New to the holy school of magic

[arxiducs]

So I need to catch up with the holy school of magic after the release of the Academy Priestess and the Paladin.
I can see that they have big influence in the game these days, but I have not been able to practice with them yet. The AWOpen2 is coming up and need to catch up quickly.
What would you guys recommend me to look into first? any emblematic posts/spell-books/discussions in the forum?
Take care,
Arx

[littlenog]

What mage are you trying to play?

[Reddicediaries]

I would say the priestess is the easiest to play at a decent level so if you don't want to devote too much time to one of them, I'd go priestess.
That being said, I think learning the paladin and/or priest will give you an advantage as both of them are underrated and therefore often unpracticed against.
With paladin, I'd choose what kind of strategy you want to do (temple, double spawnpoint, banner rush, forge and few buddies, etc) and to try to focus in on supporting that without focusing too much on that one line of play. He is a really flexible mage and you need to choose a primary strategy or your resources will be spread too thinly across different win conditions.

[Puddnhead]

Hey Arxiducs!

You're a man with an eye for combos so I would suggest looking up these cards in particular:

Cassiel, Shield of Bim-Shalla
Remove Curse
Galvanize
Radiant Breastplate
Martyr's Restoration
Dorseus, Stallion of Westlock
Ehren, Enduring Paladin

For a challenge: Eligor Larrington; Artemis, Eye of the Dawnbreaker or Metatron, Angelic Templar

Additionally there are a few cards that use the "Strongest" mechanic which, succinctly put, gives bonuses against the highest mana cost enemy creature on the board.  And each time you invoke the strongest mechanic you get to choose between tied mana costs.  This is important also in that it works against the enemy mage if there is no other creature on the enemy team.

For a more comprehensive view (and a shameless plug) feel free to skip around through this playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsiDNZI-2m0&list=PLKFenfrT4VG_FOTzSR-9In-CTsyvwre9C

[farkas1]

I agree with Puddnhead here check out their Chanel and listen to pvs set reviews.  I have listened to them over a handful of times and they still help give me tips and tricks to this set.  A lot of new mechanics and very cool combos are in this set.  Thanks arcane duels!!!! 

Personally I like the siren more as far as overall design and combo potential.  The pally is great too but lately I have seen builds that totally ignore his  valor and I feel that is either a big mistake or it is something either overlooked and or just not as useful as his other abilities. 

[Biblofilter]

I could not find a complete spell list from PvS or Priestess Academy

When dipping into this you have to be prepared for the "Legendary" chicken game.
With 3 Holy Mages it could easily happen that you face another holy mage.

Cassiel can cast protection and healing spells, but they don´t have to be holy.

Ehren is popular even out of school.

Alfiya.. Well she seems good

I also like Dawnbreakers Intiate and Disiple of Radiance (even with the much needed nerf)

Dorseus is pretty good vs people who like Deathlock etc.
6 passive healing/round can be tuff to deal with for people that don´t use Deathlock etc.

Alandell nice also.

And let me just mention:
Pillar of Righteous Flame - OMG
Champions Gauntlets - enduring wands

[Puddnhead]

And I didn't have a list in front of me either 

biblo wins for remembering Pillar and Champ gauntlets and Alandell (the BOSS knight)

[Biblofilter]

Hey Arxiducs!

You're a man with an eye for combos so I would suggest looking up these cards in particular:

For a more comprehensive view (and a shameless plug) feel free to skip around through this playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsiDNZI-2m0&list=PLKFenfrT4VG_FOTzSR-9In-CTsyvwre9C

Well i don´t know Puddin

Was that Eye a secret message to put Eye for an Eye on a Bridge Troll or an Earth Elemental?

Eye for an Eye
Ballad of Courage
Song of Hate
Song of Love
Healing Madrigal
Lesser Teleport
Blind

All came out in PvS - not all holy but still worth looking at.

Then theres Artemis - holy response to Grimson, equally easy to kill.

Then theres a lot of Paladin equipment, some of it usefull for other mages as well.

[farkas1]

Also If your running any soldiers over extend and ballad of courage is pretty scary too.  Ballad of courage is also great against druids as it also works against vines. 

