Streamlined elf hyper-aggro. The main points of the build are 1) minimise the risk of having a stranded warrior 2) pressure opponents with super high momentum, kill characters before they get to cast their cards. Key combos 1. Pathfinding + step attacks. Pathfinding is probably the best card in the game when it has a deck set up to abuse it. 2. Card draw (Inspiration, Altruism, Pathfinding etc) combined with Leadership 3. The card filtering mentioned in 2 combined with buffs-- Mass Frenzy, Righteous Frenzy, Blind Rage, Frenzy Aura Niche cards Some of the cards in this build are usually not considered good but have specific importance. 1) Icy Block. Icy Block is the best block for this build. Getting it off on a warrior early in a fight usually means I can just kite it and kill the other characters over the next 2 turns. Also, I find the 50% chance is actually better than, lets say, a 66% chance Weak Parry. This is cos most warriors that can outdamage the elves have very uneven attacks (eg. 11 damage Mighty Hack and 17 damage Oblit). **THIS section to be continued Play style vs Firestorm This is the easiest matchup. Just stay out of sight while closing them down, heal with Team Heal whenever the whole team is 3 or more hp down. Discard Raging Strikes to Leadership whenever possible. vs 3DC Tricky but very winnable. The priest is much less valuable in this match so use it to bait or hog the victory point. Discard Hit The Deck, Lifesaving Block and Dodge (unless you have an opportunity for it), keep Quick Reactions. Pathfinding is completely crucial to this matchup. Usually if you have it, you can pretend that an encumbered elf is helpless, lure them into coming closer for flame-jets or wtv, then pop it and wreck. Note: sometimes you should pop it before commiting if you suspect they have Short Perplexing Ray. vs Combat-centric builds Regardless of 3war/2war1wiz/2war1priest/3priest etc, the playstyle is usually similar. Aim to pincer a character with the 2 elf warriors, killing them without giving them a chance to block. General guildlines: 1. If opponent has used Mass Frenzy and you don't have your own, be more cautious than usual. Try to avoid and full-scale fight and instead try to catch one character isolated 2. Lifesaving block is the best card in these matchups 3. If you can figure out what weapons opponents are using, try to play around them. For ex: if they are playing lots of bludgeons, its likely an Infused Greatclub, so use Team Heal to keep the elves above 17hp as far as possible, try to bait it out with blocks, etc. 4. Against armour builds, always try to conserve Frenzy Aura, send in another character to take the attacks first 5. If you have Lifesaving Block in hand, Raging Strike is worth more than armour. It is also sometimes worth keeping if you have Mass Frenzy or anticipate needing more attacks. 6. !!!! Important. Because of the streamlined nature of the build, it is best to fight as early as possible. The build has a very consistent damage density and at most only 3-4 redundant cards in any match-up. As such, it is usually best to engage once you can commit, to prevent opponents sculpting perfect hands. I'm probably retiring this build soon, and maybe quitting Cardhunter alltogether. Please feel free to steal the build, its fairly easy to build (the epic elf racials can be replaced with Trained Insight, the Lochaber can easily be another Rageblood Dagger, Mouse Boots are not crucial. St Olaf's Fiery Pike and Bejeweled Shortsword are probably the hardest-to-find items the build needs.) Please give feedback or comments if you feel like it! Apre Level 12 Elf Warrior Bejeweled Shortsword Rageblood Dagger Lochaber Axe Gauntlets Of The Giant Cold Shield Fool's Coif Goat Boots Perfect Insight Novice Impaling 1 x Icy Block 1 x Quick Reactions 1 x Unreliable Block 3 x Powerful Hack 1 x Lifesaving Block 3 x Nimble Strike 1 x Dancing Cut 1 x Blind Rage 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 1 x Penetrating Cut 1 x Reliable Mail 2 x Impaler 1 x Frenzy Aura 1 x Dodge 1 x Dropped Guard 1 x Immovable 2 x Dangerous Maneuver 1 x Weakened Armor 1 x Obvious Maneuver 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Pathfinding 1 x Raging Strike 1 x Hit The Deck 1 x Weak Chop 6 x Vicious Thrust Arn1 Level 1 Human Priest Healing Hand Mace St. Olf's Fiery Pike Hide Of The Frenzied Streaked Shield Mouse Boots Incense Of Roiled Air Incense Of Roiled Air Shuddering Relic Advanced Flexibility Focused Piety 2 x Stab 1 x Fright 2 x Leadership 3 x Altruism 5 x Mass Frenzy 1 x Shredding Strike 3 x Team Heal 1 x Cautious Sneak 1 x Lifesaving Block 1 x Slowed 2 x Fiery Stab 4 x Inspiration 1 x Hit The Deck 1 x Vulnerable 2 x Flanking Move 2 x Righteous Frenzy 2 x Mighty Bludgeon 1 x Thick Hide Armor 1 x Enervating Touch Arnii Level 1 Elf Warrior Rageblood Dagger Rageblood Dagger Bejeweled Shortsword Gauntlets Of The Giant Cold Shield Fool's Coif Goat Boots Practiced Scouting Novice Impaling 1 x Frenzy Aura 2 x Impaler 1 x Dropped Guard 2 x Raging Strike 1 x Dangerous Maneuver 1 x Run 1 x Quick Reactions 1 x Weakened Armor 1 x Icy Block 3 x Powerful Hack 1 x Lifesaving Block 1 x Immovable 2 x Dancing Cut 1 x Pathfinding 2 x Blind Rage 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 1 x Obvious Maneuver 1 x Escaping Run 1 x Reliable Mail 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Penetrating Cut 8 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Hit The Deck
Like this guide. Takes a lot of mental skill to pull off elven plays. Fwiw, there will be more elf cards in the upcoming expansion, maybe you'll stick around. Hope it helps.
Great build. Are the warriors not identical because you don't have another Lochaber / Perfect Insight? Also, Fool's Coif is an interesting choice. You're probably the only 1300+ player running it...
ya I don't. I'm not sure if I would run another Lochaber though, I think one is enough for the whole team (rageblood is more damage). I prob wouldn't run Vibrant Pain even if I had it, because rageblood is more damage... I wish there was an all VT weapon... Anyw, really? What do people usually use? I find the cards useful against all matchups (QR for wizards, LB for combat)
Apologies to the "VP Is The Most Broken, OP Item In The Game" contingent, but it's not blasphemy, just reality. Sometimes VP just isn't worth 2 gold tokens.
Hi @Arnie, I've featured your build in my latest Card Hunter blog post. http://www.cardhunter.com/2014/04/card-hunter-spring-season-week-3/
It might be VP isn't worth 2 major tokens.. only when you have one already on the same character lol. And even then only MIGHT be. And since very first games are against very weak players, 42 wins/56 games isn't anything special, many have been there. Lucker was even at 84% at some point. Edit: Arnie, lol, no.
Bejeweled does almost 4 damage per attack on average more than VP. Dash+ all the step attacks and the racial cards mean NS isn't necessary. I can see how VP is essential on non-Elf warriors tho
I know a LOT about reality, but I admit I'm a bit weak on silly games. You all may be right, but I have 5 VPs on the test server, and usually do better with a Loch & 2 bejeweled shortswords. Of course that's just against Mom and Cardotron. It may be different with expert players.
I have to say I have become a big fan of Gauntlets Of The Giant and especially for the Frenzy Aura, it adds penetrating, can't be cycled or purged off and even when hit it is still a 50-50. I played against a similar build and made the mistake of letting one of my warriors get hung out. It was over FAST!