Why The Lunginator is one of the best weapons in the game

Yeah, that match was a nailbiter. It ended up being a lot closer than that. I had both characters at 1 hp controlling 2 victory points for the final star. Might have won if he didn't have Quick Run but the game probably would have ended up playing out a bit differently.

 

That's true! I realize my reports are not 100% accurate. The wording and exposition can be quite misleading at times. That was far from a one-sided game, I tell you!

I do that because I don't want every single report to be multiple paragraphs long. I think including the highlights only results in more entertaining posts, and probably informative enough too, as the interesting bits are not lost in the noise of the turn-to-turn action. Even if that end up leading to a not-extremely-faithful retelling of the actual match.

 

Ouch. 1/4 won

1) vs 3 dwarf warriors on Temple. Did this go awry in all meaningful (and not meaningful) ways. All of his warriors come with quite a bit of mobility (Wild Runs, Dash, Team, tons of Scuttle, Team! and step attacks). They also brings armors and blocks of all kinds. Did I mention Blind Rage and Immovable? I tried doing my best, TKing people around, but Dwarves managed to come back like they were effin' Juggernauts. I didn't drow any team moves of my own either. Lo and behold, Beast managed to hold ground pretty well, bringing one of the devils to ~15 hp, the other to 20 or so, all on his own and despite Reliable Mails, Arrogants, Heavy Armors and whatnot. but the enemy dwarves eventually closed in on my wiz, who had to run all the way up in a corner... that wasn't pretty. My priest landed a big Sundering Strike near the end, stripping a guy down naked in the process, but a Mighty Bludgeon was more than enough to finish him. Beast falls shortly after.

2) vs 2 dwarf warriors 1 human priest on Temple. My opponent picks very odd positioning on round 1, which makes me very nervous. In fact, he drew a Violent Spin and Team Walk. His dwarves have NS too. Luckily I have a Walk, Team! and a Team Walk of my own, so I can reposition accordingly. This doesn't prevent him from holding the VS and he's ready to strike pretty mcuh whenever he wants. A TK also gets deflected by a Defender's Block from his priest. I'm scared of engaging, at this point, so I try poking the priest with a burst. Another Defender's Block! It wiffs, this time, but that's worrying. The priest is safe behind the wall of dwarves, and I have no more support moves to play. I can't postpone engagement much longer, so I accept the fact that block will trigger, and play more control spells. One of the dwarves hit my priest with a buffed NS, I'm forced into moving him close to the wall, but safe. That's what I thought, at least. The priest plays a Dash, Team! I use a 8dmg attack, just because (it lands btw). I know my priest is dead anyway. I'm down by 1 man, my opponent keeps holding the VS. I move towards the priest, which runs away ofc. Not that I didn't see that, but I was praying the close by dwarf didn't have another NS. He did (on top of Frenzy Aura, Blind Rage, MF, and a slew of attacks). The game is mathematically lost, so we exchange our attacks until Beast falls.

3) vs 3 human wizards on Koi. I move Beast worward. My path toward the VS and the wizard occupying it get's blocked by Acid terrain. They also cast PoK on my warrior. We procede positioning around the map. When I think round 1 is probably over, my opponent uses Dash, Team. One of the wizards moves to an awesome position and manages to get both Beast and my priest with 2 Deadly Sparks. Round 2, they Winds of War Beast away, dealing good damage via PoK. Game is going real bad already, I might as well risk it all. Go on the offense with priest and manage to Fiery Stab one of the wizards. Lots of fire spells are cast on him, enough to kill him via burn damage. I move Beast towards one of the wizards, ignoring PoK. He backs away. Priest adds Savage Curse on top of the buffs Beast got already. He then Quick Runs (another 6 dmg!) closing in on the helpless wiz. Two buffed Unnerving Strikes deal more damage than needed. My opponent finishes off Beast and takes the game as the next round starts.

4) vs 3 priests on Lions. Usual positioning game in round one, not much happens, aside from casting Unholy Wellspring on my wiz. Round 2, he moves an elf vampire to attack the wiz but he's TKed away. On the other side of the map, another priest engages Beast. An Unnerving Strike connects, but he casts Imp Nimbus, so I'm forced to leave the VS and move Beast towards middle. Round 3, he's becoming more aggressive, also because of my buffed wiz bursting his elf hard. I catch the elf and another priest with a big burst, the elf is down to 3hp and forced to hide away in a corner. I move wizard to the VS on the side, but both human priests get close to her and land a hit, so she has to back away. Another burst connects, before I finally push them, both short on cards, with buffed Beast. One of the priests goes down fast, but the other one manages to kill beast on the next turn. My opponent has to play hide and seek cause the next burst could mean game over. He finally pushes again, but control spells keep both vamps away. When I cast the Stone Spikes he's out of moves, gg.

 

DUDE... I understand that based on game play and experience you can decide on how you view an item... but to say an item you have never used in live play is the best is at best wild speculation.

