The Daily Deal

Could you please tell me what's really good in the Bundle? IMHO Inspiring Presence isn't very good in melee, and Mass Frenzy isn't very good at range.

 

You are assuming that Inspiring Presence is bad in melee, which it's not, and that 1-1-1 builds aren't feasible, which they are. Not convincing enough? Don't take my word for it. Take it from this fine gentleman.

 

Xlaka's Sacred Bundle

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Xlaka's Sacred Bundle is the best Inspiring Presence item for a non-wizard party. You do need to want the Inspiring Presence since there are better Mass Frenzy items out there. If you can keep your priest from healing the other team Inspiring Presence becomes the best healing spell in the game that sometimes draws cards. As you can imagine, this can be very difficult to beat. Inspiring Presence is high risk high reward but you can minimize the risk through careful positioning or control cards. Would purchase if you're building around Inspiring Presence and don't want Skull Of Savage Iljin for Savage Curses. Would not purchase to stick in a random deck.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
It is much harder to avoid healing enemies when you are heavily outnumbered unless you are facing ranged mobs. In those instances, Xlaka's Sacred Bundle becomes quite good but it's hard to play heals over Impenetrable Nimbus when the AI runs right into it. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Jygpin's Healing Ring (E)
The Daily Deal

Did Peon Buy It?
Nope. The first time I saw Xlaka's Sacred Bundle I thought it was a hard pass because Inspiring Presence was only used in Firestorm decks at that point and Mass Frenzy only buffed melee attacks. That was the only strategy where you could attack while staying in the starting positions, which was important when everyone and their mother had step 4 Nimble Strikes to help get behind enemy lines. Nowadays, it is harder to circumvent front line characters which has done wonders for Inspiring Presence's playability. However, harder ls not the same as impossible which is why I still hesitate to place it in the pantheon of top priest spells (two of which, Savage Curse and Mass Frenzy, weirdly enough are found on the best Inspiring Presence divine items). While I don't personally go out of my way to run it, there are those that do. If that sounds like you then by all means buy Xlaka's Sacred Bundle.

Epics
Bertha's Big Clogs
Good armor for a pair of tokenless boots. A staple for low level farming but not good enough for much else.

Pirate's Rapier
Neat concept, poor execution. If you're going to be trying to stay in Stab range, you'll need something more powerful than said Stabs.

Tome Of Pain
Ebony Prayer Beads puts Tome of Pain to shame.

Notable Rares
Blood Locket (V)
When you run Path Of Knives, you obviously want ways to force afflicted characters to move. This is most often and most easily accomplished with control spells. Blood Locket just so happens to give you both on the same item. The epic Sarigo's Rod is better if you want an additional copy of Path of Knives but that isn't always the case. You may very well want a cycling trait instead and Squeamish is one of the easiest handicaps to play around.

Rod Of Falling Cinders (V)
For being able to hit everything for a good chunk of damage, Firestorm is a singleplayer farming staple. One of the biggest problems you'll encounter when using a Firestorm strategy is getting your wizard into position. Your wizard needs to get to the center of the action for maximum effect. This makes spells like Gusts Of War incredibly useful when running multiple wizards. Double Firestorm legendaries like Azgul's Orb are preferable to maximize your odds of drawing your signature card. Short of that, items with Slide spells are the next best thing if you have the tokens. In that regard, the epic Banik's Bubbling Bauble is an obvious upgrade.

Rod Of Winds (P)
If there's one thing people tend to shy away from it's uncertainty. Whirlwinds are definitely random, it even says so in the card text. While I can't tell you where everything will land, I can tell you that it will be a pain in the butt for your opponent. Camping out on a victory square? Whirlwind. Finally got within striking distance of your wizard? Whirlwind. Got blocks waiting for a juicy target? I hope Whirlwind is good enough for you. Being able to inconvenience the entire opposing side is incredibly powerful. Rod of Winds is the single best item let alone arcane item to get Whirlwind Enemies from as there isn't anything else that gives more than one copy.

Spoiler: Rare Rating Code

(B)est of the Best
Who need legendaries and epics when you have rares like these? This item is not only powerful but also fits in well established multiplayer or farming archetypes.

(N)iche
This is a great item but fits in a very specific build. You should only consider purchasing if you have that particular strategy in your sights.

