The Top 15 Magic Items, part 3

Let's continue with the countdown of the Top 15 Spellfire: TAV magic items!

NUMBER 12: Kevin's Blade Of Doom (3rd Edition, 206/400).

Careful! That thing looks sharp.

I wrestled with where to put this magic item on the Top 15. It's great in certain circumstances, not so great in others. In TAV games, levels don't usually climb as high as 20, but in the right deck the Blade of Doom can be devastating. I especially like slapping it on a hero or monster Avatar - some of them are already nearing level 20 to begin with. In fact, if you slip this thing on Llolth or Bahamut, you've got yourself a champion who automatically wins any battle it enters! There are a few other avatars (like Yondala and Cegilune) who are already dangerously close to level 20. Since Kevin's Blade Of Doom adds another +2, you might be just an ally or spell away from getting there and winning. That's good enough for this card to take #12 on the list.

NUMBER 11: Dagger Of Venom (4th Edition, 202/500).

...but what kind of venom is it, do you think?

Unlike Kevin's Blade, when you play the Dagger of Venom, you know exactly what's going to happen: the opposing champion is going to the discard pile. No ifs, ands, or buts. Win or lose, it's discarded (unless it's undead). This type of certainty is worth putting the Dagger of Venom into the #11 place on this countdown, one spot ahead of the "maybe" effect of Kevin's Blade of Doom. I like using the Dagger on a low-level champion, then trying my best to win the round of battle. It gives me a warm glow to know that even if my opponent somehow manages to defeat me, he's still losing his champion. It can also be used near the end of a round, when you realize you're about to lose. It might be small consolation to see the enemy champ that just beat you go down, but it's better than nothing!

NUMBER 10: Amulet Of Spell Protection (Artifacts chase, 17/20).

I've already written about this magic item here. The Amulet of Spell Protection is a beast of a card that can really save your bacon in certain situations. It makes the attached champion immune to offensive spells, so it can't be gotten rid of with a Mindkiller, Death Spell, or Takhisis's Abyssal Gateway. So long as the champion with the Amulet is in your pool, you can cancel the effect of any one spell played by anyone in the game. You could stop a Raze from flipping one of your realms. You could negate a Forbiddance and attack an opponent. You could stymie an Intercession targeting one of your events. You can even stop a Wish! The only downside is that you can only do this once as the Amulet must be discarded after use...unless you have a way to bring it back. This awesome magic item takes spot #10 in this countdown.

Tomorrow: Magic items #9-7 will be revealed.

The Top 15 Magic Items, part 2

Let's continue with the countdown of the Top 15 Spellfire: TAV magic items!

NUMBER 15: Amulet Of Spell Turning (Dungeons, 72/100).
 

"Right back at ya!"

The Dungeons set had a lot of great magic items, didn't it? Amulet of Spell Turning has the ability to protect not just the champion it's attached to, but your entire pool from offensive spells. There is a chance the amulet fails, but it's only a 1 in 5 chance, as you have to cut your deck and examine the last digit of the card you cut to. If it's an 8 or 9, the spell takes effect normally. Note that you do not have to discard the cut card (or even shuffle your deck), so the risk to you is low. Also, is your opponent really going to risk having his Death Spell, Mindkiller, Death Fog, or Mindshatter turned back on the casting champion, potentially sending it straight to the discard pile or Abyss? Probably not, unless they absolutely have to (i.e. you are approaching 6 realms). If not, they'll most likely look elsewhere. The Amulet of Spell Turning takes the #15 spot for offering protection, possibly killing an enemy spellcaster—or maybe preventing your pool from being targeted in the first place.

NUMBER 14: Rings Of All Seeing (4th Edition, 171/500).

"Rings"? I only see one.

This magic item is excellent in a two-player game, and even better in multiplayer. At the beginning of your turn, you get to take a long look at your opponent's hand and pick one card to be discarded. In a multiplayer game, you get to pick which opponent you will target. You could pick the person who is closest to having 6 realms, or you could choose a weaker player in order to get an easy spoils. Any tricks in that mitt of theirs (like a powerful champion or a counterspell effect card) can be quickly discarded. The Rings of All Seeing will reveal all your enemies' secrets, and that's why this card snags the #14 spot on my list.

NUMBER 13: Amulet Of Plane Walking (Birthright, 33/100).

Travel the world! Visit strange realms! Raze them!

The Amulet of Plane Walking is better than Dori's Obsidian Steed. It's better than the Falcon Figurine. It's better than the Pretty Magical Ring. There are a lot of magic items that make attacking easier, but only the Amulet of Plane Walking combines the ability to attack any realm, regardless of position or special powers, with the ability to ignore the powers of a holding protecting that realm. Thus it provides the ultimate in mobility for your champion and allies as you try to flip over that powerful realm in your opponent's formation - whether it's a Ruins of Iolonia or a Zhentil Keep up front or a Menzonberranzan or Scarlet Brotherhood way at the back. When you absolutely, positively have to get somewhere, the Amulet of Plane Walking has you covered. For providing easy access to all enemy realms, this card is #13 on my list.

