Warlord Ranged/Swarm Build

[Sausageman]

I know folks say there aren't enough spell books for 'critique' adding here, so thought I'd throw mine into the mire and see what people have to say.

I played the Warlord for the first time (with the pre con list) only recently, and really enjoyed what I saw, so knew I wanted to make one next, but try to cover over some of the weaknesses the pre con has.  Who knows if I've managed that  

Card Name      Number   Card Type
Hail of Stones      2   Attack
Hurl Boulder      2   Attack

Akiro's Hammer      1   Conjuration
Archer's Watchtower    2   Conjuration
Barracks         1   Conjuration
Garrison Post      2   Conjuration
Wall of Pikes      2   Conjuration
Wall of Stone      2   Conjuration

Goblin Grunt      6   Creature
Goblin Slinger      4   Creature
Grimson Deadeye, Sniper   1   Creature
Ludwig Boltstorm      1   Creature
Orc Butcher      2   Creature
Royal Archer      2   Creature
Thorg, Chief Bodyguard   1   Creature

Fortified Position      3   Enchantment
Harmonize      1   Enchantment
Hawkeye      2   Enchantment
Rhino Hide      1   Enchantment
Standard Bearer      1   Enchantment

Deflection Bracers   1   Equipment
Elemental Wand      1   Equipment
Helm of Command   1   Equipment
Horn of Gothos      1   Equipment
Regrowth Belt      1   Equipment
Ring of Command      1   Equipment
Storm Drake Hide      1   Equipment

Dispel         2   Incantation
Dissolve         2   Incantation
Evade         2   Incantation
Force Push      1   Incantation
Force Wave      1   Incantation
Piercing Strike      1   Incantation
Power Strike      2   Incantation
Rouse the Beast      2   Incantation
Sniper Shot      3   Incantation
      
Book Cost   120

The idea was to use melee swarm tactics, while my ranged guys do the serious damage.  With Archers Watchtowers sat behind Walls of Stone, that should limit the pain they might suffer, and in between those walls would be a Wall of Pikes, meaning some serious damage to those who might want into my board half  
Ideally, I didn't want the Warlord himself getting his hands dirty, leaving his creatures to do the dirty work.  He should be there to throw buffs around and use his horn to really stack the pain.

Comments are welcome (apologies for the formatting - it's fine in the preview...)

[paradox22]

I too have a similar build, but haven't quite gotten it to work as expected.  Maybe it's just my local meta, but it seems like this build requires too many early rounds of set up (conjurations) to really reach its pace...and by then the enemy is upon you.

What have you found to be a viable build order for the first few rounds?

[reddawn]

I would not try to do this strategy against the Warlock, Forcemaster, or a Fire Wizard however.  Most of the Warlord's conjurations are weak to fire attacks and Force Hammer.  The build has too many inherent flaws  against aggro books to really be the Warlord's "go-to" competitive strategy right out of the gate.  You need to be absolutely sure that you do not see a massive demon or angel at the opposite end of the board before you commit to the Barracks.

It is a good reactive strategy against opposing control books who will not pressure you in the early game nearly as hard as aggro books will.  The Warlord's Barracks can consistently channel 3 mana regardless of what you or your opponent does.  No other spawnpoint can really just sit there making 3 mana all the time, and even though the Priestess's Temple of Asyra comes close, Temple of Asyra + 2 Asyran Clerics is not as action efficient as Barracks + 2 outposts.    

Basically, if you see your opponent summoning lots of massive creatures early on, don't do the Barracks build.  If, however, your opponent spends most of his or her mana on Mana Crystals/Flowers or other mana-making conjurations, go for it.