The Top 15 Magic Items, part 1

Well, here we go! It's been a long time coming, mostly due to the huge effort involved in ranking the top 15 Spellfire magic items of all time. There are a lot of sets and a ton of individual cards, some of which I don't own and have on-hand to evaluate. I'm going to do this in six parts, with three magic items per post. Let me know what you think of my rankings, and where you think I messed up! Please be advised that (as always) on this blog cards are ranked according to their effectiveness and usefulness in the TAV format, not standard Spellfire. Also, I have decided to not include any sticker set cards in this list, just cards originally printed in the paper Spellfire sets. Today we'll begin with four "honorable mentions". These are magic items that, while excellent, didn't quite make the Top 15. Without further ado, let's get into this.

HONORABLE MENTION: Crystal Dragon Figurine (Dungeons, 67/100).

"What a cute figurine....AHHH!"

This is a defensive magic item that gives you a +3 in any battle. Pretty mediocre, right? Let's check the second power. It can give you a +9 in any one battle, but then must be discarded. Hmmm...not really that great, but maybe in a pinch it might be useful. Wait, there's one more power? Okay....it can give you a +18 in one battle, but then both the figurine and the champion it's attached to must be discarded. Now you're talking! Put a low-level champ into combat, like Crawling Claws, Shayira, or Erellika. Odds are, you get to play first. Play your instant-kill card, and see if your opponent has an answer. They do? You're probably still losing, right? Time for the Crystal Dragon Figurine. Surprise! +18 will most likely win a level-up war, and when the battle is over all you lose is a smallish champion and the magic item. This thing is a great card to slap down as a backup when "plan A" goes astray. Not quite good enough to make the Top 15, but close.

HONORABLE MENTION: Armor of the High King (Birthright, 27/100).

He's using it wrong - don't charge into battle wearing the armor.

So you've got a deck with some regents in it, do you? Well, make sure this magic item goes on a champion you're not planning to use in battle. In my "Kings & Thieves" deck, I like putting the Armor of the High King on Julio, Master Thief. He chills in my pool, just hanging out...but each turn during phase 3 he gets to use the Armor to haul my Death Touch, Melt Bone, Battlewise, Divine Wrath, or (even better) Death Field out of the discard pile. These cards are then re-used by the heavy hitters in the deck like The Gorgon and Rhoubhe Manslayer. I also have a Tasselhoff Burrfoot standing by, in case the Armor is destroyed or Julio is Death Spelled by my opponent. It's a great magic item, but because it can only retrieve Blood Abilities it just misses out on a spot in the Top 15. 

HONORABLE MENTION: Clockwork Ogre (Dungeons, 71/100).

Why so glum? You rock!

The Clockwork Ogre is a magic item that more than justifies its spot in your deck. First of all, it provides a mighty +8 bonus to its attached champion. Not too shabby. Secondly, if said champion happens to be discarded by any means, the Ogre returns to your pool and attaches itself to another champ of your choice. Pretty cool. Thirdly, if there's no one else in your pool, it's still not gone! It just returns to your hand and you can play it again after you replenish your champion supply. It's really tough for your opponent to get rid of the Ogre once it appears, barring some sort of Wand of Telekinesis or Jella action happening. Or maybe he or she wants to waste a Wish on this? Probably not. The Clockwork Ogre is a monster of a card that just misses out on my Top 15 magic items list.

HONORABLE MENTION: Runes of the Future (Runes & Ruins chase, 13/25).

When you really, really need that one particular card, it's Runes of the Future to the rescue! Attach this thing to an expendable champion, then discard it to search your deck for the card you want most. Place it on top of your library (or second from the top, just in case a "draw and discard" mechanic happens), and next turn it's yours! A very useful magic item, which comes at the cost of one of your champions. I debated putting this one on the Top 15, but in the end it just missed being included.

Next time: We get into the actual Top 15! See you tomorrow.