall, nice to see MW is alive and kicking with a Necromancer, Druid, Forcemaster and Warlock in the final 4.

[Reddicediaries]

It seems to that this book is far less complex than the previous 2 gen con winners. But that's OK, simple doesn't mean bad!