Here are my picks for the top 5 Spellfire wizard spells. Please note that all choices were made with the particularities of the Antigonish variant in mind.
#5 - Hold Person (Ravenloft, 49/100)
Here's a way to win a level-up war in a hurry! A card that reduces the opposing champion to zero, no matter what their current adjusted level? That's primo. Hold Person is best played late in the combat round, when you can be reasonably confident that your enemy is running out of ammunition. Then...BAM, he's back to level zero. No fun, at least not for him! And when he loses, you've just won yourself a spoils (and razed a realm, if you were the attacker).
#4 - Takhisis's Abyssal Gateway (Dragonlance chase, 13/25)
Much better than Mindkiller, because it can put an avatar into the Abyss just as easily as a regular champion. "The gate" gets rid of an unwanted enemy champion in a hurry. And it's a lot tougher to get back into play from the Abyss than it is from the discard pile. For being an almost essential champion-removal tool, Takhisis's Abyssal Gateway grabs the #4 spot on this list.
#3 - Estate Transference (3rd Edition chase, 437/440)
Disintegrate and Cataclysm are fine and dandy, as far as land-destruction cards go, but to really eliminate a realm from play, nothing beats Estate Transference. Unlike the aforementioned cards, Estate Transference puts the tageted realm directly into the Abyss (it's sort of the "Takhisis's Abyssal Gateway" of land destruction cards). Slight downside in that, if the spell is countered by Spell Turning or Reflection, the caster is put into the Abyss instead, but that's not enough to lower Estate Transference's #3 position.
#2 - Wish (4th Edition, 384/500)
As I mentioned last month in my post on this card, Wish is pretty well the ultimate wizard spell. So why is it at #2 instead of #1? Blame those crazy Spellfire sticker sets! Aside from that, Wish is everything you want in a badass wizard spell. It destroys any card except realms, regardless of immunities. When you want something gone, Wish does the job better than any other card in the game.
#1 - Dispel Illusion (Inquisition, 83/99)
As mentioned in my previous posting on this card, Dispel Illusion is the most powerful Spellfire card ever printed. It has to be #1 on this list. It can "roll back time", making sure that a played card wasn't played after all. The person who tried to play it can't do so until their next turn. Many times, stopping a Caer Allison or a Menzoberranzan can mean the difference between winning and losing a game. The fact that you can also stop events, champions, or any one of a dozen nasty pieces of cheese with this card is just icing on the cake. When all is said and done, you won't find a better wizard spell (or a better card of any type) in the game.
Agree or disagree with my top 5? Let me know in the comments.
Next Time: An extra turn is a priceless thing!
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!
The infamous sticker sets. Milennium, Inquisition, Chaos, and Conquest. Fan-created and approved for tournament play by Wizards of the Coast (before they stopped caring about Spellfire - or acknowledging its existence - at all). Some people love the sticker sets, some hate them. But whatever your opinion, some of the cards are just plain cool.
Dispel Illusion (Inquisition, 83/99) is one of the best sticker cards printed for Standard, and I'd say it's probably the best single card for the Antigonish Variant.
TAV is a fast-paced, sometimes brutal format, filled with instant-kill cheese. Fortunately, some cards can cut the cheese with the best of them. Dispel Illusion is a fantastic cheese-cutter. It has several awesome uses.
1 - When attacking in TAV, and your opponent blocks with a lower-level champion, you are already in trouble. In all likelihood he or she is going to hit you with an instant-kill card. With Dispel Illusion in hand, let them. After you get a good look at the Loup-Garou, the Haymaker, the Mindkiller, the Noble Djinn, the Ambush, or whatever nasty surprise they toss down, Dispel Illusion makes the card "go away" before the effect happens, as if it had never been cast. Furthermore, the opponent can't use it again until next turn. Hope they had a backup plan! ;)
2 - When defending, same deal. You get a peek into their hand, as it were, and yet the revealed card does no damage to you. You can continue the battle and be more prepared for that card next turn.
3 - At any time, you can use Dispel Illusion to stop an event or spell. Don't like the look of that Caer Allison? It's gone until next turn. Wish coming at you? Not so fast, it's back in your opponent's hand. Cleric just been sacrificed to bring out Sirrion? What a waste, cleric is still discarded but the big demon goes back to the opponent's hand! Fun stuff.
4 - Opponent needs one more realm to win. He or she tries to play it. Game over, right? Not so fast! Dispel Illusion stops them from playing it and they can't do so again until next turn. You get another turn of life to raze a realm*!(*Unless, as was pointed out by an astute reader, the opponent had a second land in their hand. Oops!)
So it's basically a counter card that stops events, spells, allies, unarmed combat, realms, any card in the game from being played. This thing is better than Enter Darkness Together, better than the Genie Bottle, better than a 4th Edition Dispel.
Dispel Illusion is the single best card in TAV. It has to be in any deck with spellcasters, period.
Next time: Mithas!
Wish (4th Edition, 384/500) is one of the most powerful - and most popular - cards in Spellfire. Whether you are playing Standard or TAV, this wizard spell needs to be in your deck if you have spellcasting champions. Let's list the reasons Wish is so awesome.
1 - Wish discards any one card in play, except a realm. In reality, most players use it to rid themselves of enemy champions.
2 - Immunities won't help against a Wish (unless your name is Lhadsemlo or Irod).
3 - It can be cast at any time, either on your turn or during an opponent's turn. This versatility allows you to respond to any developing threat on the board.
4 - Since it goes to the discard pile after use, Wish can be brought back again and again.
In TAV, Wish is best used during combat. If you are attacking, but things aren't going your way, you can always nuke the opposing champion with Wish, automatically winning the round of combat, razing the opponent's realm, and gaining you a spoils. If you are on defense, a well-timed Wish can remove the attacker, either before or after you block. Some champions - like Iuz or Istus - you will want to nuke before they get anywhere near your formation. Others you might want to block first and use the Wish to get a cheap spoils and prevent your opponent from attacking again that turn.
Don't forget, Wish is good for sweeping the board of Rule cards, Dungeons, Holdings, or anything else you don't particularly like. Wish is pretty awesome, no matter what version of Spellfire you are into.
Next time: When it's okay to Fight Dirty!
