Killer's Crazy Constuctions

Discussion in 'Deck Building' started by Killer74, Jan 8, 2016.

  1. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    Here, you can give me a theme for a deck, be it based around a particular card/item, or on item restrictions (rarity, or something more wacky like belonging to a hero etc.), or on class/race restrictions, or any combination thereof, and I'll do my best to make a somewhat viable deck with it. It can be something you'd like to try out, but aren't sure if it will work out, don't have the items for, or perhaps you just want me to lose as many games as possible. I don't want a item list, just a general idea, and not too restrictive (item-wise; I'm happy to play things like highlander (no two cards the same) builds, all commons, whatever).

    Exceptions: I won't make a party with no items, or any blank slots for that matter, unless following a restriction like pure Aristocat (all legendaries). I won't make a build based around a card/item that is redundant with many of the same card/item (such as a max. boiling armour/dissolve armour build). I also might not have the items needed for a certain deck. I want to have at least some tiny chance of winning, so no suicidal ouch+raging strike combination, or similar. Also, if there is a card which is a (very near) straight upgrade over another, such as Little Zap/Big Zap or Wall Of Illusion/Illusory Barrier, I will consider them interchangeable. I refuse to use Walpurgis Night, or Spark Of Undeath.

    Then, after I've played with it for a bit (until three consecutive wins or any time where my rating is higher after n+10 games than n games (for any n); and then until I reach a highest rating that I don't beat within 5 games), I'll post the deck here with the highest rating it achieved and how will it did/didn't do, and any merits/flaws it had, and move onto the next build.

    Upcoming
    1. Avenging Touch vamps
    2. Stall wizards with Ancient Grudge
    3. Multiple St. Well's Powermaces

    Future
    (decks I need more items for)
    1. Warriors with Pressing Problems (still only have one)
    2. Wizards with spirity stuff+ The Twins + fragile curse priest


    1. Rocket Battle Mages: Triple melee wizards, with charges, blocks and short-range attacks. (idea: Pyrious)
    Max. rating: 1,333.
    2. Malfunctioning Rocketmen: Priest+2 Elf Warrior, with Bad Luck, Rocket Dash (idea: Kalin) and Unnerving Strike (idea: Lucky Dice).
    Max. rating: 1,436.
    3. Grim Reapers: Touch of Death Priests+Control Wizard (idea: Deepweed).
    Max. rating: 1,390.
    4. Vengeful Pyromaniacs: Firestorm Wizard+Avenging Touch Priests (idea: SirSrsly).
    Max. rating: 1,414.
    5. Genetic Engineers: Triple Priests with Genetic Engineering and Gene Therapy (idea: Lucky Dice)
    Max. rating: 1,436.
    6. Damage Limitation: 1-1-1 with self damaging traits and Adaptable (idea: Lucky Dice).
    Max. rating: 1,590
    7. Time Travelers: Accelerate Time Wizard with Priests (idea Potato Priest)
    Max. rating: 1,372
    8. Highlander: All cards unique, 1-1-1.
    Max. rating: 1,407
    9. Midnight's Children: Spirit, Werewolf and Vampire
    Max. rating: 1,503
    10. Peekaboo: Elves with Elvish Insight and Devastating Blow.
    Max. Rating: 1,521
    11. Witch Hunters: Inquisitor's Strike and Burning Wizard. (idea SceoMyntan)
    Max. Rating: 1,574
    12. Forget-Me-Nots: Card Removal - Perplexing Ray and friends.
    Max. Rating: 1,619
    13. Whirling, Twirling and Hurling: Human warriors with Wind Dancer and Leadership.
    Max. Rating: 1,657
    14. Protean Priests: Warrior Priest, Wizard Priest, and Priest Priest.
    Max. Rating: 1,611
    15. Nuclear Engineers: Radiation Terrain + complimentary stuff. (idea: Tyro)
    Max. Rating: 1,400.
    16. Flying Werewolves: Howling Pain + Wings of Faith + Teleport Self.
    Max. Rating: 1,526.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2017
  2. Pyrious

    Pyrious Hydra

    Rocket Battle Mages

    Triple wizards that act somewhat as warriors: many short range attacks, blocks, rocket charges, brutal charges, etc.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2016
    ParodyKnaveBob and seth arue like this.
  3. Kalin

    Kalin Begat G'zok

    Has anyone ever tried to combo Rocket Dash with Bad Luck? That's the one card I would like to see always malfunction.
     
