The Daily Deal

@Gingrich Yurr Thanks!

 

Vampire Knight's Plate
This item is certainly thematic, fitting the bill for our friend Yurik... but is it any good? come with me dear reader - and I will probably muddy the waters further. For this one we really need to look at the cards individually
Swarm Of Bats This is the money card, the gold card, what you're likely wanting when you choose this item. The possibilities are endless for confusing your opponent and getting cantrip type attacks in from behind. But requires a bit more planning than other blocks because of said possibilities, in order to get maximum utility
Arrogant Armor, while it works for Yurik in his SP appearance, the potential for use in MP are limited as traits can be really beneficial too. And if you decide that you want to run arrogant armor for a walpurgis built, or to protect from negative traits, there are several items that have two copies for a priest. Literally doubling your chances of drawing it.
Vampire's Kiss is a strong vamp attack, and its secondary discard effect can be great for armor removal, but also disruptive for them, and potentially you, depending on what they draw to replace.
So all three cards have their uses, but don't really fit together easily; so this item does't really come together in the way most great legendaries do. The most likely use is to stack as many swarm of bats in your deck as possible to maximize drawing. So that would probably lead to some sort of mobile vamp, and that could be very powerful, but then again you don't see it much these days.
I have 2, not bought any, used once or twice, would only purchase if you want to min/max swarm of bats

Epics:
3-stage Rocket Boots
The problem with a charge strategy is that as soon as your opponent knows about it, it is very easy to counter, and good players will always be aware. But an unexpected, and well concealed Rocket Charge is one of the things that can really swing a game. The legendary option is probably better, but this is still a fine item - I do use in death march.

Granwick's Ringmail
You are better getting your harnesses on boot/helmets, and finding you activating armors in the heavy armor slot. This is not good...

Ihibrin's Holy Droplets
Soothing Darkness is hard to get good value of, it is far more easy/reliable to go for Medical Kit or Silver Healing Ring

Notable rares:
Storge's Proboscis It is amazing how many of these are Aloyzo creations. This is a popular choice in some of the leagues where flying is used.

 

Bloodshield Of Xoc

Spoiler: peonprop review

Bloodshield Of Xoc (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
It isn't much of a secret that I had an unfavorable opinion of Bloodied Block but this is one card that I'll admit I wildly misevaluated. I've previously argued that Bloodied Block trades with the weakest attack at your opponent's disposal making it much worse than something that has a chance of failing against test attacks. While this makes you an underdog in a Parry heavy melee environment, I failed to consider other matchups. Bloodied Block is secretly one of the best magic blocks available. No need to adjust your monitor, you read right. I said magic block. The average wizard has a much smaller damage range compared to other classes, meaning that test attack isn't going to do much less than the subsequent ones. More importantly, the first spell they sling at you is likely going to be a control spell like Telekinesis to gain some breathing room. Having a decent to guaranteed shot of blocking control spells, even those assisted by Spark Generator, can often mean the difference between getting an attack in and doing nothing for the rest of the round. Bloodshield of Xoc is the best source of Bloodied Block and also gives you a gap closing Disorienting Block to boot. I am still of the opinion that it is better to over prepare for melee attacks than to hedge against spells but getting a timely back attack off of Disorienting Block can lead to the occasional blowout. Purchase if you want to prepare for a wizard heavy metagame.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Do not buy legendary shields. Blocking the initial attack is a much bigger crapshoot since the AI throws attacks at you at random. If you're spending a token towards shields, drawing a card from cheaper Parry, Catch Arrow, and Defender's Block shields will on average have more of an impact. Also, you will always know what you're facing so using narrow melee or magic block shields is not an issue. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Acrobat's Aegis (R) , Backflip Buckler (E) ,Jaguar Buckler (E) , Terror-Forged Shield (E) , Boggling Shield (R) , Shield Of The Tumbler (E)

@peonprop put forward a well argued case for why this is a good shield when you are expecting a lot of wizards in the meta. Three block anything cards, with one that gets you closer would seem to fit the bill. I'm afraid that I disagree - not with his points so much, just that this item does not do enough for me, and there are better options out there for this scenario. If I thought there was a high chance of wizards, I would have a combination of team moves, extra moves, step attacks, Vanguard, and Vengeance to counter them. For a shield, I would go for Potent Heirloom Shield, Buckler Of Protection, Yvette's Buckler or the popular Aegis Of The Defender. Using the philosophy that I need block anything cards, and (as always) extra draw is king, as I would rather have more of my own cards. Both opinions are valid, but this is mine...
I have one, not purchased, never used, would not purchase

