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Post by mrmoredakka on Aug 16, 2017 17:22:18 GMT
Hello everyone.  I've been thinking of trying to prepare for a Spell Draft tournament sometime in the future. (Potentially the one at the Las Vegas Open next year) So I was wondering, what Casters/Warlocks do players feel are the best (Or wackiest? That could work too.  ) for this mode? I know it's mainly stat-lines and feats that have to be considered, since you lose your regular spells and animi... I would be intrigued to hear other player's thoughts on potential stand-out casters/warlocks for the mode though. |
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isotope
Junior Strategist
Posts: 634 
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Post by isotope on Aug 16, 2017 17:45:10 GMT
Depends on the kind of spells you like.
Like upkeeps on jacks? Someone with Resourceful like Magnus1.
Like offensive spells? Someone with a high focus/fury stat, maybe with a good arc node or feat or Range amplifier( +5" to spell range, can also add sylys for +2 more). Haley2 with thorn, Rahn, Issyria with Hemera( for empowered arc node).
Want to mess with other people's casters? Someone with stuff like Arcane Vortex, Stealth, a anti magic feat or a dispel gun. Garryth, Kaelyssa, Goreshade4, Issyria.
Sorry a lot of my examples are Ret, it's just the faction I know most about off the top of my head.
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Post by elladan52 on Aug 16, 2017 18:38:19 GMT
Rahn is insane, there's a reason he doesn't have a cost 2 nuke.
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princeraven
Junior Strategist
Shredder spam is best spam
Posts: 256
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Post by princeraven on Aug 17, 2017 4:11:20 GMT
Absylonia 2 is great because now that Teleport has been replaced by Reposition 5 she keeps nearly everything you typically play her for and gets to choose a better spell list. Vayl 2 is interesting due to her high Fury, long threat range on spells, and her feat letting you throw out her entire spell list for free.
I imagine Witch Cover are really good in Spell Draft.
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martini
Junior Strategist
Posts: 119
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Post by martini on Aug 17, 2017 6:47:33 GMT
Spells affecting everybody in Your control? Harbinger!
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Post by mrmoredakka on Aug 17, 2017 7:15:32 GMT
Depends on the kind of spells you like. Like upkeeps on jacks? Someone with Resourceful like Magnus1. Like offensive spells? Someone with a high focus/fury stat, maybe with a good arc node or feat or Range amplifier( +5" to spell range, can also add sylys for +2 more). Haley2 with thorn, Rahn, Issyria with Hemera( for empowered arc node). Want to mess with other people's casters? Someone with stuff like Arcane Vortex, Stealth, a anti magic feat or a dispel gun. Garryth, Kaelyssa, Goreshade4, Issyria. Sorry a lot of my examples are Ret, it's just the faction I know most about off the top of my head. I can definitely see what you mean with some of the suggestions here- the ones who you mention can mess with other casters especially. In regards to liking or aiming for specific spell types though... Is it really a good idea to try and build a list and choose a caster around a specific type of spell? I guess even with the random draw it is highly unlikely that you'd completely miss out on any of the spell types mentioned- but the potential of there being a shortage of offensive spells or upkeeps is there, to my understanding at least. Since most of the mentions in the thread have been Retribution (With a little Cryx and Legion as well) so far, here were some casters I was wondering about: Khador/Grymkin: - Old Witch 2 You keep her Arcane Machinery and all of their spell synergies... (Decreased cost, Increased Range, or Increased Control Area. And you get all of them from her Feat.) Menoth: - Tristan Durant True sight pretty much wherever you need it- in case one is expecting players with stealth or cloud heavy builds. Also, his feat can provide a lot of extra focus. - High Executioner Reznik Loses Engine of Destruction (Unless you get lucky...), and has sub-par focus... But his feat seems like it would be nasty in spell draft. - Harbinger ..... To my knowledge, she is one of the only casters in the game who gets to keep all 8 cards she draws due to her high focus. Cyriss: - Iron Mother Directrix Field marshal Arc nodes! Also, Exponent Servitors. Legion: - Thagrosh 1 Dark Revival gives some leeway to assign a really good animi to one of his beasts, knowing you'll most likely be able to bring it back. Cephalyx: - Thexus Arc node shenanigans, while keeping the natural free runs/charges he provides his monstrosities. |
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Post by Gamingdevil on Aug 17, 2017 7:29:30 GMT
Denny 3 if you can draw a COST 3 nuke, since she will be able to cast it 7+ times for free on feat turn.
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isotope
Junior Strategist
Posts: 634
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Post by isotope on Aug 17, 2017 11:39:07 GMT
Every time I've done a draft you'll see a variety of cards. If you bring something you're gonna want a defensive buff on you'll probably be able to get iron flesh, arcane shield, defenders ward, or something similar. There's no shortage of each type of spell. I played Haley1 with arcane vortex and grabbed Fury and some other offensive upkeep. Her feat is an extra attack. Do you know how much output a unit of stormblades with fury and an extra attack can put out.
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Post by tiberius on Aug 17, 2017 11:45:07 GMT
I am also throwing in a vote for Denny 3. Any spammable offensive spell will murder an opposing caster or wipe out a unit or something. Spell assassination is reality with her if she had a spammable spell list.
