The most interesting news for this week from the World of Praetoria is the fact that the next stage of the promo card stage has just begun. I have not bought any copies so far since I think I will wait for a bit this time and see if I can snag some deals off the secondary market. I am not sure that this sale will be as successful as the last one since the auction card is also launching tomorrow and I have the feeling the whales will focus their monetary streams in that direction but we'll see, I could be wrong.
Let's have a look at the two cards and discuss which levels I find most reasonable to level the cards on a budget to.
So, as far the Rune Arcanist goes, I think she need to be leveled to a level which allows her to acquire the new ability she has which is:
Phase Ward can have some pretty interesting interactions with some of the fast but susceptible to Magic damage units. Commander Slade immediately comes to mind:
He could definitely become a Monster from the nightmares with Phase added to his kit. As for the rest of the abilities of the Rune Arcanist - cripple at level 6 or $180 and Scavenge at level 8 - $345. I don't really think they have any necessary synergy with Phase Ward and are straight up redundant.
Now for Rik:
Now, while the new ability and the synergy with Pallus are exciting not just because of these two card but because of all the future possibilities of cards synergizing based on lore - splinters, elements, etc., I really think the elephant in the room is Expose. Rik gets Expose at level 2 so that's 150,000 DEC if bought straight from the shop. I'm actually thinking of getting him at level 3 because of the extra Ranged Attack point he gets. Stun is great at level 4, especially for a Dual-Attack Unit since it has an even higher chance to land it each turn but is it worth another 250,000 DEC on top of the 300,000 DEC paid to get him to level 3. I'm not convinced at all.
Let's look at one of the Monsters in the set and how he is used in battle. The Monster is one which has quickly become one of my favorite Fire Monsters despite the fact that he is a Red Lupi (and not some imposing fire lord) - Rush Townsend.
Now before we get into the stats discussion of Rush Townsend, let's have a sneak peek into his LORE.
So, Rush Townsend is a hero of the resistance against the Chaos Empire in the Republic of Fireboro. I guess you could tell that he's a cool lupi just by looking at his picture but getting some background info on him definitely helps.
Alright, we've got some idea of who Rush Townsend is, after glancing at his lore. Let us have a look at his stats and abilities at different key levels now.
- Rush Townsend is a Legendary Monster. He costs 9 Mana and at level 1 he has 4 Ranged Attack, 4 Speed, 1 Armor and 4 Health but most importantly he starts off with two important abilities in the current meta - Ambush (This Unit gets to act before the battle begins) and Affliction (When a Monster with Affliction hits a target, it has a chance of applying Affliction on the target causing it to be unable to be healed).
- At level 2 he gains 1 Ranged Attack for a total of 5, 1 Speed for a total of 5 and 1 Armor for a total of 2.
- At level 3 he gains 1 more Speed point for a total of 6, 1 more Armor for a total of 3 and 1 Health point for a total of 5. He also gets his 3rd ability - Piercing (If Melee or Ranged attack damage is in excess of the target's Armor, the remainder will damage the target's Health).
- Finally, maxed out at level 4 he has 5 Ranged Attack, 6 Speed, 4 Armor and 6 Health. He also gains his 4th and final ability - Amplify (Increases Magic Reflect, Return Fire, and Thorns damage to all enemy monsters by 1).
Now that we know what the card does (or doesn't do) at the different levels of play, let us have a look at the battle I have chosen to showcase.
<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>BATTLE<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>
- The line-up of the Battle and the Ruleset:
The rulesets for this battle are - What Doesn’t Kill You (All Monsters have the Enrage (has increased Melee attack and Speed when damaged) ability)), Are You Not Entertained? (One additional Gladiator card may be used in battles) and Briar Patch (All Monsters have the Thorns (when hit with a Melee attack, does damage back to the attacker) ability). The mana budget of 54 is an above-average amount, at least for today's standards, so I will be able to splurge a bit more on chunkier Monsters. Only two elements are available - Fire and Life. I'll go with the Fire Element.
1st in the line-up is a Monster part of the Rebellion set - the Torch Myrmidon. I have not have much time to play with him but he does seem to be a pretty useful Monster in some specific situations. It has Flank (At the beginning of Battle, if this Monster is in the first position, the Monster in the second position gains Reach), Close Range (Monsters with the Close Range ability can perform ranged attacks from the first position) and Shatter (Target's armor is destroyed when hit by an attack from Monsters with Shatter). I have obviously used it for its Flank ability but also for its high Speed and Shatter. It also has a very good amount of Health and some Armor.
