Peon's Not So Daily Deal

Ekkerg's Amulet
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
While all three cards are good, Cone Of Cone and Glob Of Flame are at their best in separate archetypes. Most of the time, you're going to want one or the other depending on your game plan. You can certainly build a kitchen sink wizard that's an even mix of offensive and controlling spells but that is a double edged sword. Your opponent won't be able to predict what your wizard will do but you won't be able to rely on your draws either. Surprise factor is not nothing but you will benefit more often from a coherent underutilized strategy than a random assortment of cards. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Unfocused items like Ekkerg's Amulet are awful during the campaign unless your strategy involves all three cards. Not drawing what you need is backbreaking when you're up against an emotionless AI that doesn't change tactics based on previously played cards. You are much better off getting items that have more copies of the particular cards you want. That way, even if you do want Cone of Cold, Glob of Flame, and Stone Spikes in the same deck, you can cobble together your own Ekkerg's Amulet Frankenstein from different items while still being able to break them apart for more focused builds. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Hasek's Icy Ring (E) , Hylithia's Wand (E) , Lich's Locket (E) , Xochu's Icy Circlet (E) : Cone Of Cold
Rantic's Orb Of Inner Fire (E) : Glob Of Flame

 

Elemer's Diadem
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
There aren't too many good ways to get Force Cone but Elemer's Diadem is not one of them. You generally don't want to play Glob Of Flame on a control wizard if you can avoid it and things like Sander's Force Mirror allow you to do just that. Though I don't recommend it, even burning wizards that want a tiny bit of control have better items like Aloysi's Ring or Boxton's Red Pendant. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Force Cone does everything. It pushes stuff away, it block checks really well, and it moves your teammates forward in a pinch. I love having access to it but not at the cost of your damage output. Ideally you want to get Force Cone from Mullik's Blisterstaff but you can survive without it. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Rod Of Palver Pree (E), Bloodfoot Wand (E) , Glowing Jewel (U) , Runestone (C) , Wand Of Seared Air (C)

 

Elemer's Pine Staff (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
The two copies of Subtle Parry are what makes Elemer's Pine Staff stand out from most staves. Your wizard gets slightly better at surviving against melee characters at the cost of having 2 useless cards against opposing wizards. That may be the right call when you expect to face a lot of melee teams but the problem with Elemer's Pine Staff is that it doesn't go far enough. If you're going to put in stuff for a particular matchup, it better swing the odds heavily in you favor. That's why I prefer Staff Of Chask. Pushback Parry is not only more reliable but also punishes step attacks, which melee characters will lead off with more often than not. Sure, Punishing Bolt's short range is not so great against wizards but by playing a melee block staff you're already essentially giving up on that matchup. You're banking on facing more melee parties so make your melee matchup fantastic and leave Elemer's Pine Staff to the sissies with a fear of commitment. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
I'm not a fan of blocks that don't draw cards in singleplayer. If you're getting attacked by stuff that triggers the card draw on Subtle Parry, odds are you don't need blocks in the first place. Most of the time, you're better off drawing action cards over blocks on melee characters so adding blocks to wizards is out of the question. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Silver Fir Staff (E) , Voltstaff (E)

 

Evasion (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
When you are trying to get more Cantrip moves from your racial skill, 9 times out of 10 you are looking to get in surprise back attack kills. With Flanking Strike, that is incredibly hard to do. Ranged attacks almost never go into the double digits and you have to do some very awkward positioning to get behind a character while staying a square away. Add the fact that most of the ranged characters will be notoriously squishy elf wizards and Evasion becomes even less appealing. If you are looking to one hit kill with Cantrip back attacks, the best way to do so is with Quick Runs from Superb Footwork. Slippery items will also do the trick though you do need priority the turn you go off and you can only get a single copy. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Flanking Move will most likely be used to retain priority at end of turn. For 1 HP quests elf wizards are commonly used since low HP doesn't matter. If you find you need 3 more Cantrip cards than boots alone can provide then Evasion is the item for you. Otherwise, it's just not worth it.

