The Daily Deal

Eadrik's Boots
This is a Lewin's Boots but you trade decent Dangerous Maneuvers for next to useless Leather Harnesses. I guess they could be better in a Victory Square camping build where you Violent Spin enemies away and use the Harness to improve some armor for you to be tankier. But is that +1 to an armor roll really worth it to be holding a card in your hand? There will inevitably be a higher quality card you want to keep along with your high quality armor and the Leather Harness will be the first card you ditch. If you just want some cheap Harnesses on boots, Absolem's Leather Shoes has got you covered.

Epics:
Lich's Locket
Insanely good cold item. Every other double Cone of Cold arcane item is pretty much made obsolete by this item with the cycling trait. Combine 4 of this with 2 Instant Snowmans and you get a really powerful cold wizard with lots of cycling and beefed up Cone of Colds. The only weakness is that it is very map dependent.

Quornic's Armor
If there is a reason you want tokenless Harnesses, you would want Hawlic's Glowing Shirt instead.

Veteran Positioning
Great way to get Team Walk.

Notable Rares:
Buckler Of Protection
Acceptable Defender's Block shield.

Focused Pyromancy
A must for fire wizards.

Incense Of Roiled Air
Fine Mass Frenzy item.

 

Volkov's Impenetrable Hide
Unfortunately, this item is not quite impenetrable like its name suggests. Reliable Mail and Monstrous Hide are both good armors, but part of what makes them good is that they can be found on tokenless armors, with the two of them being the two best armor cards you can get on tokenless armors. Put them on a major token armor and it becomes less appealing. When I spend a major token on Heavy Armor I only go for major-token-exclusive armor cards like Cushioning Armor or Force Field. Would not purchase.

Epics:
Howling Lycanthropy
Great item if you want to be a werewolf.

Iryna's Golden Pitchfork
Pretty nice item with good spells and attacks, but you probably want a reason for the Warding Lances.

Novice Stoutness
Duck is not worth paying a token for, especially when it comes with 2 mediocre/bad armors.

Notable Rares:
Blood Locket
The full Path of Knives+Winds of War combo on one item. Squeamish is one of the easiest handicaps to build around as a wizard as there are non-targetting spells aplenty. Also consider Runestone for your Winds of War+Squeamish needs. Especially good in singleplayer where enemies will mindlessly chase you around the whole map with Path of Knives attached.

 

I would class Blood Locket as an additional notable rare. Squeamish is easy to play around for wizards as it doesn't come into play for Deadly Spark or Punishing Bolt and can just be a deck thinner most of the time. However, I would probably pick Runestone as it is stronger in most cases, and doesn't have the possible downsides of Path Of Knives interacting with Martyr's Blessing or Vengeance. There is also Sensate's Ring for tokenless, but I still think Blood Locket is an interesting item and worthy of consideration.

 

Yeah, you said it, Runestone is just better. I consider putting Path of Knives in my deck a handicap honestly. When I last checked everyone was running Martyr Blessing though maybe I've been out for too long, don't think that will ever change though. I'll just add it in though since Path of Knives is a pretty fun card.

 

POK is still good in the campaign when the enemy has no counters, so Blood Locket deserves a footnote in that regard.

 

Brin's Storm Locket
Firestorm is not a viable strategy in multiplayer. Most of the time, you'll hit more of your characters than your opponents, and if your wizard can hit more enemies than friendly characters, then they are probably in a dangerous position. Even if you use armor to mitigate the damage, it's just not worth the trouble. If there is one place where Firestorm is king though, it's singleplayer. Firestorm items will speed up your farming like no other item. There are 3 Arcane Items with double Firestorm though and Brin's Storm Locket is the worst one, or at least the most situational one. It likely won't matter much when it comes to farming but if you can wait, both the Glob Of Flame from Azgul's Orb and Short Perplexing Ray from Chartwell's Ring are more useful. Still, what matters are the 2 Firestorms so it certainly delivers in that respect.

Epics:
Shield Of The Wraith
Shifting Block is a little too inconsistent. There really shouldn't be a possibility to get Zombie Form, but unfortunately, there is.

