5 Best Fences

Yes folks, that's the Berlin Wall. And here we go with our list of the top five cards that keep your opponents at bay!

#5 - Wall of Fog (4th Edition, 371/500)    

Attacks on your realms are bad in Spellfire. They lead to realms being razed, and spoils being awarded to players other than you. It's even worse in a format like TAV, which promotes fast play and tons of instant-kill cards. A good strategy, then, is to avoid being attacked at all, especially in critical situations (like when you are within spitting distance of a sixth unrazed realm). Fences are cards that prevent attacks, therefore they are your friends. This one is a wizard spell, which means it has a drawback - it's easy to counter. It also stops you from attacking other players, which can be a problem if getting a spoils is a priority for you. Still, it's a decent card to play if you're close to winning and would rather not have to engage in combat.

#4 - Solid Fog (4th Edition, 133/500)                     

Solid Fog has got one big advantage over Wall of Fog - it's an event. As such, it's more difficult for your opponent to counter. And if he or she does stop it, that's one less precious counterspell in their hand, so it's a win-win situation. Also, since you will most likely only be using Solid Fog near the end of a game, the threat of a counter is less of a deterrent - go for the win, baby! Note that, as with Wall of Fog, using Solid Fog means you can't launch attacks of your own...unless you slap down a Calm, that is!

#3 - Mutiny (3rd edition, 168/400)

Mutiny resembles Solid Fog, except you can end a battle which has already started. Use it when you make a mistake and realize you are about to lose, or thin out your opponent's hand by making him waste cards in combat before you slap down the Mutiny. As with Solid Fog and Wall of Fog, you can't attack either, until your next turn. Our final two cards solve this little problem, which is why they are rated ahead of Mutiny.

#2 - Forbiddance (Artifacts chase, 11/20)

Our next card is Forbiddance. It stops attacks all right - on you. Enemies are free to attack each other to their heart's content. The only possible problem this might create is allowing another player who is also close to winning the game to try for a spoils. But if you're playing this card, you've most likely got the inside track to victory, so that shouldn't be a major drawback. Oh, and if you need to raze a realm yourself, go ahead. Forbiddance is an excellent fence.

#1 - Bronze Dragons (Dragonlance, 97/100)

Our #1 card is Bronze Dragons, which combines the "everyone can be attacked but you" goodness of Forbiddance with the difficult-to-counter nature of an event. The only problem is squeezing this card into one of your 10 event slots. But, in a deck dedicated to defense, Bronze Dragons is the Great Wall of fences!

Next time: The 5 best Avatars.

P.S. Any of you Magic: The Gathering players out there check out the new Innistrad set? Or, as I like to call it, RAVENLOFT. The plundering of Spellfire concepts by Wizards of the Coast continues...

                

5 Best Allies

Let's take a look at the top 5 allies in Spellfire. As always, the list is based on the requirements of the Antigonish variant of the game.

#5 - Athasian Sloth (4th Edition, 230/500)

When the Athasian sloth is played, your champion gets a huge +8 level-up bonus, plus your opponent is forced to choose and discard two cards from his hand. Unlike our #4 pick below, it is not necessary for you to lose the round of combat to use the Sloth's power. This means you might also get a spoils, depending on how the rest of the combat goes. Card advantage for you, thinning out your opponent's hand, and a whopping +8 bonus for the duration of the combat round? Nice ally!

#4 - The Starving Artist (3rd Edition chase, 439/440)

This card is very popular among Standard Spellfire players, but not so hot for TAV (well, by "not so hot" I mean it's only the fourth best ally of all time). Card discard is just not such a big deal in a faster format with tons of instant-kill cheese. For the same reason Cold Cup of Calamity is overrated, the Starving Artist is overrated. That having been said, this is still an awesome ally. You do have to lose the battle for its power to go off, but if you get lucky it can cripple an opponent. That unlucky opponent (you get to pick if it's a multi-player game) has to get rid of all but two cards, and no-one gets a spoils for that combat round. The reason it's rated ahead of the sloth is that it can potentially discard many more of your opponent's cards, and you can force an opponent you aren't currently in combat against to lose the cards.