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

 

Ewix's Evolving Ensemble (U)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Ewix's Evolving Ensemble is the only heavy armor with Adaptable and the only non-helmet item with Mimetic Crown. It is hands down the most powerful of all the Adaptable items but it is also the hardest to equip. Warriors are the most dependent on major tokens since the vast majority of their best weapons require them. When push comes to shove, it's generally going to be better siding with weapons. Warriors also don't have a great way to abuse Adaptable given the nature of their item slots so unless a weapon comes out with 2 Traveling Curses or something like that you're out of luck. Purchase if you want to build around Adaptable or Mimetic Crown and you have a suitable weapon setup in mind.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There are two things going against Ewix's Evolving Ensemble in singleplayer. It isn't consistent and, more importantly, it will take a chunk out of your damage output. You could argue that Mimetic Crown gives you extra attacks but you're only getting one copy and Spiked Tlahuiztli can dish out extra damage against melee attacks for no tokens. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None

 

Eye Of Wicna
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Flash Flood is decent at slowing down opponents. Whirlwind is not. You are just as likely to set yourself back with random symmetrical effects. At least with Whirlwind Enemies there is no chance of ending up in a worse position and improving your opponent's placement at the same time. Whirlwind can be useful as a last ditch effort to move an enemy away from your wizard but Tauri's Watery Maze and The Soulstone do just that with much less variance. In any case, Eye of Wicna doesn't have the "good" Whirlwind spell, isn't a reliable source of Whirlwinds if you do want to build around it, and there are plenty of other Flash Flood options to choose from. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There are some instances where Flash Flood can be useful but just killing everything before they can reach you is more effective. Also, Whirlwind is much less likely to work given how outnumbered you'll be most of the time. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Bimson's Water Stone (E) , Tauri's Watery Maze (E) , The Soulstone (E) , Pip's Anklet (E)

 

Fabrian's Shield (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Defender's Block is one of the best blocks in the game but magic blocks like Catch Arrow are nearly unplayable. Giving up melee blocks puts you at an incredible disadvantage against opposing melee character, especially if they are packing Parry shields. You need to block melee attacks in order to keep up with the damage race but the same isn't true against wizards. Their attacks don't do as much and you're more worried about control spells like Telekinesis that do little to no damage. While it's important to have countermeasures against wizards, blocks aren't as important as having sufficient mobility when facing them. If you really want a minor token Defender's Block shield, Ichabod's Buckler is the way to go. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Catch Arrow is a whole lot more useful when you know you'll face magic or projectiles but there are incredible tokenless shields for all situations. Bullseye Shield does nearly the same thing at a fraction of the cost. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Bullseye Shield (E), Magnetic Shield (E) : Catch Arrow
Buckler Of Protection (R) : Defender's Block

Comments from the Peanut Gallery
@Sir Veza
While I don't recommend Fabrian's Shield for the "penny pinching" SP players, if you have the gold, it's a nice item to have. Whether versus spells or the projectiles on map 4 of Batford, a shield that draws on any block it makes (2x vs magic/projectile, 1x vs any) is worth having.
YMMV.

 

Ferocity (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Dwarves have it rough when it come to Blind Rage. Their base movement often isn't good enough to reach opponents so you're faced with the tough choice of keeping attacks and taking damage or risk having a weak followup turn. Ferocity helps a little in the mobility department with Violent Spin but you're obviously going to get more bang for your token out of boots. If Violent Spin isn't essential to your build, you would be better served running the tokenless Raging Battler or something with Toughness instead. Ultimately, Ferocity isn't worth getting unless you are specifically building around Violent Spin and want that extra copy.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Mobility isn't all that important unless you are facing ranged mobs. In those situations, you are better off running humans for their team commands or elves for their long base movement. Spending a token on a single Violent Spin just doesn't cut it. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Apprentice Ferocity (E), Raging Rock (E) : Blind Rage

