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Started by diesbudt, August 25, 2009, 03:57:12 PM MT

Zelanius Forcys

Thanks for Rugman for posting on this thread, as I totally forgot about my write-up! Since version 1.8, lots of things had changed. Fighter Mage is now only partially immune to Stun, but fully immune to Imobilize, so here are the add-on points:

2a) Blizzard is still terrible against Fighter Mage as of v1.8, but much better than before. In fact, if you can hit a Fighter Mage without a Paladin or even in a party with Paladin, make sure to do as much damage as possible, so that their team will not hit the Fighter Mage just to remove the Stun. AIs are quite adverse to hitting their mage to remove the Stun effect when the mage only has 1 or 2 life left.

3a) As with point 2a, Blizzard is more powerful now.

4a) Wizards are really useful now. Especially with Meditate, and perhaps a Mana Surge. If everyone is in LoS, a Meteor Swarm, followed by Meditate, Blizzard, Mana Surge, and lastly Teleport is a great combo. Throw in a Shield and you are pretty much set. This does take up to 6 cards, 4 of which are very specific and entirely based on luck. Still, you can change Blizzard for a second Meteor Swarm in larger games, and still be able to cast Teleport, or even leave out Mana Surge and Teleport altogether, as long as you have Shield and enough luck that no enemy mage has Dispel.

6a) Refer to point 2a for my comments on Blizzard.

7a) I forgot to mention Touch of Death previously, but it is important to note that you need to be next to the target to use it, and that it cost 2 mana. In addition, as of v1.8, Sleep and Ice Shard are now great against Fighter Mage, as long as they will not be knocked out of Stun. This is because Fighter Mage cannot cast spells or use Valor abilities when Stun, although they can still move and attack. So, a stunned Fighter Mage can effectively say goodbye to using Flash and spells to attack.

9a) Crystal Golem is no longer as useful, especially since Fighter Mage is immune to Imobilize as of v1.8. With that said, it is still an offensive power house, and a good summon against all units. Iron Golem, however, is more useful, due to the partial immunity of Fighter Mage, as opposed to the full immunity previously. 3 mana for a summon is expensive however, and will need some consideration prior to summoning.

10a) Summoners are much better now, thanks to the new partial immunity of Fighter Mage. Every deck has 2 Iron Golems. In larger games, there are 2 decks. With lots of luck, you might get 4, but I have never seen that. Nonetheless, with a bit of luck, even the 1st Iron Golem can stun a charging Fighter Mage, and casting another summon to block the path as needed, will help big time, since a stunned Fighter Mage cannot Flash.

12a) Charging with the Fighter Mage is not as useful anymore due to the nerfing of the Stun immunity, so be careful about charging. ***Unfortunately, I still do not have the Minotaur...haha

And to add a new point:
14) Card manipulation is paramount to a team whose mage has died. Remember, every deck has a limited number of cards. In fact, I managed to turn the tables against a Wizard after the team killed my Sorceress, in part because I held onto every single Manipulation and Healing card I could. Every deck has 2 Teleports. Hold onto them if your mage has gone down, but the enemy mage is still alive. Healing Touch and Heal should not be discarded either. Then, depending on how many units are left alive from the opponent's team, consider holding onto either Revive or Group Heal if you draw them. This reduces the likelihood of your opponent drawing those cards (for those with 2 in a deck), or eliminate their chances altogether, especially if their strategy hinges on those cards. Naturally, if they can draw enough Destruction cards, you are still screwed, but in the meantime, put pressure on them with Sprint, and force them to use their cards and mana, so that they cannot draw too many cards, while never drawing that crucial healing spell or Teleport to escape from you. This strategy is particularly awesome if your remaining Guardians are Soul Reaver or Minotaur, as Taunt and Roar prevents sprinting by the enemy, Psionist, due to Mind Control, Barbarian, due to Charge, Samurai, due to Eviscerate; Paladin is great with Bless if the enemy mage inflicts a negative status, and Combat Healing is useful if the second Guardian is still alive; Warrior using Protect can help by sending a decoy, especially if you are sending in Soul Reaver and Paladin, since a Protect on them shoots their defense up to 20, causing the mage to waste attack spells, unless they hold a Dispel.

Do note that point 14 is hard to work if you have 1 Guardian left though.

Zela Forcys

Prack

I read through this whole thread and as a new player I learned a lot. Thank you all very much. Does anyone have a list of what each guardian classifies as? Offensive/Defensive? I suppose most are obvious but I'm not sure on a few. I actually thought the warrior was offensive because he can attack twice but this guide says otherwise.

dustymc

The only thing I don't see for new players and card manipulation is about discarding. This is usually most helpful on the first turn. First watch your mana. if you are not under an immediate threat you can try to ditch your "bad" cards and refill your hand by discarding 3, it is important that you dont cast any spells if you do this. Alternately if your guard has an ability, use that as your "discard". The warrior and bard are perfect for this strategy.

Prack

I read through this guide last week and played a bunch over the weekend and I'm happy to report that out of 20 games vs the computer I only lost once. The time that I did lose was a map where we started next to each other and they killed my mage before my first turn.

Other then that this was very helpful and I think I'm ready to try against some people online. Be gentle on me people! :)