I just returned to the game after a long break and noticed that everyone and their grandmother is playing dwarf mages. I'm a bit stubborn and have a thing for playing elves. I set out to make a build that could do well against the current mage domination. I just had a 10 winstreak with this build, which took me to 1633 rank (not counting one I forfeited round 2, because a dude had to put his son to bed and was on epic chest). Now I'm only waiting for a loose streak, but the fact that I made this with two elf warriors and a human priest was a bit surprising to me. The build revolves around doing big hits on mages, by closing in with Slippery and Hard To Pin Down. The priest support, mainly with Impenetrable Nimbus and Purge. Note that I only have 10 games with it, so there might be room for improvement. Normally I wouldn't share this, but I see a lot of people struggle to counter mages, and while it might not be the perfect solution, I figured this might be fun to try for more people than me. So feel free to test it and tell me what you think. Bellarion Benomoco Level 1 Elf Warrior Bejeweled ShortswordInfused GreatclubNifty HalberdDependable MailSlippery ShieldTough Leather CapBlack Iron BootsEscapistNovice Slicing1 x Immovable2 x Slicer2 x Mail1 x Trained Bludgeon1 x Quick Run2 x Obliterating Bludgeon1 x Hardy Mail1 x Slippery2 x Nimble Strike1 x Elvish Insight3 x Bludgeon3 x Powerful Hack1 x Reliable Mail1 x Powerful Bludgeon1 x Toughened Hide Strips4 x Weak Chop1 x Able Bludgeon2 x Vicious Thrust3 x Hard To Pin Down1 x Walk1 x All Out Attack1 x Dash, Team! Grelchen Garbo Level 1 Elf Warrior Bejeweled ShortswordColossal HammerNifty HalberdWex's MailSlippery ShieldTough Leather CapAzure BootsEscapistNovice Slicing1 x Walk1 x Toughened Hide Strips1 x Trained Bludgeon1 x Quick Step1 x Dangerous Maneuver2 x Obliterating Bludgeon1 x Crafted Mail2 x Nimble Strike1 x Elvish Insight3 x Powerful Hack1 x Dash, Team!1 x Barge1 x Powerful Bludgeon2 x Slicer4 x Weak Chop2 x Able Bludgeon2 x Vicious Thrust4 x Hard To Pin Down1 x Slippery1 x Weak Strike1 x All Out Attack2 x Shimmering Aura Saul Solid Bananas Level 1 Human Priest Glinting Eye HammerDuality MaceRusted Angel MailDueler's BucklerSalazar's SandalsMedallion Of St. VigusShuddering RelicShielding TokenAdvanced FlexibilityNovice Ablution1 x Powerful Bash2 x Holy Presence1 x Energizing Move2 x Touch Of Death1 x Enervating Touch2 x Leadership2 x Mighty Bludgeon1 x Slowed1 x Vulnerable1 x Unreliable Block1 x Team Run6 x Impenetrable Nimbus1 x Mass Frenzy1 x Block1 x Healing Blessing3 x Lifesaving Block1 x Raging Strike1 x Parry1 x Chop2 x Purge2 x Rusty Armor1 x Healing Rays1 x Consuming Touch
Don't have all the items, but this looks fun. I know a lot of people who want to run elves and want to see them reach greater prominence in the upper tiers, so hopefully this will diversify the meta a bit. Thanks for posting! EDIT: P.S. because you're a pioneer, you are required to keep track of some stats, like: • overall win % • win % vs. specific archetypes (e.g. 3DC, WarWarWiz, etc.) • average time it takes to finish a game
I also love elf builds and was thinking of trying something with 2 warriors! though my thought process was more towards building with elvish insight and with bashers for revealed cards! Just don;t have items to try more than 1 warrior atm even with mediocre items! Hopefully soon...
Ok, now all I need is a second Bejeweled Shortsword, another Slippery Shield, a pair of Black Iron Boots and a Medallion of St. Vigus. To the farm mobile! (Wait, isn't that a tractor?)
Thanks for sharing your build. I think it'll be very helpful as a source of ideas as I progress up the ladder (hopefully). I haven't hit 1600 (currently 1310), but someone linked this and it's amazing how similar it is to my current 2 elf warrior 1 human priest build it is. Differences are, instead of an Elf Trait that gives Slippery, I'm using Superb Footwork on one warrior, and Insight on the other. Also my priest is quite different, no Nimbus, more draw (but I do use 2 Purge and 2 Holy Presence). His current human skill is probably not optimal, I should switch to the one with Leadership. I suspect that as I hit more control I might have to adjust Slippery into my deck. I'll post the build someday, but right now I feel like it relies entirely on surprise. It'll be interesting to see how the metagame adjusts since you've posted this.
