Peon's Not So Daily Deal

Poltergeist's Cape (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
With wizards being such a token intensive class, good tokenless robes are desperately needed. Having Telekinesis alone makes Poltergeist's Cape above average and if you can make use of Ancient Grudge you've got yourself a humdinger. However, most wizards are not geared towards using Ancient Grudge so Sparkling Cloth Armor robes like Emberfloat Mantle and Thin Sparkling Cloak are far superior. Both have a cycling trait and Sparkling Cloth Armor essentially turns your hp into a repeatable Telekinesis making it a nightmare for melee opponents to deal with. That said, if you want that extra copy of Ancient Grudge, Poltergeist's Cape is the way to go. Otherwise, would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Paying for a bunch of Telekinesis on an arcane item is one thing but shelling out for a solo copy is ridiculous. You could just as easily run a cheap double cycling trait robe like Robes of Lightness and draw into the cards you need sooner. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None

 

Porior's Nimble Mace (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Porior's Nimble Mace is incredibly low damage so if you aren't buffing it in a Crusher build or using it on a defensive warrior it is unplayable. If you're going for a Crusher build, I would highly recommend investing a bit more tokens for weapons with better attacks like Eixocl's Hammer. A defensive build on the other hand, now there's a warrior that can make use of Porior's Nimble Mace. Not only do they care less about damage output but they also need more tokens for better armor and blocks. Lunging Bash has its flaws but it's all you get on a token budget. If you've got a defensive build in mind and need a low token weapon, Porior's Nimble Mace is the best option.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
If you're using your warrior as a bad control wizard, might I suggest just bringing a control wizard instead? Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Goblin's Club (R) , Ettin's Club (E) , Eixocl's Hammer (E)

 

Prillith's Frock Of Spite (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Medium's Garb gives you underwhelming cards that nobody in their right mind would pay for but it gives them to you for free. At the beginning of your turn, every turn, for the rest of the match you get your very own mediocre Spirit card free of charge. It might not sound like much but crappy card advantage is still card advantage and those crappy cards add up fast. Prillith's Frock of Spite has the advantage of being the only minor token Medium's Garb robes making it much easier to slot into any build. If you are in the market for minor token robes, Prillith's Frock of Spite is definitely worth considering.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Unlike multiplayer, you don't always start on equal footing in terms of resources so card advantage is often less important that card quality and consistency. Robes with great cards that contribute to a game plan and ones used for trait cycling are more valuable than a free stream of unpredictable cards of dubious quality. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Crazed Researcher's Robes (R) , Wym's Emberplasm Dress (E) : Medium's Garb

 

Prillith's Robes Of Pain
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Arcane Shell builds want as many buffable spells as possible while Path Of Knives is best paired with control spells. While there are control spells that have a base damage, Path of Knives itself does not. Path of Knives is also easily attainable through arcane items and you don't want to run too many as that increases the likelihood of drawing redundant copies. In addition, Path of Knives is often a liability as cards that benefit from repeatedly taking damage like Martyr Blessing are popular. You really only want Prillith's Robes of Pain for the Arcane Shell and there are plenty of better options to choose from. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
As effective as Path of Knives can potentially be since mobs don't take it into account when moving, it is still a single target spell that is not only slow but requires low damage control spells to be effective. If you just want Arcane Shell, Malevolent Robes are cheaper, better, and tokenless to boot. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Bloodfoot Robes (E)

 

Pwindle's Boots (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Energizing Move lets your dwarves go toe to toe with elves though it's a bit overkill for everyone else. Sure, you can get the jump on an opposing character but if you're rushing in alone, you're the one that is going to be ambushed. Instead, you should be looking to use Energizing Move on a defensive character for early victory square captures or, at the very least, make sure your first turn blitzer has long range or long movement backup. Should you decide to run Energizing Move, the next step is choosing between Pwindle's Boots and Reynoldo's Boots. Lunging Bash has a bigger impact than Flanking Move for many builds but both boots have their merits. If you're looking to build around Energizing Move or you just want to give a slow dwarf that little boost it so desperately needs, Pwindle's Boots is one of the best options.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Energizing Move is useful for chasing down ranged mobs but Japper's Energy Boots are a good enough substitute. You could also try Quickness Aura, which can't be cashed in as a movement but can be found on non-boot items. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Japper's Energy Boots (E)