 

It's called "theory". Some people are very good in it, others consider their theories "wild speculation" until somebody proves them. I have to thank Bandreus for that!

 

Maybe I should have said at best a hypothesis... a theory requires evidence.
But it is seriously speculation. A card like lunging bash might be good in small doses having 25% of total cards and over 25% of effective deck size taken up by 4 point attacks that puts you out of range for a better follow up is weak.

 

This is exactly what I have thought for, I don't know, several months before actually using it in an actual game.

Lunging Bash is far from being the useless card many think it is. Sure, you need to be aware of how your positioning is gonna affect your options, but you can make the best out of it in the vast majority of instance, especially on maps which don't feature huge open spaces.

Also worth being kept in mind, the utility of Lunging Bash is threefold: being a step-attack, it can be used both for offense and movement. It isn't as powerful as Vicious Thrust (although it comes close when Crusher is active), and it doesn't offer the same mobility of NS, but still. More importantly, it gives you some degree of control over your opponent. I cannot state how many times I used it to get an enemy warrior away from my priest/wizard, or to push him away from a VS. Lunging Bash might not be the best step attack out there, but it certainly is the most versatile.

Oh, and you can indeed follow a Lunging Bash up with a melee attack, as long as your opponent can't be pushed away because of walls/other chars/immovable/stone feet preventing that.

Anyway, one more set of games. 2/4 won

1) vs 1-1-1 on Temple. My initial draw isn't the best. Beast is on Blind rage, but he only has a Lunging Bash. Better save that for later. My opponent moves the wiz to the VS. This should have made my spider sense tingle, as you'll see later. I cast a MF and position my guys with a Walk, Team! while my opponent casts a fire spell on wiz. Round 2, his wiz uses Scouting Run on my wiz and pushes towards her despite seeing 2x TK and a GoW, which I find... strange? I have too much control in my hand, so I TK him away regardless of any blocks he might have. Strangely he doesn't have any, but moves forward again instead. I GoW him away while pushing Beast forward, and then I understand. The priest had Sparkling Cloth Armor, so did his warrior: this is very, very bad. His wiz unloads a whole slew of fire spells, catching both my wiz and priest with them. I chase him with Beast, but I got SPRed before I could reach him. I then chase the wiz with my priest, landing a Fiery Stab. He has Resistant Hide, so burning damage won't kill. My opponent repositions via Team Walk. The game goes on like this for another turn. I can't finish the wiz off (got SPRed again), my own wiz is chased and eventually finished by an Ember Bursts, priest dies to burning damage too. It's 1 v 3. I hold the VS with beast, I have a decent hand, so I try my best.His wizard doesn't have any good attacks, so I doesn't deal much damage at all. I got pushed away, which is the perfect chance for me to to Brutal Charge and kill his guy. His dwarf warrior steps in. He got 5 VPs already, so I have to cope with facing him. He's loaded on attacks and on Blind Rage, so Beast gets down to 4hp. An Unnerving Strike and Mighty Hack of my own seriously injury his warrior in return. As I'm thinking I can still do this if I get a good draw next, he casts Wall of Fire, so I have to concede.

2) vs 1-1-1 on Koi. He grabs the VS with his vamp priest and positions is other two guys. I buff Beast with Unholy Frenzy + Savage Curse. Ember burst is cast on his dwarf wiz, Resistant Hide and Duck are revealed (luckily Duck doesn't trigger). Getting near to a vamp while Talented Healer is active is dangerous, but I risk it. Turns out he had a couple drains, which let him survive (though on 4hp left!) to the Beast's fury. Round 2, he goes on the offensive with his elf warrior. Smart positioning, a TK and a Walk, Team! let me manage to keep him away. This gave his vamp the chance to run away, however, and also to grab the VS with the wiz. Following round, more elf warrior chasing my wiz around the map. I cast another TK to keep him away, and he fails his rolls on both an Unreliable Block and a Disorienting Block. That was very lucky of me. He lands a Vicious Thrust on my wiz, but Beast is close by and can Lunging Bash him away. Next round, I finish his priest off with an ember burst and flank the dwarf wiz with my warrior and priest. His elf tries and go to the rescue, but he giving his back to my wiz means I can TK him away again. The dwarf wiz can't survive a combined attack like that, as both my characters are very much loaded. He can't avoid defeat after being down to one guy alone.