(P)layable
Not the best. Not the worst. This item is simply solid all around and I believe could see play. If that isn't enough of a ringing endorsement then I don't know what is. Oh, and you can go ahead and assume that any item that falls into other categories is playable as well. I will not list things that I would not be willing to play myself.

(U)nique
There is nothing quite like this item. Its cards or combination of cards are not found on other items of the same slot or not on other items period. If this item catches your fancy you should take a second look because you won't find anything similar elsewhere.

(V)alue
There may be better options but this item won't bust your piggy bank.

 

Peon already gave some arguments and yourself some more. In my opinion the bundle is key in a two warrior with one support priest build. Using Inspiring Presence is definitly difficult in that build against other warrior builds. But you are reward for careful positioning. I train positioning currently in SP. Inspriring Presence is a game changing card. Healing five on both your warriors is often enough huge and as sweet bonus you get a chance of more than 50% to hit an additional attack. Against wizard it is the key card to win beside Reliable Mail. The last time I played MP I used Incense Of Roiled Air as Substitute, which is fine against other melees, but against wizards I was praying for any source of healing. Another plus point of the Bundle is that the weakest card in Triple Heals is also great for a bronze card. Most often you can heal two of your chars and check for a Defender's Block. I am curious which minor token you would choose above the bundle, @Ector .

If you dont believe me, just watch some of the 1700+ players. You will often enough find this Devine Item on their support priest. Allthough @Fry_The_Guy runs Auric Charm instead and @Old_Glory Silver Healing Ring. Now may be the time to ask whether this was by purpose or if they will change that item now for a Xlaka's Sacred Bundle.

 

If "that fine gentleman" said that, I have to listen. He is known for his deep thinking
Thanks for recalling his wise words, I'm going to buy the Bundle right now.

Why shouldn't I believe you? I've just asked a question in fear of missing a great item.

 

I think Cushioning Armor has made heals more viable.

 

Those are the only tokenless boots with Reliable Mail.

 

It was kind of a retorical question for dramatic issues.

Definitly. You most often see Inspiring Presence paired with Cushioning Armors. Also there was someone who paired it with a lot Reliable Mails for some success in the high rankings. I was supprised to see Clovidian's Mail, but paired with Xlaka's Sacred Bundle and Knife Of St. Blenko on his priest, his warriors sucked up a lot of damage. I wont risk it, because Sundering Strike sees a lot of play nowadays, but if your opponent does not draw it or runs it into one of your blocks, there is not much he can do about it. (I know who the player is, but I dont know whether he likes when I talk here to much about his deck.)

Because of this they are a staple for farming. You can play Goat Boots, if you like to live risky.

 

Forrtescue's Feathered Cap
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
When you play with Sprint, Team! you are free to two thirds of your squad just about anywhere on the map, barring difficult terrain. Might I suggest that support priest that was hanging out in the back? Or introduce any old wizard to the glory of Powerful Hacks. Heck, even a warrior is chump meat when you're fighting dirty in a two on one. Sounds awesome, so what's the catch? You can only get 2 copies of Sprint, Team! per character and that's only if you use human warriors. Triple warriors isn't too big of a deal since you want all your potential sprinters to be able to pack a punch. However, you'll have to do it without the usual buff priest so you are limited to high damage, low utility weapons. Use wimpy Step attack like weapons like Vibrant Pain or Double-Edged Sword and your wounded prey will have time to call for backup. No, what you need is Bejeweled Shortsword and lots of it. Naturally, this makes you weak against control wizards but everything else is fair game. You are also powerless against Impenetrable Nimbus and Force Field (unless you're packing Nova Axe which takes away a little too much from your offense to run). As for Forrtescue's Feathered Cap itself, it's the only minor token Sprint, Team! helmet without weak cards. The only other comparable item is Wenham's Leather Coif which gives you an extra attack but saddles you with the underwhelming Leather Harness. If you want to try out the triple Sprint, Team! human warriors archetype, Forrtescue's Feathered Cap (or Wehnham's Leather Coif) is a must. You can try substituting races and classes on your sprinters but you will lose out on consistency so I would not purchase otherwise.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Singleplayer maps often start you closer to the mobs, there is no element of surprise against the AI, and you are the one that is more likely to get ganged up on. Sprint, Team! is simply unnecessary. Play tokenless helmets or if you've got the tokens, something that increases your damage output like Angry Jack's Helmet or Bellowing Helm. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Major's Helmet (E) , Mathiam's Helm (E) , Helm Of Alacrity (R)

Did Peon Buy It?
Yup, but not today. Well sort of. I bought the swanky Party Leader Hat from the holiday shop. Still missing 1 but I kinda like Wenham's Leather Coif, which I have a full set of, better anyways. When you're rushing people you want all the attacks you can get. Forrtescue's Feathered Cap is a little better against control wizards with Dodge giving you an extra movement card but I think that matchup is a lost cause.