 

Quellic's Boots (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Armor on boots just isn't that useful. You need to give up mobility, which rules out most melee characters, and it isn't great against high damage melee attacks, by far the most popular strategy. Armor tends to shut down wizards and vamps but you just aren't as likely to run into them as melee parties. Unless you're trying to break a symmetrical damage effect like Firestorm, going with Sparkling Cloth Armor boots is the safer bet if you need something defensive. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
With how often I use Firestorm, you better believe that I love me some Reliable Mail boots but Kerrick's Steel Boots are the way to go. Missing out on a Flanking Move will rarely make or break a run. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Kerrick's Steel Boots (E)

 

Quick Jon's Axe (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Dodge is not reliable enough to build around so replacing attacks with it is a pretty hefty cost. It is easy enough to get one or two through helmets and shields. If you have a more defensively oriented warrior who doesn't mind shedding a few attacks for Dodge, Bolg's Club Of Evasion gives you an extra copy at a lower token cost and Reaper's Scythe gives you bigger swing potentials with trait cycling to boot. Quick Jon's Axe is decent but it doesn't do anything special and it fails to measure up to other options. Would not purchase.

Peons' Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There is no reason to replace attacks for defensive cards in singleplayer. Load up a priest with Impenetrable Nimbus and you've got all the defense you'll ever need. Sure, you lose out on some attack buffs but that's better than missing out on the attacks themselves. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Bec De Corbin (E)

 

Quick Jon's Buckler
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Triggering Dodge off of a ranged attack often doesn't get you out of the line of fire so it's essentially a melee block for all intents and purposes. That makes it incredibly awkward to pair with a magic block like Catch Arrow. Getting multiple uses out of a Dodge is enough to take on the almighty Parry so wanting a Dodge shield isn't unthinkable. However, you're already going all in against melee attacks with Dodge so pairing it with melee blocks just makes more sense. Rusty Buckler is the best for those that are Dodge curious and want to wean themselves off of Parry. For the more adventurous, both Quinn's Buckler and Shield Of Ultimate Dodging are better options. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Blocks just aren't all that important so making sure you can get some value out of the deal is the way to go. Dodge gives you a bit of value but it also constrains your deckbuilding as you need ways to continue attacking from a square away. It's better to just go with straight card draw off Parry and Catch Arrow and there are plenty of lower rarity shields to suit your card draw needs. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Jackrabbit Shield (E)

 

Quinn's Buckler (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Quinn's Buckler is one of the best tokenless shields. Although not guaranteed card advantage like Parry, Dodge has the potential to generate unlimited value. You do need to have Step attacks or Stabs to reap the benefits but that isn't much of a hurdle since most warriors already run some number of them. It takes a lot to unseat the ever popular Parrying Buckler but the allure of repeatable damage prevention and the lower token cost add up to one heck of a contender. If you're looking for a tokenless shield, Quinn's Buckler is definitely worth considering.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Singleplayer is less about fancy attacks and more about haymakers. You want as many high damage vanilla attacks as possible to maximize damage output so there's no room for Dodge shenanigans. Just go with a cheap Parry or Catch Arrow shield and you're ready for just about anything. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Jackrabbit Shield (E)

 