 

Final Sword (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Final Sword is a wizard slaying machine. Every hit you take with Vengeance in hand is another step closer to getting up close and personal. It's less useful against melee characters though you do get to choose when you want to disengage and possibly leave your opponent with unused attacks. While not a huge consideration, Vengeance is also a Silver attack giving you a decent boost against Creature Of The Night items and the potential for Silversmith buffing. There are going to be map rotations where wizards see increased play and you will want to have Final Sword at your disposal. Definitely worth purchasing.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Vengeance is nice to have against ranged mobs but it is no substitute for good mobility. Most rely on long base movement to avoid damage and a few free Walks isn't going to cut it. You are also giving up a good chunk of damage running Final Sword over a more robust weapon. Make sure you have mobility covered and stick with a good old Bejeweled Shortsword. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Talissa's Trident (E)

 

Flail Of Fury
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Flail of Fury is fair for a tokenless divine weapon but it doesn't do anything priests want particularly well. It's worse than Dark Drewg's Mace and Cudgel Of Wrath for damage, it doesn't have great buffs, and it doesn't cycle as well as Sacrificial Axe. Inquisitor's Strike has double digit damage potential but one card does not a divine weapon make. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
You could do worse but Flail of Fury pales in comparison to the best options. Besides, most priests are there for buffing so Sacrificial Axe or Vampire's Blade for card cycling is often the right call. Would not purchase.

Subsitutes
None

 

Flame Warper (NU)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Flame Warper is the best major token arcane item for a Burning wizard. Because the damage of Burning cards is back loaded on the attachment triggers, it's extremely important to have unique spells so as not to overlap on said attachments. Flame Warper is the only arcane item with Flame Spit so you are less likely to have redundant copies of the most popular arcane item spells, Flame Jet and Glob Of Flame. In addition, Accelerate Time can drastically speed up your damage output while also not overlapping with other cards. Not all Burning builds can support the major token cost but the ones that can should pick up Flame Warper.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
If you're thinking of playing a Burning wizard, prepare for a slow burn. There's a lot of single targeting and turn passing involved. I like my mobs to be toasty but Firestorm and Volcano are where it's at. While powerful, Flame Warper is not what I would be looking to invest in. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Boiling Warper (R) , Ethereal Crystal Gun (E)

 

Focused Crushing (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Unlike every other martial skill damage type boost, Crusher is silver quality. That means you are shelling out a token as there are no good tokenless options. Plus 2 damage is nothing to scoff at but there are a number of factors that bring down the usefulness of Focused Crushing. Crushing attacks are generally already high damage because most are straightforward vanilla attacks. You will have to forgo the tools traditional warriors rely on like Step attacks. In addition, that major token has to come from somewhere so you're downgrading some other aspect of your build. For warriors, major tokens usually go towards weapons so boosting damage on a weaker weapon is just counterproductive. It's also difficult to have a useful Crushing attack weapon setup that doesn't include a generous amount of Bashes, which have their own boost in Bruiser. The amount of hoops you need to jump through to make Focused Crushing work just isn't worth it. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There's not a lot of subtlety in playing against the AI so plain old Crushing attacks do just fine. However, major token is Bejeweled Shortsword territory so you may as well go with the way cheaper option that does nearly as much damage. Focused Crushing pairs nicely with Infused Greatclubs in the mid levels but they do enough damage already so Crusher is just a nice bonus rather than a must have. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None

 

Focused Ethereality
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Ethereal Form gives you a bunch of random cards that aren't particularly useful or cohesive and do next to no damage. Even the armor you gain while in spirit form is so conditional that it's basically limited to damaging terrain. You can't even build around it with stuff like Flash Of Agony because once you run out of stuff in hand you're drawing into crappy random spirit cards. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
The only reason you could conceivably want Ethereal Form is to get Doom once in a blue moon for hard to kill bosses. Even that isn't that great when you could load up a priest with Evil Hourglasses instead. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None

Comments from the Peanut Gallery
@hello world
I'd argue that focused ethereality is a blue face:http://forums.cardhunter.com/threads/ghost-bullets-2wizards-1priest.11101/ (A build based around the possibility of having wizards carry cards that can boost Jim's Magic Missiles without relying on priests thanks to the cards obtainable from spirit form.)