Epics:
Berserker
Battle Rage is the best trait in the game, but it is not good enough for me to sacrifice extra deck shrinking traits for Barge and Raging Strike

Bloody Shield
Shield Block is an underrated card and poorly itemized... this is a better shield than it gets credit for, but still unlikely to compete with other popular choices (see above in part)

Elphala's Healing Ring
just use Silver Healing Ring instead

Notable Rares:
Blazing Torchsword Compare to Blazing Shortword... one less Fiery Stab, but better supporting cards
Evil Hourglass you handy (and only) source of Doom... good for taking down bosses
Mark 2 Broadsword really interesting item with powerful attacks, but a bit unfocused. I have tried, and failed, to make it work in a deck... maybe you can?

 

I don't advocate using Bloodshield Of Xoc because it has all purpose blocks but rather because it has the best magic blocks in Bloodied Block. The only time I would use anything other than Parrying Buckler with only a minor token available is if the meta is jam packed with wizards and Bloodshield of Xoc is the wizard hosing shield for the job. If I really wanted a anti-wizard card draw shield I'd go with Fabrian's Shield but that often isn't good enough against Hard to Block spells. Having reliable blocks is more important than card draw against wizards. If your blocks aren't going to trigger, you might as well use Parry. Long story short, just use Parrying Buckler.

 

I guess I misunderstood a bit... you like the high percentage Bloodied Block as a counter to Spark Generator and other hard to block effects that wizards get.
Fair enough, but I think I would still go for all purpose blocks because even in a wizard heavy meta you will still see a lot of warriors, and I like the idea of blocking anything and getting as much draw as possible.

 

Countess Jovana's Talisman

Spoiler: peonprop review

Countess Jovana's Talisman (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
I'm not a fan of playing weak cards if it can be avoided so the Sapping Spear is a major turnoff. Vamps have access to Wuuna's Vampiric Shroud/Flax's Thirsty Vial so you really need to want that Vampire's Kiss on a tokenless item. Vampire's Kiss is decent at getting rid of armor so having one or two on a vamp is highly useful. However, I'm more inclined to get it from Count Yurik's Teeth or even Vampire's Teeth to avoid running Sapping Spear. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Vampire's Kiss isn't really necessary so Wuuna's Vampiric Shroud is just the more consistent choice. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Vampire's Teeth (E)

As peonprop points out there are lots of tokenless vamp items out there... this is a pretty good one but it all comes down to how much you like Vampire's Kiss and (Sapping Spear)... Vampire's kiss is a strong vamp attack, and its secondary discard effect can be great for armor removal, but also disruptive for them, and potentially you, depending on what they draw to replace. I will have a few in my deck, but don't like to stack too many as that can be a risky strategy. My tokenless go to, is the classic Hand Of Melvelous but there are plenty of options in this catagory, so choose one that suits your playstyle...
I have one, never bought, never used, would not purchase

Epics:
Armor Of Negation
I suppose it might work in a rad terrain deck? but if you want Arrogant Armor there are plenty of options that have two copies, and if you want cleansing effects, you can get two Cleansing Ray for tokenless on epic Cleansing Hide Armor or the legendary St. Malaj's Cuirass

Talisman Of Grief
All of these cards are hard to get good value from... there are soooo many better options out there

Uplifting Faith
Another great Aloyzo addition gives the option to add even more Wings Of Faith to your league builds

Notable Rares:
Some ok-ish items, but nothing really stands out today

 

Forval's Chain

Spoiler: peonprop review

Forval's Chain (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Forval's Chain isn't unplayable but it is thoroughly unexciting. Path Of Knives is at its best paired with control cards that move opposing characters like Telekinesis or Force Cannon. Even then, it's a huge liability against a wide array of cards that benefit from taking small amounts of damage like Vengeance or Martyr Blessing. Short Perplexing Ray on the other hand deserves to see more play but the good items it's found on are overcosted when compared to items with other controlling spells. In any case, Path of Knives and Short Perplexing Ray don't work all that well together and there are better items for both cards. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Short Perplexing Ray isn't bad as an emergency move and occasional armor removal but Path of Knives does too little without a lot of support. There are very few instances where there are few enough mobs for single target spells to be effective and they have anything bigger than a Walk. You are better off packing more offensive spells or, against bosses, control spells that keep them away from the entire team. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Blood Locket (R) , Booming Ring (E), Sarigo's Rod (E)

Can't really improve on the above review... I suggest you check it out. Plus I am lazy today...
I don't own it, and I'm not even a little bit tempted...