    Tyro likes this.
  4. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    Rocket Battle Mages: Three wizards with blocks, charges & short range attacks.

    Battles, Rating:
    Starting Rating: 1,364
    Maximum Rating Achieved: 1,333.
    (5 losses, 3 wins, 4 losses, 1 win)
    4 wins, 10 losses.

    Characters:
    Flashbang
    Level 18 Dwarf Wizard

    Ninja
    Level 16 Elf Wizard

    Trigger Happy
    Level 17 Dwarf Wizard

    Overview:
    4 legendaries, 9 epics, 3 rares, 8 uncommons, 6 commons.
    Of those, most of the rarer items could be replaced easily enough, though I think Boots of Etzicatl are better than Sky Traveler's Boots in terms of consistency (and cost). Overheated Mesmerizer is simply best if you are going for Hypnotic Beacon, but other control would probably do just as well/better. Also, Staff Of Chask, in my view, outdoes any other staff for blocks, at least for cost, and does a reasonable amount of damage also.

    Discussion:
    I don't feel I did this deck (or at least the idea behind it) justice by any means. Initially I was briefly using a human priest with Infected instead of one of the dwarves, but it wasn't really doing anything. I added the hypnotic beacon items instead of stuff like Copper Zapping Wand(which required some overhaul to get the needed tokens) because the Big Zaps were going to waste so often, and I was facing mostly step attacks. I'm not sure I got into the mindset of playing these guys - a lot of the short range attacks went to waste. The deck also ended up with possibly a few too many mid/long-range attacks. I mostly only fought step warriors.

    Pros, Cons, Possible Improvements:
    Pros:
    • Fun to play.
    • Opponent usually doesn't expect too many blocks, or charges for that matter, on wizards.
    • Fairly maneuverable.
    • Can do large amounts of damage with favorable conditions.
    Cons:
    • Inconsistent draws.
    • Is outdone in melee by warriors and in range by more ordinary wizards.
    • Hard to deal consistent damage.
    • Despite being fairly maneuverable, got forced into corners by warriors, or else had to give up vps.
    Possible Improvements:
    • Increased maneuverability, perhaps from Quickling Robes, or Robe Of The Geomancers.
    • More control, or more blocks (more Staffs of Chask?) at the cost of some damage. Perhaps this would let one have a better chance of standing on vps.
    • Another dwarf wizard instead of the elf.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2016
    Pyrious and Melancthon like this.
  5. Lucky Dice

    Lucky Dice Thaumaturge

    I give you my small thing that I couldn't make happen. And maybe I'll learn about building a priest

    Unnerving Strike + Bad Luck.
     
  6. Deepweed

    Deepweed Thaumaturge

    I would like to see a Touch of Death-based build. I haven't had much success with this one... It goes through parries so you should probably use no melee attacks. It might work well with Martyr's Blessing on the opponent or a wizard with Punishing Bolts and control cards, but I'll leave it up to you to take a crack at it.
     
    ParodyKnaveBob and gulo gulo like this.
  7. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    I've sort of blended the Bad Luck+Rocket Dash and Bad Luck+Unnerving Strike together currently, though I don't know if 6 unnerving strikes is sufficient (and it's hard to add more in without making the build quite different). Thus far I haven't found the malfunctions from Rocket Dash too useful, though it is of course far better getting malfunctions from these towards other laser cards. Bad Luck is proving a little more useful for Unnerving Strike, but not so much that I wouldn't prefer some other card most of the time. Overall, I think Bad Luck is more useful than I initially gave it credit for; though not so much that I will use as many in future decks (8, not a lot I realise, but sufficient).

    I may have to rethink the number of games played with each deck, as the ratings might/will vary wildly between each.

    Edit: Rocket Dash Malfunction (laser spray) just won me a very tight game. Bad luck wasn't attached at the time though.
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2016
  8. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    Malfunctioning Rocketmen: (H)Priest+2 Elf warriors, with Bad Luck, Rocket Dash & Unnerving Strike.