#3 - The Dreaded Ghost (4th Edition, 246/500)

I've already written about the Dreaded Ghost here. It's uber primo, since it gives you a gigantic +9 bonus in combat, and instantly drains 9 levels off the enemy champion (except a cleric). In most cases, that's effectively a +18 ally. And if the nine missing levels cause your opponent's champion to drop below zero? He's instantly discarded and you get a spoils. There's a reason why these babies are going for ungodly amounts of money on eBay. Awesome card, but the next two are even better!

#2 - Loup-Garou (4th Edition, 236/500)         

I've previously written about this nasty customer here. One of the best cards in the game, this guy ends combat immediately nine times out of ten. Magic items are not big in TAV, being that there are only about ten I'd even consider putting in decks. The odds that your opponent is going to have one attached to his champion or in his hand aren't good. Which means the Loup-Garou is basically an instant-kill, realm razing, spoils-granting machine! But he's not the best ally in the game, because that ally is...

#1 - Thought-Eater (Artifacts, 99/100)

That's right, folks. The only ally so powerful, they depowered it for the 4th Edition printing! He lost his ability to affect magical items, but even the 4th Edition version would be on this list. The original Artifacts Thought Eater shown above is a beast in every sense of the word. While he does have a slight downside (reducing your champion's level by 2 when he is played), even that's not too bad when playing the Antigonish variant, which is full of instant-kill cards. You actually want a lower level, so you can get off more cards before your opponent gets to play. The powers of the Thought Eater are ridiculous. Every magic item, ally, or spell played by the opposing champion has no special power (level only). The opposing champion loses the ability to cast spells altogther. And the opposing champion's special power (including all immunities) no longer functions. Turn out the lights, this battle is OVER.

Honorable Mention - Intellect Devourer (4th Edition, 213/500)

This guy didn't quite make the list, but he can be an awesome ally at times. The Intellect Devourer automatically destroys opposing champions of level 5 or less, which makes him ideal for removing Erellikas, Julios, Living Scrolls, Crawling Claws, and other annoying, low-base-level champions that seem to proliferate in Spellfire:TAV games. Slap him down, take your spoils, move on...nice and neat!

Next time: Fences!                      

Top 3: Monsters

Let's take a look at my picks for the top 3 monsters in Spellfire. Please note that (as always) my choices are based on the particular requirements of the Antigonish variant of the game. No Gibs or Avatars were considered.

#3 (tie) - Iuz the Evil (3rd Edition, 167/400)

There are a lot of great monsters in Spellfire. And while the champion type has its downsides (no unique playable card, many cards that target monsters specifically), the top-end monsters can still get the job done. The fact that Iuz is only tied for #3 on this lists shows the power of these champions. When Iuz attacks and you defend in a TAV game, you either lose, which results in one of your realms being razed, or you win, which results in one of your realms being razed (or discarded). Not the best of choices. Awesome champion that just edges out T'chaar and Tako for a share of the #3 spot.

#3 (tie) - The Gorgon (Birthright, 64/100)          

This guy is immune to allies and events. Most cheese bounces off him uselessly. He can also cast wizard spells and use blood abilities. He's level 10, so he's well positioned to win a level-up war. The Gorgon is vulnerable to spells, but because of his own casting ability he is able to defend himself with Spell Turning, Retarget, and Dispel Magic. It all adds up to an awesome monster, tied with Iuz for third best in Spellfire.

 

#2 (tie) - Headless Horseman (Ravenloft, 88/100)                                

 

I've already written about the Horseman here. He's pure awesomeness, especially when combined with cheese that lets him win without using his power (and being discarded). He ties for #2 monster in the game.   