Epics:
Cobalt's Chalice
All are good cards, I could see it being used by a cold wizard who wanted some extra anti-wizard cards, and had a spare token (unlikely)...

Lizard Hide Boots
Leap is better than it looks... but not by much. Sees some rare play in some flying leagues, not much out of that. At least this one is a minor token...

Robe Of The Geomancers
Really good option if you want to add extra movement from the robe slot. I am a big fan of Energizing Move

Notable rares:
Draining Console While the Healing Beacon is hard to get good value from, the two top vamp attacks are great if you have a spare major token.
Sacrificial Axe A popular choice for the two (dangerous) traits and strong escaping attacks for tokenless
Skipping Boots Nice tokenless boots

 

Bug Zapper 3000
This is the very definition of a top heavy item with 3x Scatter Laser and 3 trash cards, including one particularly bad Fumble. I will focus on Scatter laser as that is why you would pick this item as the only way to 3 copies, and put up with the drawbacks. It is (another) one of those cards that looks great, but can be hard to get good value from in a typical MP match. It is rare that you can get line of sight on three opponent characters at once, but if you can, the damage effects can be worth it. Unfortunately most map rotations don't lend themselves to this. However, @Gingrich Yurr has a deck for musical chairs that pairs this with Repulsor Raygun for two additional copies of scatter laser, and a whole lot of control with some very good results. iirc, there was a version with 3x identical wizards and a version with 2x identical wizards and a Unholy Wellspring priest. Give the deck building forum search and they show up easily. Now that is a pretty niche reason to buy this, and you need multiple copies of both legendary items, but if that floats your boat, go for it...
I have 2, never bought, never used, would not purchase (exception above)

Epics:
Agility
If you want Elvish Insight, just go for Insight, or Fey Insight instead

Club Of Wrath
Far too many downsides to this one for me, weak attacks, discard etc... there are lots of better tokenless priest weapons

Naradoc's Boots
Playable boots with good cards... Flanking Move is great but I would tend towards the extra Immovable on Sticky Slippers

Notable rares:
Flametouched Spear Only way to get Boiling Armor outside of a wizard... but the attacks are just too weak to make this playable.
Shielding Warp Boots Only way to get the powerful Force Field on boots and for a minor token

 

Igneous Scorchstaff

Spoiler: peonprop review

Igneous Scorchstaff (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Burning wizards are incredibly token intensive so anything that helps them save on tokens is amazing. Igneous Scorchstaff certainly delivers in that department. You get 4 premium Burning spells and a mostly harmless cycler in Combustible. Control wizards are more popular than other archetypes so you'll likely only get burned by the occasional Fiery Stab. The biggest downside to Igneous Scorchstaff is that you are giving up staff slot exclusive spells for spells that you can find on arcane items. Excess copies of Burning cards have diminishing returns so you want to avoid overlap when possible. Overheated Staff has a better suite of cards for the same minor token. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Burning wizards take a backseat to Firestorm wizards when it comes to singleplayer. You want to hit everything hard up front, not wait patiently for Burning cards to go off. Burning wizards are more useful against bosses but you can get high single target damage from any old warrior. Firestorm's effect is almost impossible to replicate. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Forgefire Staff (R) , Tempered Flamestaff (E)

I agree with Peonprop here, saving a token on a burning wizard is incredibly useful, and this is the kind of staff that you would want to look at. It is just that Overheated Staff is better. It has a pretty much the optimal number of Instant Burns for your whole character, but on one staff. Wait for it to come around instead.
I have 2, never used, never purchased, would not purchase...

Epics:
Nimbus Blade
Solid item, and the mainstay of many of my earlier decks, when nimbus was king

Penteth's Orb
Reflexive Teleport would see more play if it was better itemized... if you want to run it for a minor, I think Eych's Amulet or Round Jade Stone(below) are better.

Trained Flexibility
I find it hard to get much value out of Advanced Battlefield Training so I would take a hard pass on this one.

Notable Rares:
Auric Charm Playable Inspiring Presence item
Round Jade Stone I have to mention it now (see above)
Vampire's Blade Popular vamp choice
Packleader's Boots Decent warrior/vamp boots

 

Again, being a bit lazy, but on the bright side, you also get a free warrior build!

Epics:
Club Of Wrath
Far too many downsides to this one for me, weak attacks, discard etc... there are lots of better tokenless priest weapons
Two days in a row does not make it any better...

Howling Hood
The helmet I would choose if I was playing around with an armor build that included harnesses... Assuming I would ever want to do that.

