The Daily Deal

FWIW we're getting much closer to releasing info! And the work on the expansion is mostly ...

...

...

done.

 

Today's legendary is Dianon's Staff. I used it successfully in a Deadly Spark focused build once, but I wouldn't buy one. Unless you really love Deadly Spark.

More importantly, should I buy the epic, Grey Charm? One of two non-treasure epics I'm missing.

 

Dianon's Staff
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Dianon's Staff is a discounted Deadly, Deadly Staff so you need to decide whether or not the lower cost is worth it. If you're not using major tokens on staves you really only need them for racial skills and boots since there are very few good major token arcane items and robes. There isn't a right or wrong answer. There are plenty of great tokenless racial skills and boots and there are also incredibly powerful major token options for both. You also need to decide if you want Deadly Spark to begin with. Burst spells do pretty much the same things as Deadly Spark but better. The only real advantage over burst spells is the addition of Hard to Block and I don't think that's enough. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Deadly Spark may be able to hit multiple targets but not nearly as many as Firestorm. Hard to Block makes it better against things with magic blocks like goblins but you are limited to staves for any spark spells making spark wizards unreliable in general. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Staff Of Peril (E)

Grey Charm- The best card on Grey Charm is Savage Curse and there are plenty of better items to get it from.
Riptide- Decent weapon with lots of fancy attacks.
Sparkling Shell- Shimmering Aura sucks.

Notable Rares
Coruscating Blade- Good attacks, great draw spells, and an incredibly handy Purge.
Focused Electromancy- If only there were a good skill to go with all these Deadly Sparks.
Healthy Trickery- Great for elf vamps. Talented Healer turns Healing Dash into the world's best Quick Run and all those draining attacks take the sting out of Vulnerable.
Marmot Boots- Solid tokenless boots for pure movement.
Wingtip Robes- You don't need Fly often, especially on wizards, but this is one of the best ways to get it for certain leagues.

 

There are plenty of midlevel adventures where this weapon with the highest damage per silver token is really worth it, especially when you are using Savage Curse.
The problem with firestorm is that you take a lot of damage yourself as do the minor mobs, but to have a staff which offers the ability to focus damage on bosses and high hp enemies is quite worth it and makes things a lot easier.
This is a very good and tokenfriendly staff to add to a firestorm build.

 

Good point, though I think Staff Of Chask or Painful Flashstaff for Punishing Bolts is slightly better damage per token.

 

Mokad's Unholy Tome

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Multiplayer-2
Unholy Energy draws you 3 cards and only costs a couple life but what it offers in raw card advantage is overshadowed by how long it takes to get those cards. It will help you maintain a lead but drawing a card at the beginning of your next turn is not where you want to be when you are losing. Add the facts that it doesn't interact with any priest skills and can't self target and you can see why it's rarely played.

Singleplayer-2
If you are playing in an adventure where the enemies will give you time before they can interact with you the Unholy Energy is pretty decent. On average though, enemies start relatively close or on victory points so you don't have the luxury of waiting for extra cards.

Overall power level- There are so many things for priests to do. Delayed card draw should be near the bottom of the list. Also, there are cheaper items with Inspiration that will trigger Altruism. While they don't offer as many cards over the course of the game, the draws are immediate and can self target. If you're in the market for immediate card advantage Demonic Power gives you two cards but it does come on items with less than desirable cards. Would not recommend getting Mokad's Unholy Tome. Just stick with Inspiration for your draw priest needs.

Substitutes- Ebony Prayer Beads (R), Incense of the Caged Demon (E)

5-Will fit in any deck. Sees a lot of play in multiplayer or has great utility in single player.
4-Powerful, but deck specific. Popular in multiplayer or useful in certain adventures.
3-Average. You could do better, you could do worse. The cards on this item will not make or break a build.
2-Subpar. There are unplayable aspects to this item or many better alternatives exist.
1-Very bad to totally unplayable. Little or no redeeming qualities.
The Daily Deal

Unholy Energy is a lot better than I gave credit for. It sucks when you're behind but when the board state is even or better it will help you pull ahead. Mokad's Unholy Tome is still an awful purchase. Ebony Prayer Beads is essentially the same item but way cheaper.

Apprentice Tactics- You can't reliably build around Lateral Thinking with only one copy and the blocks are not great.
Blazing Shortsword- One of the best tokenless weapons.
Eych's Amulet- Reflexive Teleport is a sham. You're better off playing something like stuff like Telekinesis to avoid damage.

