Ehren's Apprentice - a Paladin tank spellbook

[iNano78]

An untested Paladin spell book inspired by tanky spell books for Anvil Throne Warlord, Forcemaster, etc.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Ehren's Apprentice[/spellbookname]
[mage]Paladin[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]

[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]2 x  Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]4 x  Luminous Blast[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Ballista[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Consecrated Ground[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Enchanter's Wardstone[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Hand of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Mana Flower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Cassiel, Shield of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Ehren, Enduring Paladin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Knight of the Red Helm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Messenger of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Arcane Ward[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Armor Ward[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Ballad of Courage[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Critical Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Divine Protection[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]3 x  Divine Reversal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Knight's Courage[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Restore[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Song of Love[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]2 x  Champion's Gauntlets[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Dancing Scimitar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Dawn's Bastion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Dawnbreaker Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Harshforge Plate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Leather Chausses[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Radiant Breastplate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Signet of the Dawnbreaker[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Sunfire Amulet[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Sword of Radiance[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Veteran's Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]2 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Lesser Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Martyr's Restoration[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Minor Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Remove Curse[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Smite[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

Goes something like this:

Round 1 (19): Battle Forge (8) + Mana Flower (5)
Round 2 (16+1): Ehren (5) + Regrowth on Ehren (5) (plus cheap equipment from Forge; e.g. ring or gauntlets; assume 3)
Round 3 (14+1): Martyr's Restoration (1) + either Cassiel or Messenger of BS (9) depending on urgency to heal Ehren (plus cheap equipment from Forge; e.g. ring or leather; assume 3)
Round 4 (12+1) and onward: Continue to gear up (e.g. armor, sword, belt; Regrowth on Mage), and start heading towards the centre of the arena; FD enchantments or Hand of BS or Enchanter's Wardstone are good early plays depending on opponent. Choose chestpiece depending on opposing Mage type and style of play (e.g. Harshforge vs "undo"; Radiant vs "aggro"). Have Cassiel cast healing and protection spells while Ehren + your Mage focus on offense, with equipment from Forge. If the enemy doesn't want to engage on your terms, cast Sunfire Amulet to get a clock ticking. As for damage output, melee sword + Scimitar + Luminous Blast can combine for a lot of damage against 1-3 targets.

Spells that didn't quite make the cut (yet):
- a second Dancing Scimitar
- a second Battle Forge
- Steadfast Boots (I'm afraid of getting Tanglevined while wearing them...)
- Helm of Justice (good against swarms, especially zombies)
- Iguana Regrowth for KotRH (who is mainly here for Sirens and Forcemasters)
- another Tanglevine or Force Hold
- walls. The only cheap one is Pikes, and it doesn't serve the function I'd want.
- more cheap enchantment buffs, like Blessed Focus, Knight's Courage, Paladin's Valor, Eye for an Eye, Brace Yourself, etc

[Borg]

Hi iNano,

The book seems quite solid to me.

Only observations I'd have:

1- Messenger of Bim-Shalla
Regrowth + Restoration heals Ehren by R3, so why exactly did you include this ?
Maybe Light of Dawn instead ?
You certainly need something to handle Mind's Eye. LoD seems easier to protect than Flying MoBS with intercepting/guarding mage.

2- Sunfire Amulet
I've never liked this card and think you can usually spend the mana and sbp's on something more effective ( unless you play a time restricted game - which I never do ) I'd rather have something like an Arcane Ward, Brace Yourself and Glancing Blow instead.

But again, overall I think this book is solid.

[iNano78]

Hi iNano,

The book seems quite solid to me.

Only observations I'd have:

1- Messenger of Bim-Shalla
Regrowth + Restoration heals Ehren by R3, so why exactly did you include this ?
Maybe Light of Dawn instead ?
You certainly need something to handle Mind's Eye. LoD seems easier to protect than Flying MoBS with intercepting/guarding mage.

2- Sunfire Amulet
I've never liked this card and think you can usually spend the mana and sbp's on something more effective ( unless you play a time restricted game - which I never do ) I'd rather have something like an Arcane Ward, Brace Yourself and Glancing Blow instead.

But again, overall I think this book is solid.

You're right on both accounts.