Tomorrow: Positions #12-10 are revealed as we continue to count down to the best Spellfire: TAV magic item of all.

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.

The Return of Some Old Favorites!

The Lab is open for business again!

You can still attack, but you're going to pay.

To treat myself this Christmas, I decided to re-acquire two amazing chase cards that I'd traded away over the years. There was a bit of sticker shock involved when I checked the prices of these babies on eBay, but I thought "What the hell" and went ahead and grabbed them up. My Gib deck and my Kings & Thieves deck were the beneficiaries, as these two cards instantly made them much better. Let's take a look at both.

Mad Scientist's Laboratory (Night Stalkers chase, 25/25) allows you to haul champions and allies out of any discard pile and use them as +1 undead allies during combat. While this might win you a level-up war once in a blue moon, the real value in this card happens after combat, when all the reanimated champs and allies go straight to the Abyss. Your opponents lose the services of their Korgunard, their Goldmoon, or their Bigby...permanently. For its ability to cripple any deck that depends on bringing champions (or allies) back from the discard pile, Mad Scientist's Laboratory is a supremely primo realm.

Den Of Thieves (Night Stalkers chase, 24/25) might be even better than Mad Scientists Laboratory. It causes your opponents no end of pain, as they have to discard a card from their hand or pool for each champion or ally they want to use. Now in TAV there's usually only one attack per turn, so the Den isn't as powerful as it is in standard Spellfire. However, if the opponent has a deck that uses a lot of allies, they are still going to feel the burn of this card. Also, in a 4 or 5 player game, each opponent will have to carefully weigh the cost of attacking you while you sit back and watch them discard valuable cards. I feel great having Den of Thieves back in my Kings & Thieves deck!

Next time: The 15 best TAV magic items.

A Candle In The Wind...

Let's take a little peek, my friend.

Candlekeep (Forgotten Realms, 20/100) is the only holding in my Gib Deck. Why? Because it's freaking awesome, that's why. Once this baby is attached to a Forgotten Realms land, its power takes effect. Any time an opponent plays an event - any event - you get to take a long look at their hand. This happens whether it's a combat or non-combat situation. If you have four opponents, and they each play an event on their turn (very possible), you could get a peek at all four hands! Events are very common in Spellfire, even more so in TAV. There aren't many decks that don't contain the full complement of ten events.

Candlekeep can give you an invaluable peek at what instant-kill cheese, powerful champions, or counter-effect cards your enemies are packing. Then you can decide from a knowledgeable position how best to deal with them.

For maximum protection, latch Candlekeep on to one of you rear Realms. You don't want this thing exposed to attack near the front. When it comes to Candlekeep, your opponents will be dying to extinguish it!

Next time: The 15 best TAV magic items, maybe?

Ever Been Inside a Haunted....Hall?

Who ya gonna call?

The Haunted Hall of Eveningstar (3rd edition, 28/400) is a realm I have in my best deck. 

"But why?" I hear you ask. Well, let me tell you. Spellfire is a game of card advantage. Even more so in the Antigonish version of Spellfire. More cards equals more instant kill, more counters, and more events. The Haunted Hall can help by providing an extra card instantly upon being played.

Ideally, you want the Hall somewhere at the back of your formation, but even up front it's decent. If your opponent attacks it with a powerful champion, and manages to raze it, all is not lost. If it's rebuilt in any way (including by discarding 3 cards, using a Labor of Legend, or even discarding Korgunard the Avangion) you get to draw another card. Each time it's rebuilt during the game, the same thing happens.

Drawing cards is a good thing. Keep repeating that, because it's true! The Haunted Hall of Eveningstar gives you one more way to make it happen.

Tomorrow: Light a candle!  

Remember: Always Use Protection!

Spellfire card or WWI German medal? You decide.

Amulet of Spell Protection (Artifacts chase, 17/20) is a great magic item that's found its way into my best deck. Not only does it give a nifty +5 bonus and make its attached champion immune to pesky offensive spells like Death Spell, Mindslayer, Takhisis's Abyssal Gateway, and Mindshatter, but it also can be discarded to cancel the effects of any spell.

Now discarding this card would have to be a last resort. It's just too good to toss away haphazardly to cancel any old spell. But let's imagine your opponent decides to Wish away your Living Wall or (even worse) your Caer Allison. You need that Wish stopped, but are out of counters. Or you have a counter, but no spellcasting champion. Amulet of Spell Protection to the rescue!

Mind you, the main power of the Amulet - making the attached champion immune to offensive spells - is good enough to make this a must-have card all by itself. The +5 and the discard ability are just the icing on this primo cake.

Tomorrow: Is this place haunted?