Notable Rares
Command- Best minor token team movement human skill.
Superb Evasion- Best team movement elf skill.

 

Evasion

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Multiplayer-2
Flanking Move is really useful on wizards. Too bad you have to use an elf wizard which is without question the least played race class combination due to being one Obliterating Bludgeon away from pushing up daisies. With wizards out of the equation you are left with stab warriors, step warriors, and ranged vampire priests. Evasion is an ok skill if you have one of these builds but if you're willing to replace a Flanking Move with a Shuffle you can get two copies of the far superior Quick Run from Superb Footwork that goes with any attack. Then maybe you could get some surprise Obliterating Bludgeon hits in on some elf wizards yourself (if those things existed).

Singleplayer-3
Flanking Move will most likely be used for the cantrip effect here. 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 a decent albeit unexciting skill.

Overall power level- Flanking Move is great but it is going up against amazing elf skills like Elven Maneuvers and Slippery. Would not recommend getting it especially when the common Superb Footwork does the job better 2/3 of the time.

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

5-Will fit in any deck. Sees a lot of play in multiplayer or has great utility in single player.
4-Powerful, but deck specific. Popular in multiplayer or useful in certain adventures.
3-Average. You could do better, you could do worse. The cards on this item will not make or break a build.
2-Subpar. There are unplayable aspects to this item or many better alternatives exist.
1-Very bad to totally unplayable. Little or no redeeming qualities.
The Daily Deal

Axamander's Ringmail- If you want Arrogant Armors for your priest I would look out for Untouchable Plate instead.
Novice Evasion- You're already playing an elf so you don't really need more range 4 movement cards. Slippery is bonkers but I would any of the other Slippery skills over Novice Evasion.
Rusty Healing Armor- Bad armor and mediocre heals.

Notable Rares
Blood Locket- Single item card combo. Just be aware of putting high damage targeted attacks on your wizard when you play Squeamish.
Focused Bruising- Bash warriors aren't everyone's cup of tea but they do get one of highest damage buffs.
Focused Pyromancy- Nearly an auto include for burning wizards.
Frosty Staff- One of the best cold staves.
Marmot Boots- Great tokenless boots for plain movement.
Slippery Shield- The major token cost is steep but it lets you add mobility without sacrificing other parts of your build.

 

So today is Quellic's Boots.

I am a bit torn on this.

I already have one, and almost never use it.

It is competing with several Team Walk cards and Diamond Moccasins.

However, it's a really good card...

 

Quellic's Boots
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Reliable Mail is one of the best armors in the game. Even though there are a couple armors that prevent slightly more damage per attack, the ability to jam a lot of copies into a deck puts it at number one in my book. Quellic's Boots sure looks like a great item but armored boots see very little play. Movement is too important to replace with armor for most melee characters. Wizards and support priests need movement the least but even they have much more important things to spend tokens on. It might be spells that prevent or deal more net damage than armor would. It might be team movement cards like Team Walk. Armor is best against wizards so most of them pack armor removal or go over the top with buffs like Savage Curse. Melee characters routinely do double digit damage allowing them to essentially ignore armor. Armor is simply overrated. Playing armored boots is really only warranted if you expect to take large quantities of small damage. With Firestorm builds out of the picture this is no longer a common scenario. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Armor is again not as important as other things you could be spending tokens on but playing armored boots has a lot more merit. The deciding factor in singleplayer is how great Firestorm is. When you play a Firestorm deck, you can break the symmetry by playing extra armors. Movement is also not nearly as important so when you have a spare token, the boots slot is almost always open. Quellic's Boots is a great option but it makes for an awful purchase when compared to Kerrick's Steel Boots. With movement not being as important, the difference between Flanking Move and Shuffle is tiny. It certainly is not worth 2k gold extra. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Kerrick's Steel Boots (E)

Big Ash Shield- I like big ashes and I cannot lie but I prefer Underdog's Shield for tokenless all purpose blocks.
Blackhammer- Great attacks for a divine weapon but that isn't the top priority for most priests. Also, you need to have a use for Wings Of Faith.
Demon's Goldenblade- Same deal as above except replace the dead card drawback with self damage.

Notable Rares
Blackeye Hammer- Decent weapon for a single token.
Focused Bruising- Good new, I'm going to buff all your attacks by 2. Just one little thing, you can only play Bashes.
Trainee Command- One of the few playable tokenless human skills.

