Ehren, Enduring Paladin opening strategies

[bigfatchef]

I have a book starting
1) 19 : qc Temple (10) , Ehren (5) = 4
2) 13+1 : deploy Broken Wing Angel (6) , cleric or mana crystal (5) , FD ench (2) = 1
3) 10+1 or 11+1 : deploy broken wing angel, .....

Deploying a broken wing angel heals ehren 3 dice. After 2 angels he is possibly ready. Depending on your strategie and how quick you need him you can heal one more die from a cleric if summoned round2. Or invest in a longer game with a crystal and summon a cleric round 3. Or drop one if both for hand of bim shala.

In all ways ehren is ready at least round 4 with a small army supporting him and saving the temple.

Just so you know - you need 2 mana on the temple to deploy from the temple.

You got me! It has been a while since I played the book and I forgot about this part
But you can switch and tweak this opening till it works out, cause all used cards are about the same price. Still a good reminder!

There are definately many ways to heal him. I think it is important to not misuse actions for that. Even if mana total seems cheap all mage actions should be used for the main setup. So healing side effects are what you are looking for

[Coshade]

Absolutely! I've been using the Messenger of Bim Shalla as a Holy Avenger to heal Ehren sometimes. It's sweet.

[Mystery]

Absolutely! I've been using the Messenger of Bim Shalla as a Holy Avenger to heal Ehren sometimes. It's sweet.

and a waste of resources in a way. Bim shalla has included its healing ability in the mana cost and ehren has included its dmg in the mana cost by doing this you end up having normal creatures (one weaker than mana cost, one stronger), so why not cast KoW, Guardian, Gray Angel, White cloak and so on dircetly.

If you use for example regrowth you end up with a Ehren that is better as he has still regenerate 2.

[iNano78]

Absolutely! I've been using the Messenger of Bim Shalla as a Holy Avenger to heal Ehren sometimes. It's sweet.

and a waste of resources in a way. Bim shalla has included its healing ability in the mana cost and ehren has included its dmg in the mana cost by doing this you end up having normal creatures (one weaker than mana cost, one stronger), so why not cast KoW, Guardian, Gray Angel, White cloak and so on dircetly.

If you use for example regrowth you end up with a Ehren that is better as he has still regenerate 2.

Messenger of Bim-Shalla is decent for 9 mana even without the healing - e.g. Minor creature with Flying, Aegis, 7 life, bonuses against Incorporeal and Nonliving (and both; e.g. 4 dice Ethereal against Incorporeal + Nonliving creatures).  Probably worth 7-8 mana anyway, so you're only paying about a 1-2 mana premium for 4 dice of healing for Ehren. And having a creature (rather than an Incantation or Enchantment) is that in a pinch, the Messenger (or Broken Wing Angel) makes for a decent Guard.

The problem with Regrowth alone is Ehren may never get to activate so long as your opponent can keep pinging him for a couple of damage (e.g. through DoT or keeping him in check with a cheap creature).

But yes, you can always question whether or not you'd be ahead just casting a Knight of Westlock in the first place.

Also, the promo card Debilitate would be a brutal counter to Ehren if/when it becomes official.
(Debilitate costs 6 mana and a quickcast, which would generally be much less than the opponent's investment in Ehren)

Oh, and Deathlock kind of ruins your plans with Erhen, too.  In that case, at least he can Guard to draw attacks away from targets that matter. Sucks if you've already put points into healing him though (e.g. revealed your Regrowth and summoned other healing effects).

*edit* I apologize that I've said all this before.

[Puddnhead]

Honestly, the main use I've found for Ehren is actually not letting him get fully healed--but getting him close.  He draws so much hate from your enemy that it's like having super-vigilance.  The threat of that Melee +4 blinds them into thinking that "he must die now!".  I'm more than happy to have Cassiel keep Ehren tanking the hate while I do other things that actually win me the game.

[Biblofilter]

One of those days someone is going to run into an opponent that cast the creature they wanted to cast.

[Puddnhead]

Absolutely!  In a mirror match I am going to go first if I need a Legendary creature for my build.

Also, Deathlock doesn't bother me after PvS.  Martyr's Restoration gets around Finite Life and you can actually reveal Healing Charm during the counterspell step of the Deathlock cast and get the 4 dice healing which is at least enough healing to make Martyr's Restoration finish the job if you really need Ehren healed.

[Borg]

3- Play nothing but quality spells which fit into the overall strategy

Forgive me for quoting myself, but that point is really what it's all about in getting the most out of Ehren.

If you start including spells specifically designed to heal Ehren, then you're investing extra sbp's and mana and you lose the advantage he can give you. In that case you might as well play KoW instead.

If your Strategy however includes spells which can make Ehren damage free in the process then you've gained something out of him.
Regrowth is an excellent enchantment to have on a creature, that's not a waste, Hand of Bim Shalla has many uses and the Asyran Robes are actually a good piece of armor in this strategy.