 

Focused Lycanthropy (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
The werewolf card pool is the best out of all the forms. You won't be getting any double digit attacks but the free armor you get from Lycanthropic Form helps you out in a damage race. With no real downside to being in werewolf form, the token cost is the only issue. Warriors are a major token hungry class and Focused Lycanthropy just isn't good enough to be worth the investment. I could see using Howling Lycanthropy if you have nothing better to spend a minor token on but there's always something else to do with major tokens. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
With Focused Lycanthropy, you are losing out in damage both from the weapon you have to downgrade and the lower damage attacks from the werewolf pool. What do you get in return you ask? A Reliable Mail. Not worth. Would not purchase.

Subsitutes
Howling Lycanthropy (E)

 

Focused Rapidity (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Free Move is useful for moving quickly across difficult terrain and it allows you to escape when you're surrounded or cornered but that's about it. What makes Fleet a little more interesting is the armor it provides. You won't be seeing a whole lot of untargeted damage out of opponents barring the occasional damaging terrain but you can run your own. Fleet can blunt self damage from stuff like Flash Of Agony or Firestorm. That said, you're forced to run a squishy elf wizard and Reliable Mail robes or boots do the job better. While Fleet could become useful given the right influx of new cards, there isn't much use for Focused Rapidity as of now. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There aren't a lot of instances where Free Move is needed and untargeted attacks are equally rare. In any case, there are better things to spend a major token on than 2 fringe effects. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None

 

Focused Thinker (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Barring the occasional Radiation Bomb or Spark Of Undeath priest, you're not likely to get hit with handicaps. That is of course unless you bring your own handicaps to the party. Items like Enormous Mattock and Sacrificial Axe offer handicaps that card cycle and effectively reduce your deck size. They make drawing your best cards more likely but at fairly steep costs if you aren't packing answers. While Lateral Thinking is technically an answer, it is also a huge Catch-22. You need to have a significant amount of handicaps in your deck to even consider Lateral Thinking over more useful cards. At the same time, the more handicaps you put in your deck, the more likely you are to draw a handicap off of Lateral Thinking itself. What's the use of discarding a handicap if it's going to be replaced by another? This makes Focused Thinker better as a backup plan to Arrogant Armor and at a major token, what an expensive backup plan it is. If you want run Lateral Thinking, I would opt for the minor token Trained Tactics instead, especially if using a major token Arrogant Armor item like Bern's Untouchable Mail. But what about wizards that don't have access to Arrogant Armor? They don't really need it. All their best handicap trait cycling items have Combustible (harmless against non-Burning opponents), Squeamish (easy to play around using attack buffs and non-targeting spells), Creature Of The Night (only a factor against Silver attacks), and/or Vulnerable (if you're getting hit you're probably not winning anyways). Would not purchase

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There are a couple handicap heavy modules where Lateral Thinking is helpful but you would be better served going with Arrogant Armor. When it rains handicaps it pours so you'll want the permanent solution that Arrogant Armor offers. This isn't an option for wizards of course but you can always bring a priest along packing Purges. Oh, and if you're looking for a way to deal with self imposed handicaps, there's an easy cost effective way to do it. Don't play any. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None

 