 

Kelvim's Buckler

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Multiplayer
You need a darn good reason to spend a token on shields when there are multiple high quality tokenless shields.Disorienting Block is a fairly good reason. It plays double duty in closing gaps against wizards and re-positioning melee characters for a back attack. Wounded Block is one of my favorite blocks, not in terms of power level but which attacks get blocked. Wounded Block is less likely to fall to test attacks while you are at a healthy life total and jumps in effectiveness when you need blocks the most. As always, you also need to consider if other options are more powerful. While none are strictly better, you may find Bloodshield Of Xoc, Ichabod's Buckler, and Wellington's Shield more appealing than Kelvim's Buckler.

Singleplayer
Let's face it, our friend Gary is a few fries short of a Happy Meal. You do not need the help of Disorienting Block to get a back attack on the AI. Between mobs with action depletion, baiting out attacks, Clumsy, and random passing for no reason back attacks are easy to get. Most mobs don't even have blocks to worry about. Getting closer to ranged characters is still fine but not worth the token for shields when other slots give you better movement options for the same price.

Peon's prescription for prodigious players- If you have a specific build that wants Disorienting Block, Kelvim's Buckler is a solid choice. Would not get it for general builds and would pass on it for singleplayer completely.

Substitutes
Acrobat's Aegis (R) . Jaguar Buckler (E) : Disorienting Block
Bloody Shield (E) : Bloodied Block
The Daily Deal

Advanced Command- Many prefer the legendary Bloody Command but having an extra movement over a block can be better sometimes.
Dorimer's Boots- All strong cards but all are available separately on good minor token boots.
Tariel's Diadem- Counterspell is too narrow.

Notable Rares
Perfect Ferocity- This is my favorite dwarven vamp skill. You get the much needed penetrating from Frenzy Aura and vamps can easily afford the major token.
Skipping Boots- Solid pair of tokenless boots. Healing Dash is another card vamps look for to combo with Talented Healer.

 

St. Nyssa's Hammer
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
With both Strong Bash and Disorienting Block, St. Nyssa's Hammer is fairly well suited for taking over victory points. Disorienting Block also allows you to get an immediate back attack in. However, priests are the worst at taking advantage of these qualities. At best, you're going to have around 5 Bash cards and a couple Violent Spins to help you maintain a position. Warrior have access to full on Bash weapons while wizards can rely on a large number of controlling spells for the same purpose. Although priests have access to ginormous attacks like Mighty Bludgeon, they also tend to have the least number of attacks in general so it isn't likely that you'll be able to take advantage of back attacks. Vamp priests are the exception, but their attacks top out at 7 damage and they wouldn't want something like St. Nyssa's Hammer in the first place. If you're just looking for a divine weapon with a good mix of attacks and heals I would get Healing Hand Mace. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
A big draw to St. Nyssa's Hammer is the Disorienting Block but the card gets worse in singleplayer. There are fewer levels to steal victory points with, it's much easier to pull off back attacks against the AI, and blocks that don't replace themselves are not ideal when you are getting hit by more attacks. Also, the double major token cost severely limits the number of modules it's usable in. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Godtouched Spear (E) , Healing Hand Mace (E) , Nimbus Blade (E)

Bertha's Big Clogs- The best tokenless armored boots. Good for low level Firestorm farming.
Red Shaman's Blade- Priests want to be buffing, healing, or vamping. Red Shaman's Blade isn't very good at any of them.
Tempered Flamestaff- Not bad for a single token but much worse than more token intensive options. Igneous Scorchstaff or Overheated Staff are also vastly superior options.

Notable Rares
Displacing Staff- Cheapest source of Punishing Bolts to do large amounts of damage to single targets in singleplayer.
Enormous Mattock- Great weapon if you can get around the handicaps with stuff like Arrogant Armor.
Vampire's Blade- One of the best vamp weapons.

 

I found the Overheated Staff to be very useful in my burning wiz / fragile priest build. It saves a precious token which lets you pick up Solid Rock or Robe of White Wylla instead of a tokenless item.

