Rate my Randimar's Rarities

Just epics this week, thinking about:

Master's Battleaxe A lot of powerful attacks, but I'm generally not a big fan of chops, worth 2 gold tokens?
Morbo's Pendant - Now this looks like an interesting item, would prefer a frost jolt over CoC, but teleport self with firestorm for a minor token seems awesome.

 

Buy the Wuuna's and Flax's if you wanna run Vamp. If you decide to go full vamp you can have up to 9 divine vamp items and they aren't easy to find all the time.
I am not the biggest fan of vamp builds depends too much on getting a Trained Healer and no real power punch attacks, but when they work they are literally unstoppable. Of course when they don't you wind up with a lot of hit and run tactics, which doesn't ususally fly in MP.

 

Master's Battleaxe is one of my favorite weapons. I use it in MP and SP a fair amount. Comparing it to Bejewelled Shortsword would be an interesting exercise. BSS has the advantage in raw damage. However, I like the Battleaxe because it is thematic with the Chops and having a Nimble Strike is always useful!

As for Morbo's Pendant/Vira's Chain, they are both very useful items with Teleport Self. Morbo's in particular has two useful cards in addition to Firestorm, so it's worth having in your arsenal.

 

Personally I really want a Master's mostly because it has a NS and a few more punchy attacks, which suits my style. The 2 gold tokens is a tougher price especially when chops are not typically useful in MP, but I would grab it for sure.

Cone of Cold is tricky but for a FS build can be better than a Frost Jolt (of course less damage). I probably wouldn't buy an Arcane item with only 1 FS that costs a token (unless it has SPR or volcano) and I question why you are interested in Teleport Self AND FS. Usually a FS build is based on not needing movement. But there are times when it can be nice and obviously having a trait on an item it great, so probably a good buy, but not my first choice.

 

I would never choose Master Battleaxe over BS. It's less overall damage and fewer step attcks. You can get NS more cheaply from Lochabers. And chops really suck in MP imo, it's very rare to have the occasion to hit 2 targets at the same time, so I wouldn't use it in MP. But you can use it to farm the level 18 adventures with a 2 war 1 priest build, where chops are very welcomed.

About Morbo's Pendant, it can be very good in a FS build in leagues like Wicked Waterways, where you need FS and Teleport (to take the victory square or as a defensive resource against wwe or wings builds). For MP, I guess it's very map dependant. Cone of Cold can be very effective in certain maps, but very bad in others. If you're going to spend a token in a FS item, it should have SPR or Vulcano imo.

 

I'd like to mention I have Perrio's Kinetic Robes in my shop as well (PS- That's 4 Legendaries and 13 Epics). As far as I can see, it is neither a good source of Reliable Mail nor Telekinesis. Does anyone have an opinion to the contrary?

 

Reliable Mail is hard to come by on robes but Telekinesis is mediocre. Mantle Of Instinct is better armored if you have a spare major token. I'm not sure what kind of wizard would want Reliable Mail over Sparkling Cloth Armor for damage prevention though.

 

A FS wizard? Although that raises the point, a FS wizard should be using Firehide Robes/Emberfloat Mantle; and if they want armor they can use various boots.

Phantom Cape is probably a better item than Perrio's Robes anyways.

 

So you've quoted my "just think a bit" without the next clause, which is stupid and provocational. The original text was: "Just think a bit: how many blocks would you like to have in your deck?" I guess you didn't think a bit about that You were too concentrated on launching a personal attack on me.

So let's finally think a bit about Dodges and blocks. You say that 3 dodges is great. How many dodges and blocks would you like to have, ideally? Do you understand that taking a shield with 3 dodges means 3 less blocks or not?

I could accuse you in "trolling" (whatever it means), since Wicked Waterways is probably the worst place for the Dodges. Freezing is very powerful and popular there.

I know. I've created that thread

Now this makes me facepalm . If somebody's opinion differs from yours, that doesn't mean he's "trolling" you. Hit the Deck isn't ideal, for sure, but it's "block any" at 3+. Now tell me, which card would you prefer when an opposing mage is casting Frost Jolt on you - Dodge or Hit the Deck? What would you prefer if he tries to move you from the victory area with Winds Of War? Dodge is better than Hit the Deck only versus the melee attacks, and I've tried to say that you will gain little benefit from having two Dodges in your hand (except for the increased chance of triggering), so having 3 Dodges may be too much, and you may save the yellow token by choosing the cheaper shield.

Sometimes I am really clueless, and I always admit that. But if you think that somebody is clueless just because he has a different opinion, then you're short-minded.

 

Buy this, it will help you in SP a lot. Cone of Cold is often a winner there. I have 4 of them and used all 4 in some scenarios.