Quornic's Battleaxe
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
There are only a handful of playable double minor token weapons and Quornic's Battleaxe isn't one of them. The Perforating Strikes are simply unplayable. Strong Hack and Perforating Strike do about the same damage against most armors so capping the damage at 5 against unarmored characters is a joke. Quornic's Battleaxe even has the gall to throw in a Weak Chop like a Lochaber Axe wannabe. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There are some early levels where armor is a considerable problem but Quornic's Battleaxe is still no good. Double minor token is far too expensive as you'd be forced to pair it with a tokenless weapons with regular attacks. Max out on single token Penetrating weapons or use higher damage weapons with a wizard for armor removal backup. Or better yet, skip the middleman and just use wizards. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Hefty Chopper (C) , Reliable Axe (R) , Thornhill Sword (R) : Chops
Piercing Pick (R) , Trogsbane (E) , Woodhome's Wound (E) : Penetrating

 

Raging Battler (B)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Raging Battler is the best tokenless dwarf skill. The melee buff from Blind Rage is nice but trait cycling is actually the big draw, so much so that Raging Battler is the default for dwarf wizards hard pressed for tokens. The next best tokenless skill, Apprentice Ferocity, is just a worse version of it so if you play any amount of dwarves, Raging Battler is a must. Highly recommend purchasing.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
When it comes to tokenless dwarf skills, nothing beats Subterranean Ferocity. You get the same deck thinning as Raging Battler plus incredible card advantage from Dwarven Battle Cry if you run an all dwarf team. There are very few modules where you will face off against dwarves or Silver attacks so Subterranean Ferocity is essentially drawback free. Even if you want the melee buff from Blind Rage, Apprentice Ferocity is a good enough substitute. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Apprentice Ferocity (E)

 

Raging Resilience (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
There aren't a lot of attachments going around so Antimagic Skin should be treated as Reliable Mail lite provided you don't care about buffs. Wizards both have the worst armors and rely the least on buffs so Raging Resilience may seem appealing. However, dwarf skills have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to defensive options and there are fantastic drawback free skills to choose from. You are often better off just picking a Toughness skill like Lucky Toughness. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There are a few modules where attachment hosers come in handy, especially for wizards which don't have access to Arrogant Armor, but they tend to be incredibly hard to farm. It's just not worth the legendary price tag for an extra copy of Antimagic Skin that you probably won't use outside of the occasional Loot Fairy hunt. Would not purchase.

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

 

Reality Warper (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Accelerate Time is a powerful effect that is hard to use. It requires major tokens and takes up an arcane item slot for each copy so it's a struggle to find a balance with payoff cards. The easiest way to abuse it is with Burning spells but Flame Warper has that covered so you'll have to be a bit more creative. That pretty much leaves terrain attachments. Bless and Volcano are the standouts and the control spells on Reality Warper do a decent job of making sure everyone is on the right squares. Add in a few start of round attachments like Unholy Energy or Soothing Darkness and you've got yourself some incredible value. That said, the effectiveness of terrain attachment strategies hinge entirely on how well your opponents' cards can deal with them and a lot of builds have extra movement built in from team moves and Step attacks. That's why I actually prefer Disruptive Warp Pistol. Whirlwind Enemies often forces a move from each character from the opposing team at the cost of the occasional positional backfire and Force Cannon Slides targets further than anything else in the game. Still, Reality Warper has the strongest suite of standalone control cards of all Accelerate Time items so it's worth considering if you're planning to build around it.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Accelerate Time pairs well with farming all star Volcano but it takes up valuable Volcano slots and the control spells don't do much. It's better to load up on Volcano or using the cheaper and higher impact Disruptive Warp Pistol. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Disruptive Warp Pistol (R) , Caustic Warper (E) , Ethereal Crystal Gun (E) , Vogel's Confusotron (E)

 

Reap The Whirlwind (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Reap the Whirlwind is tailor made for defensively oriented warriors but there are better options. Haethel's Resolve gives you an extra control card and Bruising Dervish gives you a massive token discount at the cost of a Disorienting Block and some damage. Here are the reviews for Haethel's Resolve and Bruising Dervish. While not strictly inferior, I believe Reap the Whirlwind still takes a backseat to the other options. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Control warriors are worse than control wizards and you can get Haethel's Resolve for free from completing Mauve Manticore 22 if you really want a Reap the Whirlwind type weapon. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None