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Post by thebuoyancyofwater on Aug 17, 2017 11:45:44 GMT
Karchev. Then no matter what spells you get your caster is still a (better) Khador heavy Cheers, Dave |
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isotope
Junior Strategist
Posts: 634
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Post by isotope on Aug 17, 2017 11:55:13 GMT
I am also throwing in a vote for Denny 3. Any spammable offensive spell will murder an opposing caster or wipe out a unit or something. Spell assassination is reality with her if she had a spammable spell list. Until you face a caster with arcane vortex... |
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Post by Gamingdevil on Aug 17, 2017 12:09:03 GMT
I am also throwing in a vote for Denny 3. Any spammable offensive spell will murder an opposing caster or wipe out a unit or something. Spell assassination is reality with her if she had a spammable spell list. Until you face a caster with arcane vortex... Which you can literally overload on feat turn  Arcane Vortex is on target, so spend 3 Souls to target 3 times, get Arcane Vortexed, they're probably not camping more than that. Then just cast 4 more spells, 3 of which are fully boosted, the other half boosted on a now empty caster. |
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isotope
Junior Strategist
Posts: 634
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Post by isotope on Aug 17, 2017 12:19:36 GMT
Until you face a caster with arcane vortex... Which you can literally overload on feat turn Arcane Vortex is on target, so spend 3 Souls to target 3 times, get Arcane Vortexed, they're probably not camping more than that. Then just cast 4 more spells, 3 of which are fully boosted, the other half boosted on a now empty caster. Ok so let's go into this scenario a little deeper. You picked Denny 3, you got a cost 2 nuke that's what? pow 12? You play into Issyria who is hiding behind a Hyperion. She has Sylys for a free upkeep, Hemera for a free upkeep and spends 1 for a 3rd upkeep( for this lets say snipe for hyperion gun for the luls, Quicken on Hemera and something else). If you somehow manage to get LOS of Issyria at this point shes camping 7, get Firetrucked. Next game, your opponent drafted banishing ward, puts it on their caster... get Firetrucked. Next game your oponent is Karchev with arcane shield behind a wall and 5 counter charging juggernoughts... get Firetrucked. You're looking at Denny in a vacuum, every caster looks good in a vacuum. |
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Post by Gamingdevil on Aug 17, 2017 12:26:26 GMT
Which you can literally overload on feat turn Arcane Vortex is on target, so spend 3 Souls to target 3 times, get Arcane Vortexed, they're probably not camping more than that. Then just cast 4 more spells, 3 of which are fully boosted, the other half boosted on a now empty caster. Ok so let's go into this scenario a little deeper. You picked Denny 3, you got a cost 2 nuke that's what? pow 12? You play into Issyria who is hiding behind a Hyperion. She has Sylys for a free upkeep, Hemera for a free upkeep and spends 1 for a 3rd upkeep( for this lets say snipe for hyperion gun for the luls, Quicken on Hemera and something else). If you somehow manage to get LOS of Issyria at this point shes camping 7, get Firetrucked. Next game, your opponent drafted banishing ward, puts it on their caster... get Firetrucked. Next game your oponent is Karchev with arcane shield behind a wall and 5 counter charging juggernoughts... get Firetrucked. You're looking at Denny in a vacuum, every caster looks good in a vacuum. Why would I draft a cost 2 nuke when I can get a cost 3? If Issyria is camping all that focus, she's not casting any spells or handing any out, the threat of the assassination keeps her on the back feat, so instead of feating and going for the assassination and buff my army, do some spot removal, debuff your army, whatever I drafted. Karchev only gets those counter charges if he drafted that spell. You're just as much in that vacuum as I am Also, isn't that the point of spell draft, just going wild with whatever you can get and your opponent being just as over the top? |
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isotope
Junior Strategist
Posts: 634
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Post by isotope on Aug 17, 2017 12:41:35 GMT
My examples aren't in a Vacuum at all. They're well rounded game plans for a spell draft. A upkeep Issyria list would be really good into a lot of spell draft lists. Imagine a 14" Hyperion gun, a AFG with fire for effect and Hemera for the free upkeep and to arc an offensive spell if you want and also a pow 14 boostable gun. You sit behind 2 huge bases and can arcane vortex anything that your enemy drafted that they want to put on them like parasite, blind, etc... Sure you could blow your feat to kill Hemera... but I'd be ok with that. What defensive tech does Denny3 provide? Did you draft no upkeep spells so you have a full stack you just want to blow on nukes every turn? Isyria can camp a full stack and have 2 upkeeps out with sylys and mechanics load up Hyperion every turn. She can sit at 7 focus behind 2 huge bases every turn and you've gotta deal with range 16 and 14 pow 18 and pow 16 guns as a huge base caster, good luck with that. Against casters where she doesn't need to worry about having to use arcane vortex as much she can use hemera and have either like a parasite kind of spell to make her guns even stronger or have a nuke like force hammer, etc. I could see parasite or crippling grasp with -1 cost through hemera + her mark target ability + sniped Hyperion and and AFG killing a lot of casters( especially with her feat). Against denny 3 you just run hemera to within 5", sylys arcane secrets, feat, cost 2 crippling grasp her shes essentially a 11/14 target who's about to eat pow 16 and 18 boosted guns with additional die drop the lowest... you ded.
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) for this mode? I know it's mainly stat-lines and feats that have to be considered, since you lose your regular spells and animi... I would be intrigued to hear other player's thoughts on potential stand-out casters/warlocks for the mode though.
