To those of you who once read these posts, I feel I must apologize. I no longer have the time to update this site with weekly articles, much less play the game they were based on.
Maybe someday in the future I'll be able to bring this back, but for the foreseeable future, this blog is inactive.
The Cold Shoulder (Mages, Pt. III)
I've covered the arcane and fire abilities that mages bring to the table, but some of the most interesting and frustrating abilities in the game are in the mage's frost category.
As with Litori and the fire abilities highlighted last time, Ta'zo has access to most of the abilities I'll talk about this time. Litori Frostburn's flip ability gives us a taste of how the mage's icy abilities work. For only two resources, you can prevent an ally or hero from attacking for a turn. On the grand scale of things, her ability is little more than a last-ditch effort at keeping herself or an ally alive. However, when you add in the other frost abilities that mages can use, it goes from being a last-ditch effort to being a way of life.
Frostbolt is a well rounded card, dealing a moderate amount of damage and adding an effect that locks the opposition in place. Of course, its targets can still use abilities or powers, so long as they don't include that character attacking. Frost Nova does almost the exact same thing, however it spreads the effect over the entire field and, unless your opponent has something ready to stop the Nova or prevent the damage. Most importantly, you can use either of these abilities in response to an attack, stopping the attack and doing a little damage in return.
Winter's Grasp is one of, if not the best card in the mage's repertoire for stopping the opposition. Play one of these each turn for your third through seventh turns and your opponent will be unable to attack until the late game... either that or they'll be unable to put more reinforcements on the field. This is also a really good way to counter characters with ferocity, as your opponents will have to wait longer than usual due to that extra one or two resources to attack right after they drop their allies. Brain Freeze is a frost ability that locks your opponent in a different way from the other frost cards. As an instant ability that only lasts one turn, you can play the card during your opponent's turn in the priority window between readying and drawing their card, meaning that you deny them that extra card and prevent them from using any quests or other powers or abilities to draw cards. After a few turns, the advantage becomes significant as you'll continue getting fresh options in your hand while your opponent will be stuck with the same old things.
Cold Snap is what gives Litori Frostburn an edge over her troll counterpart, Ta'zo. By being able to recycle her control cards, she's able to play them many more times than she would otherwise. With a well-timed Cold Snap, you could get one copy of each of your other frost abilities out of your graveyard and turn around and Frost Nova the opponent's army. The catch is that you can only use each Cold Snap once before it's removed from the game, so it's important to make the most of them.
With the arcane, fire, and frost abilities all at a mage's disposal, they make a very formidable opponent. However every class has a flaw and it's only a matter of time before the mage's flaw is found.
As with Litori and the fire abilities highlighted last time, Ta'zo has access to most of the abilities I'll talk about this time. Litori Frostburn's flip ability gives us a taste of how the mage's icy abilities work. For only two resources, you can prevent an ally or hero from attacking for a turn. On the grand scale of things, her ability is little more than a last-ditch effort at keeping herself or an ally alive. However, when you add in the other frost abilities that mages can use, it goes from being a last-ditch effort to being a way of life.
Frostbolt is a well rounded card, dealing a moderate amount of damage and adding an effect that locks the opposition in place. Of course, its targets can still use abilities or powers, so long as they don't include that character attacking. Frost Nova does almost the exact same thing, however it spreads the effect over the entire field and, unless your opponent has something ready to stop the Nova or prevent the damage. Most importantly, you can use either of these abilities in response to an attack, stopping the attack and doing a little damage in return.
Winter's Grasp is one of, if not the best card in the mage's repertoire for stopping the opposition. Play one of these each turn for your third through seventh turns and your opponent will be unable to attack until the late game... either that or they'll be unable to put more reinforcements on the field. This is also a really good way to counter characters with ferocity, as your opponents will have to wait longer than usual due to that extra one or two resources to attack right after they drop their allies. Brain Freeze is a frost ability that locks your opponent in a different way from the other frost cards. As an instant ability that only lasts one turn, you can play the card during your opponent's turn in the priority window between readying and drawing their card, meaning that you deny them that extra card and prevent them from using any quests or other powers or abilities to draw cards. After a few turns, the advantage becomes significant as you'll continue getting fresh options in your hand while your opponent will be stuck with the same old things.
Cold Snap is what gives Litori Frostburn an edge over her troll counterpart, Ta'zo. By being able to recycle her control cards, she's able to play them many more times than she would otherwise. With a well-timed Cold Snap, you could get one copy of each of your other frost abilities out of your graveyard and turn around and Frost Nova the opponent's army. The catch is that you can only use each Cold Snap once before it's removed from the game, so it's important to make the most of them.