I also forgot a Pillar of Righteous Flame, which should be in every Holy book (and many Non-Holy books) imho.
And I somehow forgot Rhino Hide, which is a necessity with any Veteran's Belt "tank."
Light of Dawn is a good idea. I tend to want to combo her with Malakai's Basilica, but the Basilica doesn't help vs Mind's Eye so perhaps she's OK on her own. On the other hand, Force Hammers and Luminous Blasts (with Dawnbreaker's Ring) should be solid against Mind's Eye, so maybe I'm looking for answers to a non-issue at this point.

[Borg]

On the other hand, Force Hammers and Luminous Blasts (with Dawnbreaker's Ring) should be solid against Mind's Eye, so maybe I'm looking for answers to a non-issue at this point.

Force Hammers are expensive and risky especially since you don't get the 2 dice bonus vs Incorporeal ( only vs corporeal ). So you roll only 6 dice for 9 mana and you may on average fall just short on damage.

Same potential issue with Luminous Blast really. Even with the Ring you'll need a better than average roll to take out an Eye in one go.

LoD is slower at 3 dice a pop but requires a lot less mana investment.

Anyway, trying to take out 4 Eyes with Blasts and Hammers is very likely to come up short and a Dissolve spore is a real pita for an equipment based mage. Halewijn can testify to that

[iNano78]

Revised.

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Ehren's Apprentice v1.1[/spellbookname]
[mage]Paladin[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]

[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]4 x  Luminous Blast[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Ballista[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Consecrated Ground[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Enchanter's Wardstone[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Hand of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Mana Flower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Pillar of Righteous Flame[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Cassiel, Shield of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Ehren, Enduring Paladin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Knight of the Red Helm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Light of Dawn[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Arcane Ward[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Armor Ward[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Critical Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Divine Protection[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]3 x  Divine Reversal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Knight's Courage[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Restore[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Song of Love[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]2 x  Champion's Gauntlets[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Dancing Scimitar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Dawn's Bastion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Dawnbreaker Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Harshforge Plate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Leather Chausses[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Radiant Breastplate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Signet of the Dawnbreaker[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Sword of Radiance[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Veteran's Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]2 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]3 x  Lesser Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Martyr's Restoration[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Minor Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Remove Curse[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Smite[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

List of Changes:

-1x Sunfire Amulet (3)
-1x Messenger of Bim-Shalla (2)
-1x Force Hammer (4)
-1x Ballad of Courage (2)

+1x Pillar of Righteous Flame (2) -> Because it's so good
+1x Light of Dawn (2) -> For Ethereal/Flying targets
+2x Brace Yourself (2) -> For Cassiel, LoD, and generally good early
+2x Rhino Hide (4) -> For Veteran's Belt
+1x Lesser Teleport (1) -> For relocating Light of Dawn (her full action attack has range 1-1)

P.S. This is a book that would be largely countered by Altar of Infernia... But nobody is playing that, right?    I guess that's decent enough justification for the Force Hammer.

[Halewijn]

I really like dorseus to heal ehren. Maybe in combination with martyr rest. (which dorseus can heal)

[iNano78]

I really like dorseus to heal ehren. Maybe in combination with martyr rest. (which dorseus can heal)

Dorseus is nice, but he's 14 mana. I can't do Dorseus and Ehren and Battle Forge and have mana left over for equipment. Besides, if I went with Dorseus, I wouldn't even need Ehren. I could just use Dorseus as my buddy (4 attack, 11 life, 2 armor, Aegis 1 and Regenerate 2 is really tough) and he heals my Paladin every round as well - and his passive healing ability also stacks with Regrowth, Hand of BS, etc. With that much passive healing, you don't need a lot of armor... and if you don't use much armor, then Eye for an Eye is really good... In other words, that's a whole other book!

Here the idea is to run Ehren as a primary buddy, healing and buffing him reasonably efficiently by Round 3, and having enough mana left over to fuel the Battle Forge and Cassiel, who keeps you and Ehren healthy over the long run.