Spitting Flames
Flame Spit is nice but not from the Arcane Skill which is reserved for Focused Pyromancy.

Veteran Positioning
Great way to get Team Walk.

Notable Rares:
Apprentice Resilience
Only tokenless way to get Antimagic Skin. I use it sometimes for Firestorm farming on low levels.

Cleansing Shroud
Great armor, great heal. Cleansing Ray at the very least triggers Altruism and can randomly come in handy sometimes.

Club Of Devastation
Best Devastating Blow item, if you can find a way around Vulnerable. Arrogant Armor, Gene Therapy and the like, perhaps?

Overheated Force Suit
Force Field and Lava Pool are both really nice cards. Nice enough to overlook the Arcabe Feedback, even.

Shielding Token
Best way to get Impenetrable Nimbus. A must for 1 hp quests.

 

Don't think I'll be able to do this for a while with real life catching up and all. It's been around a 100 reviews so far and I have a newfound respect for what peonprop has done, over 400 reviews is truly astonishing. I hope to get back as soon as possible but that probably won't be very soon. Perhaps someone will continue these.

 

I will give it a go for a while (I hope) there is still a little bit of interest in the thread. There seems to be enough questions in chat about is X or Y item any good and worth purchasing?

 

Thanks for the trouble Gingrich, was fun reading your analysis.

 

Bleneth's Frenzy Charm
Frenzy is one of the mainstays of the game, and while it's popularity may ebb and flow, it is consistent as the meta shifts with the different maps. Mass Frenzy is obviously the main attraction of this item, especially for the Altruism draw; but for a paper quality card, Unholy Frenzy is pretty good as well. I have a copy and have used it for multiple situations and build types. Tokens can be in short supply for support priests and to get this for tokenless can be a real boon. Not an automatic buy, but I would recommend purchasing if you have the spare gold.

Epics:
Rockshard Robes
Really good tokenless robes - no bad cards on here. There are better focused items out there (some with traits), but for tokenless, you can't go wrong with this.

Savage Plates
Savage Curse lost a lot of its bite with the nerf a while ago. Even then, I would struggle to pay a token and get Thickened Mail

Unyielding Resilience
Not a bad Antimagic Skin item at all, obviously the legendary Raging Resilience is what you want for a minor. But this is a decent item. However Antimagic skin does not see much play, probably because of all the multiple Blind Rage dwarf skills and the ever popular Lucky Toughness

Notable Rares:
Bossy Command
Contains the match swinging Delegate, so worth a mention - however you want Make Haste or Venerable Positioning though

Focused Healer
Talented Healer is the best vamp trait for the cantrip and self healing; this has three copies.... if you can spare the major token.

 

Both are good (though the legendary is better) for dwarf firestorm teams who use Staff Of The Inferno. You only need one Antimagic Skin in play to have a very good chance of discarding Combustible,

 

Wym's Spiteful Bucket
Only item with 2x Ancient Grudge and one of only two items with Lava Pool (only arcane item). So this is worth getting for uniqueness alone. Ancient grudge is a viable strategy and sees some play, but it feels like a "go big, or go home" tactic. The most popular methods of getting some good grudges off with better regularity is to try and hit an elf wizard Pathfinding combo; pack you deck with traits, and/or draw priest and/or maximum control to string out a match. Whichever method you go for - chances are this item will be part of the deck. recommend buying if you have the gold and want to try out grudge. The lava pool is not bad either (if slightly overcosted at emerald imho)

Epics:
Staff Of Freezing Fire
One a few burning/freezing hybrids.... I don't think it is a good combination as the attachments may knock each other off, and a more focused build is often the way to go.

Staff Of Glowing Coals
Top heavy and too many weak cards for two minor tokens. The only cards you want are Volcano and Ember Burst, there are better staffs for both.

Ztoli Idol
Hmmm... at the low end of the power scale for a minor token. Th main draw of this item is Wings Of Faith and there is only one of it. This mainly gets played in some leagues i.e. wicked waterways. But if you want wings of faith you can get two for a minor on Uplifting Faith and Eixtl's Winged Mail.