With the arcane, fire, and frost abilities all at a mage's disposal, they make a very formidable opponent. However every class has a flaw and it's only a matter of time before the mage's flaw is found.
Playing With Fire (Mages, Pt. II)
Last time, I talked about the arcane abilities that mage's have available to them. While those abilities are impressive, they aren't really a problem as far as damage dealing goes. When it comes to doing damage, the mage's fire abilities are the way to go.
While Litori Frostburn can still use most of the fire abilities, Ta'zo is designed to dish out fire damage. His flip ability and his access to Pyroblast mean that he can dish out significantly more damage in a game than Litori Frostburn. So let's take a look at what Ta'zo would have in his arsenal.
Mages are the only class that can deal damage with an ability during the first turn. In fact, aside from Kagra of the Crossroads Fire Blast is the only way to deal damage on the first turn. While being the first to play may be considered a handicap, mages can use it to their advantage to get in a quick hit that is guaranteed to land. The mage's power also translates into the late game, when your opponent three or four allies on the field. Flamestrike is the perfect response to a field full of opposing allies. Granted, it costs seven resources, so you have to devote a high number of resources to the assault, but when a large number of enemy allies have three health or less, it's a guaranteed sweep. Unless you're playing against another mage with Counterspell or a warrior with Shield Bash, Flamestrike will force your opponent to discard a few allies, tilting the field advantage in your favor.
Fireball and Pyroblast are very similar cards. Both deal a decent amount of damage and add a long-term effect which can quickly accumulate to wipe out even the most heavily armored opponent. The only problem with these cards is their high cost. However, so long as you hold a few Counterspells to keep your opponent from interrupting or destroying them later on, the investment is definitely worthwhile. Especially when you add in the next and final card that every hot-headed mage should count on.
This card needs no explanation. As with Pyroblast, the cost is a little prohibitive, but the long-term results are very effective. More importantly, you can have up to four World in Flames in play at a time. This means that your hero's abilities that deal fire damage will do two, four, eight, or even sixteen times their regular amount of damage. Of course, that top-end result requires an investment of 32 resources, but after you've played it, a single Fire Blast deals the same amount of damage. Fireballs would initially deal 64 damage, and if that weren't enough to knock out a hero in a single blow, stop and congratulate your opponent on doing the impossible, then remind them that you'll be adding another sixteen damage to them at the start of each of your turns.
If the offensive capabilities of mages and their arcane manipulations aren't enough to worry you, keep an eye open for the next post, where I'll cover the icy disposition of mages and some of their field-freezing tricks.
While Litori Frostburn can still use most of the fire abilities, Ta'zo is designed to dish out fire damage. His flip ability and his access to Pyroblast mean that he can dish out significantly more damage in a game than Litori Frostburn. So let's take a look at what Ta'zo would have in his arsenal.
Mages are the only class that can deal damage with an ability during the first turn. In fact, aside from Kagra of the Crossroads Fire Blast is the only way to deal damage on the first turn. While being the first to play may be considered a handicap, mages can use it to their advantage to get in a quick hit that is guaranteed to land. The mage's power also translates into the late game, when your opponent three or four allies on the field. Flamestrike is the perfect response to a field full of opposing allies. Granted, it costs seven resources, so you have to devote a high number of resources to the assault, but when a large number of enemy allies have three health or less, it's a guaranteed sweep. Unless you're playing against another mage with Counterspell or a warrior with Shield Bash, Flamestrike will force your opponent to discard a few allies, tilting the field advantage in your favor.
Fireball and Pyroblast are very similar cards. Both deal a decent amount of damage and add a long-term effect which can quickly accumulate to wipe out even the most heavily armored opponent. The only problem with these cards is their high cost. However, so long as you hold a few Counterspells to keep your opponent from interrupting or destroying them later on, the investment is definitely worthwhile. Especially when you add in the next and final card that every hot-headed mage should count on.
This card needs no explanation. As with Pyroblast, the cost is a little prohibitive, but the long-term results are very effective. More importantly, you can have up to four World in Flames in play at a time. This means that your hero's abilities that deal fire damage will do two, four, eight, or even sixteen times their regular amount of damage. Of course, that top-end result requires an investment of 32 resources, but after you've played it, a single Fire Blast deals the same amount of damage. Fireballs would initially deal 64 damage, and if that weren't enough to knock out a hero in a single blow, stop and congratulate your opponent on doing the impossible, then remind them that you'll be adding another sixteen damage to them at the start of each of your turns.
If the offensive capabilities of mages and their arcane manipulations aren't enough to worry you, keep an eye open for the next post, where I'll cover the icy disposition of mages and some of their field-freezing tricks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
