Peon's Not So Daily Deal

Og's Boots Of Peril (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
If you aren't specifically going for armor boosting, Reliable Mail boots are better. If you are in the market for Harnesses, it's often better to go all in with Nasrum's Moccasins. Even if you only have a minor token to spare, Og's Boots of Peril are perilous indeed. Wild Run becomes worse in armor boosting builds because your oldest card is often armor. Angry Jack's Boots gives you the same Enchanted Harness with no downside in exchange for decreased mobility which defensive builds needs less of. Alternatively, you can go for double Chain Harness or Leather Harness boots that are less powerful but more consistent. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Armor boosting isn't really a thing in singleplayer. It takes too many tokens away from weapons and the payoff isn't great. If you need extra defense, throwing on a pair of Kerrick's Steel Boots far less token intensive and much easier on the wallet. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Angry Jack's Boots (E)

 

Old Snarly's Moccasins (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
It isn't worth running Enchanted Harness unless you are specifically boosting armor rolls for triggered abilities or more damage prevention. Armor boosting builds are more in the market for Harness consistency so Nasrum's Moccasins are ideal albeit for a major token. As far as minor token Harness boots go, Old Snarly's Moccasins aren't bad but there are better options. Angry Jack's Boots trades a Brutal Charge for a cycling trait which slightly increases the odds of hitting your armor combo in time. If you're willing to downgrade the Enchanted Harness, you get access to double Chain Harness or Leather Harness boots which also give a slight boots in the consistency department. Either way, you aren't giving up much by forgoing Brutal Charge. It can be difficult to use without open lanes and defensive builds generally aren't looking to sneak in damage anyways. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Between Harnesses and the armors your hoping to boost, you are devoting too many tokens towards not dying. The best defense is a good offense so you should prioritize weapons when it comes to allocating tokens. Actually, the best defense is Impenetrable Nimbus, but you didn't hear it from me. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Angry Jack's Boots (E)

 

Olga's Messy Gland (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Wizards have a hard time against armor so packing a bit of armor removal on your wizards is almost always a good idea. Olga's Messy Gland not only gives you virtually unblockable armor removal in Melt Armor but it's also tokenless to boot. However, the filler cards leave a lot to be desired. While Stone Spikes is decent if a bit unexciting, Path Of Knives is often a liability. Cards like Martyr Blessing and Vengeance actively benefit from Path of Knives, and they tend to see regular play. Rust Creature Gland and Armorbane Pendant are far more popular options as armor removal goes. Both benefit from trait cycling, provide additional albeit less reliable armor removal, and are much more palatable in multiples. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Armor removal is an absolute must in some modules but Rust Creature Gland and Armorbane Pendant are far more consistent and affordable. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Rust Creature Gland (R)

 

Oquith's Choking Incense (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Narrow cards need to do something spectacular to make up for dead matchups. Cause Fumble is annoying to play against for melee opponents and that's about it. You get a bit of virtual card advantage when blocking for another character but at the end of the day it's a straight 1 for 1. The slight edge you gain also comes at the cost of actual card advantage from spells and buffs you could be running instead. The only time Oquith's Choking Incense makes sense is if you're going all in on Cause Fumbles and Defender's Block but that is more about griefing than competitive play. If you just want to throw in a couple Cause Fumbles for fun, Crespin's Shroud is much more reasonable for only a minor token. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
When it comes to defensive priest cards, Impenetrable Nimbus is king. The AI will attack into Impenetrable Nimbus so each one is infinite Cause Fumbles for a turn. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Crespin's Shroud (E) , Static Interference (E)

 

Oquith's Foul Incense (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Cause Fumble is a narrow card that isn't all that great in the matchups it's meant for. That said, you will be facing melee parties more often than not so throwing in a couple for kicks and giggles or even straight up building around it are things you could be looking to do. However, Oquith's Foul Incense isn't the best way to about it. Twin Heals has a much smaller impact than the Purge from Crespin's Shroud. The majority of parties have a priest so having a way to get rid of buffs can be a massive swing in your favor. Even parties that don't rely on buffs will have some beneficial traits to knock off so it's rarely a dead card. Twin Heals on the other hand just doesn't do enough to save a badly wounded character and that is the benchmark for any heals that you are choosing to run. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
All the Cause Fumbles in the world don't match up against a single Impenetrable Nimbus. Throw a Nimbus on a character, send it in, and wait for mobs to exhaust all their attacks before unloading your own. Would not purchase.