3) vs 1-1-1 on Temple. My opponent positions his guys defensively, aside from the warrior, who's holding the VS. Beast didn't draw any attack, but has Quick Runs, so I move him behind a corner ready to strike. I decide to poke his warrior with a Fiery Stab of my priests (a bit reckless of me, I know). It lands, but the warrior has Sparkling cloth armor. He doesn't move, but rather replies with a Penetrating Stab of his own. I TK priest back, but his wiz had a hidden Dash and gets in range to cast a Fireball on Both my wiz and priest. Round 2, opponent moves towards my guys, I TK him away, he Walk, Teams back, I'm forced into moving my guys to safer locations, but he can still reach my wiz. He's short on cards, I'm willing to soak up some damage with my wiz, so I add Unholy Frenzy to Beast's MF and Crusher. I move Beast in position, Quick Run + Mighty Hack brings him to 2 hp. He Sparkles behind a wall. The following rounds go smoothly. I use a Gusts of War to both move my priest where enemy wiz can't burst him and finish off his warrior. My wizard is also in position to land 4 (4!) buffed bursts on his wiz, damage is soaked by his Reliable Mail, but good damage is dealt. I keep priest away from enemy's LoS, a few control spells are exchanged, but finaly the wiz can't escape Beast's clutch. I didn't go well. For him. gg

4) vs Cult of the Bejeweled on Temple. I expect him to be on top of my guys right from round 1. And in fact he does, one of his elves has enough moves to get right onto the offensive. Luckily I have Walk, Team! so I can delay direct engagement. Buffed wiz lands a buffed burst on the nearest elf, he takes full damage. Beast manages to kill the hurt elf during round 2, my other gives soak in a few hits. The game goes completely awry from then on. I did a terrible mistake, leaving my priest right next to the wall at the end of previous round and my opponent who has the initiative can pin him down and do quick work of him. Wizard manages to land a few spells, but she can't outrun the elves forever. it's up to Beast vs 2 elves, which could have been a not so impossible fight, given I only needed to kill either to take the game. If only I drew any attack. When he finally killed my last guy, the dwarf had like, 2 reliable mails, 3 officer's, a block and a couple moves.

 

last set of the usual bunch. 2/4 won

1) vs 2 wiz 1 priest (all dwarves) on Lions. I'm extremely happy to see Sparkling Cloth on both Beast's and my priest's first hand. One of the wiz lands an Ember Burst around a corner, so Beast sparkles forward. He keeps casting fire spells, a Glob and a Storm, pushing away MF from Beast, but that makes me reach the VS. I make sure I keep priority when the round ends. With all the sparkling, I circle wiz #1 and Lunging Bash slam-him, his back to the wall, where he has little room to escape. Wiz #2 Boils Beast's armor away, so I opt to save Beast's move card for the moment. I move my wiz into position. She casts a couple buffed bursts hitting the other wiz for decent damage. He moves his priest forward, a Team Heal is cast but, strangely enough, the wizards stop casting spells. I sense control spells being saved, so I try and bait him. I move Beast away instead of closing in on the wizards. It works: wiz #2 uses Gusts of War to place the priest onto the VS. I Flanking Move + Run my priest from a VS to the next. My wiz TKs Beast on top of wiz#1. Wiz #2 muct be out of control spells as I hoped, so Beast can unload his hand and kill his mate. Volcano is finally cast. All of my chars + his priest get full lava damage. Beast is down to 1 hp, but I have the initiative. Priest also sparkles where he can offer protection via Defender's Block. I move Beast behind the corner. Wiz #2 must'n be carry bursts, as he doesn't cast any. My wiz on the other hand does. I finish the remaining spellcaster from afar and my opponent has to concede.

2) vs 2 warriors 1 wizard on Temple. I have a couple team moves for my first hand, my opponent probably has his own too. I buff Beast up to the max (he's got a couple Unnerving Strikes) and use Dash, Team! To get priest and Beast next to the VS where the wizard is. My opponent uses a Dash, Team of his own. His wiz backs away, my guys are out of LoS. Round 2, more positioning game going on. Beast gets Freeze-d. My wiz dances with one of the warriors using a Team Walk, staying outside of harm's way and letting Beast get toe-to-toe with the other warrior. He has an AoA, I don't have block and take in good damage. I reply with a buffed Unnerving Strike, but he has Sparkling Cloth and can get away. Round 3, his wizards hits Beast with a buffed Mighty Spark. Then finishes him off while he's trying maneuvering by using Quick Run + Powerful Bludgeon combo. It's clear at this point I've been outmatched. Maybe I could have done better with better draws. Wiz falls next (another AoA) and I concede.

3) vs 2 priest 1 warrior on Dojo. This was a really bad match. Round 1 seemed like everything was going for the better, buffs going up, keeping the enemy warrior on Blind Rage away, etc. Then engagements started. At first, I managed to land a big Quick Run + Unnerving Strike on elf priest. Then his vamps managed to catch my guys pretty much with their pants down. Only got poor draws, so didn't really had much to respond with. Got pretty much demolished in this game as well.