Between Regrowth, HoBS and the Robes you can heal a creature ( Ehren, HA, KoW ) of 4 damage without taking any actions for it.
The Guarding Angel can even heal 6 damage per round this way.
Those are things to consider imo.

[Borg]

One of those days someone is going to run into an opponent that cast the creature they wanted to cast.

Obviously.

Playing a mirror match and wanting to bring out a Legendary creature, you're looking for Initiative.
Beastmaster may want to start with Cervere, Priest(ess) with Ehren, Warlock with the Meghedden.
If you don't have ini, don't prep these, wait till round two ( or later - chances are your opponent is not going to play that card anyway otherwise he probably wouldn't have taken the risk ... or would he ??

[Puddnhead]

3- Play nothing but quality spells which fit into the overall strategy

Forgive me for quoting myself, but that point is really what it's all about in getting the most out of Ehren.

If you start including spells specifically designed to heal Ehren, then you're investing extra sbp's and mana and you lose the advantage he can give you. In that case you might as well play KoW instead.

If your Strategy however includes spells which can make Ehren damage free in the process then you've gained something out of him.
Regrowth is an excellent enchantment to have on a creature, that's not a waste, Hand of Bim Shalla has many uses and the Asyran Robes are actually a good piece of armor in this strategy.

Between Regrowth, HoBS and the Robes you can heal a creature ( Ehren, HA, KoW ) of 4 damage without taking any actions for it.
The Guarding Angel can even heal 6 damage per round this way.
Those are things to consider imo.

I would prefer to put Life Link on Ehren and the Regrowth on my Mage.  I suppose you could consider that a "waste" of sbps since I'm using a different card to heal Ehren, but the same can be said of the first regrowth.

HoBS is of course helpful to almost any book, but especially a new and improved Temple Priestess that runs Metatron.

[Borg]

I would prefer to put Life Link on Ehren and the Regrowth on my Mage. 

Obviously Life Link is a good choice, I just googled the card up as I didn't know it.

I think we really should make a distinction here between "official" cards and "promo's"
When I build a book I never use nor consider promos as I prefer to play with cards that have been "officially" released. Also PvS is not out yet either ( afaik) so I don't consider cards from that set either (yet).

So, we may be discussing the same subject but with a different card set in mind ....

[Puddnhead]

I would prefer to put Life Link on Ehren and the Regrowth on my Mage. 

Obviously Life Link is a good choice, I just googled the card up as I didn't know it.

I think we really should make a distinction here between "official" cards and "promo's"
When I build a book I never use nor consider promos as I prefer to play with cards that have been "officially" released. Also PvS is not out yet either ( afaik) so I don't consider cards from that set either (yet).

So, we may be discussing the same subject but with a different card set in mind ....

Okay, I didn't realize we weren't including PvS as of yet.  Life Link is in PvS and that's why I included it.

[iNano78]

I would prefer to put Life Link on Ehren and the Regrowth on my Mage.  I suppose you could consider that a "waste" of sbps since I'm using a different card to heal Ehren, but the same can be said of the first regrowth.

HoBS is of course helpful to almost any book, but especially a new and improved Temple Priestess that runs Metatron.

I think I like this best (post PvsS and Lost Grimoire v1):

Turn 1: Ehren + Lifelink (on Ehren); if Priestess, gain 1 Life (for revealing Lifelink).
Turn 2: Messenger of Bim-Shalla (healing Ehren) + Regrowth (on mage); if Priest, make Messenger your Holy Avenger

This nearly guarantees a fully healed Ehren going into turn 3, and he'll be tough to take out since he can effectively regen 3 each upkeep.

[Sailor Vulcan]

#DiceOP

#DysenteryOP

I didn't know devouring jellies could even get dysentery. They're nonliving!

[Borg]

Life Link is in PvS and that's why I included it.

OK, that's good to hear. It will go straight in when I get it then

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( Back from work ) I've been taking a closer look at Lifelink and I'm not so sure it's preferable over a Regrowth all the time.

Lifelink simply transfers damage from one creature to another but does not give you a net-healing
while Regrowth actually removes damage, without transferring it to another creature.

Let's compare :

Lifelink+Regrowth vs Regrowth+Regrowth
                3 sbp's vs 4sbp's
              10 mana vs 11 mana

The difference is just 1 sbp and 1 mana, a difference alright but minimal
but L+R can heal only 2 damage net per round while R+R can heal up to 4 damage per round
That's 1 sbp + 1 mana for an extra 2 healing per round.
That's very much worth it imo.

I can still see Lifelink be the better choice for a non-combat, operating-from-the-back-Mage but if you want your Mage to engage with the enemy, like the Priest, transferring an extra three damage on him does not strike me as a good tactic.
The opponent doesn't even have to worry about the Lifelink, just take out the Regrowth on the Mage and he's in trouble.
So, for the Priest, I still think the Regrowth is preferable on Ehren.

As a side note, a "static" strategy might also consider [mwcard=MW1J15] Mohktari, Great Tree of Life[/mwcard]
One action, Regenerate 2 for all.
No Zone Exclusive on this Tree is also a big plus imo.