 

#2 (tie) - Living Wall (Powers, 58/100)

Yes, that's right, the mighty Living Wall (which I've already written about here) is only tied for #2 on this list. I can almost hear the howls of protest from all you Spellfire players out there. But hear me out: while the Wall is tough to kill, it's not invincible. Events kill it but good, for example. And some of the best cheesy allies, like the Loup-Garou, are effective against it. Then there's that whole Tyvorg thing...

All that having been said, the Living Wall is still solidly entrenched in the #2 position. There's only one monster in the game that could beat it for #1...

#1 - Kronos the Titan (Millenium, 62/99) 

 ...and it's this guy. Kronos the Titan, from the Millenium sticker set. Where do we start? He's level 11. He earthwalks and swims. He can cast wizard spells, cleric spells, and use psionic power cards. AND he's able to shut down every other monster champion on the board, all at once.

He makes the Headless Horseman useless. He reduces the Living Wall to a vanilla joke. He can even mess with Gib Lhadsemlo. When it comes to monsters, Kronos is definitely top dog.

Honorable Mention - Living Scroll (3rd Edition chase, 408/420)

Here we go with our first-ever honorable mention! The Living Scroll is one of the best defensive champions in the game. Wait until a hero or cleric attacks your formation and BAM! slap this baby down and watch your opponent's champion go straight to the discard pile. Pick up a spoils and smile. When attacking, it's not nearly as good, because your opponent will most likely have other champion types at his disposal. If one is a wizard or monster, the Scroll needn't bother attacking at all. In rare cases, however, the Living Scroll can actually be a decent attacker, gaining you a quick spoils and razing a realm unopposed if your opponent has only heroes and/or clerics in his pool and hand. Nice champion, not quite good enough to make the top 3 monster list, but good enough for an honorable mention.

Next time: Going psycho!                  

Dangerous Realms

Let's take a look at a few of the more perilous realms in Spellfire.

Raurin (4th Edition, 11/500)

Attack it and you die, one way or another. At least if you win the battle, you get a spoils. Hopefully it's a champion to replace the one who just croaked. On second thought, anyone got a Cataclysm?

The Forest Ridge (Artifacts, 95/100)

Same thing here, except this time the card is explicit as to why your champion dies. Apparently feral halflings eat him. Pity they wait until after the realm is razed. If they ate the attacking champion before he successfully razed the realm and gained a spoils, they'd actually be useful. Oh well, the Forest Ridge is an excellent land, in any case. Anyone got a Disintegrate?

Falkovnia (Night Stalkers, 5/100)

This realm is far better in Standard than it is in the Antigonish variant. In a Standard game you can have many champions attacking Falkovnia during one turn, all of which would die. In TAV it's going to be one champion most of the time. But this land is still just as good as the two above. No feral halflings this time; it's poison that does in your victorious champion. Nice reward for winning a battle - an agonizing death due to poison. Anyone got an Estate Transference?

The Spiderfell (Birthright, 3/100)

Okay, now we're giving the attacker a sporting chance. He's not going to instantly croak, instead a card is drawn and discarded. If the last digit of the card number is equal to or greater than the champion's base level, he's toast. And it's poison again! This time presumably delivered via giant spider. One more salient point: this all happens before the defending player blocks, so you get to wait and see if the attacker kicks the bucket before deciding which champion to risk in battle. At least no spoils is given up by the croaking champion. Anyone got a Creeping Doom?

The Scarlet Brotherhood (3rd Edition,135/400)

Well, this is different. As long as this realm is unrazed at the start of your turn you can voluntarily raze it to discard one champion in any pool. Nice! The only downside is that you have to keep the Scarlet Brotherhood from being razed through everyone else's turn, because you can't use it when you first put it down during your phase 2. The good news is almost no champions are immune to realm powers, so you can even nuke Gib Lhadsemlo and his ilk. Anyone got a Raze?

Furyondy (4th Edition, 16/500)

Finally, we have Furyondy. What a primo land. When you first play it, you get to discard any wizard in play. You can kill Bigby, Gib Irod, Midnight, Titania, anyone, since no wizard in Spellfire is immune to realm powers. Personally, I like using Furyondy to nuke Bigby, because he annoys me. Slap this realm down, and your opponents will be yelling "anyone got a Dispel Illusion?" :)

Next Time: The Top 3 Monsters.