4) vs Cult of the Bejeweled on Koi. He's immediately aggressive ofc. One of his elves gets too close, so I TK him away. Savage Curse + Burst deals good damage. One of his guys is on Blind Rage and Elven Manuevers, and takes some damage by attacks in his hand when round ends. More pressure by my opponent, so hits are exchanged, team moves used to avoid unnecessary hits. The injured elf is taken down beast, but this build is very dangerous even when numerically inferior, so I'm very prudent still. He's willing to pass a couple turns while holding the VS: I let him do that, both of his guys are on Blind rage, so he takes more damage and I avoid unnecessary risks. I saved lots of moves on my other guys, which lets me escape dangerous situation, being hit by a Vicious Thrust only before TKing one of his guys away. Then, another engagement. Beast is taken down, but not before dealing a few hits of is own, sadly unbuffed. My opponent however is out of positions and, and one of his warriors has no cards. I move my priest all the way up to the center where he is, a couple hits + Savage Curs take him out. The remaining elf tryes to catch up, but I TK him away while holding the VS. I'm 1 point away from victory. A burst lands, revealing he has armor. I let him come close to the priest, as he hasn't enough to kill anyway. My priest does, however.

I'm pretty tired and need to go to sleep. Impressions post tomorrow.

 

For the record I think Lunging Bash is an under utilized card. I have a Lunginator and I used it in one of my last builds. Granted I like it as much for the Mighty Hack and the 2 Unnervings as the lunges, but I just don't see the utility in having 3 with 9 lunges. I think if you swapped out 1 of the lunginators for a top ranged weapon (e.g. Double Edged) or a utility weapon with Bash specifically Opaline Hammer you might come out ahead. But what do I know I'm just happy to be ranked in the 1500s again.

 

Hey @doog37 , that's a much more reasonable stance I could agree with. Sorry for not interpreting your feedback correctly, I got the (mistaken) impression you were dismissing Lunging Bash altogether. I don't think 9x Lunging Bashes in a deck doesn't make sense, at least in the specific build I'm using: this dwarf needs all the mobility he can get, I tell you. Despite all the team moves I have on my characters, I find the Lunging Bashes often help the Beast get exactly where he wants.

Ofc, with 3x The Lunginator, sometimes you do draw just too many of them. Luckily, that doesn't happen as much as you'd think, although I had a match yesterday where I drew four over two consecutive rounds while fighting another warrior (that one game didn't turn out too well ).

But, to be completely fair, I've been thinking about swapping one of the Lunginators out for something else myself. Maybe in the near future.

1/1/1 Luginator Build overall impressions​

I finally had the time to review my latest batch of games and condense my thoughts. This has been my worst run with this build to date: 8/16 = 50% rate

I thought I would do some statistics work this time around.

Spoiler: crunching numbers. please wait

This data only includes games I've played since the last time I tweaked the build. Also, games vs. Cardotron have been excluded.

Code:

╔══════════════════════════════════╗
║        Game Results by Map       ║
╠══════════╦═════╦═════╦═════╦═════╣
║   Map    ║ Won ║ Los ║ Tot ║  %  ║
╠══════════╬═════╬═════╬═════╬═════╣
║   Dojo   ║  8  ║  5  ║ 13  ║61.5%║
║   Koi    ║ 15  ║  2  ║ 17  ║88.2%║
║  Lions   ║ 12  ║  4  ║ 16  ║75.0%║
║  Temple  ║  5  ║  7  ║ 12  ║41.7%║
╠══════════╩═════╩═════╩═════╩═════╣
║      Results by Enemy Build      ║
╠══════════╦═════╦═════╦═════╦═════╣
║  Build   ║ Won ║ Los ║ Tot ║  %  ║
╠══════════╬═════╬═════╬═════╬═════╣
║  1/1/1   ║ 11  ║  1  ║ 13  ║84.6%║
╠══════════╬═════╬═════╬═════╬═════╣
║2war/1pri ║  9  ║  4  ║ 13  ║69.2%║
║2war/1wiz ║  2  ║  3  ║  5  ║40.0%║
║   3war   ║  5  ║  4  ║  9  ║55.5%║
╠══════════╬═════╬═════╬═════╬═════╣
║2pri/1war ║  1  ║  1  ║  2  ║50.0%║
║2pri/1wiz ║  2  ║  1  ║  3  ║66.7%║
║   3pri   ║  3  ║  1  ║  4  ║75.0%║
╠══════════╬═════╬═════╬═════╬═════╣
║2wiz/1war ║  -  ║  -  ║  -  ║  -  ║
║2wiz/1pri ║  6  ║  1  ║  7  ║85.7%║
║   3wiz   ║  1  ║  2  ║  3  ║33.3%║
╠══════════╬═════╬═════╬═════╬═════╣
║Bejeweled ║  4  ║  1  ║  5  ║80.0%║
╠══════════╩═════╩═════╩═════╩═════╣
║         Overall Results          ║
╠══════════╦═════╦═════╦═════╦═════╣
║Overall   ║ 40  ║ 18  ║ 58  ║67.8%║
╚══════════╩═════╩═════╩═════╩═════╝

The sample size is not exactly the best, but a few interesting facts seem to emerge.

