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Author Topic: Demonic Bloodlust targets  (Read 4418 times)

iNano78

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Demonic Bloodlust targets
« on: January 24, 2017, 03:59:11 PM »
Demonic Bloodlust is one of my favourite cards from Lost Grimoire v1.

It's most obvious application would be on a buddy for an Arraxian Crown Warlock, either his Blood Reaper, especially [mwcard=MWSTX2FFC02]Blood Demon[/mwcard], or even on [mwcard=MW1C17]Goran, Werewolf Pet[/mwcard].

But there's something possibly even more interesting about this spell: it's target is a "Non-Mage creature" - doesn't say anything about "Living" or even "Corporeal"!

Now before you get too excited, the spell has the subtype Psychic (and Curse), so that will rule out most of the Nonliving creatures as most have Psychic Immunity. ... But not all have Psychic Immunity!

So why am I so excited? Because usually it's quite difficult to buff the attacks of Nonliving, and especially Incorporeal, creatures. All of the Nature and Holy school Enchantments, and most of the War school Incantations, target a Living and/or Corporeal creature. Demonic Bloodlust is one of the very few cards that gives an attack bonus to a Nonliving and possibly Incorporeal creature - as long as it doesn't have Psychic Immunity.

Here's a list of Nonliving creatures without Psychic Immunity, which makes them possible targets of Demonic Bloodlust:

[mwcard=FWC02]Earth Elemental[/mwcard]
Fire Elemental
[mwcard=DNC04]Grey Wraith[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWC08]Invisible Stalker[/mwcard]
Water Elemental
[mwcard=MW1C40]Whirling Spirit[/mwcard]

It's not a long list... but it's got me to thinking of how I can abuse this card. It turns any one of these creatures into an even scarier threat!
"Forcemaster with Demonic Bloodlust Invisible Stalker?! Sign me up!!"
(e.g. During the final quickcast phase of the first round that you attack with your [mwcard=FWC08]Invisible Stalker[/mwcard], quickcast a Demonic Bloodlust on him and let him rip!!)

** Special thanks to grga.curkovic for making this post possible. Searchable card attributes are a godsend, not to mention having a card image of Demonic Bloodlust on the internet!! THANKS SO MUCH!! **
« Last Edit: January 24, 2017, 04:01:39 PM by iNano78 »
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iNano78

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Re: Demonic Bloodlust targets
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2017, 04:26:24 PM »
I just noticed Ballad of Courage can also target a "creature" that isn't necessarily Living nor Corporeal so long as it isn't Psychic Immune. Ditto for [mwcard=FWE08] Mind Shield[/mwcard], which is handy considering that by definition this creature doesn't have Psychic Immunity, and thus is susceptible to various Psychic spells an enemy might want to cast on it.

Eye for an Eye can target any Friendly creature, but it has the restriction Holy Mage only, and most of the Nonliving targets listed above that a Holy mage can choose (like an Elemental or a Spirit) are Incorporeal and thus tough to damage anyway (except [mwcard=FWC02] Earth Elemental[/mwcard]!) so unlikely to be useful.

It seems that most other enchantments that target any (possibly Non-mage) creature tend to be curses or otherwise detrimental (like Mind Control, Pacify, etc), so not useful for buffing a friendly creature. Of course, Demonic Bloodlust also has drawbacks - a Bloodthirsty creature MUST attack a damaged living creature in its zone when it activates, if possible - so it doesn't come without some risk of being manipulated by your opponent.


*edit*

Hmmm... Now I'm tempted to try a Paladin with an Earth Elemental buddy, whom he advances with Ballad of Courage (to become un-Slow and gain a Charge +2 bonus), and once in position, then gets a Demonic Bloodlust thrown on him while protecting him with Eye for an Eye. Heck, then have him Guard and watch him mirror the incoming damage before counterstriking with 9 dice (due to Bloodthirsty +2) with chance to Daze or Stun! Ha!!
« Last Edit: January 24, 2017, 04:35:43 PM by iNano78 »
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Kaarin

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Re: Demonic Bloodlust targets
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2017, 04:47:38 PM »
Hmmm... Now I'm tempted to try a Paladin with an Earth Elemental buddy, whom he advances with Ballad of Courage (to become un-Slow and gain a Charge +2 bonus), and once in position, then gets a Demonic Bloodlust thrown on him while protecting him with Eye for an Eye. Heck, then have him Guard and watch him mirror the incoming damage before counterstriking with 9 dice (due to Bloodthirsty +2) with chance to Daze or Stun! Ha!!
Earth Elemental's attack is full action so he can't counterstrike.
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bigfatchef

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Re: Demonic Bloodlust targets
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2017, 05:31:50 PM »
An fast charged earth elemental seems amazing, indeed!! Nice ideas inano!

And also thanks kaarin for that hint. Never thought about that actually and might easily have played out wrong without knowing.

SharkBait

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Re: Demonic Bloodlust targets
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2017, 05:36:51 PM »
So I know casting "Demonic Bloodlust" on a demon doesn't sound that awesome at first, but hear me out.

So, to start, you can only do this tactic with an Adramelech Warlock. As a small bit of background, I love using Mhegeddon as a mage seeking missile. A 5 dice elusive attack from a pretty tough creature that heals when he attacks something burning sounds REALLY good in context.

So, with that said, one of the things you do as a warlock is cast curses on the enemy. It's rare that a warlock can be successful without doing so. My personal favorite curses to lead with are Magebane and Ghoul Rot, and with this tactic Adramelech's Touch turns into a really nice curse to have on them as well. If you're going the curse heavy route with a mage that tends to like burning things and gets bonus damage/effects from attacking things that burn, Adramelech's Torment is also an amazing spell to have since you can burn your target for a free action (and 2 mana, but it's almost always worth it. Almost... Stupid Priestess).

Unfortunately, the restriction on Adramelech's Torment is that you can only burn something without a previous burn condition. Here's where Demonic Bloodlust (and to a lesser extent, Demonic Link) come into play. If your target is burning, burn your mage seeking missile Mhegeddon and then fireweave it over to the target all in one play :). I've gotten upwards of 8 burns stacked on people before, which means 8 dice of direct damage in the upkeep. Sure, some will fall off/you'll pay some mana to keep them on there due to AT, but now they have to start changing their gameplan to deal with it or they're going to fry  ;D
« Last Edit: January 25, 2017, 12:11:48 PM by SharkBait »
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iNano78

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Re: Demonic Bloodlust targets
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2017, 05:51:10 PM »
Hmmm... Now I'm tempted to try a Paladin with an Earth Elemental buddy, whom he advances with Ballad of Courage (to become un-Slow and gain a Charge +2 bonus), and once in position, then gets a Demonic Bloodlust thrown on him while protecting him with Eye for an Eye. Heck, then have him Guard and watch him mirror the incoming damage before counterstriking with 9 dice (due to Bloodthirsty +2) with chance to Daze or Stun! Ha!!
Earth Elemental's attack is full action so he can't counterstrike.

Bah!! Totally thought his non-zone Melee attack was quick. That not only means the guarding idea is out, but also he can't attack with a Charge +2 bonus from Ballad of Courage... but at least he could double-move (at normal speed) so on his next activation he can swing for 9 dice via Bloodthirsty. Cheaper to Teleport him though (and attack a round earlier) unless you know he needs to double-move twice... so yeah, ignore the Ballad.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2017, 05:56:44 PM by iNano78 »
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