I tried out a slightly inferior build, since I haven't got quite the right equipment. Took it on a 9-of-11 streak, +200 ELO: 1250 --> 1450, though I'd been messing around experimenting so my rating was low to start. I only played against one 3DC build, the rest were 1/1/1 and 2-warrior + support. The two losses were against (1) a mirror-ish build (a 1/1/1 going heavy on nimbus) where it took me 5 rounds to draw a nimbus myself, and (2) a build running silly numbers of parries (I wasted 30 damage on one warrior holding 3 parries >_<). It seems like the build works so well against other warrior builds because elves' movement lets you stack up more straight damage, rather than step attacks. However, it falls apart quickly if you don't draw Nimbus. Anduril Level 1 Elf Warrior Infused Greatclub Bejeweled Shortsword Excellent Rapier Solid Mail Slippery Shield Helm Of Alacrity Mouse Boots Escapist Sharp Bashing 2 x Flanking Move 1 x Rushing Aura 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 1 x Impaler 1 x Walk 1 x Trained Bludgeon 1 x Retreat 1 x Sprint, Team! 2 x Obliterating Bludgeon 2 x Hardy Mail 1 x Nimble Strike 1 x Slippery 3 x Powerful Hack 2 x Shifty Stab 1 x Elvish Insight 1 x Cautious Sneak 3 x Bludgeon 1 x Bruiser 2 x Lunging Hack 1 x Fiery Stab 1 x Mail 2 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Penetrating Cut 3 x Hard To Pin Down Gurthang Level 1 Elf Warrior Tango Spear The Hackmaster Excellent Rapier Solid Mail Sepia Shield Commander's Cap Goat Boots Escapist Sharp Bashing 1 x Mail 2 x Hardy Mail 1 x Walk 1 x Shield Block 1 x Jarring Block 1 x Nimble Strike 1 x Dash, Team! 1 x Elvish Insight 1 x Fiery Stab 5 x Strong Hack 3 x Potent Stab 1 x Almighty Hack 1 x Weakened Armor 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Impaler 1 x Penetrating Cut 3 x Dancing Cut 1 x Slippery 1 x Hard To Pin Down 2 x Shifty Stab 1 x Bruiser 1 x Dangerous Maneuver 1 x Scuttle, Team! 1 x Immovable 2 x Lunging Hack Narya Level 1 Human Priest Madman's Maul Duality Mace Spiked Strapping Cover Shield Possessed Shoes Medallion Of St. Vigus Ravenna's Incense Medallion Of St. Vigus Advanced Flexibility Trained Cleansing 1 x Inspiring Presence 2 x Mass Frenzy 1 x Slowed 2 x Violent Overswing 6 x Impenetrable Nimbus 1 x Shuffle 1 x Holy Presence 1 x Flimsy Block 1 x Chop 1 x Immovable 1 x Invigorating Touch 1 x Horned Plates 2 x Missile Block 1 x Cautious Sneak 1 x Cleansing Presence 2 x Healing Blessing 1 x Sapping Touch 2 x Purge 2 x Raging Strike 1 x Lifesaving Block 2 x Touch Of Death 1 x Enchanted Harness 2 x Leadership
It's an interesting build. And seeing elves is always a good thing. Have you tried it with more Mass Frenzy? Or is extra Nimbus something you absolutely must have?
Thanks. Not really, but I don't have any items that give more than one mass frenzy, while I get two nimbuses.
I don't think the nimbus will help against the non-cookie cutter builds of CWs but nimbus is a favorite of mine personally. Strong build overall, I played you and lost to it yesterday. I do think people that run control wizards with more than one type of freeze or boil armor, or enough debuffs to knock your slipperyness off will do very well against this build, and I think it will suffer against the 2 wiz 1 warrior comp. BTW, I'm a fan of the black iron boots (I sometimes use on my wizards), and I think novice slicing is a good choice (to avoid 2 dif traits).