 

Ummmmm, Dodge. Even if there's no blocking terrain for me to duck behind, I'd rather be encumbered 2 than gain halt! If I'm an elf or a human I can still move some, if I have NS I can still move (or play it to hit someone next to me).

 

You must have a lot of NS I don't, so I have to use Vicious Thrusts and mass moves. And I'm playing dwarven warriors like most my opponents. It's obviously better to have your dwarf halted for one turn than encumbered for 2 turns. 4 damage from Frost Jolt also mean something BTW.
But the most vivid fact is: Dodge isn't going to help versus Frost Jolt, and will be absolutely useless for the two turns. A control wizard rarely has just one Jolt... you may expect WoW/WWE or something like that.

 

I kinda like the Mater's Battleaxe because chops aren't ideal in MP. I have gotten chopped down a couple of times because I didn't maintain spacing (especially common on the board in rotation with 4 Vic squares in the center) and a Oblit chop took me by quite the surprise. That and I just love having Gold cards in my hand. I prefer Emeralds but hey How may Oblits can you carry?

 

You can carry 10. Chops also do serious work on storges with my hide in a corner with only the warrior exposed strategy.

As for MP, they can certainly surprise someone, as most people think they're unplayable (and rightly so for the most part), and thus won't play around a good chop. They are hard to setup though, and are relatively easily telegraphed to your opponent.

 

Nope, no VP here. But I do have a few in my deck and have hit a wizard 2 squares away after being frozen. Besides aren't you always talking about getting items for the highest-end build possible? If NS is going to be part of that, even if you don't have much now, you might as well buy items that go with it in case you're running it some day.

But the thing is, even with Vicious Thrust, Halt prevents them from even being played. So if you have a hand full of VT and your block gets triggered by anything, then all the wizards, elves and Kobolds in the world can come tap dance on your toes and you can't even touch them. More importantly if you're going toe to toe with the opponents warrior, he can keep hitting you and you just have to watch. It's what makes Entangling Roots such a pain if you ever get hit by it. The fact is Halt doesn't just stop your movement, it actually effectively acts as Stun for any step attacks in your deck. Where as was noted previously, dodge actually has synergy with step attacks. So, if you're running a no/low step-attack deck, Hit the Deck isn't the end of the world (though clearly still not great), but if you're running steps and your choices are Dodge, or Hit the Deck - I recommend the former.

 

I'd also like to say, Dodge may not be as effective on a basic Dwarf warrior as on others (with lots of 3+move cards ). I say this for the same reasons as why I want Cautious Sneak for Dwarves, but detest it on humans and elves.

 

Did I saying that Dodge is bad? I just don't believe that having 3 Dodges is worth the yellow token and minus three blocks. Even if we all agree that Dodge is better than Hit the Deck, it doesn't mean that replacing HtD with Dodge is worth paying a yellow token instead of blue. Warriors usually have better ways to spend the yellow tokens: one token usually goes to Sliding Boots, the rest go to the weapons.
Playing a warrior without blocks is scary, especially in MP. That's why I'd better sacrifice a couple of attacks to Dodges and play a weapon with Dodges than lose the three blocks.

 

In terms of Oblits I was refering to Bludegons not chops seeing as Oblit Chops are Gold not Emerald... so at most you can have 6 per warrior; if you add Enchanted Mail and Inspirational thinking you can have 8 of your 36 cards as Emerald.
Sadly we all know the only Amethyst playable is the ALMIGHTY Hack. Almighty Hack we pray to bring us your POWER.
Much like the Spanish Inquisition.... No one expects a CHOP in MP.

 

Dodge is a substitute for block against non wizard decks. I would gladly go down in blocks if I could replace them with dodges in those matchups. You seem to overvalue the roll success rate. The uncertainty of Dodge is what makes it a nightmare to play against. Do you use that Obliterating Bludgeon or wait till you are positioned correctly? With something like Bloodied Block you know you can just Weak Chop it away. With Dodge, even when you pull the trigger they get to keep the Dodge no matter what.

 

That's the root of all misunderstanding: Dodge isn't "a substitute for block"! It cancels the attack only if you're willing to yield your position or can return spending some card. Yielding your position is usually bad, since the battle usually happens for the victory area.
If you spend the same Dodge to return, then you have a "block melee and skip your action" card at 4+, which is much worse than most blocks. A warrior can't have a lot of moves to return. So, you have the real advantage from Dodge only if you play a step attack for return. In other words, Dodge is so good only because the step attacks (NS and VT) are overpowered. The balance should be fixed, and if it really would be fixed, Dodges would be much less playable. Currently if your deck doesn't have a lot of NS and VT (mine doesn't for instance), Dodge will be just mediocre for you.
Remember that Slippery Shield costs the same yellow token, but Hard To Pin Down blocks any at 3+ without yielding your position or moves 3 compared to 2 for Dodge. How can you be sure that you aren't going to meet wizards in MP?