    Battles, Rating:
    Starting Rating: 1,276
    Maximum Rating Achieved: 1436
    Finishing Rating: 1397
    19 wins, 11 losses (+1 d/c loss, +1 loss accidentally using the wrong deck)

    Characters:
    Image
    KCC2.jpg
    Text:
    Unlucky
    Level 15 Human Priest

    Rocketman
    Level 14 Elf Warrior

    Helicopter
    Level 13 Elf Warrior

    Overview:
    3 legendaries, 8 epics, 4 rares, 10 uncommons, 3 commons
    None of the rares items are integral to the theme of the deck; though Aegis of the Defender is very useful on the priest, and Rapier of Misfortune is a good source of Bad Luck.
    Bad Luck: Since the premise of the deck is to place Bad Luck on one's own characters (as well as the enemies), it is a good idea to use cards unaffected by dice rolls (Reliable Mail, Force Field, Lifesaving Block), backed up with protecting blocks from the priest. Frenzy Auras are more useful then in other decks as well, as it is less likely they'll be knocked off (1/3 chance with Bad Luck attached). It would be interesting to use it on a wizard for Arcane Aura as well, perhaps with Heirloom Laser Gun for maximum shenanigans.

    Discussion:
    I was slightly happier with my play here, though the deck could be improved upon. I switched the deck around a bit for some more/less movement at times, the final product was possibly a bit sluggish for against wizards, but it did well against warriors. I played a fair range of various opponents. I won most of the melee tussles, and was about on slightly worse against more magical based decks.

    Bad Luck+Rocket Dash: Bad luck changes the chance of a malfunction from 1/3 to 1/2. The malfunctions are: Drained Battery (with minimal laser attacks only a slight problem, but never useful (excepting a possible cantrip for priority)); Battery Explosion (overall, marginally better for the player); Meltdown (generally you'll keep a move card before moving in, so this is good); Laser Spray (since you get to chose where you go, this is usually very good. Since you don't get to check LOS after starting the move, plan your Laser Spray position first). So, that is about a 1/4 (1/2*1/2) chance of a useful malfunction, without any real downside (as regards malfunctions) most of the time. However, it does come at the cost of having to use two cards and either handicapping yourself in terms of build or else in blocks/armor rolls, as well as an expensive pair of boots, so overall I don't think it's worth it. Rocket Dash on its lonesome might be better.

    One malfunction lost me a game for sure, and another almost certainly won me a game (both Laser Spray. The loss was because I couldn't move beside an enemy character to finish her off without killing my own guy, so had to skedaddle away to later lose; not from accidentally killing my team-mate :p). Other than these two critical moments, I would say the malfunctions were slightly to my advantage, but other cards would probably have been more useful.

    Bad Luck+Unnerving Strike: A 2+ block roll becomes a 5, so one can be reasonably sure one's attack will go through and knock off a block, if they have it. Defender's Block is still a pain unless you're throwing Bad Luck all over the place. The alternatives to using bad luck are good positioning or chancing your arm (a 2+ block becomes a 4+). It is a good combo, but I didn't think it so useful that I'd bring along Bad Luck specifically for Unnerving Strike.

    Pros, Cons, Possible Improvements:
    Pros:
    • Does consistent and strong damage.
    • Overcomes blocks and armour.
    • Barring the Malfunctions and card draw, doesn't rely too much on luck.
    • Rocket Dash can be used to chase down fleeing characters, running away or securing VPs easily.
    Cons:
    • Quite sluggish (I was however, trying to maximize the amount of rocket dashes I got).
    • Bad Lucks often didn't do much.
    Possible Improvements:
    • More movement! (change Priest's Rocket Boots for team movement, and from weapons possibly)
    • Have better luck (not run so much Bad Luck)
    • Try and add some cycling/card draw.
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2016
  9. Inkfingers

    Inkfingers Thaumaturge

    This is a very fun idea - I love the concept of using Malfunctions offensively.