[Borg]

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]Ehren's Apprentice v1.1[/spellbookname]
[mage]Paladin[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]

[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Force Hammer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]4 x  Luminous Blast[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Ballista[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Battle Forge[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Consecrated Ground[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Enchanter's Wardstone[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Hand of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Mana Flower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Pillar of Righteous Flame[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Tanglevine[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Cassiel, Shield of Bim-Shalla[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Ehren, Enduring Paladin[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Knight of the Red Helm[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Light of Dawn[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]1 x  Arcane Ward[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Armor Ward[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Bear Strength[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Brace Yourself[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Critical Strike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Divine Protection[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]3 x  Divine Reversal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Falcon Precision[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Knight's Courage[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Nullify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Regrowth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Restore[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Rhino Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Song of Love[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]2 x  Champion's Gauntlets[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Dancing Scimitar[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Dawn's Bastion[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Dawnbreaker Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Harshforge Plate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Leather Chausses[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Radiant Breastplate[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Signet of the Dawnbreaker[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Sunfire Amulet[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Sword of Radiance[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Veteran's Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Wand of Healing[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=]2 x  Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]3 x  Lesser Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Martyr's Restoration[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Minor Heal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Remove Curse[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]1 x  Smite[/mwcard]
[mwcard=]2 x  Teleport[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

Looking at the details now, numbers, sbp's invested etc ... if this were to be my book I'd still like to add the following spells :

1 Force Pull
1 Seeking Dispel ( at least )
1 Dispel
1 Dissolve
2 Eye for an Eye ( on Ehren )

That's 10 sbp's. Where to get them ?

- You currently have 11 sbp's in teleport effects. I'd say there's room to cut this down somewhat. 1 Teleport and two Lessers will probably suffice. That's 5 sbp's saved. ( and you'll have a Force Push )
- I doubt you're going to play Divine Reversal three times, so at least one could be dropped : 1 sbp
- Same argument about Consecrated Ground : are you going to cast this more than once ? : 1 sbp
- Sunfire Amulet, I see, is still included : 3 sbp's.


Other questions I'd still have :

- If I lose the Radiant Breastplate, am I content with Harshforge Plate next. If answer is no : replace HP with RB.

- How important is Restore ? To me this is a bit of a "lose-one-round-later" spell. The round after you reveal it on a creature that would otherwise be dead it's usually dispelled. Not quite sure about it, your experience may be different with it than mine.

The book should be ready to put to the test at this point imo

[iNano78]

Looking at the details now, numbers, sbp's invested etc ... if this were to be my book I'd still like to add the following spells :

1 Force Pull
1 Seeking Dispel ( at least )
1 Dispel
1 Dissolve
2 Eye for an Eye ( on Ehren )

That's 10 sbp's. Where to get them ?

- You currently have 11 sbp's in teleport effects. I'd say there's room to cut this down somewhat. 1 Teleport and two Lessers will probably suffice. That's 5 sbp's saved. ( and you'll have a Force Push )
- I doubt you're going to play Divine Reversal three times, so at least one could be dropped : 1 sbp
- Same argument about Consecrated Ground : are you going to cast this more than once ? : 1 sbp
- Sunfire Amulet, I see, is still included : 3 sbp's.


Other questions I'd still have :

- If I lose the Radiant Breastplate, am I content with Harshforge Plate next. If answer is no : replace HP with RB.

- How important is Restore ? To me this is a bit of a "lose-one-round-later" spell. The round after you reveal it on a creature that would otherwise be dead it's usually dispelled. Not quite sure about it, your experience may be different with it than mine.

The book should be ready to put to the test at this point imo

Sorry, I forgot to pull Sunfire Amulet from the spell list when editing by hand, so it really shouldn't have been there. Edited post above to fix it.

Aside from the sbp cost, why would you choose a Force Push over a Teleport? I guess it's a cheaper way to shove a creature back into the Pillar or into/through a wall, but Tanglevine is very popular locally (with pretty much every mage... except a Warlord who packs at least 3x Quicksand...) so I'm not sure I can get away with fewer than 2x Teleports, especially without a Mage Wand. The Lesser Teleports are both for re-positioning the Light of Dawn and helping Ehren and the Paladin keep up with a moving target, especially in the absence of more Tanglevine / Force Hold, etc.