 

The Bruising Dervish link also links to Haethel's Resolve review

 

Reaper's Scythe (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
As appealing as those heavy hitting attacks are, it's a big risk for the run of the mill warrior to replace attacks with Dodge as drawing one at the wrong time can be the difference between delivering a finishing blow and giving your opponent time to stabilize. More defensive warriors on the other hand may have an interest in Reaper's Scythe as those haymakers plus Blind Rage give you a fighting chance when things go awry with your primary game plan. Bolg's Club Of Evasion gives you an extra Dodge at a discounted token cost and weapons like Pressing Problems give you control tools to ensure victory square wins but Reaper's Scythe is a nice middle ground for tanks that want to soak up damage while still being able to close out games through damage. In any case, you do need to make some concessions to run Dodge effectively, preferably with Step attacks to get back into position or Stabs if you simply want to get damage in. If you have a more defensive build in mind, Reaper's Scythe is definitely worth considering.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Warriors are there to kill things so getting your defense through other means is a must. Armor is good enough to handle the lower levels and Impenetrable Nimbus handles everything else. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Bec De Corbin (E)

 

Red Flame (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Red Flame is undoubtedly powerful for a Burning wizard but it is hard to pair with other Instant Burn staves and you'll likely want more Instant Burns when paired with anything else. When you pair Red Flame with White Flame or Overheated Staff, you risk drawing too many Instant Burns without the enablers that make them work. This can be mitigated through card draw or running a second Burning wizard but Red Flame is still a bigger investment than other popular Burning staves. However, if you're willing to jump through some hoops or you want to fine tune the number of Instant Burns in your build, Red Flame is worth considering.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Burning wizards are good for dealing high single target damage but they are slow, incredibly legendary dependent, and replaceable with a budget warrior. You should instead be focusing on Firestorm and Volcano items. Even if you've got those covered and want to start on a Burning wizard, you are better off going for a more flexible staff like Barnum's Staff or White Flame. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None

 

Red Jon's Staff (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
As far as tokenless staves go, you can't do much better than Red Jon's Staff. Deadly Spark is one of the strongest standalone offensive spells and Stone Spikes is rock solid filler. Every other staff is either chock full of weak attacks or saddled with hefty handicaps making trait cycling staves like Hotglass Staff the next best option. While arcane items don't fare much better, it's far more common to go with tokenless powerhouse Asmod's Telekinetic Chain and pay full price for staves. That said, some wizards are built around spells that require tokens and a tokenless staff is a necessary evil. If you're in need of a tokenless staff, Red Jon's Staff is definitely worth considering.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Deadly Spark is great in the lower levels against block bearing goblins and kobolds, but Red Jon's Staff is not the only way to get it. Sure, it's the strongest way, but you are essentially paying a legendary price for some Stone Spikes. Just use one of the lower rarity substitutes or simply throw out test attacks draw out blocks. If you're going to invest in low level staves, Firestorm staves like Staff Of The Inferno are the way to go. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Greenspark Staff (R), Staff Of Peril (E)

 

Relic Of St. Darqar
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
While I can get behind playing solo copies of underutilized cards like Cause Fumble for the surprise factor, I would never do so at the cost of including weak cards. Sapping Spear is near unplayable for a vamp so it more than qualifies as weak for a support priest that would want Cause Fumble. Even if you are fine with running Sapping Spears, you are more than likely going to come across Relic of St. Darqar naturally since there aren't many legendaries around the same item level. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There is no surprise factor against the AI and Cause Fumble isn't a strong enough effect to warrant using Relic of St. Darqar over a standard vamp item like Wuuna's Vampiric Shroud. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Tome Of The Tree (R)

 

I'm curious, is Unsubtle Knife worth buying? You didn't seem to consider reviewing it here (not even in the list on page 1)...