Epics
Blackhammer
Good attacks for a divine weapon but most non-vamps are looking to prioritize spells. Not recommended unless you want that Wings Of Faith.

Turnbull's Energy Vest
Arcane Shell doesn't have as much of an impact as the Lava Pool on Overheated Force Suit or the Winds Of War on Explorer's Force Suit.

Xalanen's Boots
Skipping Boots are the way to go for tokenless Healing Dash boots.

Notable Rares
Advanced Ferocity (NU)
There is only one item with War Cry that isn't a helmet and you're looking at it. Getting rid of blocks can be useful when you know they're there but that isn't what makes Advanced Ferocity special. Rather, it's the massive amount of cards it lets you burn through. Sure, other dwarf skills have Dwarven Battle Cry but Advanced Ferocity is the only minor token skill that also gives you a cycling trait. There is no better skill to help you find the cards you need when you've got an all dwarf farming party. However, I would hold off on using it in multiplayer. Not only are you risking giving free cards to your opponent's dwarves but you're also forgoing incredible defensive options like Toughness when you do so.

Command (V)
Sprint, Team! is bonkers when you draw it early but quickly becomes overkill as the game progresses. This makes Perfect Command the most common choice with two medium ranged team movement cards albeit for a major token. The best Sprint, Team! skill is Bloody Command since it doesn't have a dead draw that leads to a massive tempo loss, particularly for offensive melee characters. That said, Sprint, Team! is powerful and rare enough that Command is a passable substitute that is occasionally preferable on support characters due to the additional team movement card.

Powermace (P)
Powermace has a little bit of everything that a support priest wants out of a divine weapon. Something to keep opposing characters off your back, some self heal to keep you alive, and don't forget that Genetic Engineering can double as a Purge. You even get buffs if you win the Boost lottery on Genetic Engineering. The only real issue is that Radioactive Spray which, while powerful, isn't something you can effectively use on any priest.

Spoiler: Rare Rating Code

(B)est of the Best
Who need legendaries and epics when you have rares like these? This item is not only powerful but also fits in well established multiplayer or farming archetypes.

(N)iche
This is a great item but fits in a very specific build. You should only consider purchasing if you have that particular strategy in your sights.

(P)layable
Not the best. Not the worst. This item is simply solid all around and I believe could see play. If that isn't enough of a ringing endorsement then I don't know what is. Oh, and you can go ahead and assume that any item that falls into other categories is playable as well. I will not list things that I would not be willing to play myself.

(U)nique
There is nothing quite like this item. Its cards or combination of cards are not found on other items of the same slot or not on other items period. If this item catches your fancy you should take a second look because you won't find anything similar elsewhere.

(V)alue
There may be better options but this item won't bust your piggy bank.

 

Jannivol's Shield

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
I am not a fan of magic blocks. The power level of magic attacks is usually much more evenly distributed on a wizard than a melee character. That means you want a reliable block since test attacks are going to do similar damage to anything else. There is no magic block that works better than two thirds of the time. On top of that, spark and Spark Generator boosted arcane attacks will knock two points off your block rolls turning your Catch Arrow into an Unreliable Block. You're limited to blocking a small set of spell types in an already narrow pool of wizard users. Jannivol's Shield is also just a Backflip Buckler with a crappy magic block attached. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
When in doubt don't pay for legendary shields. Low rarity tokenless shields are some of the best options. You want a cool magic/projectile blocking shield? Get Bullseye Shield. I honestly wouldn't pay for that either. Heck, I don't even switch out Parry shields against ranged mobs because it would take me more time to change the shield than to just beat them senseless while holding dead cards. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Backflip Buckler (E)
The Daily Deal

Did Peon Buy It?
Nope. I never use shields with magic only blocks in multiplayer and there are better and cheaper Catch Arrow shields for singleplayer.

Epics
Hasek's Icy Ring
Xochu's Icy Circlet is better.