• Best Maps: Koi (~88%), Lions (75%)
• Worst Maps: Temple (~42%)

This might very well be because I happened to lose a bunch of games on Temple during the last few days, but still. I think I have a really hard time on Temple mainly because delaying the engagement is very hard there. This build kind of needs at least a couple turns to get the buffs going in order to be really effective.

Furthermore, the Beast also suffers being forced into prolonged engagements, as he can't sustain too much damage w/o drawing blocks and/or armor. Matches on Temple tend to be relatively short and violent. Moreover, reaching the wizard is much easier on a map like Temple, as spaces are not exactly wide open, with difficult terrain often in the way of your escape routes.

As for match-ups: the numbers here are definitely less reliable (only played a few games vs. a lot of the possible builds). The games/build breakdown would also need to be more specific (races are not accounted for, for instance). Anyway, I guess this is still good for your entertainment:

• Best Match-ups: 2 Wizards/1 Priest (~86%); 1/1/1 (~85%); Cult of the Bejeweled (80%);
• Worst Match-ups: 3 Wizards (~33%); 2 Warriors / 1 Wizard (40%)

These are pretty much "just because" figures. The data was there, and easy enough to gather, so I put it in for your enjoyment.

The only match-ups I've played at least 10 games vs. (at least, if only counting those from the data I've analyzed) would be the already mentioned 1/1/1, and 2 Warriors / 1 Priest (~69%).

I listed a special entry for Cult of the Bejeweled only because it's the only specific build I kept track of (and even then, chances are I didn't mark a few games vs CotB as such). I wouldn't take that figure very seriously anyway.

With that out of the way, I feel really bad about the poor performance I've experienced as of late. One of the rules I've given myself is "don't change the build just because you happened to lose a bunch of games", so I'm resisting the urge to tweak it "right naoh".

I wanna try tweaking The Beast in a very minor way (well, maybe not that minor), and possibly do something with my priest too. But I'll wait til after the next set of games.

Rating-wise: I've lost about 100 elo and am now in the high 1500s again. That's what happens when you lose several games and you often play vs. players with a rank considerably lower than yours I suppose. I'm not particularly worried about it. We shall see if I can come back from this downfall.

EDIT: I almost forgot! Here's the current build for the enjoyment of @Souleye and anybody else who is interested.

Spoiler: 1/1/1 Lunginator Build v2

Tellorzac
Level 20 Human Wizard

Blue Destruction
Staff Of A Million Embers
Asmod's Telekinetic Chain
Ring Of Appropriation
Ring Of Appropriation
Asmod's Telekinetic Chain
Robe Of Lightness
Kelharin's Clogs
Trained Command
Electroporter Novice

8 x Telekinesis
6 x Arcane Burst
1 x Attack, Soldier!
2 x Officer's Harness
1 x Team Walk
1 x Dimensional Traveller
2 x Gusts Of War
6 x Ember Burst
1 x Dash, Team!
1 x Spark Inductor
2 x Stone Spikes
1 x Spark Generator
1 x Cloth Armor
2 x Hover
1 x Walk, Team!
​

Fredon
Level 18 Human Priest

Huetotl's Firebrand
Dark Drewg's Mace
Savage Plates
Aegis Of The Defender
Sliding Boots
Demon Charm Of The 7th Circle
Skull Of Savage Iljin
Bleneth's Frenzy Medallion
Trained Command
Untrained Piety

3 x Savage Curse
1 x Inspiring Presence
1 x Triple Heals
3 x Unholy Frenzy
2 x Altruism
2 x Strong Bludgeon
1 x Demonic Power
2 x Defender's Block
1 x Weak Chop
1 x Team Walk
1 x Unholy Wellspring
1 x Attack, Soldier!
1 x Thickened Mail
1 x Sparkling Cloth Armor
1 x Sundering Strike
2 x Fiery Stab
1 x Flanking Move
5 x Mass Frenzy
1 x Defensiveness
1 x Dash, Team!
1 x Walk, Team!
1 x Bad Luck
2 x Strong Hack
​

The Beast
Level 21 Dwarf Warrior

The Lunginator
The Lunginator
The Lunginator
Xander's Mail
Hexagon Shield
Captain Cedric's Helm
Diamond Moccasins
Raging Battler
Focused Crushing

9 x Lunging Bash
2 x Pushback Parry
1 x Quick Run
1 x Sparkling Cloth Armor
4 x Officer's Harness
6 x Unnerving Strike
1 x Brutal Charge
3 x Mighty Hack
3 x Crusher
3 x Reliable Mail
1 x Surging Shield Block
2 x Blind Rage
​

 