Substiutes
Crespin's Shroud (E) , Static Interference (E)

 

Orb Of Eex (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Cone Of Cold is a good for slowing down melee characters and Orb of Eex is one of the best ways to get it but it's difficult to recommend purchasing it. There are so many epic double Cone of Cold arcane items to choose from with Lich's Locket and Xochu's Icy Circlet being fantastic and often superior substitutes. A single Force Cone won't make or break your deck and Cone of Cold is not a control spell staple like Telekinesis. Orb of Eex is a great item but it isn't worth investing in. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Cone of Cold is great on paper but it's really just a glorified block checker. A lot of mobs are already slow and replacing Firestorm and Volcano with control spells will slow you down. Not to mention the numerous epic substitutes you can choose from instead. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Hasek's Icy Ring (E) , Hylithia's Wand (E) , Lich's Locket (E) , Xochu's Icy Circlet (E)

 

Oskar's Pine Shield
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Mixing melee and magic blocks is a bad idea. Hedge against everything and you will be bad against everything. It's generally correct to favor melee blocks but if you want a Defender's Block shield that doesn't fold to wizards, Yvette's Buckler is the superior option. Surging Shield Block is a Catch Arrow that always draws a Cantrip Walk against wizards while not being a dead draw against melee characters. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
You always know what you're facing so there's no need to hedge at all. There are some modules with both melee and magic/projectile attacks but you can always favor blocks for the more impactful or prevalent ones. Many of the best card draw shields are lower rarity like Parrying Buckler and Magnetic Shield so there's really no reason to ever splurge for legendaries. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Buckler Of Protection (R) , Aegis Of The Bat (E) , Aegis Of The Defender (E)

 

Overheated Staff (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Burning wizards are one of the most token intensive builds to make so the single token cost of Overheated Staff makes it a popular inclusion. In addition, both Instant Burn and Flame Spit are basically staff exclusive spells so you'll have an easier time avoiding unnecessary Burning attachment overlaps. Overheated Staff is so good at what it does that it's about as close to an autoinclude as it gets. Definitely worth considering if you're interested in Burning wizards.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Overheated Staff is powerful but Firestorm and Volcano items should come first. Both strategies are legendary heavy but the high single target damage of Burning wizards is easily replicated while nothing comes close to matching the efficiency of the latter. If you have a good farming setup already and want to start on a Burning wizard, by all means splurge on Overheated Staff as it is irreplaceable. For everyone else, would not purchase.

Substitutes
Forgefire Staff (R)

 

Ozerian's Boots (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Shimmering Aura is narrow and much worse than Reliable Mail, which you can get 2 copies of on boots for the same token cost. The only upside Shimmering Aura has is that as a bronze quality card you can get them on tokenless boots. If you aren't going to take advantage of the token discount stick with good old Reliable Mail boots. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There is a lot more Firestorming going on to take advantage of Shimmering Aura but spending a token for a slightly better movement card is still not a great idea. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Vira's Shoes (E), Chadwick's Clogs (E)

 

Ozone Plates (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Chain Harness is fairly weak but other than that, Ozone Plates is a fine heavy armor. However, Galvanized Zombie Plates does pretty much the same thing minus the weak card. If you aren't using it for movement, Lunging Bash is far worse than Barge. Lunging Bash can never be used as a block tester lest you Slide your target away and it gets hosed by Pushback Parry. Barge has no problem being used as an opener as you can always choose to keep the target in place. The advantage of sometimes drawing both armor and Chain Harness is just not as good as having a Creature Of The Night for trait cycling. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There are a number of Spark wielding mobs that make owning Grounding Plates items a must but there are a bunch of lower rarity substitutes that are good enough if not better. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Galvanized Zombie Plates (E)

 

Painful Flashstaff (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Painful Flashstaff does a lot of damage for a double minor token staff but Flash Of Agony is a little too hard to make work. The last thing wizards want to do is help opponents out with self damage so Flash of Agony is usually a finisher or a last ditch effort when you're near death. This makes half the staff essentially dead draws most of the game. Control wizards are naturally suited for stalling so Flash of Agony isn't a deal breaker but Forval's Teak Staff is far less painful for a slight dip in firepower. It gives you powerhouse attacks, throws in a Telekinesis for spice, and trades in some of the pain for drawback free Stone Spikes. If you just want pure damage, it doesn't get any better than Painful Flashstaff for the token cost. However, damage is a lower priority for most control wizards so my money is on Forval's Teak Staff. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
I can get behind Flash of Agony for farming in some modules but Firestorm is far more flexible. Not to mention Punishing Bolts aren't ideal so you'd want to run Staff Of The Misanthrope over Painful Flashstaff anyways. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Staff Of Pain (E)