Personally, I like Divine Reversal over Eye for an Eye. They each have their pros and cons, but I don't like to gamble on EfaE in hopes my opponent rolls well (due to timing restriction), and most of the time I'd really just rather prevent 4 damage when attacked (and have found situations where my opponent flubs the roll but I heal 2 and end up with a net benefit). Basically, DR is good against chump attacks from cheap creatures just looking to get rid of your mandatory reveal and/or guard marker. Also, Cassiel can cast DR but not EfaE. Also, if I'm guarding/intercepting to protect my creatures, my opponent may choose to ignore (or otherwise avoid) Ehren and go after me directly. Given the "tank" theme (e.g. high armor + Veteran's Belt), I don't expect to take large amounts of spike damage, which reduces the effectiveness of EfaE and again makes me lean towards DR.

Terrain is popular locally, so I'll stick with 2x Consecrated Ground until I have reason to think I can get away with fewer. It's among the best Terrains, and the cheapest both in sbp and mana, so it's kind of a no brainer to have 2 at the moment. I feel they're necessary to keep from getting stuck in Swamps or Elephant Grass, or getting pushed in and out of Shallow Sea + Bed of Urchins/Hydrothermal Vents, and they can turn the tables on an otherwise unforutunate situation, like getting Force Hold'ed in a zone with a zombie swarm. (Play Consecrated Ground + Pillar of Righteous Flame and have some fun slaying the undead!)

Over the past year in real life matches, I rarely recall feeling like I needed more Dispel/Dissolve. This book has 2x Nullify, a Purify, a Remove Curse and Wand of Healing for dealing with DoT enchantments/conditions, and a couple copies each of Dispel/Dissolve for "must deal with" equipment and enchantments my opponent might be using. Again, could be a local meta thing, but I don't generally feel the need to undo everything my opponent does, and that's certainly not the goal of this book.

Radiant Breastplate vs Harshforge Plate is really dependent on the match-up. Against most mages, I'd probably go with RB. But against a Wizard, Forcemaster or Water mage, I'd start with HP to slow down (or at least tax) the "undo" game, put on Armor Ward, and even consider Arcane Ward on the Armor Ward. Chances are the HP gets Dissolved despite my efforts, but hopefully it buys me time to take out the Mage Wand or Dissolve-Spore or whatever, and/or eats an enemy Dissolve that otherwise would have targeted the Belt or Gauntlets, and then I replace it with RB anyway. They way I looked at it: I need at least 2 chest pieces, and I'm trained in both HP and RB with each costing 2 sbp, so if it's tough to choose between them, why not 1 of each?

Restore is a cheap trick that comes in handy when your opponent thinks a single attack spell (e.g. Hurl Boulder) in the opening quick cast phase is going to finish off its target, whether that's my melee buddy creature, Cassiel, or my mage. If the match is going to last another 2+ rounds, this gives me time to heal my creature; but more likely, this comes up when it's a race to the finish (e.g. each mage has < 10 hit points remaining at the start of the round), and that extra 10 life is the difference between winning and losing. The value of each hit point scales with the amount of armor you have, so +10 life when I still have at least some armor remaining (and probably a Veteran's Belt) is certainly worth 1 sbp and 2+3 mana in a spell that can be cast by Cassiel. If this were a book where I depend on other factors to keep me alive, I might not bother with it. In other words, situations where EfaE is good tend to be situations where Restore is bad, and vice versa. If this were a Priest(ess) book that  depended on Guardian Angels to keep my Mage alive, maybe with Asyran Robes or other cheap protections, then EfaE would make a lot of sense (to reflect attacks on my fragile Priest(ess) that somehow got past my Angels) and Restore would be garbage (because each hit point is less well-protected by armor).

A Seeking Dispel and a Force Push would be nice, but as above, I don't think I want to cut a Teleport for them. I think it will require some play to decide what can go (e.g. do I really need 2x Heal? Enchanter's Wardstone? That 3rd Lesser Teleport?).

[Borg]

Hi iNano,

I stumbled into this Ehren opening today, maybe something to consider for this book :

R1 QC Hand of Bim Shalla - Ehren - Heal Ehren 1 damage from HoBS
R2 Heal Ehren 1 damage from HoBS - QC Martyr's Restoration to heal the remaining 5 damage ...

A healthy Ehren for just 1 additional mana, 1 sbp and 1 action and you've got your HoBS in play as well.