This is a reverse-dwarven-control build. Two characters are loaded up with damage, but have very little movement, as well as halting cards like Hit The Deck and Trip. The puppet master manipulates them (and maybe enemies) into position, and then the mayhem begins! Karagkazak Level 1 Dwarf Warrior Bejeweled Shortsword Powerful Sword Powerful Sword Patchwork Chainmail Quickfoot Buckler Defensive Helm Glimmer Boots Untrained Stoutness Sharp Bashing 1 x Crafted Mail 1 x Squeamish 2 x Puncturing Stab 9 x Powerful Hack 3 x Hardy Mail 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 2 x Potent Stab 1 x Hard To Pin Down 2 x Immovable 2 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Penetrating Cut 1 x Wimpy 1 x Bruiser 1 x Trip 1 x Mail 2 x Stab 1 x Impaler 1 x Run 1 x Ill-fitting Armor 2 x Hit The Deck Ancalagon Level 20 Dwarf Wizard Whiterune Staff Whiterune Staff Locket Of The Gale Locket Of The Gale Locket Of The Gale Locket Of The Gale Robe Of Lightness Glimmer Boots Stout Charger Electroporter Novice 8 x Winds Of War 1 x Spark Generator 2 x Hover 4 x Improved Telekinesis 1 x Hardy Mail 4 x Chilling Rime 1 x Mail 1 x Spark Inductor 4 x Acid Jet 4 x Ember Spray 1 x Cloth Armor 1 x Charge 1 x Run 1 x Squeamish 1 x Dimensional Traveller 1 x Hit The Deck Glaurang Level 20 Dwarf Wizard Counterblast Staff Mighty Sparkping Staff Malachite Orb Citrine Amulet Citrine Amulet Malachite Orb Phantom Cape Black Iron Boots Solid Rock Advanced Electromancy 1 x Jarring Block 2 x Sorcerous Blast 1 x Surging Blast 8 x Big Zap 4 x Counterspell 1 x Quick Run 1 x Hardy Mail 1 x Spark Generator 2 x Thick Hide Armor 1 x Improved Telekinesis 1 x Spark Inductor 1 x Parry 1 x Toughness 4 x Mighty Spark 2 x Force Blast 3 x Spark 2 x Immovable
Also, I'm testing a version of this in regular MP, where the only difference are legendary weapons for higher damage output, and better armor. The puppet master doesn't change at all.
Dude, this is awesome. I might try some Double Edged Swords instead of Powerful Swords if you have them, though—it's not bad to put some mobility on your tank.
After some experimentation with non-peasant builds, I've found that the secondary (damage) wizard isn't terribly useful. I've swapped it out for a second dwarf warrior. I've also changed the puppet master to human, for the team move racials. I decided against Hackmaster because the build needs to deal damage consistently. Too many step attacks are bad, because Trip and Hit The Deck disable them. A good argument could be made for using Slippery Shield and swapping in Infused Greatclub. The wizard's consistency would benefit tremendously from 2x Trembling Staff, but I don't have them. If I did, I would use the extra tokens for Perfect Command and boots with Team Run and/or Violent Spin.
I like the concept very much. I think the change to two Warriors was a good one. That damage dealing wizard didn't really fit in with the idea of the build. Besides it should be useful to be able to WoW both warriors at once. Is that a typo or does my English fail? I'm reading this like you did NOT take Hackmaster. I think it's both consistent and should be great for a build like this one. Do you need any step attacks? I don't think I would take a single one for a build like this. Yea this is pretty much a must-have. The current version of the wizards looks a bit weak to me. Hopefully you'll get the staffs soon.
There's enough cover on the current rotation of maps that even a 2-length step attack can be useful for a first hit. Given that my wizard is still inconsistent, the small number of step attacks do help. I did not use The Hackmaster. I tried both ways, and Powerful Sword was more consistent at dealing damage because (1) blocks or forced discard of Almighty Hack negate 1/3 of total possible damage from Hackmaster, and (2) range-2 attacks enable the warrior to threaten multiple targets at once.
Results after some more non-peasant play - the puppet master tends to overpower 1/1/1 and other wizard-warrior builds. The build loses soundly to priest-warrior builds, due to the buffs from Mass Frenzy and Blind Rage. Being dominated by a 3DC build caused me to add more movement to the warriors, but I haven't played one since the change. As expected, whirls screw everything up, unless you've got a Team Run in hand. General play notes - the puppet master needs to establish control over the victory location quickly (whether by camping the square or having line-of-sight over the area). The dwarves' zone of control can then be used as a blocking shield to keep the opponent away. Play tends to have a two-turn ebb and flow, as you save up the wizard's moves (and warrior's attacks) on a quiet turn and then blast through 4 team moves with lots of damage on the next. If the opponent overextends a character, you can often entrap the character by pulling it in with your first WoW hit and then circling a warrior behind it with the second. With its escape cut off, both your warriors can then pound away. Another important trick for the endgame is swapping out the victory square by pulling off the opponent with your first hit and placing your warrior with the second. Again, zone of control is a great way to protect the victory square or vulnerable characters by trapping the opponent. ------------------------------------------------------------ Current puppet master is fairly consistent, after the addition of 1x Trembling Staff. I don't have Perfect Command or boots with Team Run, so I'm stuck with decent team moves on Command and trait-cycling on Sticky Slippers. I swapped in weapons with Dancing Cut in the third slot on both warriors. I'm not sure whether I prefer Burnished Blade (which leaves an extra gold power token for the second weapon slot) or Double-edged Sword (which uses a gold token, but comes with better stabs). The most important change was dropping a tokened shield for the token-less Banana Shield and instead using that token for of Savvy Attacker, which carries a team run.
Oh, one last note - the warriors tend to be consistent in drawing damage (you can expect +10 damage in hand each turn, probably more), so you can be slightly more aggressive. It's tricky to overextend at just the right time to finish off a character. And always hold armor, because you'll draw into more damage, but you have no way to heal damage once taken.
