Thursday, May 28, 2020

Examining my best deck, part 3: Spells


I have champions able to cast both wizard and cleric spells in my best deck, and have it well-stocked with 12 great spell cards. Let's take a look!

Wish
There's no real need to explain why there's a Wish in this deck, is there? The ability to destroy any card (except a realm) is incredibly powerful. In TAV, I can also have a champion in my pool cast Wish at an enemy champion in combat, which results in the enemy being discarded and gives me a quick, easy spoils. If I'm attacking, the realm is also razed. Wish in TAV is even more potent than in standard Spellfire.

Limited Wish

In Spellfire, you have to be able to stop events. It's even more crucial in the Antigonish variant of the game. My best deck has a Helm. It has a Delsenora. It has an Intercession, a Black Hole, and an Enter Darkness Together. It also has a Limited Wish. I know I'm going to face multiple nasty events every game. I need to stop Good Fortunes, Cataclysms, Calms, Slave Revolts, Curses of the Azure Bonds, Caravans, Black Besses, Caer Allisons, and who knows what else. Limited Wish is a big part of my event-stopping arsenal.

Estate Transference

Even better than Cataclysm or Disintegrate, when you really need a realm gone for good, it's gotta be Estate Transference. Straight into the Abyss it goes, and it won't be coming back. Slight downside is that I can't attack my opponent's formation on the same turn I use Estate Transference, but this deck doesn't attack often, anyway. It's more a defense deck geared toward getting six unrazed realms quickly and efficiently.


Dispel Magic

"Counterspell" type cards are rare in Spellfire. I like being able to control what goes on at the table, so my best deck is well stocked with them. Dispel Magic is a tried-and-true way of keeping Wishes, Finger of Deaths, Creeping Dooms, and Mindkillers at bay while I build my pool and formation.

Re-Target

Another counter, but this one is even more useful. Re-target lets me take my opponent's spell and use it against them. Or take one opponent's spell and use it against another opponent in a multi-player game. Cast Death Spell at my Helm? How about I Re-target that at your Hettman Tsurin? Trying to Disintegrate my front realm? Maybe I don't want your Scarlet Brotherhood on the table anymore. Re-target lets you use your enemies' spells like they were your own.

Takhisis's Abyssal Gateway

It's always fun to show enemy champions "the gate". Takhisis's Abyssal Gateway ushers any one champ (including Avatars) straight to the Abyss. Perfect for getting rid of problematic characters I don't really want around, such as Istus, Lady of Fate or Helm. This is a top-tier removal spell I never want to be without!

Dissolution

This is one of my favorite cards. After I raze my opponent's Ancient Kalidnay or Menzoberranzan, I still can't slap my own down, because of the Rule of the Cosmos. The land is razed, but it's still on the table, mocking me. Dissolution to the rescue! It clears out razed realms and allows my copy to be placed into my formation. It's also great for getting rid of Mithas or the Scarlet Brotherhood before they're rebuilt.

Dispel Illusion
Dispel Illusion is the most powerful Spellfire card ever printed. It's from the Inquisition sticker set, and needs to be in any deck able to use wizard spells. It "rolls back time", preventing the use of any one card. Furthermore, that card cannot be played until the next turn of the player who tried to use it. So, not only is my opponent's Caer Allison considered "not played", they can't slap it down before their next turn. It works on spells, events, allies, blood abilities, artifacts, and everthing else. It's almost impossible to explain how primo this card is.

Intercession
More event-canceling goodness - I really can't have enough of it. Events wreck my game in multiple ways. Being able to deny my opponent their best events gives me a leg up on winning. I've always believed that, and that's how I gear my best decks.

Mindkiller

Sure, it's a bit overrated (mainly because of it's relative uselessness against avatars). But Mindkiller is still plenty good enough to make my best deck. The advantage it has is that it puts non-avatar champions into the Abyss rather than the discard pile, making it much harder for my opponent to get them back into play. This card is basically the cleric spell version of Takhisis's Abyssal Gateway. Except for the pesky "can't send an avatar to the Abyss" part.


Mindshatter

This is one of my favorite Spellfire cards. It renders any champion - even an avatar - useless. It can't attack or defend, it can't cast spells. Gib Kcir can't be discarded to remove a card from play. Helm can't cancel events. This is one of the best "shutdown" cards in the game. I have three of these, and they're all in decks. Mindshatter is just that good.

Dispel

Fourth edition Dispel is a beast of a card. While the second and third edition Dispel both stop wizard and cleric spells, the fourth edition version also works on psionic powers and blood abilities - making it the most versatile "counterspell" in Spellfire.

Well, that's it for spells in my best deck. 

Next time: allies & magic items.

No comments:

Post a Comment