 

Perfect Agility (NU)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Uncanny Dodge is basically an upgraded Jump Back that you can't cash in as a move. It's incredibly difficult to use as defensive characters are often trying to camp out on victory squares and can't afford to move and offensive characters need to rely on low damage Step 2 attacks to get back into position. There are janky workarounds through self Encumber by using cards like Heavy Armor and Cone Of Cold but it still requires you to run Step attacks or Stabs to continue attacking. For builds like these, Jump Back is less reliable but it's not hard to get through boots and shields and you'd want Elven Maneuvers to draw help your combo and Step attacks instead of Uncanny Dodge. At the end of the day, Perfect Agility doesn't do anything special and it takes up a valuable racial skill slot all while costing a major token. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Uncanny Dodge takes too much work to use effectively and it winds up lowering your damage output however you use it. For the ultimate defense, just bring a priest packing Impenetrable Nimbuses. Would not purchase

Substitutes
None

 

Perfect Footwork (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
This skill excels at putting distance between you and your enemy. That means it's optimal for ranged attackers or characters whose main job isn't attacking. Or in other words, wizards and buff priests. Elves are not particularly good buff priests and certainly make for the worst wizards. As for the cards themselves Violent Spin is the only one worth paying for. On top of everything, you are paying a major token to upgrade a Smashing Spin in Advanced Footwork to Leap. Between the token cost and quality of cards, Perfect Footwork is the least playable Violent Spin elf skill in my opinion. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
I like using elf warriors for farming to chase down mobs more quickly but a set of moves shorter than your base movement is not what you're looking for. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Advanced Footwork (E) , Practiced Scouting (R)

 

Perfect Resilience (NU)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Antimagic Skin is essentially Reliable Mail with the drawback of not working with buffs. There aren't enough attachments going around to run anti-attachment cards willy nilly so you really need to want the armor. With that in mind, wizards are the perfect class to take advantage of Perfect Resilience. Not only do they have the worst armor options but they also have the worst buff options as well. Aside from the token cost, the only real reason not to run Perfect Resilience on a wizard is the competition. Dwarves have access to Toughness which buys you time to fire off a control spell while drawing you a card. Purely offensive Burning wizards would likely benefit more from plain old armor but they often don't have the token to spare and they rely heavily on Firestarter. Getting a bunch of Reliable Mails is nice but running Toughness is just better. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Answers to attachments come in handy for a couple modules but there aren't many of them and they are notoriously difficult to farm. Perfect Resilience is great as additional Arrogant Armors and gives wizards access to a permanent attachment hoser but you probably won't be using it much outside of the occasional Loot Fairy hunt. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Reclusive Resilience (E) , Tough Resilience (R)

 

Perfect Stoutness (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Perfect Stoutness is a fine item. Getting blocks on a wizard is rare so you may catch a few people off guard. Most experienced players will double tap dwarf wizards to check for Toughness though. Duck also effectively draws you a card. The problem is that unless they use their best attack right off the bat, a dangerous proposition due to the aforementioned Toughness and Defender's Block, and the block isn't revealed, the card you end up with will be a stinker. Which brings us to the biggest reason why Perfect Stoutness just doesn't cut it. For the same price, that major token can get you Perfect Toughness and Solid Rock. Both offer a great deal of protection while giving you card advantage as well. Would you rather have what is likely the least important attack in your opponent's hand or a random card out of your own deck? I would wager that you'd have better luck with the random card. Not only is it more likely to be higher quality but it's also a card that fits your game plan. Duck does make you into a crappy attack magnet until that block is triggered which can buy you some time. Duck fans also have access to Superb Stoutness which is not only cheaper but also works better on wizards since you can usually dump most of your hand each turn to hold on to Reliable Hide Armor. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
You have access to two of the best defensive dwarf skills at common rarity, Perfect Toughness and Solid Rock, and you want to talk about Perfect Stoutness? They should change Duck to Goose because you are a silly goose if you're considering buying it. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Superb Stoutness (E)

 

