Do you plan to do a poll for every item type? I am rather curious what people consider the best. Aegis Of The Defender: Defender's Block is undeniably potent, with a card draw, blocking for allies and a pretty reliable 3+ roll. I'd honestly say it's the best block players have access to, above emerald blocks like Reflect Missile and Laser Block. Aegis of the Defender is the best source of the block, instantly making it stand out, though it does cost a yellow token and has an unimpressive third card. Generally a no-brainer for priests who prefer to assist from a distance to let them block for their allies, though it faces stiff competition among warrior shields. Black Cat Buckler: This was my pick for the best Shield. Parry is the undisputed king of undervalued cards, having a very generous 2+ roll AND a draw a card effect for a measly bronze quality, and much of the game's balance appears to rest on its status as such. When you're dealing with melee this is the item to pick, it's only a blue token and it offers three of the cards you want. Only problem, it's pretty much dead weight against wizards and pure magic priests, but it more than makes up for it by just being that damn good against warriors and melee priests. One of few level 9 items that stays useful even when level ~15 items become available. Slippery Shield: Hard to Pin down is a better block and a better move than Surging Shield Block, but SBB is simply far better because it allows you to move while blocking, making it function as a sort of cantrip move that lets Warriors close the distance between them and ranged threats. Slippery Shield simply can't compete with that. Bloodshield Of Xoc: I don't have this item, but it looks like a very good Block Any blue token shield if all you care about is reliably blocks. Bloodied Block is as reliable as a block can get while Disorienting Block is an extremely powerful effect in some leagues, maps and modules. The big problem is that aside from that one Disorienting Block you're not getting anything out of this shield, no card draw or extra mobility or anything, which really diminishes its value. Hexagon Shield: The first tokenless contender and a strong one. SBB is great to have on a tokenless item, and Hexagon Shield is excellent against the ever-popular step attacks of warriors, especially for Priests who want to avoid melee combat. I could see this being a go-to pick if you're worried about warriors with your priest but can't invest in triple Parries or you like the potential mobility Hexagon Shield offers. It does have issues with a lack of card draw and dead cards against magic though, which makes it a very narrow pick for a shield. Hawlic's Surging Shield: One SBB is very good, three is simply great. Very good to have if you want a Warrior or Priest who can chase Wizards/Magic Priests down or otherwise move while blocking, though SBB does have a 4+ roll making it easy for an Arcane/Electric Wizard to get around it. It fulfills one specific purpose and does it well, though again I find it hard to give up the card draw in favour of mobility. Croker's Lucky Laser Shield: An item I've never used. Lifesaving Block is excellent when it triggers, but its picky trigger means it can often just sit in your hand and clog up space, making it an annoying draw early in a match. Laser Block, meanwhile, offers a reliable block against any type of attack and creates a random Laser attack rather than draw from the deck. This makes it useful for pulling a magic attack when struck by magic, though it does mean you stand the chance to pull a laser attack you don't want. Lasers are fun IMO, but I think I'd rather just draw from my deck. Not sure if it's overall worth the yellow token, it's carried by the Laser Block and I'm just not convinced. Buckler Of Protection: Jarring Block is bad. It just is, the 2 damage to self can be mitigated, but for bronze you could do so much better. This item is carried by the Defender's, but I'm unconvinced it's enough and whether the other blue token Defender's Block items might not be better. Yvette's Downfall: The consensus on Shifting Block on the test server was that it's simply not good enough for its quality. Getting a random form from the pool of Spirit, Vampire and Werewolf already seems like it's not that great, but the 1/4 chance for Zombie Form just kills the card and by extension items with it. I'm not touching items with it unless I'm feeling gimmicky, Zombie Form is removed or Blue Manchu adds the fabled Dragon Form to the game. And now, some honorable mentions! Bullseye Shield and Magnetic Shield: Bulleye Shield is Black Cat Buckler's weird little cousin, with a lower token cost, higher rarity and an anti-magic focus. Catch Arrow has a hard time competing with Parry, having a worse success rate, higher rarity and more limited itemizations, but this shield is a favourite pick of mine in many SP modules and a good counter to magic when it's not Hard to Block (too bad it usually is!). For a blue token you upgrade that Missile Block to an Absorbing Block, incrediby good when you get that juicy heal, overvalued if you don't! Vanity Mirror: I might be biased, but this Shield is a favourite of mine in certain EttSC modules to return some attacks right back at the enemy. There might be more places where Reflecting Block comes in handy, too. Rook: Quite an oddity. Battleaxe Block honestly makes most block cards just look bad and Extra Hack is a one-of-a-kind. That Cantrip attack can come in very handy, especially when boosted, and overall this shield is a good tokenless pick for its cheap Block Any and surprising offense. Automatic Shield: Auto Block wrecks certain SP modules, like totally trivializes some of them, while its intended use against certain builds (LOOKING AT YOU BURFFT YOU KOW WHO YOU ARE) has been disputed and doesn't seem to have made it a MP staple. At the end of the day Auto Block is nothing special against most forms of attack and most Burffters probably have some way of dealing with the card, leaving it as a card that might be too specific for its own good for general MP use. Perhaps in certain leagues it'd fare better! Blazing Buckler: Probably the best tokenless Parry item, rounding off with a Flaring Torch for some damage, the chance to push off attachments and a counter to forms. Wounded Block is kinda bad since it's very unreliable until below half HP at which point it's still not too reliable, but overall this is a good pick for some modules and a token-stingy frontline fighter. Shield Of Ultimate Dodging: For the dodging fanatics out there. Throon's Quick Laser Shield: A Dodge, a Laser Block and a Subtle Parry, all for a blue token. A very fun pick, the only blue token Laser Block and the chance for good card advantage with Dodge if lucky and Subtle Parry if you can draw out a weak attack from the opponent. Overall a very random shield, you might get much more out of it than its value suggests or you simply don't.
Its missing Quinn`s Buckler and if not my favorite close to it. Dodge its very potent and versatile card, having 2 for no token.
Some decks that can play the long game benefit from Unreliable Heirloom Shield and friends too. The other noteworthy ones are mostly Single player stuff that offers a drawback to cycle, like Acrobat Shield, Shield Of The Aggressor and the lunging bash/shifthing block/creature on the night tokenless, and the parry/lifesafing b./lifesaving b. one. Might still be missing some obvious stuff
I was locked into Hexagon shield on my dwarf warrior since I had my power tokens assigned to weapons/helm/armour/skill/racial. Just didn't seem worth the token drop elsewhere to upgrade it.
No mention to Steel-rimmed Buckler? If you do like a Surging Shield Block over parry but don't want to spend a then this is what you want. Impetuous Shield is best shield for 1 HP quests. Not only that but lifesaving block can trick your opponents into thinking you are empty handed but really you are waiting for them to fully commit their attacks. Also it is a Block Any which is also nice.
I'm actually liking Beacon Shield over Aegis these days For tokenless I like Snitrick's for it's versatility of 'Block Any'. Icy Block is much better than it used to be
Some others that haven't been mentioned: Blazing Buckler Parry for tokenless, an annoying, hard to reliably fish out block, and an attack that punishes the very popular werewolves. Pretty nice. Fabrian's Shield Arguably the best shield if you are expecting to face wizards, amount of card draw is as goods it gets. Shield Of The Frog/Antler Shield For those days when you just want to fool around with Jump Back. I'm kinda sad that there's no Catching Buckler. Parrying Buckler needs a counterpart.
I've been experimenting with the Chilled Buckler and Icy Block is definitely handy. I don't like carrying 3 parries in a wizard-heavy rotation so have been testing more 'Block Any' options.