Focused Vampirism (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Running Vampiric Form on a vamp has its benefits. The vampiric card pool has higher damage potential than as most of a regular vamp's attacks are around Spear Of Darkness range. Regenerating 3 health every turn is also not too shabby. However, in playing Focused Vampirism, you are giving up one of the biggest reasons to run vamps in the first place, giving all your vamp attacks Cantrip with Talented Healer. It doesn't matter if your attacks are weaker if your opponent dies a death by a thousand cuts in one go. Healing 2 from every attack also trumps the regeneration Vampiric Form provides. You could certainly use Focused Vampirism on a support priest for some surprise damage but randomly losing access to your buffs and heals can be backbreaking. Non-vamps also have a much more difficult time slotting in a major token skill. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
If you want to run a vamp, the higher damage Vampiric Form gets the nod over Talented Healer. Cantrip matters a lot less when mobs get exhausted after a single attack. However, if you're looking to maximize damage, warriors are the way to go once you have access to major tokens. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Tainted Vampirism (E)

 

Forrtescue's Feathered Cap (N)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
When you play with Sprint, Team! you are free to move two thirds of your squad just about anywhere you want, barring difficult terrain. Might I suggest that support priest that was hanging out in the back? Or introduce any old wizard to the glory of Powerful Hacks. Heck, even a warrior is chump meat when you're fighting dirty in a two on one. Sounds awesome, so what's the catch? You can only get 2 copies of Sprint, Team! per character and that's only if you use human warriors. Triple warriors isn't too big of a deal since you want all your potential sprinters to be able to pack a punch. However, you'll have to do it without the usual buff priest so you are limited to high damage, low utility weapons. Use wimpy Step attack like weapons like Vibrant Pain or Double-Edged Sword and your wounded prey will have time to call for backup. No, what you need is Bejeweled Shortsword and lots of it. Naturally, this makes you weak against control wizards but everything else is fair game. While this type of strategy is sound, Forrtescue's Feathered Cap isn't the best helmet for the job. Lantern Helm gives you both an extra attack to pile on the damage and a cycling Combustible which is one of the tamest handicaps available. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Singleplayer maps often start you closer to the mobs, there is no element of surprise against the AI, and you are the one that is more likely to get ganged up on. Sprint, Team! is simply unnecessary. Play tokenless helmets or if you've got the tokens, something that increases your damage output like Angry Jack's Helmet or Bellowing Helm. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Lantern Helm (R) , Major's Helmet (E) , Mathiam's Helm (E) , Helm Of Alacrity (R)

 

Forval's Chain (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Forval's Chain isn't unplayable but it is thoroughly unexciting. Path Of Knives is at its best paired with control cards that move opposing characters like Telekinesis or Force Cannon. Even then, it's a huge liability against a wide array of cards that benefit from taking small amounts of damage like Vengeance or Martyr Blessing. Short Perplexing Ray on the other hand deserves to see more play but the good items it's found on are overcosted when compared to items with other controlling spells. In any case, Path of Knives and Short Perplexing Ray don't work all that well together and there are better items for both cards. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Short Perplexing Ray isn't bad as an emergency move and occasional armor removal but Path of Knives does too little without a lot of support. There are very few instances where there are few enough mobs for single target spells to be effective and they have anything bigger than a Walk. You are better off packing more offensive spells or, against bosses, control spells that keep them away from the entire team. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Blood Locket (R) , Booming Ring (E), Sarigo's Rod (E)

 

Forval's Teak Staff (P)
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Forval's Teak Staff is a fantastic staff for a control wizard that is way above average power level for double minor tokens. Unless you're relying on other characters for offense, control wizards want staves that go halfsies on control spells and powerful attacks. You'll want some stuff to put opposing characters out of their misery but you don't want to dilute your pool of control cards to the point where you aren't drawing them every turn. Freeze and Telekinesis bolster the control plan with Freeze doing double duty as a finisher along side Potent Spark. The rest is filler but Flash Of Agony and Stone Spikes are among the best of the paper quality wizard cards that can be finishers in a pinch. If you're in the market for a double minor token staff for a control wizard, Forval's Teak Staff is a great choice.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
While very good at what it does, Forval's Teak Staff isn't really needed. The bosses you come up against in the mid levels are fairly tame and don't require a control wizard. Once you go up against the hard stuff, you have access to major tokens and with them, a lot of good lower rarity control staves like Pearwood Staff. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
None