[Coshade]

Hey man! Join us in holy! Easily Priest is my favorite mage, but everyone has their preference which is why I love the school so much. Each of the holy mages favor certain play styles stronger then other. If you are looking to explore one specifically that will be easier to pin point how to help. In general here is how I think of them

Priestess - Great long game mage, nothing great offensively, but tends to bring out bigger creatures
Priest - Better against short game books then the priestess, He trades the defensive nature of Priestess to have some of the best offensive combos in the game.
Paladin - Really good at aggression. Usually you want at least 2 of level 2-5 creatures to run with him at all times. Generally the faster you want to engage, the more war school you want in this book over holy.

All of them can play any style and still be competitive, but I hope this rundown can help guide you to the ones you want to play.

If you want help in surviving early rushes I highly suggest taking a blind. You can combo it with daze to slim their chance of following through offensively. Holy can shut down solo or buddy builds really easily with the effect rolls and cards like Blind. Another option is just to heal through early aggro. Once their attack spells exahust you can usually cleanup.

Luminous Blast is also a great card to help bring damage on. It's also versatile in that it can be used defensively. Figuring out when you need that daze/stun vs if you want to save it for future damage is something to keep in mind when learning holy. To go with that Dazzle is also from Priestess Academy. This is a great card because Stagger lowers attack spell dice and stacks with itself.

There are a lot more combos in holy, but it really depends on what direction you want to take it. I suggest looking at the cards and starting with the most interesting looking ones for you.

[Reddicediaries]

Hey man! Join us in holy! Easily Priest is my favorite mage, but everyone has their preference which is why I love the school so much. Each of the holy mages favor certain play styles stronger then other. If you are looking to explore one specifically that will be easier to pin point how to help. In general here is how I think of them

Priestess - Great long game mage, nothing great offensively, but tends to bring out bigger creatures
Priest - Better against short game books then the priestess, He trades the defensive nature of Priestess to have some of the best offensive combos in the game.
Paladin - Really good at aggression. Usually you want at least 2 of level 2-5 creatures to run with him at all times. Generally the faster you want to engage, the more war school you want in this book over holy.

All of them can play any style and still be competitive, but I hope this rundown can help guide you to the ones you want to play.

If you want help in surviving early rushes I highly suggest taking a blind. You can combo it with daze to slim their chance of following through offensively. Holy can shut down solo or buddy builds really easily with the effect rolls and cards like Blind. Another option is just to heal through early aggro. Once their attack spells exahust you can usually cleanup.

Luminous Blast is also a great card to help bring damage on. It's also versatile in that it can be used defensively. Figuring out when you need that daze/stun vs if you want to save it for future damage is something to keep in mind when learning holy. To go with that Dazzle is also from Priestess Academy. This is a great card because Stagger lowers attack spell dice and stacks with itself.

There are a lot more combos in holy, but it really depends on what direction you want to take it. I suggest looking at the cards and starting with the most interesting looking ones for you.

I reiterate and agree with everything Coshade said.
Something of note: while a lot of people like using the forge with the paladin to help deploy his awesome equipment, I actually have just cut forge from most if not all of my paladin books. The reason being is that with a forge, you can most likely get out 1 11-15 mana creature and maybe one 7-9 mana creature in the early game. This is because unless you spend almost all your quick casts and forge actions on super cheap stuff, you will run out of mana to support one of these playstyles. What I like to do instead is get out 2-4 buddies (such as Ehren and Alandell) while manually equiping my mage with equipment and enchantments.

[arxiducs]

Wow, guys! thanks so much for the advice. So much to look into! but really enjoyable too!
Will probably revert back with more specific questions once I have something figured out. 

[DaveW]

No one mentioned my favorite torso equipment ... Asyran Robes. They work with Dorseus to get past Death Lock and Idol of Pestilence. Transfer Dorseus’ damage to the Priestess and Dorseus heals two from the Mage bypassing finite life. If no deathlock in play, then Dorseus also regenerates.

I am a big creature and temple Priestess guy. If you go that way, I also suggest Joseph Trublood. He can be cast turn 1, with the Temple of Asyra on turn 2, at which time Joe prays for mana being a cleric. He also has a lot of utility support beyond that. He deals five dice on an attack against certain creatures, and can roll two dice healing.

I do not believe that Alfiya is tournament legal yet.

Note that Malachi’s Basilica gives a creature Light +1. Have a Hawkeye on and wear the ring that gives +1 to Light damage and you have 8 die Luminous Blasts, a great little unavoidable attack in Dazzle, and Pillar of Light becomes a staple range 2 attack spell.

Then, if you go with both the ToA and the Basilica, you should add a Temple of Light (especially if you like the Hand of Bim-Shalla), and probably Metatron....