The off-tank for the line-up is Mantoroth. He's a pretty beefy boy with 4 Armor and 11 Health at the cost of 11 Mana which makes him susceptible to Giant Killer (does double damage against targets that cost 10 or more mana). He also has 3 Melee Attack and 2 Speed. In terms of abilities - at max level he has the following ones (in order of appearance): - Shield (reduced damage from Melee and Ranged attacks), ARMORED STRIKE (Any unit with this ability gains an ADDITIONAL Melee attack using its Armor stat. This allows characters to improvise with deadly force, using their gauntlets, shields, helmets, or perhaps physical attributes (spikes, hard shells, etc) as weapons!), True Strike (this Monster's attacks cannot miss), Repair (restores some armor to the friendly Monster whose armor has taken the most damage) , Blast (does additional damage to Monsters adjacent to the target Monster). He is definitely shaping up to be a pretty interesting card, especially with the New Ability - Armored Strike and the fact that he is a Neutral Card, so he can be included in any Element.
The 3rd spot is for the Torch Vizier. She is a very cool-looking new addition to the game, released with the Rebellion set. I have her at level 6, and at that level she has 4 Melee Attack, 4 Speed and 6 HP but most importantly I have brought her for her Opportunity (Monsters with the Opportunity ability may attack from any position and will target the enemy Monster with the lowest health) and Reflection Shield (This Monster doesn't take damage from Blast, Magic Reflect, Thorns, or Return Fire) abilities. Reflection Shield is one of the best counters to Thorns.
4th in the line-up is Djinn Inferni. I love playing him in Jacek line-ups because he can literally ruin the day of the opponent if he has 10+ mana Monsters and the Djinn lands his Magic Attacks on them. He is so potent against "giants" thanks to his Giant Killer (Does double damage against targets that cost 10 or more mana) ability. His other ability is Stun (When a Monster with Stun hits a target, it has a chance to stun the target causing it to skip its next turn). Stun is basically one of the most OP abilities in any PvP game so it can't be bad here either.
5th in my line-up is the protagonist of this post - Rush Townsend. He is a great Ranged Attacker with 6 Speed and 5 Attack but what's more important is that he has the new Ambush (This Monster gets to act before the battle begins) ability. In addition to that he also has Affliction (When a Monster with Affliction hits a target, it has a chance of applying Affliction on the target causing it to be unable to be healed), Piercing (If Melee or Ranged attack damage is in excess of the target's Armor, the remainder will damage the target's Health) and Amplify (Increases Magic Reflect, Return Fire, and Thorns damage to all enemy monsters by 1). Getting to hit before any other Monster with 5 Attack plus Piercing could be a very powerful opener.
The 6th place in the line-up goes to Countess Sinash. Countess Sinash is a great Ranged Attacker specifically for the abilities she has - Opportunity (Monsters with the Opportunity ability may attack from any position and will target the enemy Monster with the lowest health), Swiftness (All friendly Monsters have increased Speed), Camouflage (This Monster cannot be targeted for attacks unless it's in the first position) and Blast (Does additional damage to Monsters adjacent to the target Monster) . Hopefully she'll get luck and survive until the end because Camouflage is no longer invincible to Scatter Shot as it used to be in the past.
It is time for a quick round by round analysis:
The Summoner I am going with for the battle is, as you have probably already guessed, Jacek. Jacek is my go-to guy ever since Rebellion came out when the rulesets of the battle favor a more ranged-heavy line-up. He is specifically effective against the pesky Lily teams which I am also guilty of playing. My opponent has also decided to go with Jacek in this battle, however, he lacks imagination or any new RB cards, so his line-up is very standard. That, of course, does not mean that RNJesus can't be on his side. Let's see how this goes.
- After the Ambush Round and Round 1 I am considerable ahead having taken down two of his Monsters and have badly injured other two. My opponent managed to take down my Countess Sinash.
- Round 3 begins and I have basically won the battle. All that is left is for Rush to hit the enemy Dr. Blight and send it to the underworld. A fast but fun battle.
Rush Townsend is a very potent Ambusher for the Fire Element. He is currently being traded at $5.00 per bcx which makes him pretty accessible for everyone interested in owning him which is great.
Over and Out,
Referral
Thanks for sharing! - @clove71