St. Ozark's Blade
Interesting item, one of the few ways to add extra blocks to a priest, but at the cost of another divine weapon. Potentially worth considering in the right build...

Notable Rares:
Blood Locket A bit out of fashion with the amount of Vengeance and Martyr's Blessing around. But knows what it wants to be

 

If you're a penny pinching campaign player, Advanced Crushing may not be for you, but if you have the gold and use warriors against Only Bones or Tough Bark armor, I highly recommend buying Advanced Crushing. It rocks, it rolls, it crushes - but it all all depends upon you're preferred style of play.
I do love burning, but sometimes beating the stuffing out of opponents is both quicker and more satisfying.

 

And today you get a sneaky second chance... also making it 3 times in about 2 weeks or so!

 

Advanced Crushing
See yesterdays post!

Epics:
Big Ash Shield
There are better options that don't include an unreliable block

Count Yurik's Slippers
Playable item in flying leagues. But if I want fly for a major for those league I would probably go for Winged Track Shoes

Ixtli Amulet
Acceptable substitute for Phantom Pain, albeit for a major

Notable Rares:
Automatic Shield For SP
Sacrificial Axe You know why by now...

 

Superb Toughness
Leaving at the side the controversy of a item with toughness in the name, that doesn't include Toughness! Let's look at this one by the cards.
Violent Spin is awesome - it is worth it's gold quality and I play it when I can. The unblockable nature and the ability to push multiple people means that nothing has the ability to reshape the board like violent spin.
Shrug It Off is merely okay... with this being on a racial skill you are giving up a traits (or blocks with a draw etc.) and expanding your deck, so it has to be top notch to justify working it into your deck. A self purge, with the ability to regain priority is fine, but you're just giving up too many better options to get it.
If you want an extra copy of Violent Spin for a minor, wait for Ferocity which is a far superior item.
I have two, never purchased, never used, would not purchase

Epics:
Guztuk's Giant Gutter
A really fun AA item, I use it in SP when you know what you're facing, it is just to risky for MP with the Clumsy Chops

Japper's Energy Boots
Enregizing Move is great, but wait for the legendary ones like Pwindle's Boots or just use Vollmond Boots like everybody else

Ripping Mace
This is a very playable item that is great value for two minor tokens, good attacks, Inspiring Presence and two useful Purges, mean that every card on here is in play. I have used from time to time.

Notable Rares:
Focused Healer A vamp's best friend
Tome Of The Tree good cards, playable item...

 

Staff Of Embers

Spoiler: peonprop review

Staff Of Embers
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Ember Burst is one of the most sought after spells for a burn wizard. It doesn't require line of sight since you only need to be able to see the center square and hits multiple things. There are 3 staves that you should consider for the Ember Burst job. Staff of Embers, Barnum's Staff, and Staff Of A Million Embers. Staff of a Million Embers is obviously the best option if you can afford the extra major token. Barnum's Staff has two less copies of Ember Burst but replaces them with two strong, albeit functionally different, burning cards. Staff of Embers has only one less copy but also has a nearly unplayable Burning Fingers. Pick the two qualities you like best out of the following and you'll know which staff you want: lower token cost, consistent, no weak cards.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
All that junk I said up there is still true but keep in mind that token costs heavily restrict the number of modules you'll be able to use items in. So much so that I would downright pass on Staff of a Million Embers for singleplayer. In fact, I would favor Staff of Embers over Barnum's Staff too because single target spells are way less effective when you're outnumbered. I wouldn't personally use Ember Burst over Firestorm but there are a few situations where it is superior. Ember Burst is better than Firestorm in block heavy modules where you can wind up taking way too much self damage or if you're afraid of the self damage in general. If that's the case you have my blessing to purchase Staff of Embers...you big baby.

peonprop sums it up pretty well but TLDR version is: this is one of the three premier burning staffs for the excellent Ember Burst, the others being: Barnum's Staff, and Staff Of A Million Embers. All three a great, pick the one you prefer and/or are lucky enough to get.
I have 5, never purchased, used from time to time, worth a purchase

Epics:
Madman's Maul
urrrghhh, use St. Olf's Fiery Pike instead for the same token cost

Penteth's Orb
I would never target any of the cards on this item....