Notable Rares:
Blazing Buckler
Tokenless shield with no bad cards, if you don't mind sacrificing a block for an extra attack. Worthy of more consideration than it gets.

Coven Lance
2x Destructive Purge is great if you can play around the Walpurgis Night

Smoke Pin
Best source of Smoke Bomb with an always useful third card

Smoking Pistol
Probably your easiest source of Volcano when you're just building your collection

 

Not much to add to @Gingrich Yurr 's review... I have seen it used on some death march volcano decks, but that is a pretty niche application. Would not purchase

Epics:
Cat'Leth
Great weapon, sees a fair amount of play. Mostly as a source of All Out Attack, but also contains a trait, a high percentage and versatile block, plus some good attacks.

Impervious Panoply
If you want double Arrogant Armor for a minor it is this or the legendary Vinorkin's Cuirass. So long as you're not running a dwarf, I probably go for the epic in this case. Encumber is manageable on the other classes, but only being able to move one kills me. But do you want arrogant armor? It needs a to be the foundation of a build and for that, there is also three copies on Bern's Untouchable Mail. Notable builds would be a dedicated walpurgis party, or something to take advantage of discarding negative traits like Large Weapon. Arrogant armor also comes in really handy on a few SP levels: Shades and elder mind to name a couple.

Smoke On The Water
Best at what it does, if you want Smoke Bomb or Flash Flood on a staff that is. I have used it a lot for leagues in the past, mostly death march and central processing, but it has tonnes of other uses. A great addition from Aloyzo's Arsenal

Notable Rares:
Lantern Helm
Good Sprint, Team! helmet. I would probably prefer the legendary Forrtescue's Feathered Cap for a rushing warrior team, but if you can cope with the trait, this is very strong.

Packleader's Boots
Strong boots for a warrior, with a deck thinning trait.

 

Again, not too much to add to @Gingrich Yurr 's review of this one. I have a few and have not used it in MP at all; but it has its uses for SP when the health of some of your enemies is much lower and you can get away with a few Flash Of Agony

Epics
Coruscating Mail
Difficult item to find an easy use for; on the surface it looks good for a warrior in a wizard heavy cycle. Best way to get Dynamic Armor on a minor, but it is rare that you would want it. I just think there are better armors out there

Flaming Sword
Difficult not to compare it to the tokenless Blazing Shortsword the Fiery Stabs are what you want on both, but are the two better chops worth 2x minors tokens...? probably not. Do stabs and chops even work well together...? not really. Is asking myself rhetorical questions getting tedious quickly....? definitely.

Nova Axe
Great Item... Everything that you want for a double major token weapon. 2 copies of the best step attack in the game (Laser Thrust), Obliterating Chop is reasonable damage with huge upside if you get two targets. Violent Spin in the ultimate warrior control card, and the Purging Strikes are always in play because of the number of attachments floating around.
I hesitate to recommend buying epics because they turn up eventually if you play semi regularly or enter leagues, but this is one of the best out there.

Notable rares:
Buckler Of Protection
Defender's Block for a minor, 3 block anything cards, with two that trigger a draw. There is a lot to like in this shield

Traveler From The North
Another great addition to the game from Aloyzo. If you have a wizard who has a spare token and no huge need for an electrical/burning trait this is a good choice. Freeze is very powerful and worth spending a major on.

 

Excellently written reviews and a deep knowledge of gameplay thanks for the effort

 

Hey, popping in here to share the document with links to every legendary review I have done so far, sorted by alphebetical order, in case anyone wants it.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_r-C1QPNx31y_MpDoCEfPcYdJKeX_JV-t3XxJ-23bS0/edit?usp=drivesdk

 

Already reviewed.... In my review for Impervious Panoply I did say that if you want double Arrogant Armor for a minor, and you're not running a dwarf, I probably go for the epic so I will stick to my guns... I don't own one, and do not intend to purchase

Epics:
Ethereal Crystal Gun
One of many Accelerate Time items. Perplexing Ray is ok , but the Firestorm is not what I want for a major token.