 

Suvv's Boots Of Escape

Spoiler: Previously Reviewed

Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Suvv's Boots of Escape are the only boots that can draw you 3 cards. Paring down your effective deck size is one of the most powerful things you can do. The less cards you have to draw the more often you're going to see your most powerful cards. However, unlike trait cards, Escaping Run requires you to give up initiative to reap the benefits. If you are using it to draw cards on a melee character you either have to move away and give your opponent the opportunity to retreat or stand your ground and let your opponent get an extra hit in. If you're playing a wizard, you need to maneuver close enough to let your opponent get next to you, which is not ideal. If you're using it on a support priest you need to again move close to the enemy or keep hanging on to Escaping Run turn after turn until you have the chance to use it. Requiring a major token is another big factor that you need to weigh in. Overall, I believe Suvv's Boots of Escape won't draw you the full 3 cards often enough to justify both the tempo loss and the token cost. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
If using minor token boots is a faux pas then using major token boots is a felony punishable by harsh ridicule from your peers. I'm talking mean stuff. Someone might even call you a ruffian. If you're using the token on boots just to conditionally cycle cards there are probably some other slots that could be upgraded for greater effect. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Lum's Moccasins (E) : Escaping Run
Ballet Shoes (C) , Sticky Slippers (R) : Deck size reduction
The Daily Deal

Crespin's Shroud- Cause Fumble is narrow but interesting to play around with. Crespin's Shroud is as cheap as it gets as Cause Fumble goes.
Plates Of Ixicha- Arrogant Armor keeps Plates of Ixicha from being a great armor. Not many decks want it due to shutting off buffs and the ones that do want as many as they can get.
Vigun's Blessed Blade- You need a use for Surestrike Blessing or you'll end up with 2 relatively dead cards.

Notable Rares
Diamond Moccasins- Great boots for chasing down pesky ranged characters.
Tough Leather Cap- Getting to play with Dash, Team! without having to play human skills is a huge plus. Being on a helmet kinda locks you into playing 3 melee characters to get maximum value but anything to avoid playing bland humans, am I right?

 

Elemer's Pine Staff
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)

Nimbus Blade- Solid attacks to go along with a pair of Impenetrable Nimbuses. If you're just looking for the buffs for singleplayer you can use the much cheaper Duality Mace instead.
Savage Plates- You can get much better rates on attack buffs from divine items but if those slots aren't free this is the next best option.
Shimmering Hood- Shimmering Aura sucks.

Notable Rares
None

 

Massive Harm
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Massive Harm does more damage than any other single token weapon but that damage comes at a steep cost. Discarding your oldest card rarely works out. They are always going to be the best cards saved from the previous turn barring corner cases like Officer's Harness. You need to expend the rest of your hand to play around the drawback of Controlled Overswing. Armor and blocks throw a wrench in that plan. I would much rather skimp on 3 damage and play a straightforward Beater. Even without the discard clause, Massive Harm is just a bunch of vanilla attacks in which case you're better off playing The Strongarm and spending the token elsewhere. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Controlled Overswing is much less painful when you don't care about discarding armor and blocks. Still, I'm not big on buying something that will only get played in a couple lower level modules. Massive Harm is perfectly playable and could be the best weapon for some low level warrior based farming parties. Purchase if you're dead set on maxing out damage output. Would not purchase if you're a cheapo like me who is perfectly happy playing Blazing Shortswords and Maquah Of Ancient Bloods.

Substitutes
Maquah Of Ancient Blood (E)

Barreling Club- Am I the only one that really wants to see a Cult of the Barreling Club? #BejeweledShortswordisBS
Manifold Medic- Triple Heals is not a strong enough card to want over more traits.
Trained Flexibility- High risk high reward item. The blocks are either great or dead. Advanced Battlefield Training can similarly swing games or lead to card disadvantage if your trainee is dealt with for the turn.

Notable Rares
Green Lotus Root- Insane damage potential when combined with an Instant Burn wizard.
Incense Of Roiled Air- One of the best non-Bleneth Mass Frenzy items.
Ironcurse Robes- Reliable Mail on robes is very rare and the other two cards aren't terrible.