    I'd note that your post makes it sound like you expect Bad Luck to reduce your die rolls by 2, given the odds you laid out in your Discussion section. As it only reduces rolls by 1, you might want to change your odds to reflect that - you have a 1/2 chance of laser malfunction, rather than 2/3 like you listed, and Arcane Aura/Frenzy Aura would have a 1/3 chance of being knocked off, rather than the 1/6 you list.
     
  10. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    Whoopsies, can't believe I missed that.
     
  11. Kalin

    Kalin Begat G'zok

    Probably because we keep asking for it to be changed to -2 to make it marginally useful.

    Thanks, Killer, for taking my silly idea and making it work!
     
    ParodyKnaveBob and FDrybob like this.
  12. SirSrsly

    SirSrsly Lizardman Priest

    3x Touch of Death priests in Triple Duel works fantastic. Everyone runs blocking mace warriors and this goes right through that.

    ALSO
    I remember seeing a Holy Armor + Firestorm build that was interesting. Holy Armor activates even on allied damage. Can definitely connect with the new Avenging Touch item....
     
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  13. visak13

    visak13 Ogre

    Unless someone decides to use Oak Roots against you ;) That is after meltdown
     
    ParodyKnaveBob likes this.
  14. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    Grim Reapers: Two priests with Touch of Death, and back-up control wizard.

    Battles, Rating:
    Starting Rating: 1397
    Maximum Rating Achieved: 1390
    Finishing Rating: 1369
    10 wins, 10 losses

    Characters:
    Image:
    KCC3.jpg
    Text:
    Clotho
    Level 18 Dwarf Wizard

    Mamumuno
    Level 18 Human Priest

    Gnorgol
    Level 10 Elf Priest

    Overview:
    0 legendaries, 4 epics, 3 rares, 15 uncommons, 8 commons.
    Pretty easy to make, or something similar, though maybe some thought as to how to make it better is needed.
    Touch Of Death: 14 in all, with Martyr's Blessing thrown in (to use on enemy if feeling suicidal). The Impenetrable Nimbi were a byproduct of the Touch of Deaths. A few Entangling Roots to possibly hold step warriors in place and make the enemy have big hands (hopefully).

    Discussion:
    I was hoping for a good amount of warriors (preferably with step attacks) as usual. Instead I met mostly draw decks (which I couldn't really utilise the Touch of Deaths effectively against), savage bursters and a few 1/1/1s. I managed to kill one guy using entangling roots+martyr blessing+punishing attacks+impenetrable nimbus (too many cards for a combo). Another time the blessing back-fired somewhat. Most of the time I just didn't feel confident enough to use the blessing on my opponents. Cardotron led to this deck's downfall: Two losses in a row (I am really terrible with Impenetrable Nimbus).
    Touch of Death: Quite hard to use. Besides not getting the warrior opponents I wanted, it's pretty difficult to get beside an enemy while they have largish hands, and sticking close by. I really like it as an occasional card (as well as the other punishing attacks), but there were too many in this deck, I felt. It can do massive damage, but it requires the right circumstances.

    Pros, Cons, Possible Improvements:
    Pros:
    • Cheap (rarity-wise) to build around (Touch of Death).
    • Does alright against warriors.
    • Pretty maneuverable (thanks to wizard).
    • Is capable of huge damage.
    • Quite a bit of defense.

    Cons:
    • On average, didn't do much damage (possibly the fault of my play).
    • Damage was based almost solely on opponent's hand size.
    • A Touch of Death+Martyr Blessing wasn't easy to pull off.
    • Difficult to use well.

    Possible Improvements:
    • Mix in some more reliable damage cards? Would trigger melee blocks/armour though.
    • Maybe add some more entangling roots.
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2016
    ParodyKnaveBob and 40c_rudy like this.
  15. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    Vengeful Pyromaniacs: Firestorming Wizard and Two Priests with Avenging Touch/Holy Armor.