Keen Baselard
Despite penetrating attacks and the tokenless Sundering Strike, it is a bit too low damage to be viable.

Nanahut's Morningstar
One of several double minor, double Cleansing Ray divine weapons. All of them are pretty good - but mostly used in leagues such as death march when cleansing ray comes in handy, or some of the geomancer SP quests

Notable rares:
Powerpike
I have used it, four strong range-2 attacks is not to be sniffed at. Even if it does have less mobility than the popular Double-Edged Sword

Spacediver's Face Screen
A favourite of mine, the Force Field is the top draw, but the other two cards are both very strong also.

 

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Xentoc's Maul
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Xentoc's Maul is a vastly inferior Spear Of The Cozqui. Starling Strike, Controlled Overswing, and Soothing Darkness are all cards that should be avoided if possible. When they're good they're great but more often than not you are looking at an underpowered attack, a card disadvantage attack, and a way too slow delayed heal spell. In general, you want your cards to be good in any situation. Alternatively, you can play situationally good cards if you can use other parts of your build to maximize their potential or you expect the metagame to be weak to them. The iffy cards on Xentoc's Maul do not lend themselves well to being built around or attacking metagames. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
By the time you are able to use a major token, mobs damage you faster than you can heal. It is much more effective to win the damage race by armoring up or better yet, using buffs or bigger attacks. Cards like Team Heal shouldn't be avoided but they better be supplementing powerful card like Mighty Bludgeon on Healing Hand Mace. Xentoc's Maul has Team Heals as the defining cards. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Gray Blade (R) , Godtouched Spear (E) , Healing Hand Mace

Xentoc's Maul
Check the spoiler for @peonprop 's review... it is bit outdated, but a fun read nonetheless, and my review won't reference it too much.
There is a whole bunch of top end divine weapons that are focused around various quantities of Team Heal and/or Soothing Darkness. Most of them are listed in Peonprop's review if you are interested... there were all the rage at one point, but the problem is that in (MP at least) team heal is just not a card that you want, so none of the team heal weapons see much play. It is too little, and too unfocused to swing a game in most cases. Xentoc's is a minor/major instead of major/major but that doesn't really make too much difference And then there is the elephant in the room that came with the last expansion: Evensong. Greater Heal is well itemized and all the healing goes on one target, so this is the healing spell to target. As all good opponents will seek to gang up on one anyway instead of spreading the damage around.
I have 3, never purchased 1, and never used it... would not purchase.

Epics:
Bahoxl's Maul
(SHAMELESS COPY-PASTE)Like Nanahut's Morningstar yesterday, one of several double minor, double Cleansing Ray divine weapons. All of them are pretty good - but mostly used in leagues such as death march when cleansing ray comes in handy, or some of the geomancer SP quests (/SHAMELESS COPY-PASTE)

Shimmering Helm
Good for SP farming when facing sprites. But Shimmering Aura sees little play in MP because there are just too many warrior teams around.

Staff Of Glowing Coals
(SHAMELESS COPY-PASTE)Top heavy and too many weak cards for two minor tokens. The only cards you want are Volcano and Ember Burst, there are better staffs for both.
(/SHAMELESS COPY-PASTE)

Notable Rares
Gauntlets Of The Giant
Good minor token Frenzy Aura item, if you don't want the encumber from Cuirass Of Froth

Madman's Paint Palette
Another Aloyzo item... only way to get Acid Jet on an arcane item. Shame acid is not really competitive

Enjoy the birthday celebrations!

 

Reynold's Boots
Escaping Run is a great card, the card draw is very powerful - particularly as you get to see what it is before deciding where to go. These are probably the best minor token boots for it; but compare to Ilinca's Moccasins. It all comes down to whether you want the extra Lunging Bash, or the trait that can sometimes bite you in the a$$.
I bought one previously and have used it from time to time - I have played around with bash warriors. If you want to build around escaping run, this is something that you want to get a hold of.

Epics:
Angry Jack's Boots
Strong boot for a warrior, but it all comes down to: how much do you want the Enchanted Harness? Pretty rarely in my case....