Here we go again. 2/4 won

1) vs 1-1-1 (all dwarves) on Temple. We both assume positions and round 1 ends. I move wizard in offensive position, he buffs his wizard like crazy (Unholy Wellspring + Savage Curse). I hit two guys with a couple bursts. He fires back with a 14dmg Arcane Burst. His wiz SPRs his own warrior to get to the VS. I Gusts of War Beast where all the fun is. His dwarf baits my Pushback Parry with a weak attack. I need to take out the wiz: I land a Unnerving Strik on his wide forehead. He Force Blasts Beast away. I move my priest in. He takes an hit from the warrior, but can't lose this chance: Sundering Strike, Savage Curse and Weak Chop are used, in that order. Wiz is dead and the warrior took some damage. Round 3 gets even crazier: I take cover with both my guys while he moves his priest forward. Beast Quick Runs + Mighty Hacks the warrior from behind, but the priest's Defender's Block triggers! (on a second though, I should have seen that coming). More blows are exchanged, the warrior has NS and Polearm Slash. My priest dies quickly. I TK his warior away from the priest, and attack him with Beast. The priest also has Polearm Slashes. He's down to 14hp, I only have a Mighty Hack and no buffs on Beast, I cannot kill him. But he casts Demonic Power to draw more cards! Priest falls and bursts are cast on the warrior. He's gonna die from Blind Rage damage. GG

2) vs Burfft on Koi. He immediateli casts Wellspring. I know I can't prevent damage, so I spread my guys. Bursts hit Beast and Priest. I respond with a burst of my own. Round 2, more buffs, more bursts. I reposition my guys and cast inspiring presence. He keeps landing hits, but I'm preparing something. I cast Savage Curse and Unholy Frenzy on Beast. Bursts are raining like crazy, more damage is taken. I finally act: Dash, Team! and Beast is onto one of the wizards while my wiz gets into firing position. Unnerving Strike hits, revealing his priest has a Defender's. Beast takes more hits, he's down to 4 hp, but my opponent is out of attacks. I fire bursts on the priest until the Defender's Triggers. His Priest moves. He's expecting me to take the wiz down, but I Quick Run + Mighty Hack is priest for 19dmg. One more burst and the priest falls. Next round, Beast is immediately killed, but he did his part. More bursts rain, but w/o his priest buffing and attachments running off, those are gonna be way less dangerous with each following round. A wiz dies to Stone Spikes. Then it's my wiz turn's. I take the VS for the last point with priest and is game.

3) vs 1-1-1 on Koi. Usual positioning going on on round 1. His warrior takes the VS. His priest has Dangerous Maneuver, and lands several fire spells on my own wiz. She'll burn down to death. I Lunging Bash his warrior. Instead of stepping on the VS again, he goes towards my priest. Several Inspiring Presences are used by my opponent. His warrior (who's on Elven Maneuvers too) gets on my priest with a Dancing Cut, which is blocked by Defender's. I strip him naked with a Sundering Strike, he strikes back, but I can finish him with my next attack. My priest will die to fire, while Beast is preparing to hold the VS as long as possible. Beast draws Sparkling Cloth, which lets you land several hits on the enemy's wiz. His priest engages in melee. I try and Lunging Bash her away, but the unthinkable happens (the damn 6 gets rolled on Unreliable Block ). It's her turn to strip me away of all of my armor, following that with a Might Bludgeon. Fire will also finish Beast off. GG

4) vs 2 dwarf warriors 1 priest on Temple. We move our guys. I land a burst on one of the warriors, they're both on Blind Rage. More positioning going on. Round 2, he moves warriors forward. I move my wiz in a dangerous spot and the warrior NS her. She uses Team Walk, NS again. Wiz dies immediately after. I go on the offensive. Beast uses a buffed Lunging Bash to push his priest off the VS. Then I move my priest, landing a Fiery Stab on the warrior who's out of moves. His priest does have moves though and engages him in melee, using a Violent Overswing. Sparkling Cloth armor lets me back onto the VS. At this point, I can pretty much wait my opponent to come at me at pray for the rest. His guys are all on pretty low health, and Beast is at full hp. That won't last long. A few blows are exchanged, but I do fine for the most part. The following round, my opponent draws 3 (3!) Defenders's Blocks. My 3 Unnerving Strikes are not enough to outperform that.

 

Another set of games, at long last. 4/4 won

1) vs 3 elf vampires on Lions. Very mobile opponent, lots of Team Walk and Elvish Scamper, also step attacks which go well with Elven Maneuvers. Buffs too of course. I manage to land a burst with wiz on round 1, while opponent immediately gains VS advantage. I try and be very aggressive with Beast and Wiz, which was effective, for the most part, but not seeing all that mobility coming immediately, my wiz got flanked and a single TK wasn't enough to keep the buffed bloodsuckers away, so she's taken down. I manage to take one of the elves myself, and the match quickly becomes the usual chess game, with players picking positioning in order to let them hold VS when and/or menace the enemy's pieces whenever the chance arise. Beast's Lunging Bashes helped a lot with giving him enough mobility to move exactly where he wanted to be. My opponent is dangerous, and buffed spear attacks can bring him back to full health in a couple hits. One of his guys keeps drawing Demonic Revenge, so I keep targeting him, but a Defender's Block first, and a Lifesaving Block second spare his life twice. I finally take him out with a buffed Unholy Frenzy from long range. We're both 1 VP from victory, but my opponent being 1 guy down means he needs to go on a desperate offensive. Beast uses a couple Lunging Bashes to outposition the vampire while priest takes the victory point. GG

