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The Warlock's Guide to Promo Characters!

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Foote
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MCPooge wrote:

how come PoF Wraith's innate damage ability "quickly gets outpaced" by strictly better damage powers, but Ra's does not? 

Wraith has a lot of very strong and consistent "search" cards via Imptromptu Invention to find her better damage powers + Micro Target Computer.

Ra lacks those, but his buff cards (Staff and Imbued) both synergize with his base power damage, something that Micro Target does not for Wraith.

It's about the context of the deck and not just looking at those two powers in a vacume.

Edit: Also since we are talking Promos in this thread, TermiNation Bunker is a friggin powerhouse and actually makes Bunkers deck fun to play again. I personally think it is too strong considering the powers of the other promos that Bunker has. However it is so much fun that I can let that slide.

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Ameena wrote:

The way I see it, there is never anything bad about getting extra draw (outside of villain effects that punish you for doing so, like Apostate's Tome, but you can always choose not to draw or something). The more cards you have in hand, the more stuff you can do, and if there are any cards you don't particularly like (or don't find really relevant in that particular battle), you can always keep them as discard fodder or put them into play as destruction fodder (whichever is applicable in a game, if any). I like Eternal Haka - you can build up a nice big hand of cards pretty easily and then smash something to bits with a massive Haka of Battle later :D.

(Emphasis mine)

I hadn't even thought of this, but yeah under the right circumstances Haka can convert 2 cards (the potential gain from Haka of Knowledge) into 2 damage. Directly compared to base Haka, yes we lose right now damage, but as long as we have a Haka in hand (which we often will, given that they're a quarter of the deck we're chugging through like a freight train) we're not actually losing any damage overall*, while also opening up a ton of new options in-hand. The more I think about this, the more I like Eternal Haka :D

 

*Modulo any external damage boosts/damage reduction.


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The Burning Stickman
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It's generally been my experience that, for most villains, steady damage throughout the whole game gets a win much quicker than waiting for a big finisher. And playing regular Haka tends to involve enough card draw anyway that Haka can finish off with a giant Haka of Battle when Haka's gotten them down to size by steadily beating them the whole time.

I guess it comes down to play style.

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Depending on the enemy, one big hit may not be as useful as multiple small hits, or vice-versa.  That gives room for both styles to do well. :D  Also, damage reduction on a target favors fewer big hits instead of more small hits for the most part.


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I think one thing that's very important to take into account (as well as being probably one of the main reasons this game is so replayable) is that pretty much everything is context-based. To use Haka as the example, if you're fighting someone like Voss, whose Minions you constantly need to be dealing with so you don't end up with too many of them hammering away at you and pushing Voss closer to victory, using base Haka and punching stuff as often as possible is pretty useful. Or Plague Rat, combat with whom tends to be something of a damage race. But sometimes you want a big hand to throw away in order to just smack something really hard - Apostate with his Runes/Effigy (or Condemnation) for example, where all you really want to do is just one-shot them out of existence so you can concentrate on beating up everything else (or Apostate himself, if that was the last of his relics). Also, don't forget environment targets - if no-one in your team has environment desctruction and someone like Char comes out, it'd be nice if only one hero had to worry about dealing with it while everyone else continued to focus on the villain :).

I remember one time when I was playing Haka (the normal version, as none of the others were out yet) against Citizen Dawn and spent most of the game eating her Citizens whilst saving up a nice big hand of cards. I managed to end up with about half my deck (think it was about 17 or 18 cards) fuelling a Haka of Battle which I immediately used to vomited a decent number of Citizens into her face for something like 35 damage. When she had about 3hp left. Because I could :D. If I'd had Eternal Haka at the time, I'd probably have played him - like I mentioned before, more draw is always good and if you're getting that many cards out, the various copies of Mere and Taiaha will show up sooner or later and then you'll have an ability to whack stuff too, if you want/need to. I think one of the main things about promo versions of heroes is that they change the way the deck is played. Normal Haka punches stuff more but has a smaller and slower-building hand. Eternal Haka tends to deal rather less damage but you can build up a massive hand, get every card you want and then use them to do whatever it is that needs doing. It also gives you plenty of stuff to discard/destroy at ho great hassle if a villain/environment forces you to do so. I haven't played Prime Warden Haka just yet so haven't had a chance to play around with his power but I can see it being useful if he can chuck a bunch of cards into letting Chrono Ranger shoot Plague Rat even harder, or letting a half-dead Scholar become nowhere near dead and able to nuke something as a result, or something :D.


