mercredi 18 février 2015

Playtest notes : Wizard

    Wizard is a grind deck : the more the game lasts,the highest are your chances of winning. 
     What is so cool with Wizard is that there is no right way to build the deck. There is an infinity of possibilities to build it.
     Just keep in mind that you need to keep a balance between
         - Card advantage producer (will glassart, Nice one)
         - Gauge economy (Andy, Key of solomon (Kos) first volume)
         - Defense (Chillax, Kos 2)
         - Threats to pressure your opponent (Quinus Axia, Merlin, Grandfather's clock)
         - Fixers that fixes the lack of board control



   First of, i have to talk about this card : because it is the key of wizard. And a lot of card choice will be around this card :
    I really love this card. It is such a skillfull spell deckbuilding-wise and in-game wise.
     This is the definition of the "alternative wind condition" ( like most of the great spells) : when you cast this card, as long as you are not in a despitable situation,  the game is pretty much in your pocket.
    The trick is that you must both build around this card, but not be totaly reliant on it neither.
    Depending on the numbet of situationals cards, try to add 1/2 name-only wizards. Those are wizards who will 99/100 of the time go to the gauge and get payed only to fuel your drop zone.
    Do note grand father's clock is a wizard (unlike deus ex machina, the other great spells of the wizards).

Monster

Size 3

Dragowizard, tempest wing
     I previously said I did not like the card, and I had to change my mind about that.
     Tempest wing can win game by itself against certains match ups (mainly Anciant world and size 3s), and those match ups are highly in your opponent's favor if you don't have Tempest wing.
     So yes, it has some major flaws (Pillar of fire, Battle booster, and no way to protect it from link attacks), but it stays solid enought. You can always charge him as a clock fodder.
     TL;DR : this card on it's own flips unwinnable match ups into unlosable match ups, and is ok the rest of the time.

Champion Wrester Asmodai
    The ability to get ride of anything is something only one other card provide : Deus Ex machina. And this card has its own flaws : the major one is this card is very late game card, also it gets ride of your own card too (for instance your weapon, The creation if you play it) but this is less problematic. I have not tested it yet, but if the late game problem is indeed a big one, then Champion Wrester will take care of this role very well, even if it is not a Wizard.

Size 2

Center of the world, mary sue
    Having acces to any spells your deck contains, is a broken effect. The price for it is very small. It results in a card beeing a stapple in Wizard.
    Even more as it is the card that profit of Andy the most. If you just summon Andy and mary sue to search Koscher, you +1 for free.

Magical Secretary, Genjuro Saki - Herb Magician, Soichiro Tenjiku
   Another stapple : allow some free Nice one, and make spells that cost two gauges very accessible. There really isn't much not to take from her, especially since your opponent don't have a timing to destroy her after you called her and before you cast your Nice one !
     Whether you prefere Genjuro's 2 crits (which I do) or Tenjiku's 5k defense (that can be nice against a few match ups like Raging spirit, Stars...) is up to you, you have to play a 3/1 ratio anyway for the clock.

57th Generation Great Magician Merlin, Unryu Togetsu
       A very good card if you play an aggressive stategy.
       What makes this card really good is Abra cadabra which can cancel the shields. If you don't have it, play another size 2. Because outside of his 4 criticals, Merlin doesn't give anything. And if it gets blocked, you loose the possiblity of having the effect of another size 2 (Genjuro gauge reduction, Mary Sue Card advantage...).
       Also be careful of Counter destruction/bounce which can be activated before the attack.

Size 1


Magician of Glass, Will Glassart
    One gauge for one card means card advantage and a clock fuel. Also as the effect is optional, he can be played at anytime.
      Because of that, one week before,  i would have said it is by far the best wizard but other player expressed that thdy feel the contrary.
I though a bit about it, and in a way they were right : his far low stats really restrict him to direct attack. And if his attack gets cancelled or reduced, he becomes pretty much a sitting duck. Where his pals Andy and Axia would have already given you an advantage.
    Still, his ability to plus for very cheap makes him a threat your opponent will be forced to recon with, even if he stands on the side. Puting him in the "best wizard" title contender.

Dragowizard, Quinus Axia
     When i first builded Wizard and i saw this card  i was, meh... will play 3 cause people say it's good. I still bought it at 4 since he was in sale, and i don't regret it !
    The way wizards work make that one burn very valuable.
     This card will never turn a game on it's head. But it is necessary in order to make the deck run smoother.
    Also the combo with Magical goodbye gives free damages and sneaky finishes. And Andy makes this card even better.

Magic Artist, Andy
      A good gauge economy. His stats are pretty low but 2 crits are enough. If you play Andy, you will have to adapt your decklist to it : play enought Wizard to make good use of Andy's effect (Quinus, Merlin and Mary Sue mainly), more Size 1s to fill your board when you call Andy and Quinus, and less Genjuro Saki/Tenjiku.

Demon Lord, Asmodai
     It is not a Wizard, but it can fixe the problem of board control Wizard has. And it is one of the best card in the whole game in this category. If your deck is running well, you will have enought card to afford the condition.

Magic Knight of Darkness, Dunkelheit
Magic Knight of Light, Licht

    The problem with those cards is that they can only do one thing, and when they can't do that one thing they become really bad. What can they do : they can hit with very good stats. And when i say good i mean godlike. 7k is unreal in Magic world. But when you draw only one of the duo,  or when there is no monster worth hitting ? They are stuck with only one critical.