Pergop's Slippers (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Violent Spin is an extremely versatile card. It's an unblockable multitarget Push card that not only allows you to put distance between you and the enemy but also lets you take over occupied victory squares if need be. If you're wondering what the difference between Push and Slide are, Push allows you to choose facings. You guessed it, even an opponent chock full of blocks is one Violent Spin away from a back attack if they don't have a way to turn around. Position your troops correctly and Violent Spin can even be an pseudo Team Walk. So why isn't Violent Spin tearing up the metagame? It's partially due to item availability but mostly it's because of a high opportunity cost. Violent Spin is mostly a defensive card. Most melee characters would rather have something that helps them chase down targets, wizards can get similar effects using minor tokens or less, and just about everyone has more important things to spend major tokens on. Still, it's powerful enough to be a great asset in the right build so I would recommend giving it a spin if you haven't already. It should be noted that Zachary's Boots are a fine substitute so I'd only purchase Pergop's Slippers if you've got spare gold or have an unnatural love of Violent Spin like I do.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Even if you wanted to spend a major token for Violent Spin boots, the difference between Toughened Hide Strips and Weakened Armor is way too small to splurge on the legendary. If you lose a game using Zachary's Boots in which Pergop's Slippers would have saved the day, I will eat my hat. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be looking for a mini fez. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Zachary's Boots (E)

 

Perilous Agility (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Flanking Move is a great card for ranged characters and Step attackers since it allows you to get into attack range without giving up priority. However, elf wizards are too squishy to see widespread play and elf warriors using Step attacks have more incentive to run Elven Maneuvers. Even Stab warriors tend to have some number of step attacks due to itemization, with Double-Edged Sword and Tango Spear being popular options. There are some more unique ranged archetypes that might find use in Perilous Agility like Stab vamps or Radiation Bomb priests but you really need to want those extra copies of Flanking Move. Double Flanking Move is already available to all races on the boots slot. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Cantrip is fairly useless against the AI. There is no surprise factor to take advantage of so Flanking Move is just a way of gaining priority at end of turn. As boring as it may be, singleplayer is often just dwarf territory for their higher hp. Elves come into play when you need to chase down ranged characters but you're either going to be taking advantage of Elven Maneuvers or Elvish Scamper. That said, Perilous Agility is irreplaceable when it comes to completing 1 hp quests as those are the only times Cantrip really matters. If you're not going for those, would not purchase.

Substitutes
Clever Mobility (E) , Superb Footwork (C)

 

Perrio's Kinetic Robes (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Perrio's Kinetic Robes are one of the best robes in a vacuum. Having two copies of Telekinesis makes it better than most arcane items and Reliable Mail is about as good as it gets as far as wizard armor goes. However, there are only a handful of low or tokenless staves and arcane items that are playable, far less than the amount of decent tokenless robes. The average wizard just doesn't have the luxury of spending a token on robes. That said, Perrio's Kinetic Robes are still very powerful when you can squeeze it into your build. If you often find yourself with a token to spare, Perrio's Kinetic Robes are definitely worth considering.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
While Perrio's Kinetic Robes is incredibly useful against more difficult bosses, you should be using Firehide Robes in nearly every other situation and there are multiple lower rarity Reliable Mail robes. It isn't worth getting a legendary that is only good in a handful of modules that is replaceable. If you've got spare gold then go for it. Otherwise, would not purchase.

Substitutes
Ironcurse Robes (R) , Robe Of Useful Things (E)

 

Phantom Pain (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Illusory Barrier hoses opposing wizards while allowing you to attack with impunity. It has some minor alternative uses like clearing up terrain attachments or overlaying difficult terrain but it should only be used in wizard heavy metas. Although Illusion is the most efficient way to get Illusory Barrier, it takes away a big chunk of your offensive potential. Phantom Pain leaves your staff slot intact at the cost of running relatively useless Path Of Knives. While melee parties tend to be more popular, Phantom Pain is the most flexible source of Illusory Barrier and it's essentially irreplaceable. If you use wizards regularly and want anti-wizard tech, get Phantom Pain and lots of them. If you just want a hard counter to wizards go with Smoke Bomb.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Illusory Barrier is great on paper but there just aren't a lot of situations where it's good. You generally don't want control cards unless you're up against bosses and most of the ranged bosses can Teleport or Fly over it. Illusory Barrier can be a lifesaver for completing difficult quests against ranged mobs but it's far too slow for regular farming. Would not purchase unless you're going for quest completion.

Substitutes
Ixtli Amulet (E)

 

Pitchfork Of Shelter
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
The times Warding Lance actually triggers are few and far between. Aside from Deadly Spark and terrain attachments, non-targeting attacks just don't see much play. Pitchfork of Shelter is only appealing if you want some extra blocks but you are better off investing more tokens for more powerful blocking weapons like Blocking Mace and Snitrick's Last Stand. Wimpy attacks need to provide a whole lot of side benefits before they're worth playing and Warding Lance just doesn't cut it. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Pitchfork of Shelter sacrifices a lot of damage for little to no benefit. If you want extra defense, Reliable Mail boots do the trick while leaving your weapon slots intact. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Manhunter (E) : Subtle Parry