I have more Mass Frenzy, since that's what my collection favors. I've never been disappointed when my hand lacks Frenzy, but I'm often very sad when my hand doesn't have Nimbus. Also, updated results: 17 wins of 26, rating seemed to settle around ~1470. I tend to lose whenever I fail to draw nimbus, which won't get fixed until the loot gods smile upon me. I still didn't play many control builds... I lost out to 1/1/1 or 2-warrior support that dealt less damage but had more HP. Also also, this build completely tanks against Firestorm, because elves have no HP and the priest can't heal.
Personally, I have never been able to put a nimbus to good use. I figured it is probably because it doesn't fit my playstyle, but could you enlighten me how to use it effectively? I can imagine it works well with vibrant pain, but with 'mere' bejeweled sword-wielding warriors, I fully expect them to just be crowd controlled and avoided until the turn is over and the warrior is free game again.
Team movement and step attacks are important. You have to wait until you've got the right hand, and then you can barrel in with warriors without worrying about damage. I may also bait out the control cards with one Nimbus'ed warrior, before sending the other one in.
I tend to save them quite a while, until I really need them. That way the enemy will often have wasted good damage on one of my guys, who can then retaliate together with the others. In general it makes a dude able to do damage to the other team while low, or just to escape and hide. I also like using it before moving in on other warriors.
I also find it's situationally nice to probe two targets for blocks with weak chop, and two less dmg to one target makes no difference in most cases. Not that any of them are great cards, but it's paper so...
I must say the response on this has been overwhelming Just letting you know that I currently use Warrior's Mace/The Hackmaster instead of Colossal Hammer and Light Blue Shield instead of Heavy Wooden Shield.
I haven't made 1600 yet, due to the many mistakes I have made so far (Still learning to use nimbus ), but I am steadily rising through the ranks and I am currently at 1576 (highest so far 1586) after probably about 30~40 games. Dwarven Control wizards is suddenly a lot more fun to play against (Probably because the chances of winning is more than decent), so I'm probably sticking to this build for a while longer. I have also encountered a number of mirror matches already and they are quite fun Although I have most of the items of the original build (really missing only a second nifty halberd) I have made a few modifications to suit my playstyle. The main modification is the addition of War Cry, instead of All Out Attack (on the helmet). The build feels a lot more consistent to me that way. Kemaya Level 20 Elf Warrior Nifty Halberd Infused Greatclub Bejeweled Shortsword Dependable Mail Slippery Shield Bellowing Helm Black Iron Boots Escapist Novice Slicing 1 x Hardy Mail 2 x War Cry 1 x Able Bludgeon 2 x Slicer 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 1 x Walk 1 x Reliable Mail 1 x Slippery 2 x Mail 3 x Bludgeon 3 x Powerful Hack 2 x Obliterating Bludgeon 3 x Hard To Pin Down 2 x Nimble Strike 1 x Trained Bludgeon 1 x Quick Run 1 x Elvish Insight 2 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Thick Hide Armor 1 x Immovable 4 x Weak Chop Sethien Level 10 Elf Warrior Bejeweled Shortsword Double-edged Sword Unbalanced Doloire Sharp Shell Slippery Shield Bellowing Helm Azure Boots Escapist Novice Impaling 1 x Penetrating Cut 2 x War Cry 1 x Dangerous Maneuver 1 x Lunging Thrust 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 1 x Walk 1 x Thick Hide Armor 2 x Backbiting Strike 2 x Impaling Stab 3 x Powerful Hack 1 x Quick Step 4 x Hard To Pin Down 1 x Penetrating Lunge 1 x Potent Stab 1 x Barge 2 x Dancing Cut 2 x Strong Hack 2 x Vicious Thrust 2 x Impaler 1 x Slippery 2 x Shimmering Aura 1 x Weak Chop 1 x Elvish Insight Ren Level 20 Human Priest Glinting Eye Hammer Duality Mace Glowing Hide Armor Czint's Buckler Wlakwa's Boots Tome Of The Martyr Shielding Token Shuddering Relic Advanced Flexibility Novice Ablution 2 x Martyr Blessing 1 x Powerful Bash 1 x Shuffle 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Wounded Block 1 x Weak Parry 1 x Thick Hide Armor 2 x Mighty Bludgeon 1 x Chop 1 x Slowed 1 x Team Run 1 x Healing Rays 1 x Lifesaving Block 1 x Invigorating Touch 1 x Consuming Touch 1 x Inspiration 1 x Violent Spin 2 x Holy Presence 2 x Purge 1 x Mass Frenzy 4 x Impenetrable Nimbus 1 x Icy Block 1 x Raging Strike 1 x Enervating Touch 2 x Touch Of Death 2 x Leadership 1 x Vulnerable
I tried this build and lost five of six matches at around 1350 ranking. I'm sure it's because I do not have any warrior nimble strikes, which pretty much sums up why I suck in MP with any warrior build.