Perfect Flexibility
The best way to get the high variance Advanced Battlefield Training for non-warriors. Warriors have access to General Gideon's Helm.

White Katana
Great mix of armor removal and Step attacks for a reasonable token cost.

Notable Rares
Goat Boots (B)
Goat Boots has an insane amount of things going for it. It is tokenless, it has a good cycling trait in Immovable, it has 2 non-movement cards for maximizing Elven Maneuvers, and the 1 movement card it does have is a Dash with minor downside. For those not in the know, Elven Maneuvers is mostly used as a draw engine for Step attacks. Boots with fewer movement cards increase the likelihood that your stream of death will go uninterrupted. Goat Boots also happen to be a stellar choice for singleplayer where you're less likely to need the movement against melee mobs. They come to you for the most part so all you want are boots that cycle you to your more important cards. For that, you can also go with Glimmer Boots for better armor if your character can play around Squeamish.

Spoiler: Rare Rating Code

(B)est of the Best
Who need legendaries and epics when you have rares like these? This item is not only powerful but also fits in well established multiplayer or farming archetypes.

(N)iche
This is a great item but fits in a very specific build. You should only consider purchasing if you have that particular strategy in your sights.

(P)layable
Not the best. Not the worst. This item is simply solid all around and I believe could see play. If that isn't enough of a ringing endorsement then I don't know what is. Oh, and you can go ahead and assume that any item that falls into other categories is playable as well. I will not list things that I would not be willing to play myself.

(U)nique
There is nothing quite like this item. Its cards or combination of cards are not found on other items of the same slot or not on other items period. If this item catches your fancy you should take a second look because you won't find anything similar elsewhere.

(V)alue
There may be better options but this item won't bust your piggy bank.

 

Boxton's Red Pendant

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Both Flame Jet and Telekinesis are among the best cards for their respective deck archetypes. Boxton's Red Pendant is clearly a good item so I'll talk about the advantages and pitfalls of mixing and matching different roles on the same character. Let's say you have two wizards that are both split down the middle with burning and controlling cards. Your opponent won't know what to play around and you can use any hesitation or over-zealousness to your advantage. Also, if one of your wizards dies you won't be left with a low damage wizard that can't close out games or a relatively defenseless wizard that can't outrace larger close range attacks. On the flip side, you are at the mercy of your draws. If what you really need is that Telekinesis to stay alive you better hope you don't draw a grip full of burn spells. When you run a dedicated burn wizard and a dedicated control wizard you can get screwed if one dies but you are much more likely to draw what you want while both are alive. I don't believe one strategy is clearly superior to the other but I do know that mixed items like Boxton's Red Pendant can only go into one strategy while focused items can slot into both. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
The advantage of having mixed role characters goes out the window in singleplayer. You want all the consistency you can get. Gary does not fall for your mind tricks. Believe me, I've tried. He found the droids he was looking for anyways. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None
The Daily Deal

Did Peon Buy It?
Nope. Obviously Randimar is trying to get rid of his stock from last week.

Epics
Backflip Buckler
Since Dodge is pretty much a melee block I would use Jaguar Buckler instead. You lose out on a Walk against wizards but Surging Shield Block is particularly effective against them.

St. Amarack's Cudgel
One of the few ways to get Mass Frenzy on a tokenless item but the rest of the cards are too weak to work with.

Xalenen's Boots
Skipping Boots are better.

Notable Rares
Sacrificial Axe (N)
There is a relatively small pool of divine weapons with good spells so sometimes it's correct to skip them altogether and use the tokenless Sacrificial Axe for trait cycling. This is especially true if the spells you want are only available on divine items. Pressing Bashes give you late game options for capturing victory squares as well as keep opposing characters off your back. Combine them with careful positioning and the Vulnerables aren't too big of an issue against melee. They do make you weaker to ranged characters so if you are expecting to face them, you may want to opt for Vampire's Blade for less risky trait cycling instead.

Spoiler: Rare Rating Code

(B)est of the Best
Who need legendaries and epics when you have rares like these? This item is not only powerful but also fits in well established multiplayer or farming archetypes.

(N)iche
This is a great item but fits in a very specific build. You should only consider purchasing if you have that particular strategy in your sights.

(P)layable
Not the best. Not the worst. This item is simply solid all around and I believe could see play. If that isn't enough of a ringing endorsement then I don't know what is. Oh, and you can go ahead and assume that any item that falls into other categories is playable as well. I will not list things that I would not be willing to play myself.