    Battles, Rating:
    Starting Rating: 1,369
    Maximum Rating Achieved: 1,414
    Finishing Rating: 1,371
    9 wins, 9 losses

    Characters:
    Image:
    KCC4.jpg
    Text:
    Hephaestus
    Level 17 Dwarf Wizard

    Asclepius
    Level 20 Dwarf Priest

    Paean
    Level 18 Human Priest

    Overview:
    6 legendaries, 4 epics, 6 rares, 7 uncommons, 7 commons.
    To make a decent firestorm wizard you need a few legendaries. Avenging Touch is common though, so the priests can be fairly cheap (rarity wise).
    Firestorm: 14; though the max. is 18, some armour removal was needed (also wanted to get the most use out of the tokens). Obviously when using Firestorm you need some way to negate the damage, so some heals and impenetrable nimbi are in order.
    Avenging Touch: 9 in all (max. 20), a bit sub-par in that respect (though I didn't have all that many Scar of the Heroes before starting this deck).

    Discussion:
    Initially I used two firestorm wizards, but that proved to be too self-destructive. I feel I should have done better with this deck, my play was pretty poor. I do have another similarish deck that I use from time to time that is a bit more abusive of draws, buffing and nimbus; but I didn't want to make this deck boring to play. This deck was quite polarizing: Either I won or I lost, there weren't many (very) close games. It was better versus wizardy decks than melee. The Firestorms back-fired a lot, many times I would have been better off dropping them (but played them anyway).
    Scar Of The Hero is, to my mind, a very strong item. The Avenging Touch can be used on your own guy to heal the other, and it triggers Talented Healer if attached. And of course, it's an added bonus if you get to use it on the enemy. Demonic Power is obviously brilliant.
    Holy Armor is one of my favourite cards. At minimum (everyone at full health) it will reduce damage by half a point, on average, and at maximum (everyone below full health; which will almost certainly be the case if you are using firestorms all over the place), it will reduce damage (if including healing as damage reduction) by 2 points, on average - The equal of Reliable Mail, at a lower quality.
    Firestorm - Does damage indiscriminately to everyone. Has to be offset with other cards (armour, healing, etc.) but it is pretty easy to hit the enemy characters with it.

    Pros, Cons, Possible Improvements:
    Pros:
    • Can do lots of damage.
    • Lots of healing.
    • Doesn't need Line of Sight.

    Cons:
    • Can do lots of damage (to self).
    • Often have to drop Firestorms as they'd do more harm than good.
    • Not very maneuverable.

    Possible Improvements:
    • More nimbus/buffing/draws.
    • More movement.
    • Some more regular attacks instead of some of the firestorms.
     
    40c_rudy, Sir Veza, Flaxative and 4 others like this.
  16. Inkfingers

    Inkfingers Thaumaturge

    This is a really fun setup. There's not a ton more to say on the subject beyond that, but I want you to know I really like the concept and execution here.

    I might consider using Raging Battler as your dwarf skill - the Toughnesses will usually be preventing just as much damage as a Reliable Mail would, overall, and having those traits will help you make the deck even more narrowed down and focused. You could swap the token over to Focused Pyromancy, even if that's not technically token efficient, for a little bit more damage, too.
     
    ParodyKnaveBob likes this.
  17. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    I was considering Raging Battler; but I tended to hold onto some attack cards, and it would lead to more self-damage. As regards Focused Pyromancy, the damage is being dealt to (nearly) everyone, so I wasn't sure if that would be better or not. Probably it would be better overall though, yeah.

    I did like playing it, it needs a different mind-set to other decks as regards positioning.
     
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  18. Lucky Dice

    Lucky Dice Thaumaturge

    I was doing handicap quests and I noticed that Demonic Revenge can be cancelled by Defensiveness. So... maybe some priest with both of these? Idk how do you get more defensiveness than 1 on that though, but hey.

    Speaking of that cancelling, what if you loaded something that harms you over and over and just used Adaptable to generate a resistance for that? Idk, ideas.

    More seriously, I challenge you to play with Genetic Engineering and Gene Therapy as much as it's possible.
     
    billiska likes this.
  19. Killer74

    Killer74 Hydra

    For the cancelling, something in the line of Demonic Revenge/Travelling Curse/Firestorm? It's an interesting idea, but I don't know if it's playable with only a maximum of one Adaptable each. I can try.
     
  20. billiska

    billiska Ogre

    I challenge you to throw raging strikes at people with battle field training and finish them off with fire attacks.
     
    Tyro likes this.

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