2) vs 3 Dwarf Wizards on Koi. This was a damage, rather than control, oriented build. Sparks, Flash of Pains, Fireballs and whatnot. I got a great first hand. Moved my wiz where I could fire good bursts and landed 2 on two targets each time. Priest was in Defender's Block position, which helped the wiz survive (she was obviously their primary target). Opponent largely ignored Beast, until I used Dash, Team! to get on top of his guys. He panicked a bit after the getting hit by a 12dmg Unnerving Strike, and casted Hot Spot. Lunging Bash lets Beast get onto safe ground while dealing 8dmg. They keep hitting my Wiz who's holding the VS, but I killed one of his guys. Next turn, another wiz falls to a Quick Run + buffed Mighty Hack. I move wiz to safer location and hold VS with priest instead. GG

3) vs 1-1-1 on Dojo. I cast a burst on his dwarf wiz on round 1, revealing a Duck. This might be annoying. His wiz responds with a burst on my priest, pretty much ending round 1. Round two, I approach his wiz with Beast, while his priest manages to corner my wiz with a VS. My priest escapes his dwarf warrior with Sparkling Cloth, after being hit by a Brutal Charge. My wiz is in serious danger, and she's reduced to very low health, but his wiz is out of moves too, so can burn his Duck with a buffed Unnerving Strike from behind and finish him off with a second Unnerving Strike follow up and Lunging Bash. I use Team Walk + Flanking Move to at least get away my wiz from his war, while stealing priority. Following turn, my wiz manages to land a final Ember Burst before being struck down. Beast is starving for his priest's blood, but he casts an Imp Nimbus at the last second. Priority is still mine, so I can Unnerving Strike him right along. He Purges Beast's buffs away, but he's down to 13hp, so a Mighty Hack is just enough to kill him and take the game.

4) vs 2 Warriors 1 Vampire (all dwarves) on Koi. I draw a lot of bursts in the first two rounds. Barring his path to the VS with a Stone Spikes, I basically storm him with +1 Arcane/Ember Bursts from afar for 2 turns straight. He has armor on all of his guys, so he doesn't take the full damage, but good damage is dealt nonetheless. He advances with one of the warriors, but Beast pushes him away with a Lunging Bashes. A Hard to Pin Down is revealed, but it wiffs. As he uses the block/move to come back at me, another buffed Lunging Bash hits him, and he's down to 11hp. He'll have to use a Dangerous Maneuver to escape as Beast advances. His vamp tries getting near, but he's Gusts of War-ed away. Then it's the other warrior's turn. His first hit is blocked by my priest's Defender's Block. Beast replies with buffed Unnerving Strike. His second blow is blocked by a Surging Shield Block. Second buffed Unnerving Strike, and the warrior stops breathing. Opponent concedes the early gg.

 

One more. 3/4 won

1) vs 2 Elf Warriors 1 Human Priest on Lions. Round 1 I land a burst on the warrior which advanced to map center and used Dash, Team! to take the VS on the side. Round 2, another burst hits the warrior. He uses Dancing Cat to attack Beast. I reply with a Unnerving Strike, but he Dodges and backs away, and advances with his priest. Hi Lunging Bash the warrior from behind, bringing him to 3 hp. Beast returns on the VS, the other warrior uses a Pulverizing Bludgeon, my Surging Shield Block's roll fails. Second Pulverizing Bludgeon, the roll is succesfull, and Beast moves behind the first warrior finishing him off with a Bludgeon which was passed by my wiz earlier. That was a tad overkill, I suppose. His priest uses an Invigorating Touch which, buffed by Frenzy Aura, is capable of killing Beast, so I lose the chance to play that Mighty Hack. I move wizard to advanced positioning, TKing the vamp away. I get hold of the other VS with wiz. The vamp roots me down in place, but when he tries getting near I TK him away again. His elf warrior doesn't have enough movement to attempt a final attack, so I score the last VP and take the game.

2) vs 1-1-1 on Dojo. He casts Savage Curse on his wiz and places a Hot Spot under Beast's feet. Dash, Team! and Beast is a step away from his wizard, while I reposition my other guys, taking a VS by the side with my own wiz. Lunging Bash lets Beast get close and in range for an Unnerving Strike follow up on the poor wiz. Following round, wiz uses Dimensional Traveler to get away, his other guys are on Immovable. I keep holding VSs, but his dwarf advancing forces me into maneuvering away with a Team Walk. Beast chases the wiz down and easily finishes him. My warrior is standing on the VS and on Stone Spikes, but he basically doesn't gives a damn. Another round passes. His warrior corners my priest, so my wiz goes to the rescue. He lands a buffed Obliterating Chop, but a TK saves my provider of buffs. His dwarf is out of moves, so he takes the farthest VS with the priest. Beast is TKed into position for a 12dmg Lunging Bash on the poor thing. They're searching for all her limbs and gibs still.