Robe Of Useful Things
very playable robe for a bit more control, even the Thick Hide Armor just about cuts it for the extra move

Notable rares:
Focused Healer for the same reasons as yesterday
Sky Traveller's Boots good boots for the right map
Ritual Straps for tokenless, this is not bad armor

 

Bimson's Death Moat

Spoiler: peonprop review

Bimson's Death Moat (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Flash Flood is nothing new. It's at its best on maps with narrow passages and lots of barriers. Melee characters in particular have a hard time answering it with only Fly and Teleport cards at their disposal. Ancient Grudge on the other hand is much more of an unknown quantity. Literally. It could be a dead card the first few rounds or it could be devastating mid to late game. A control wizard that wants Flash Flood generally doesn't do damage the first few rounds anyways so it's just a matter of keeping it in hand over other cards at end of turn. You can certainly also build around Ancient Grudge with aggressive cycling and card draw so it has potential. However, there are other arcane items with Ancient Grudge that have more all purpose control cards like Vial Of Spite so it all boils down to how badly you want those Flash Floods. As Flash Flood items go, Bimson's Death Moat is near the top. Only purchase if you want Flash Floods with a little extra damage.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Control wizards don't have much use in singleplayer. There are to many mobs to handle and a lot of them have ranged attack. You do sometimes want control wizards against bosses but plenty of the really difficult ones Fly. Flash Flood just doesn't cut it and there are plenty of non-legendary substitutes. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Vial Of Spite (E) : Ancient Grudge
Bimson's Water Stone (E) , Tauri's Watery Maze (E) , The Soulstone (E) , Pip's Anklet (E) : Flash Flood

peonprop's review is pretty good, but I will just add my 2 cents...
As one of the few items to have it, Ancient Grudge can be insanely powerful, you can practically one shot your opponents entire team if executed correctly. Now, it is tricky... but not impossible to pull off with the right deck. There are two major strategies to bulk up your discard pile quickly: Pathfinding on a squishy elven wizard - this can be very boom or bust because you can only get one copy of pathfinding into your deck. The second strategy is to pack your deck with as many traits as possible to increase the discard pile as quickly as possible. I don't have a good deck for this, but think Hotglass Staff and the like.
Both of these strategies benefit from drawing matches out, to get the combo of several ancient grudges in hand, and high discard pile. This is something that Flash Flood can readily assist with on the right maps to block victory squares and keep your opponents away. Bimson's death moat can therefore fills several needs for this build on one item, so I could see it becoming very useful in the right deck. I am well aware that this is a very niche application, but it is something additional to consider...
I have two, never bought, used once or twice, wouldn't purchase unless you have a lot of a cash

Epics:
Giant Skeletal Arm
Painful! take Ripping Mace from a few days ago instead...

Manifold Medic
triple heal is not worth paying a token, and losing traits for

Superb Stoutness
Easier way to get hold of Duck, almost as good as the legendary alternative... if you like duck that is (I don't)

Notable Rares:
Crazed Researcher's Robes Easiest way to get Medium's Garb
Smoke Pin premier Smoke Bomb item

 

Quick Jon's Axe
This is one of those legendaries that has no bad cards, looks pretty good, but at the end of the day there are just better options like Reaper's Scythe. I would probably say that it is a little low on damage as well, because it is not often that you can pull of an Obliterating Chop. You have to see hitting two targets as a bonus rather than something to be counted on.
I have 2, never bought, never played, would not purchase

Epics:
Araco's Boots
Ok boots, no really bad cards, but I think Diamond Moccasins and a few other boots are just better than these.

Armor Of Negation
If you want Arrogant Armor, you can easily get two copies, if you want Cleansing Ray you can get two copies for tokenless.

Shield Of Affliction
Never use Shifting Block... too much chance of getting cards you don't want

Notable rares:
Ascedant Dervish Great for flying leagues
Draining Console If your vamp has a spare major, this is a good pick

 

I think I will call it a day on reviews for a while... I enjoyed doing it, but it is turning into a bit of a chore. Hope at least someone found them useful!

 

Pitchfork Of Shelter is in today and it's the "best" weapon for Warding Lance (3 copies for ).

Peonprop didn't like it, but I'm considering buying a third copy. Thoughts? Any gimmick builds, that would benefit from multiple/consistent Warding Lances?

 

I have 3 of it, and I have tested it in some leagues where burst is more common while still having use for Subtle Parries like Waterways and Golden Shrine. Warding Lance is strong against burst for sure but it is rare to face teams that only use Burst in those maps since holding the Victory Square is quite important too. Also, holding 2 of it in your hand just leaves you too vulnerable to melee especially with your lower damage output with this weapon. I think it's better to just rely on armor like Reliable Mail or Monstrous Hide for defence and focus on damage with your weapons.