 

Sander's Force Mirror
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Based on power level alone, Force Cone is weaker than control spells that allow you to choose where targets end up. The more walls or impassable terrain a map has the worse it gets. However, Force Cone has two qualities that no other control spell has both of. It is able to hit multiple targets and you can get multiple copies per token spent. There's also a slight advantage in not being a targeted spell but that isn't going to be relevant often. Being so map dependent, Sander's Force Mirror is not going to be better than something like Ring Of Appropriation most of the time so I would not prioritize it highly. However, if there's one place Force Cone shines it's Death March league. You never have to worry about walls getting in the way and you can shove any number of opposing characters away from the victory point without worrying about Smoke Bombs or Illusory Barriers. Pick it up if you plan on grinding Death March leagues or have a lot of spare gold. Would not purchase otherwise.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
Force Cone is amazing for keeping mobs without blocks at bay but at the end of the day it's still a control spell. Every copy of Force Cone you put into your deck takes a place that should go to a hard working Firestorm instead. Playing keep away is nice but killing everything outright is better. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Ring Of Appropriation (E)

Blessed Mail- Decent, but if you're going to spend a token on armor you're better off with Cintxotl Mail.
Cohr's Black Scepter- Whirlwind is too likely to screw your positioning or help out your opponent to play. I would much rather play Bloodfoot Wand.
Xalanen's Boots- Say no to Shimmering Aura.

Notable Rares
Superb Evasion- The power level of Elvish Scamper against rounded eared folk is off the charts. The elves you do wind up facing are mostly going to be warriors or vamps in which case you won't need to chase them down.
Yolotli Armor- If you're going to spend a major token on heavy armor, this is the one to do it with.

 

Link to Force Mirror doesn't WOOOOORK!!!!!!
I got this - http://wiki.cardhuntria.com/wiki/Items/Sander's_Force_Mirror

 

Hawlic's Surging Shield
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
Surging Shield Block is meant for one thing. Chasing down wascally wazzards. Being able to block a spell and move in for the kill while retaining priority is huge. The biggest problem with Hawlic's Surging Shield is the major token cost. Warriors weapons are incredibly token hungry so defense usually winds up being an afterthought. Vamp priests are much more likely to be able to fit a major token shield in but let's just pretend you've got the spare token. Now you need a good reason to play Hawlic's Surging Shield over Aegis Of The Defender, arguably the best shield in the game. You can have Surging Shield Block, fantastic against wizards but not much better than a Block against everything else, or Defender's Block, great against just about everything. There are also a couple minor token shields with double Surging Shield Block to consider. Put all that together and it's really hard to justify playing let alone purchasing Hawlic's Surging Shield. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
If you've been following along for a while you'll know that one of my rules is to never buy legendary shields. Hawlic's Surging Shield is no exception. Having good ways of getting close to ranged mobs is a must but Surging Shield Block is not the best way of doing it and certainly won't give you the best bang for your major token buck. Would not purchase.

Substitutes
Jaguar Buckler (E) , Quick Buckler (E) , Spiked Shield (E) , Wedge Shield (E)

Impervious Panoply- The most playable minor token heavy armor with multiple Arrogant Armors. More of a singleplayer item since attachments are more powerful and abundant there.
Staff Of Chask- Great for hosing melee attackers, awful against opposing ranged characters.
Trickster's Blade- It doesn't get any stabbier than Trickster's Blade but the damage is piss poor.

Notable Rares
Acrobat's Aegis- Two great blocks and a cycler.
Savvy Attacker- Most warrior traits are frivolous so a skill with a powerful card like Team Walk is one of the best.

 

Ahem, what about Vinorkin's Cuirass?

 

Porior's Nimble Mace
Peon's Prescription for Prodigious Multiplayers
People seem to love Lunging Bash but I just don't see it. Lunging Strike is bad, Simple Bash is bad, and their unholy union just doesn't appeal to me much more. Lunging Bash bashing aside, Porior's Nimble Mace is the most playable Bash weapon that costs a token or less. However, I would highly recommend moving another token to weapons for vastly superior options if you're building a Bash warrior. Would not purchase.

Peon's Perspective for Penny-Pinching Singleplayers
There are much fewer maps that have victory squares to take take control of with Bashes. There is also likely going to be too many mobs to keep away with Bashes alone. Warriors just want damage for the most part and Porior's Nimble Mace does not deliver in that department. Would not purchase.

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

Axander's Twisted Circlet- Short Perplexing Ray has it's uses and this is the best minor token option for it.
Maquah Of Ancient Blood- One of the best single token weapons.
Perfect Flexibility- Advanced Battlefield Training is high risk high reward. You can also use it as a combo enabler for getting access to more copies of particular cards on to a single character.

Notable Rares
Buckler Of Protection- Anything with Defender's Block is worth considering. Lifesaving Block is also great though stuff like Punishing Bolts and buffed attacks can get around it.
Tough Leather Cap- Dash, Team! is another hard to find card that is bonkers. Be sure to check for blocks with another character before pulling the trigger on All Out Attack.