The key thing is 3 Obliterating Bludgeons per warrior. Double-edged Sword is a good Lochaber Axe replacement. The helmet and armor can be replaced by any no token. Dependable Mail and Shifty Skin Hat are good alternatives. I avoid anything with Obvious Maneuver. Both Elf Warriors have a spot using a major power token that could be a minor token. I actually switched to Escapist after reading this thread, Insight is a game winner. Prior to that I ran Superb Footwork for the Quick Run Obliterating Bludgeon combo. I also used to use a blocking mace on one Elf Warrior, and 2 Infused on the other for 5 Oblit Bludgeon, then just lead with the defensive Elf and follow up with Oblit Bludgeons. I've also changed the priest around quite a bit. I think that Jygpin's Healing Ring or similar would be better than Incense Of Roiled Air. I do like Inspiration though. I often cast it on the priest, so it's a card that trades a turn for shrunken deck. Rhood's Boots can be replaced by Salazar's Sandals or Sticky Slippers or whatever. I used to use Demon's Golden Blade in place of Glinting Eye Hammer but the general idea is that the priest often jumps in late and gets a lot of kills. Mass Frenzy isn't that important but obviously it helps to turn all the little 4 attacks into 7 attacks. Thordaemin Level 19 Elf Warrior Infused Greatclub Double-edged Sword Polished Plancon Xander's Mail Slippery Shield Wyvern Hide Helmet Possessed Shoes Escapist Sharp Bashing 2 x Officer's Harness 1 x Impaler 1 x Vicious Thrust 2 x Potent Stab 1 x Penetrating Cut 1 x Backbiting Strike 1 x Bruiser 1 x Elvish Insight 2 x Puncturing Stab 1 x Thick Hide Armor 1 x Shuffle 1 x Slippery 1 x Trained Bludgeon 1 x Quick Reactions 1 x Traveling Curse 1 x Able Bludgeon 1 x Reliable Mail 3 x Hard To Pin Down 1 x Walk 2 x Dancing Cut 3 x Bludgeon 2 x Impaling Stab 3 x Obliterating Bludgeon 1 x Cautious Sneak 1 x Immovable Agnorglor Level 18 Elf Warrior Infused Greatclub Lochaber Axe Polished Plancon Perilous Ringmail Slippery Shield Wyvern Hide Helmet Possessed Shoes Escapist Sharp Bashing 1 x Cautious Sneak 1 x Impaler 2 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Potent Stab 1 x Penetrating Cut 2 x Puncturing Stab 1 x Bruiser 1 x Elvish Insight 1 x Thickened Mail 1 x Thick Hide Armor 1 x Shuffle 1 x Reliable Mail 1 x Trained Bludgeon 1 x Quick Reactions 2 x Traveling Curse 1 x Able Bludgeon 1 x Slippery 3 x Nimble Strike 3 x Hard To Pin Down 1 x Walk 1 x Weak Chop 3 x Bludgeon 3 x Obliterating Bludgeon 1 x Unreliable Block 1 x Immovable Kalfield Level 11 Human Priest Scouring Axe Glinting Eye Hammer Jet Armor Slippery Shield Rhood's Boots Incense Of Roiled Air Shuddering Relic Shuddering Relic Novice Command Pious Cleansing 1 x Cleansing Burst 1 x Cautious Sneak 1 x Altruism 1 x Rushing Aura 3 x Mass Frenzy 1 x Strong Chop 1 x Healing Rays 1 x Run, Team! 1 x Team Run 1 x Traveling Curse 1 x Unholy Wellspring 2 x Inspiration 2 x Obliterating Chop 1 x Holy Presence 1 x Raging Strike 2 x Enervating Touch 2 x Mighty Bludgeon 3 x Hard To Pin Down 2 x Purge 1 x Frenzy Aura 3 x Vulnerable 1 x Powerful Bash 1 x Wild Run 1 x Bungled Heal 1 x Chop