(U)nique
There is nothing quite like this item. Its cards or combination of cards are not found on other items of the same slot or not on other items period. If this item catches your fancy you should take a second look because you won't find anything similar elsewhere.

(V)alue
There may be better options but this item won't bust your piggy bank.

 

St. Sebanna's Armor

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
St. Sebanna's Armor may be the most powerful divine armor for heals but that isn't saying much. Heals in general have a tough time keeping up with incoming damage. At its best, Team Heal will heal as much as a mid sized melee attack. However, you are much more likely to have a severely injured character than a slightly under the weather team making it that much more difficult to extract full value. I would suggest seeking out either better armor/blocks or more powerful priest spells to fill out your divine armor slot. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
In the land where Firestorm is king, Team Heal isn't the worst. However, you don't get extra points for being at full health at the end. Heck, you don't even need to be able to survive the final Firestorm so long as it finishes off all the mobs first. I would much rather throw in a Savage Curse or Unholy Wellspring than waste time trying to not die with Team Heal. If you are having trouble outlasting mobs feel free to toss in a couple Impenetrable Nimbuses. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Cintxotl Mail (E)
The Daily Deal

Did Peon Buy It?
Nope, though I am curious about whether or not combining Team Heal with Cushioning Armor is a thing. My gut says no since Team Heal is still awful when you haven't drawn Cushioning Armor and most of the good items require major tokens.

Epics
Keen Baselard
Decent against low level armored mobs but totally not worth buying.

Lightfoot Robes
Flanking Move is fantastic on wizards but I don't think getting 2 more copies is worth the token and giving up the robes slot. Just get Mouse Boots and call it a day.

Mageslayer Mail
Neither Shimmering Aura nor Entangling Roots are particularly scary for a wizard. Real mage slaying gear has Reliable Mail, Sparkling Cloth Armor, or Immovable.

Notable Rares
Advanced Ferocity (NU)
There is only one item with War Cry that isn't a helmet and you're looking at it. Getting rid of blocks can be useful when you know they're there but that isn't what makes Advanced Ferocity special. Rather, it's the massive amount of cards it lets you burn through. Sure, other dwarf skills have Dwarven Battle Cry but Advanced Ferocity is the only minor token skill that also gives you a cycling trait. There is no better skill to help you find the cards you need when you've got an all dwarf farming party. However, I would hold off on using it in multiplayer. Not only are you risking giving free cards to your opponent's dwarves but you're also forgoing incredible defensive options like Toughness when you do so.

Savvy Attacker (BU)
Warrior traits are bland and underwhelming so finding something better to do than a slight damage boost with your martial skill slot is often correct. Not only does Team Walk add much needed mobility to a melee team but it is only otherwise found on boots. Savvy Attacker is the most powerful and commonly played minor token martial skill. A must have for anyone who plays warriors.

 

My gut says me Triple Heal will work way better, because you get it basicly for free on some items and in many situations Triple Heal is even better than Team Heal.

The only other played minor token martial skill being Superb Impaling. Which is also a great one, because it gives you an extra damage source in your deck. On dwarves you should always play Savvy Attacker on elves Superb Imapling is an alternative. Niche items beeing the one with All Out Attack and the one with Parry, but Impaling Stab and Team Walk seem like better choices.

 

What are you talking about? Team Heal is always better than Triple Heals; They heal the same amount, but Team heal has unlimited range and doesn't need line of sight. (and it's written Triple Heals)

 

Rarely do you need to heal all 3 characters. With Triple Heal you can heal 2 and also check for a block.

 

They mean that it can trigger an opponent block.
I was looking to spend my minor token on focused bruising once I got a double blind rage tokenless dwarf racial since I had 9 lunging bashes and having both bonuses on it turned it into a nasty attack, not sure that it was correct.
EDIT>Ninjaed

 

To use them is defintly correct. I love to use them in SP, MP and leagues. I rarly use other dwarf skills.

 

Mordecai in DD....

Any wise gentleman here could tell me if I really need my 3rd Mordecai? Guess I dont.....?

 

you don't. 2 Mordecai is already enough to get a volcano almost every turn ... just almost though. And if that's not enough, now you could even mix in a few Overheated Mesmerizer in as well. So, 2 Mordecai is definitely enough.

 

I have 4 and sometimes use all of them, dont need more though.