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!                      

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!     

King Cheese!

Both his bark and his bite are pretty bad.

The Loup-Garou (Ravenloft, 79/100). The mere mention of the card strikes fear into Spellfire players near and far, especially if they are into TAV. Why? Because this card will destroy your best-laid plans, and here's how.

1 - It's an ally. Good luck canceling it. Keep those Dodge's and such handy.

2 - No one plays magic items in TAV. There are only one or two I'd even bother considering (Spell Gem of Martek: Clear Crystal, Falcon Figurine, etc). So the odds that you'll have one in your hand or on your champion are a lot less than in Standard.

3 - If you fail to have or play a magic item (likely), your realm is razed. This is TAV, sucker! What, you thought you'd get to defend again? Nope.

4 - He can be used with any champion type, and pretty well any champion, period.

5 - He's great on defense as well. Block with Erellika, for example, and slap down the wolf! Bam!

The Loup-Garou has got to be the cheesiest card in Spellfire in general and TAV in particular. It's in my tournament deck, it's pretty well got to be in yours. It goes without saying that you will be attacked by this lycanthrope at some point during a match.

My strategy? Hope I'm holding a Dodge...or hope the attack is being made on Mithas. :) 

Next time: When is it smart to play a champion with no brain?                               

The Dreaded Ghost!

This is my kind of ally.

The Dreaded Ghost (4th Edition, 246/500) is an unbelievable card. I only own one of these beauties, and they fetch a hefty price ($15 or so) on eBay nowadays. Can you see why?! :)

An amazing card in Standard, the Ghost is even more awesome in the Antigonish Variant. TAV games tend to move fast, with each player slamming down instant-kill cards left and right, razing realms with lightning speed. The Ghost does the job better than almost any other card. Why? Let's list the reasons:

1 - It sucks 9 levels from the opposing champion. Any reduced to -1 or below die instantly. Most champions are going to be 9 or less when pushed forward, so playing the Ghost is often a lights-out win.

2 - The Dreaded Ghost is an ally. Not very many champions are immune to ally powers. There aren't many cards that cancel or avoid allies, either.

3 - It adds +9 to your champion. Level-up wars are rarer in TAV compared to Standard, but if you get into one, the Ghost should give you a big enough boost to win.

If you've got one of these things lying around (lucky you!), slap it into your TAV deck immediately. And if you've got an extra one, drop me a line!

Next time: The best champion in TAV?