3) vs 1-1-1 (all Dwarves) on Temple. Wow, I haven't seen a Whirlwind deck in a long while. We take positions during round 1. He's not moving his wiz, which makes me initially think Volcano or other shenanigans, so I'm willing to pass on a very good first hand. Round 2, he casts Martyr's Blessing on wiz. I don't really give a dam and cast a couple bursts after a MF, hitting his war and priest in both instances. He casts WWE as soon my priest steps on the VS. I Walk team and get back into position, Beast slowly approaching the enemies from the side. He casts WW, his wiz lands next to Beast. He TKes Beast away after being hit by a buffed Lunging Strike. I hit him with a second buffed Lunging Strike. Rage quit.

4) vs 1-1-1 on Koi. I try and position my wiz in order to land good bursts. His wiz loads up Firestarter, so I'm forced to Wlak, Team! to repostion my guys: don't want my wiz to burn into hashes in a couple rounds time. The game goes like this for the next few rounds, until I manage to Quick Run + Unnerving Strike the wiz. The hit lands, but a Cause Fumble gets revealed. This will complicate things quite abit. Long story short: his wiz manages to live, casting several burning spells on my war. When I finally manage to get my priest close to the wiz, his dwarf priest casts Imp Nimbus. His war also manages to get close to my wiz, hurting her a lot. The damage is done, at this point, and I can't possibly overcome the hp disadvantage. gg

 

Last set of the bunch. 2/4 won. Prob a few tweaks coming soon

1) vs 2 Human Warriors 1 Human Priest on Temple. One of my worst match-ups by all means, as illustrated here. I know Sprint, Team! is a very likely possibility, so I don't move my wiz to save his move for later, despite her having two bursts in her hand. That'll prove to be ineffective, as my opponent will manage to corner her regardless with a combined attack. TKing the first warrior away only makes his wiz cast a TK of his own to bring the killer back in position. I manage to save my wiz by using a Walk, Team! but she's down to 3 health. The Sprint, Team! lets his other warrior come in for the final blow. My opponent's lust for wizard's blood doesn't come cheap though. The first warrior is out of cards and a buffed Beast is ready to strike. Two Lunging Bashes and a Mighty Hack bring back unit count to even ground. My opponent is still ahead in VPs, and his wiz uses TKs to keep my guys away from the VS area. Beast eventually manages to land a couple Lunging Bashes on his remaining warrior while his wiz is out of control spells. 2x Reliable Mails help me soak some good damage, and a successful Defender's Block make Beast draw the Unnerving Strike which'll send the enemy warrior to sleep. Opponent's forced into moving wiz away, but she firing a spell on my priest activates Sparkling Cloth armor, which leads to her demise. GG, well played on both sides.

2) vs burrft (2 Dwarf Wizards 1 Human Priest) on Temple 1 . Didn't draw any move cards, so wasn't able to engage opponent before the sustained damage went sky-high.

3) vs 3 Dwarf Wizards on Koi. He casts Hot Spot under Beast's feet. A Walk, Team! + a Successful Surging Shield Block let's him get cover behind one of the walls in the map's center. Meanwhile, my wizard is casting bursts. Savage Curse first, Unholy Wellspring afterwards make her spell very deadly. He eventually manages to take out my wizard burn damage, but not before she can take out one of his wizards and TK Beast among the enemy ranks. Beast is fully buffed too, and dispatches remaining enemies one by one. They fell like flies, while priest was holding the VS.

4) vs 2 Elf Warriors 1 Human Priest on Koi. Another match where I didn't draw any mobility cards or blocks. My opponent, on the other hand, drew two Defender's Blocks on round 2. Opponent used Obliterating Chops to good effect in this one and was able to catch me off guard. I managed to take one of the warriors down with buffed Beast, but so did he take out my wiz. All the while, he managed to hold the VS for the entire match, so he only needed to kill my priest next to take the game.

 

Lunginator on sale today in Daily Deal. Would be my first one. Despite reading this thread I'm still not convinced it's THAT good. I'll probably get it anway though

 

Got my third one as soon as I saw it. Now if I could only get a Focused Crushing...

 

Pardon, but what more do you need? You have the theoretic explanation, you have the testing results, what do you need after that? Do you need to get beaten with the Lunginators personally to make a decision?

 

2400 gold, because I spent all my cash on a Chartwell's Ring earlier this week.

 

Woohoo! Focused Crushing was in my Randi today! With the recent Lungi in the Daily Deal, now my beast is identical to yours, Band!

 

Congratz, Souleye! I still lack two Lunginators, alas... And my Randi never brought me at least one so far But I am always glad to see another man joining The Lungination!