The Daily Deal

Seems that the only good place for 4 illusion is Death March League, it can be played with 4 illusions with very good winrate
Thought i've bought 5th and 6th Illusions from today's DD. They are... so... attractive

 

Just to bookmark / help newer players out. Here's a list of the majority of items @peonprop has reviewed. Keep in mind that this is pre-summer16-nerf

http://forums.cardhunter.com/threads/the-daily-deal.6286/page-89#post-107162

 

Tasty, Tasty Staff today.

Really tempting for the novelty factor but I'll pass. It's just not worth it when there are more powerful staves available and you only own 33% of all total items
I'll wait for a better item.

Also, a treat for vampires today with Wuuna's Vampiric Shroud and Vampire's Blade. Two very solid items.

 

I'm extra tempted because I feel like I of all people should own a full playset of Tasty Tasty staves (and then run a joke build of Delicious, Delicious Dwarves), and I am so very close - this would be my fifth.

 

If you haven't already trademarked "Delicious, Delicious Dwarves", I suggest you do so IMMEDIATELY. That's an awesome party name (and/or band name)!

 

Yay Rook!

Rook is extremely cool. It looks cool. It is cool. You can't get the cards on it anywhere else, making it a truly unique item. Although Battleaxe Block is basically just Block, Extra Hack is a very good card. Because of, you know, cantrip. You can even hack your own teammates to gain priority for a turn if you want! Not recommended.

Personally I think it's one of the best tokenless shields.

 

Skull Of Savage Iljin is useless now right?

 

I still like Savage Curse for warriors/wizards. And Inspiring Presence isn't a bad thing.

 

Oh my god Searing Pain! My first

 

Partying Buckler also sounds like a lot of fun! Where can I get one? $:^ P

(Parrying Buckler and Black Cat Buckler actually need a minor token.)

 

Oops, edited.

I wish there was a Partying Buckler, though.

 

Rook is probably my favorite item out of the PA expansion, solely because of Extra Hack. Battleaxe Block is pretty good for it's cost, too, and adds excellent flavor to the item. However, it's one of those items that doesn't see much play because most of the time you want to use an item with better and/or more blocks in that slot. I pretty much only play SP, and even then I rarely use it even though I like it so much. (Insert "World's Most Interesting Man 'I don't always play Rook...'" meme here. )

 

It's been a long time since anyone posted here, huh.

In any case, yesterday I was just thinking to myself after playing some Triple Duel, "wish I had more Riptides", and today, The Daily Deal delivers .

 

I have more time now so...thought I'd do some reviews. Help the newer players out and maybe spark some discussion on these forums that have been pretty quiet of late. Note that my reviews are geared towards multiplayer.

Mindless Aggression
Controlled Overswing is not a good card. Your oldest card is usually a good card you saved over from a previous round, or an armor or block card. Both make for terrible discards. Its damage is fine but it isn't even that high for a Bronze+ card. Strong Bludgeon is an 8 damage Bronze= card with no other effect, so one would expect a Bronze+ card with no other effect to deal 9 damage. Controlled Overswing gives you 1 more damage but makes you discard a card. Not worth it at all. What's worse, the high density of Controlled Overswings means that it's likely you’ll have 2 of these as the oldest cards in hand with no cards in between, meaning you're essentially going to be spending 2 of them for 10 damage. You could try mitigating the effects of the discard with cards like Officer’s Harness but it just isn't worth it. Best case scenario, you have only Controlled Overswing in hand so there's no downside. Worst case, your hand is full of high quality cards that you can't afford to discard. Well let me decide for you, don't play this item. The only thing going for it is that it is the weapon with the highest base damage at 60, but damage isn't all I look for in a weapon. Would not purchase.

Substitutes: Trust me, you wouldn't want anything that looks like this item.

Epics:
Incense Of The Caged Demon
Good item for card draw. Most people turn to Martyr Blessings for minor token card draw but Unholy Energy is more consistent, albeit more painful.

Pendant Of Artax
A fire wizard does not usually want Telekinesis, a control wizard does not want Glob of Flame, and no wizard wants Little Zap.

Rockshard Robes
Decent tokenless source of Resistant Hide, but Firehide Robes are usually preferable for singleplayer. Not a bad choice if you want Resistant Hide for multiplayer.

Notable Rares:
Vampire's Blade
Good tokenless vampire weapon, though vamps don't usually have problems budgeting tokens.

 

Mullik's Blisterstaff
Firstly, let me talk about Force Cone. Telekinesis is usually preferred because control over where your target ends up is very important, but Force Cone is acceptable too and has its advantages. It ignores terrain that obstructs your wizard's line of sight like Illusory Barrier or Smoke Bomb. It also has the ability to move multiple characters at once. Now, on to the item. This is the tokenless item with the most Force Cones on it. However, you can get Force Cones in large quantities from the Arcane Item slot. There are also two largely unplayable cards in Firestorm. The biggest problem with the Staff is that your Staff is usually your main source of damage, and using this means your damage potential is drastically lowered. There are ways around this, such as using it on a pure control wizard that is protecting other damage dealers, simply playing a purely controlling build that relys on victory square wins, or using it to supplement another strategy of yours, such as Ready To Strike. Whichever way you want to go about using it, make sure you have a plan in mind and be prepared to have to build around it. Two additional notes: If there's one place this Staff shines, it's in the Death March league. Force Cone can push enemy characters off the victory square and yours onto it. It also ignores the Illusory Barriers spammed in the league. Another place where this Staff is used is in singleplayer, where it is respectable for Firestorm farming.