The Noble Cheese

Now here's a card made for the Antigonish variant if I ever saw one! I guarantee that if four players are sitting around a table playing TAV, there is one Noble Djinni (3rd edition, 84/100) in each person's deck. You've got to have this card on hand, if you want to be competitive in the format.

Noble Djinni is a +4 ally, but that's not why anyone would use it. Let's also ignore the card's first power. It's okay in its own right - your opponent is prevented from playing flyers once battle begins (basically what this means is that only non-flying allies can be used). But the real fun comes from the Djinni's second power. "All opposing flyers already in the battle are discarded." Well, that means if a White Weird or a Foulwing is in play, they are tossed. Good, but...wait a minute! What if the opposing champion is itself a flyer?!

Yes, that's right. If an opponent attacks you with a flying champion like Ting Ling or Apocalypse or just about any dragon, and you slap down the Noble Djinni, the champion is instantly discarded. Since you get a spoils when an attacker is discarded during combat...BAM. Also, in TAV that opponent cannot attack you again until his or her next turn.  

Not many champions are immune to ally powers, so the Djinni is almost universally effective. It's not a flyer itself, so rule cards and/or events that prevent flyers don't stop you from slapping it down. And *everybody* uses flyers - they are some of the best champions in the game. These facts taken together make the Noble Djinni the very definition of primo, instant-kill cheese.

All-in-all, this is one genie you really don't want to let out of the bottle!

Next Time: Gib Cram's TAV dictionary!     

Two More Overrated Cards

Now when I say "overrated", I mean just that. Re-target (4th Edition, 389/500) and Deflection (Artifacts, 54/100) are in no way bad cards. But they do tend to get way too much press among Spellfire fans.

Of the two, Re-target is clearly better. The ability to redirect any offensive or defensive spell can be primo, especially when said spell does not need to be specifically targeting you. Deflection has a more restrictive usage, in that you can only target events that are specifically aimed at you. Then again, events by and large are tougher to counter than cleric or wizard spells, so there is an argument to be made for Deflection's worth.

What it boils down to for me is this: in the Antigonish variant, you're going to be exposed to a ton of instant-kill and realm-destroying cards. Everyone has Cataclysm and Disintegrate, Wish and Ancient Curse. The problem with the cards above, as opposed to alternatives like Calm and Dispel, is that they are too restrictive for TAV. Deflection, for example, will sit uselessly in your hand as a Slave Revolt or Bribery hits the table (those events don't specifically target one player). It can't stop a Caravan and has no effect on Black Bess.

Similarly, Re-target can't help against a Black Tentacles or a Forbiddance.

I'd rather put the more general cards Dispel Magic, Dispel, Intercession, and Calm into my deck. I get nearly the same effect (minus the neat "hit 'em with their own pimp" stuff)...but without having to worry about nightmare scenarios - like when someone slaps down The Avatar and I've got a Deflection instead of a Calm in my undead deck. Whoops!

Next Time: Touch my hand again and you DIE!

When Disaster Strikes!

Cataclysm (3rd Edition, 99/400) is an event that you need in just about every deck. I have one deck (heroes) with no events, but that's more of a gimmick  that I use to make a deck-construction point. In a serious game, you should have a Cataclysm in one of your 10 event slots.

Cataclysm has three distinct, separate uses.

1) It keeps your opponent from getting too close to having six unrazed realms. This is self-explanatory I would think.

2) It can be used to remove from play a land that you yourself have in your hand, allowing you to place it into your formation. Because the Rule of the Cosmos forbids two of the same realm from being in play simultaneously, and razing it doesn't get around this, the Cataclysm comes in handy.

3) It can be used to remove a land with a particularly onerous movement restriction or other power. Don't like the look of that Raurin out front in your opponent's formation? POW! All gone.