Guztuk's Giant Gutter
Another interesting Alyozo item - doing this has made me appreciate how many ones are out there! thanks @Flaxative ! I use this quite a lot for a few SP modules when there are a lot of swarming enemies and the chops come in handy. Unfortunately the Clumsy Chops are just too hazardous for MP

Sturdy Armor
Solid Reliable Mail item, which is still very strong despite recent preference for other Monstrous Hide options.

Notable rares:
Cape Of Dark Magic
This is a really good set of robes. It is probably my major token robes of choice when there is nothing pushing me in a specific direction. No bad cards - a trait, an armor to get away from trouble and a strong draw card

Focused Electromancy
A must for all electrical wizards, compare to the major tokenSuperb Electromancy to see whether you want to upgrade for the Obliterating Spark

Howling Guidance
Jump, Soldier! is insanely powerful... but poorly itemized. This is probably the best item with it

 

St. Xanu's Geneshaper Gear

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

St. Xanu's Geneshaper Gear (U)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
As a defensive card, Adaptablecan be hit or miss. Face off against damage type focused characters like vamps and it will buy you all kinds of time. Run into more diverse attacks or party setups and you may as well not have Adaptable at all. To make matters worse, you cannot rely too heavily on buffs and traits as they're likely to get knocked off after getting hit a few times. When you consider that for a minor token you can get Cintxotl Mail for much more reliable damage prevention St. Xanu's Geneshaper Gear just doesn't cut it. However, using Adaptable as an enabler is a different story. It's when you're building around a strategy that involves repeatedly taking damage of one type that Adaptable truly shines. Maybe you are stacking a bunch of pain free Loners (it's the attachment that prevents the damage, not the armor itself). Maybe you want to toss out buffed up Flash Of Agony without hiding behind a wall first. Sure, there isn't too much you can do with Adaptable at the moment but that likely won't always be the case. Purchase if you want to build around Adaptable. Would not purchase as a defensive measure.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Mob attacks tend to be a lot more focused and the AI doesn't take Immunities into consideration when attacking so you are bound to prevent a lot of damage. However, it's a major token luxury whose effect can be replicated by a simple Impenetrable Nimbus. Sure, that only lasts one round but that's often all you need to soak up attacks and gain an hp advantage. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None

Did Peon Buy It?
Yup. I was originally going to pass but I talked myself into buying it. Adaptable just has a lot of combo potential and it's too rare to pass up.

Previously reviewed by @peonprop
I pretty much agree with everything that peonprop wrote here... and it is difficult to improve on. it all boils down to Adaptable while being great in theory does not really stand up in the heat of battle. The only thing i can add is that unlike the warrior and wizard versions of this item, the third card is not the best. Genetic Engineering really needs to be built around with multiple copies in your deck, and there are just better ways to get it than this.
I have three copies, and never used it (I have used the Korenchkin's Tactical Tunic and Ewix's Evolving Ensemble from time to time, before decided they were not worth it either. Would not purchase.

Epics:
Charging Boulder
Toughness is obviously awesome, and the main reason for buying this card. But I am never desperate for the other two cards on this item. My go to minor token toughness items are: Lucky Toughness (for the extra Parry) or Raging Rock (for the trait/Blind Rage)

Jygpin's Healing Ring
Similar deal with this one the Inspiring Presence is what you want from this one, but for a minor token, I am drawn to Xlaka's Sacred Bundle. This is not a bad epic substitute though if your focus is healing - but then there is Silver Healing Ring that is more consistent.

Sturdy Mail
Another solid Reliable Mail item, which is still very strong despite recent preference for other Monstrous Hide options. For an epic, I would probably use Sturdy Armor from yesterday though

Notable rares:
Antipathy
Only way to get Acid Pool and a really clever winner of Aloyzo's 25 challenge. Unfortunately acid is one of the weakest builds, and the Defensiveness is another big challenge for it.

Inspired Command
I used it for a while before humans had Vanguard options. But it is top heavy with Inspirational Thinking being awesome, and the other cards meh..