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Fighter mage, Psion, barbarian

Started by Warmage, August 30, 2009, 07:04:09 PM MT

Warmage

I have been running these 3 units almost exclusively in ranked battles and here are some of my thoughts on this warband.

I have two main reasons for running these units, movement and the amount of dice rolled from attacks. I play a very aggressive style so I want all my units to be able to attack and the movement abilities of all three add to distance I can move, Which I find crucial in bringing all my attacks on a single unit and giving my opponent more worries when he is placing his units.

FM - has highest defense and attack dice of mages so i like to get him into actual battles instead of holding him back like most other mages. His teleport ability allows for lots of added movement when needed and can get you out of tight spots that other mages cant move out of so easily. His ability to buff himself or particularly the barbarian adds to the amount of attack dice rolled when going in for a kill. In most early battles If the person doesn't have a fighter mage your not worried about the mage hitting you in combat you are only really worried about his spells, I tend to view that as having a half inactive unit. The more dice you roll the more chances you give yourself at hitting a target, I find that to be the one thing I think about most - it takes luck to hit so give yourself the best chance of getting lucky.

Psion - I love this unit, first for his ability to move an enemy towards my mage and barbarian each who have the ability to move closer to a unit than most others, If I pull a unit 5 spaces closer then my barbarian moves 5 then charges 4 more its a total of 14 spaces, so that ability combines well with FM buffs and barbarians ability to charge and attack another opponent after he gets a kill - More attack dice!!. His second ability of psionic blast is great at hitting high armor since it always hits on 14 if you use that attack in addition to his standard attack he has 5 attack dice - as always give yourself more chances to get lucky.

Barbarian - This unit is just plain fun and scary, he has the things I want most in  unit, high attack dice at 4 and the ability to move an extra 4. He also gets an additional attack if he kills a unit so that adds to the amount of dice he can roll. I find him to to work well with both psion for pulling units closer and FM to buff him and send him out like a wrecking ball.

I find with this group it also can give the enemy trouble with which unit to target - are you worried about the psion who can move your units ? the barbarian who can move great distance and get buffed into a terror ? or the FM who can move in and out of battle while buffing everyone and leads the group ?

Just a few thoughts but overall I think its the most potent group and gives you the ability to charge fast and bring all those attack dice to into play.
   

diesbudt

I usually run a similar setup except i replace Barb with samurai.

That is because the samurai has a higher defense so he can survive bit more situations, and when it comes to first strikes you probably dont have STR buffs, and with the psionist pulling a character between the sami (who will almost at least do 3 damage)  FM who can attack and use 3 mana for spells. The psis mind blast. all together I just need another 2 damage so i can evicerate. Which If I can do that before he even strikes me. I have just made the game a 3v2. Which most people become demoilized over... esspecially if it is their Hero.

Also because I did mind control (usually closest unit) to me, the other ones (unless rogue, psi or Hero) My hero will not take enough damage to die the next turn, so i can run and regroup, or continue on my rampage.

*With the bar, you still rely on luck more than a sami as a sami can never hit for 1/2   its either 3 or 0.

Ross Przybylski

Having been the victim of Warmage's deadly combo (note: a Barbarian enchanted with Dragon's Fury and Superior Dragon's fury is just insane!), I've been trying it out myself and have to say it's quite fun.  Getting the Barbarian on a successful chopping spree of 4+ units in a single round is certainly rewarding.

Another alternative to the combo which I find pretty effective: Sorceress instead of Fighter Mage.  Due to her increased Destruction spell power, you can typically lure out an enemy with the psionist, psionic blast- then blast with destruction spells and finish with the Barbarian (or attack first with Barbarian and lock them in for a kill next turn using an Ice Shards).  In the late game, the trick is to get the Barbarian among a cluster of enemies- then, use the Sorceress's lightning + meteor shower + Nature's Fury ability comboed with another meteor shower or blizzard to soften the enemy to 1-2 Life so the Barbarian can go on a final rampage to finish them all off.
Manager of D20Studios, LLC

Glenn

I've been using sorceress warrior palladin. It might not do the most damage but i like that both my melee guys have 17 AC. between the sorc's magic skills and getting an extra destruction magic dice she can really do some damage if you get the right cards.

the only problem i seem to face is that the sorc's 13 AC gives me trouble when she has to make a line of sight attack but it seems to be working fairly well for me.

rokendo

I've been running Sorc/Sam/Psi pretty regularly and it works out good.

As Ross mentioned,the Sorc adds alot of damage potential to the mix. The Psi can be used to bring in targets to the samurai. She can also line up the Sorc's lightning bolt, so you can hit more targets at once.

The 5 valor LB along with the Sorc's other benefits give her a stronger attack than you might see on paper.  Her defense is weak and does leave her vulnerable....

Hence, the need to kill targets quickly with the Samurai/Psi mind blast/LB.

Ross Przybylski

Quote from: rokendo on August 31, 2009, 05:07:30 AM MT
the Sorc adds alot of damage potential to the mix.

Indeed.  The sorceress, imo, packs the greatest damage potential- especially in FFA or team games.  While a Fighter Mage is the toughest in one-on-one situations, the Sorceress can effortlessly barrel down an entire army against her- which I have personally witnessed in numerous battles.  Nothing is more amazing than seeing a lone Sorceress, all odds seemingly against her, suddely combo her lightning + meteor shower with a blizzard, fireball, or other equally fun destruction spell and clear the board of enemies in a single turn.
Manager of D20Studios, LLC

kastenessen

I really like the FM/Psion/Barb (or samurai, as diesbudt says) combo too.  It falls apart really fast if you lose the psion, but it can end games exceedingly quickly by snatching someone on the first or second turn and killing them.

Personally I like the barbarian, because well... he's just a nutter. ROAR! :)

EDIT: Maybe mind control should cost 2 cards or have a reduced range? It seems that the psion is very very powerful compared to the other guardians.  At least, that's the way I see it from my limited perspective.

Kast.

diesbudt

Well the Psi isnt very powerful herself (2 dice / 3 dice). And she already costs a lot of cards (basically 1 card a turn to attack), and as you said in our setups if she falls early we are in trouble. The setup of this grouping is very card expensive, and since we run FM instead of wizard (as in 2v2 its proven he can take more of a punch) we cant generate cards late game. If you go for a kill I can myself and others using 5-6 cards and all the mana on the turn, so if you dont kill your target, you will likely be counter attacked to oblivion.




kastenessen

I guess the thing to consider is how often people *choose* not to run the Psion.

Kast.

tors10

I've been running the Random/random/randoM setup with about 50% success rate.

Normally the Random uses a couple of spells to their own benefit, then I charge with the random and the randoM, while trying to stay behind cover. It is only marginally effective.