Subtitutes: Staff Of The Inferno (tokenless Firestorm)
None for tokenless Force Cones

Epics:
Flaming Sword
Use Blazing Shortsword instead at a massively discounted no tokens.

Perfect Flexibility
Advanced Battlefield Training can create some weird combos and situations, and this is the only item with two of it.

The Twins
Only item with Jim's Magic Missile, essentially Sorcerous Blast that's worse against armor. Both the Magic Missile and Glob of Flame have good synergy with Curse Of Fragility and Unholy Curse.

Notable Rares:
Automatic Shield
Good for some campaign missions, like the Astral ones.

Bronzebottom Cuirass
Two powerful buffing cards on one armor. For those that want offense at the expense of defense.

Draining Console
Decent vamp item. Healing Beacon isn't great though.

Superb Evasion
If you want Elvish Scampers, this is the way to get it.

 

This is also a very nice weapon against the Tombstones in the AI campaign module. Also, interesting side note, pre-CM (think pre-Vengeance) this staff was used in a build to get to 1900 (not by me), for whatever that's worth.

 

Bynzer's Black Spear
Vampires have very few good options in the divine weapon slot in terms of draining attacks, so often they have to include weapons without draining attacks that shore up their other problems, mainly Sundering Strikes for armor. Bynzer's is one of the few good weapons with draining attacks. 4 Spears of Darkness brings consistency and the range of 2 is relevant for vamps that need all the reach they can get with their limited movement. Touch of Death can be a surprise finisher that gets past the popular Parry as it's a Magic Attack. The only thing I dislike about this item is Mass Frenzy, as you'll typically be bringing along a support priest who can do all the buffing anyway, and drawing a Mass Frenzy on your vamp instead of an attack isn't ideal, but I suppose Mass Frenzy is never bad so I can't complain too much. Still, this is clearly a powerful item, and if you ever plan on playing vamps, it makes for a solid purchase.

Epics:
Charring Staff
Every card here is pretty good, but the only real marquee attack here is Ember Burst. Wall of Fire is plentiful on Arcane Items and Flame Spit is pretty much just Glob Of Flame/ Flame Jet, both of which can be found on Arcane Items too. Still, not too bad to fill in the gaps while you wait for one of the legendary staves.

Riptide
Has a lot of good tech, only missing step attacks. Especially good in Triple Duel.

Spaceproof Carapace
If you want Force Field on your Heavy Armor, the choice is between this for Grounding Plates or Spiked Forcemail for Barbed Platemail.

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

Madman's Paint Palette
Only Arcane Item with Acid Jet, if you're into that sort of thing.

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

 

Jornin's Figurine
Peonprop put this perfectly and succinctly and there is nothing more I can add.

Epics:
Axamander's Ringmail
1 of the 6 Divine Armors with double Arrogant Armor, but also one of the worst. Hold out for Untouchable Plate, or better yet, the more stylish Holy Knight Armor. You need to have a reason for wanting Arrogant Armor. Most of the time it's for a Radiation terrain priest.

Corrosive Ethereality
There are more focused skills for both Ethereal Form and Acid Leak, and neither of them are particularly sought after.

Cottonwood Staff
For wizards that want to give overeager warriors a surprise.

Notable Rares:
Incense Of Roiled Air
Fine Mass Frenzy item.

Packleader's Boots
Team movement, self buffing and trait cycling. Best on a melee character. You may prefer Captain's Gumshoes or Captain Cedric's Boots instead for minor token team movement.

 

Silver Lightning
There are several things you can do with this staff, or more specifically, Inquisition Bolt. Firstly, you can use it to counter the metagame. The fact that it's a Silver damage attack makes it well-positioned in the metagame that’s full of Monstrous Hides and Creature Of The Nights. You can build a deck around giving your opponents forms so that Inquisition Bolt can deal more damage, through cards such as Spark Of Undeath or Walpurgis Night. Of course, there are also no shortage of werewolves running around that are good targets as well. Next, you can run a warrior with Devastating Blows to take advantage of the revealed hands. Lastly, you can simply use the knowledge you have gleaned to put your opponent in a tough spot. The next thing you should consider is whether this staff or Silver Justice is more suitable to your needs. If you need to save some tokens, Silver Justice is preferable, but if you don't mind spending more on tokens for damage then Silver Lightning is the way to go.

Epics:
Eixtl's Winged Mail
Only Divine Armor with Wings of Faith, and a pretty good one at that. It's not often you'll want Wings of Faith but it's useful in some leagues.

Eych's Amulet
Reflexive Teleport is overcosted, and Stone Spikes are usually the filler on items.

Icicle Shield
Not the worst tokenless shield, but Flimsy Block is pretty much a dead card against teams without wizards.

Notable Rares:
None