    At first, i throught that this card was bad. 1k power that can go to 4k, nothing to write home about. But those 4k don't mean the same than in a Armorknight. They are enough to pass monsters will glassart/axia/andy would have problems to get rid of. And if you dont need the power, then you have the criticals. Also it is a Dragowizard. So that is a good thing.

Spell


     This is the card in Magic world. There is no need to explain, anyone with the notion of card advantage will understand why.

 Kosher
     Out of all the gauge accel card, this card is by far the best. It gives you a straight +0,5 and slimes the deck. Run it at 4 if you don't play the Solomon key engine. If you do play the solomons, you can get away away with a bit less as this card can only be casted once per turn.

Key of solomon, first volume
     Gauge accel arent played because of the -1 they create. But this is not true for Magic world (especially Wizard) who turn guge into advantage easily.
    You can get away without playing it thanks to Kosher, but this card really frees you of gauge restriction, and allow you to play the second volume.

Key of solomon, second volume
    If you play other card games, you know how valuable it is to slim the deck. In yugioh people play upstart goblin which gives a thousand life to the opponent for this.
   In Magic world not only it doesn't give anything to your opponent, but it actually gives it to you. 
    Of course it has a condition.  But it is really negligeable.
   Hence, you can even search the first vol with mary sue to rebirth your deck 2nd volumes, mill by two for the clock, and finish with a vanilla with good stats.
   The only downside beeing the rooms it take (you need between 3 and 4 each).
   This is up to player's choice, but so far, I, and most of the wizards players I know recommend it.

    At the beginning, i wanted to compare this card to Compulsory evacuation device of the yugioh game. But this card has nothing to see because of the game context : in Buddyfight, a standart class counter spell is a minus.
    This is why the flaws that Compulsory evacuation device should not be considered on Magical Goodbye, and only the advantage : the versatility.
    No card can be as versatile as this one : negate attack,  protect monster from anything, clear the center... The only limit is your imagination.

Abra Cadabra!
      This card is great because it can end the game very brutally, with up to 6 crits links attacks. 
      But this isn't all, you use it for a defensive play to counter the opponent's most important spells (Frozen stars, Nice ones, Continue!). If you play it while having a Genjuro on the field, it becomes very cheap, and you loose as much ressources as your opponent (let's say he plays Continue : -1 card, -1 gauge for both of you) but disrupt his whole stategy.

Begone!!
      Two problems :  heavy gauge cost and it doesn't really get ride of the threat. Your opponent can always play another monster after.
      There are some match ups where this card is a no-brainer (Jackknife, Duel dragon to kill Demon godol...) or simply a good disrupter (Stars for Gold lion of nemea and Cassiopeia...).
     Which means this card deserve to be at least in the side board.
     Note : if you cancel the Buddycall with this card, your opponent doesn't receive the Buddygift, but his monster stays tapped).

Chillax! - Solomon's shield
      With Magical goodbye, those are the stapples  in the defensive options. They offer two differents things (one is free but only stops solo attacks, while the other one stops everything but can only be casted when you have the gauge for) consequently, an even/near even ratio is necessary.

Epic Fail!
     A new addition to the defensive roster. Because it is limited to size 2 and less monsters (not on item nor on size 3), overall I find it inferior to solomon shield. But there are a few situations where this card is really good : on double attacker, and when you have a Dragowizard.
     But if you don't play 6 or more Dragowizards, this card is simply worth it.

Item

    Unless Stradivarus shows off unexpectidly, the two contender of the title are Gunrod del gesu and Burning fist.
      None of them is superior to the other. When i playtested burning wand i was : "i could not win with gunrod."
And when i played the gunrod i was thinking the opposite. For the good reason that i adapted my plays and strategy to the card i had, if i had the other one, the game would have gone a totally différent way.
Here are the qualities of each cards :
Burning fist :
no gauge cost
Clear the center to not waste the attack of your 2 crits wizard.
Helps safely get ride of walls.
Gunrod del gesu :
ping even at turn 0Multiple attack during the last turn (ping, replace with another gunrod, ping again).
Can just burn the opponent slowly if he is sitting behind an undeafetable wall.
Burn out effect, explained above.
Gunrod beinstein
     Beinstein did his time : del gesu is superior. Below what i wrote before the booster was released, and with even more test, it is confirmed :
    With the old weapon, there was absolutly no reason to attack with it : if you direct attack, then you should rather use it's ability. And it is really not worth to leave your center open (if your opponent has hysteric spear but that is really all) to attack with it's 3k power.
    With the new effect, Del Gesu can now close out games (and it doesn't matter if your center is open once your opponent is dead).
    Also this + Merlin + Andy = One Turn Kill.
    But do not be stupid, don't try to OTK if there is a lot of chances that your opponent can cancel your attack : you have no chances of recovering if it doesn't go throught.
Gunrod, Martil
    It has never been competitive. If you need to give 3k power to your wizard, you can just link with burning fist.

Impacts

New-Era Great Spell, The Creation
      If the game goes well (you drop this card turn 0 and trigger it each turns), this card can win you the game by itself.
      If you draw it too late, or don't have enought draw effects, then this card is really bad, it is still a wizard, you can charge it for the clock.
      Overall, a really do or die card. Playing it is up to player's choice.
      Note : if you play it, the Kos engine is mandatory.

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