Events are as a rule harder to stop than spells, so Cataclysm has a leg up on cards like Disintegrate and Raze. Cataclysm works on lands that are razed or unrazed, which puts it ahead of Dissolution and Creeping Doom. Estate Transference is arguably better, since it places the enemy realm in the more inaccessible Abyss instead of the easier-to-retrieve-it-from Discard pile, but Estate Transference can also be Dispelled easier.

For my money, the best way to cause your opponent to feel the wrath of a natural disaster is still Cataclysm.

Next Time: Retarget and Deflection...overrated cards?

Ruins and...Ruins.

 

In TAV, attacks are difficult to defend against. It's a fast format, filled with instant-kill cheese. The best strategy is usually to prevent your opponents from attacking at all. That's where realms like these come in. The Ruins of Zhentil Keep (3rd Edition, 3/400) and the Ruins of Iolonia (Dungeons, 32/100) are two lands your enemies will struggle to visit.

Both have powerful movement restrictions, although both have weaknesses as well. First of all, they both attract realm-destroying cards like magnets. This goes without saying, since they are othwise tough to raze and/or discard. Secondly, they are both vulnerable to a popular category of attacking champion: Zhentil Keep allows clerics to attack, and most Avatars are clerics. Nothing like having Zhentil as your front realm when your opponent slaps down Istus. Whoops.

As for Iolonia, the undead are practically everywhere in Spellfire. They're cool and there are quite a few of them to choose from. Odds are you're going to face a few now and then.

Still, even with these vulnerabilties, I'll take these two lands over the typical "can only be attacked by flyers and swimmers" realms. In the right situation, if your opponent lacks the proper type of champion able to attack, Zhentil Keep and Iolonia can shut him or her down for turns at a time. You can concentrate on picking off the few champions that can attack, hopefully before they do their damage. With Zhentil or Iolonia up front, you get precious time to build your Formation and stock your hand. And if you are going to be hit with a land-destuction card like Cataclysm - at least you know where it's going to go. Your Avanil or Tyr is safe for now.

Sometimes hiding out in the Ruins can really pay off.

Next time: Dungeons.                      

The Best TAV Champion?

Erellika is small but mighty.

What's the best champion in the Antigonish Variant of Spellfire? That question has been asked many times since 2000, and there's no clear answer yet. I would argue, however, that the best attacking champion is probably Erellika (3rd Edition, 262/400). Surprised? Don't be.

In TAV, the attacker wants things to be over quick. Since there is usually only one round of combat, you want to get in, win the round, raze the realm, and get out again fast. Erellika has the attributes to do so, usually with frightening speed. Here's the rundown on this card.

1 - She is level 2, and when attacking in TAV, lower is better. You're not going to be involved in a level-up war (at least, not often). Both players' hands are doubtless stacked with instant-kill "cheese" (to borrow a term from Magic: The Gathering*). The player who is able to get their cheese down first will usually win. At level 2, Erellika allows her player to throw it down first in most situations.

2 - She is versatile. As a hero able to cast both wizard and cleric spells, you have a wide range of possible options. Loup-Garou? Haymaker? Mindkiller? Wish? Everything's on the table. Erellika's ability to use both kinds of spells, plus the Hero's innate ability to use allies and unarmed combat cards makes her a primo attacker in this format.

3 - She has other powers, as obscure as they may be! Erellika negates all psionic powers when defending, an ability that might come in handy against say, an attacking Lyr of the Mists. Erellika also negates the powers of Holdings in play when she attacks, a rarely-used power, but...whatever! Might be useful some day. :)

For the reasons above, Erellika rules in TAV. She won't take up much space in your deck (I doubt you'll ever brush up against the 90-level limit by adding her), and you'll see her worth the first time you attack an opponent with a fat hand, but win because you hammer down the cheese first!

Next Time: TAV coup-de-grace king...Loup-Garou!

*"Cheese" was a term used fairly regularly in MTG around 1995-2000. It described red direct-damage cards, for the most part. I can't recall hearing the term lately, with all these danged kids playing the game. :)