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To be honest, I have to agree that damage does not automatically equal a better power. I prefer Guardian Haka, myself, but Beard Haka is awesome as well.

It's not strictly worse, either, though. Ra's base, in my opinion, is better than his card draw, because he has so many different buffs and one shots that it's not usually too important to get one particular one or another.

For some, it's purely situational, like Fanatic's Exorcism vs. Temperance. If there's a lot of damage buffs going around, then Exorcism is less risky and more rewarding. If there is global reduction, or someone like Argent Adept or Captain Cosmic (or both!) to protect her, then Temperance is great. If you plan on using Divine Focus, then Redeem is super helpful.


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I like choices. If I had to choose between a power that can easily be replaced and never used again or one that provides more choices throughout the game, I like the more choices option.


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Hey, guys!

I know it's been a while, but I finally got around to updatating the guide through Termi-Nation and the X-Mas 2015 promos.

One thing--could I get this thread added to the already-stickied "Flamethrower's Strategies" thread?  I already have my Omnitron-X guide in there, but this one got a bit lost. 

Also, while it bears understanding, all of this is my opinion.  Your mileage may totally vary.  Just because I like one promo better than another, that doesn't mean I'm right.  It's just my own review, based off of what I've seen when Sentinels hits my game table.  I do appreciate continued discussion, though, and I'll be glad to talk more about my thoughts!

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It should be noted with Termination Unity that you don't need a mechanical golem in play to use the power to get a golem from trash into play.  

For normal Guise versus Santa Guise it comes down to whether you want the spotlight on Guise to do his awesome combos or you want to spread the love to your other players.   Because of how his cards work using his second power on himself is not very useful unless you have Selling Out or Super Ultra Kawaii out to take advantage of what comes out.  


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Ironic
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Envisioner wrote:

I wuv Rook City Wraith!  But you're not wrong that she's mechanically less than optimal, I just like the extra variety she brings to the game, interacting directly with the Environment in a way many heroes don't.  And since she's always got the uber-borkenness of Impromptu Invention in her corner, I figure she sort of deserves to have a weak promo.Aside from that little quasi-complaint....great guide!

Heh - that's more or less why Freedom Tempest is the only version of Tempest I ever allow.  Tempest is still both overpowered and lacking in meaningful choices, even with that awful base power... but at least he sometimes briefly feels like he might not be.  Global damage and extra card plays don't do that.

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phantaskippy wrote:

The wording on Prime Warden Tempest doesn't involve a card dealing him damage.  Because of that Ground Pound will not protect him, neither will Mega Computer or any card focused on preventing damage dealt, since they all involve the word "card" and no card deals damage to PW Tempest for his power.  Heroic Interception is awesome for it, as is Smoke Bombs if your highest has good reduction.

 

This is false I love Prime Warden Tempest and there are cards that work with him making him very good.  Heroic interception is a oneshot and smoke bombs only works on villains.  Additionally Tempest already has 2 cards built in to reduce this damage making him one of the best places to put the damage in the first place.  Otherworldly resilience reduces damage by 1 from this ability and if you use it correctly Elemental subwave inducer can also reduce this damage.

There are a few others heroes which can also lend their aid all cards reducing damage do not involve the word "card".  The best choice is the sentinels of course they are one of the strongest hero choices in the game and generally you make frequent use of mainstays ability to keep the sentinels up.  Since this is a hero power you start with it at the beginning of the game letting you use PW Tempest ability sooner than ever without hurting yourself bad.  Besides this huge bonus sentinels tactics is an ongoing which allows all one shot damage abilities (most of your deck) to turn into 2 damage reduction for Tempest and the rest of your team.  You also have good card draw abilities and search through the deck that works on Durasteel chains giving mainstay 2 or 3 reduction and making human shield redirect damage from tempest and is an ongoing instead of a one turn redirect.

2nd option one of the great support heroes argent adept.  There are two counterpoint bulwarks in your deck and good deck searching abilities to get the stuff you want in your hand.  This song lets you choose two heroes to take 1 less damage from abilities.  Generally this rocks to protect the top hp and bottom hp or top two hp heroes but in this case works well with tempest as well.

3rd is captain cosmic.  Energy bracer can be placed on tempest to prevent some damage.  (he is even on the picture)  Unflagging and sustained of course to help keep it going,  Possibly even getting multiple bracers out but in my experience they are a bit squishy for that,

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Heroic Interception is not a one-shot it is an Ongoing and makes other heroes except Legacy immune to damage.   So it does let PW Tempest use his base power without taking damage.  


Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31

 
The Burning Stickman
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Also fun would be Scholar's Alchemic Redirection -- Scholar loves taking extra damage so he can heal.

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Powerhound_2000 wrote:

Heroic Interception is not a one-shot it is an Ongoing and makes other heroes except Legacy immune to damage.   So it does let PW Tempest use his base power without taking damage.  

It is an ongoing that destroys itself.  This means you can only block damage on a single turn.  Something like human shield you could keep rolling for 4 or 5 turns in a row without too much trouble.  That is why I wouldn't really consider Legacy a valid strong pair for this ability.  Legacy having his protection up and the limited ability to shield others in comparison.

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You listed it as a one shot which it isn't and Tempest could help him play it a few times with Reclaim from the Deep


Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31

 
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If you've got a good hand to use with Arc of Power, are you really going to *need* more than one turn of protection?  The right four cards from Tempest in a single turn could completely change the course of a game in a definitive manner ( think "Shackles, Ball Lightning, Lightning Blade, Chain Lightning", or something thereabouts ).

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The Scholar would work pretty well.  More tanky than Legacy, better card draw, group card draw, group reclaim, group healing.  Legacy is always a great character but it just isn't synergy with PW Tempest.  Reclaim from the Deep could get back Heroic Interception but is that what you use it on?  Usually his ability is dealing 0-3 damage to himself.  So heroic interception let's assume you find and put out fortitude deals 2 melee damage and 6 lightning damage to legacy?  Or assuming I have next evolution instead 2-3 melee damage to legacy and none from lightning at the expense of -1 damage to all hero attacks?  Reclaim from the deep I can do it over again or get something amazing like a inspiring precense or the legacy ring that got killed off by the villain.  That is not synergy to me.  It sort of technically works in a really awkward not too great way.

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Legacy wouldn't take any damage from PW Tempest's power. PW Tempest's power is from the Environment to Tempest, not to anyone else.

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Heroic interception prevents damage of any type to heroes except for Legacy himself.  No damage is redirects to Legacy due to that card and only villain damage could be redirected to him if he has Lead From the Front.   As far as Legacy goes for cards to get back it is situational and since that card like Take Down only last a turn its one I would normally go after.  I can't imagine using PW Tempest's base power too frequently so one turn of coverage should be fine.

 


Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31

 
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Ah that is true not horrible then.

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metaphysician wrote:

If you've got a good hand to use with Arc of Power, are you really going to *need* more than one turn of protection?  The right four cards from Tempest in a single turn could completely change the course of a game in a definitive manner ( think "Shackles, Ball Lightning, Lightning Blade, Chain Lightning", or something thereabouts ).

I agree; after Prime Warden Tempest does something like this he doesn't have any cards left to play, anyway. A well-timed heroic interception would be perfect.

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Platinum Warlock, any change you will update your guide with the most recent promo's? 

I like the read of this thread and am curious about your pick on all the other promo's.

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