Druchii.net

I have been going through army lists on forums lately for different army’s and most of the time I see at least one dispel scroll can anybody tell me what is so good about them? They are a 25 point item that can only be used to dispel one measly spell for the whole game, you can almost get a cold-one knight or upgrade most units with full command for 25 points.

Some spells can really change a battle. Imagine you want to charge the Hellfire cannon of the Empire, you try to cast Chilling Winds on it and you wish you wound one servant.

If you succed, your black guards will not be hit as the cannon cannot fire (because of Chilling wind ).

You cast your spell, no Double 6. The opponent has the choice: try to dispel with his dices, and may loose, or use a dispel scroll to be sure to eradicate this Special unit!

As the Imperial Player, I would choose the scroll

Especially useful for spells such as Spirit of the Forge about to obliterate your knights, or Wall of Fire being cast on our expensive elites. The scroll is there to stop those kinds of spells going off.

Hmm I see that side of it but when used against me they waste it on the stupidest things is it a high skill item? It’s also still kind of a waste considering you can have a +1 to dispel with another magic item that every army can use for just an extra 10 points and plenty of army’s have there own magic defense items for around 25-30 points

imagine, as a dark elf player, you have just set up your black guard for the perfect charge, with dark riders positioned to then flank the enemy and everythings looking up when the enemy mage pops a massive spell which effects the whole unit, and can ruin your plan in one go. Dispelling on dice will only have a certain chance of stopping it, its still risky. Using a scroll ensures your plan can continue. In 2250pts i always want 2 scrolls.

The +1 to dispel isn't that good compared to 1 dispel scroll.

There's some spell that you may want to dispel, that's when you use your dispel dice, because if they pass, it will hurt but it may be ok.

There's some spell that you don't care, so you'll only use your dispel dice if you know it's is last spell or just let it pass.

But there's the game winning spells, these spells mustn't pass at all cost. So instead of hoping to dispel them with your dice, it's better to use a dispel scroll so you'll be sure that the spell won't turned on if this spell pass.

Examples: You're playing against a VC player. He made you waste all your dispel dice and now attempts the movement spell on his BloodKnights. He succeed the spells, since you have no dispel dice, you can't dispel it, but to prevent them from charging, you'll use one of the dispel scroll because if this spell would have pass, it could be deadly.

It is not a waste when you're playing against a heavy magic list. I kinda find, after several games, that 2 dispel scroll in a 2k games is an investment.

Ok I am getting the point because those kind of things happen to me all the time even though I normally try to have at least 5 dispel dice no matter the points. So should I use 1 dispel scroll for every 1000 points?

1 dispel scroll may surely be enough. Of course, you may use it wrong at first but you'll learn when to use it. You'll have to analyze your opponent magic phase to see some kind of patern (That ain't easy sometime).

But at 1k, 4-5 dispel dice and 1 dispel scroll should do the job. Just don't be too hasty to use the scroll though, make sure that it's the best moment, like I've said, you may use it badly in the first times.

I think I might just have one and only use it if something apocalyptic happens otherwise I know ill just use it at the first sign of trouble.

You can see it like this, 1 heavy spell like fire blast for example will most likely destroy more then you can buy for 25 points.
And a movement spell for example can destroy an entire unit if it allows a nasty flank charge for example

As said, Spirit of the Forge can ruin your day, easily. Something like that you don't want to play with, and rolling dice is most certainly playing .

The problem with Dispel scrolls though is they can only be used once. Yes that is good when your opponent is about to cast a super nasty spell which destroys your army. However he is likely to do the same thing each and every turn. By turn 3 you won't have any scrolls and his magic will proceed to rip you to pieces.

I prefer the extra dice. With 5 DD you can very reliably stop at least 1 spell every turn. 5D6 give you an average of 17.5!

Bounce wrote:The problem with Dispel scrolls though is they can only be used once... However he is likely to do the same thing each and every turn. By turn 3 you won't have any scrolls and his magic will proceed to rip you to pieces.

The idea is to kill the wizards (or at least be in combat with them) by the time your scrolls are expended.

In your arsenal is a whole range of things that all play a part of your magical defence. Combining all these things is in most games a heavy overkill and will leave you very vulnerable against an army which is not focused around magic.
However understanding how each of these things can aid your magical defence is vital so you can put up a solid defence for an affordable cost.

The most notable things are:
More Dispel Dice
Mage Hunters
Ring of Hotek
Dispel Scrolls

More Dispel Dice comes at the cost of combat effectiveness as you have to buy more sorcs for this(some exceptions)
Mage Hunters means you have parts of your army especially designed to target and eliminate mages.
Ring of Hotek is a strong cheap gadget but it gives you a big disadvantage if your running with a strong magic army.
Dispel Scroll is cheap and afordable and fits in well regardless of the other magic defences you have in place. Occationally you will face a spell cast by your opponent that can really cost you the battle and at this point you will want to use the scroll. In some games you might end out with one or more scrolls that havent been used but for those few critical spells it is highly vital. It is usually wasted if used against a magic misile. Some spells might be allowed through in most rounds but in some conditions a normally ignorable spell is exactly the spell that in a certain round will make or break your entire game. You have a perfect setup and just needs this spell to go through and you will own the table for the rest of the game. Then your opponent pulls out the dispel scroll.

I have won some battles on account of a critical dispel scroll saved for when it was needed the most and Ive lost some battles because my opponent did the exact same.
I have however ended plenty of games with the Dispell Scroll still lying around so it was burned up on some pointless spell in the last round. The scroll is almost a musthave for most armies. That critical spell that must be removed no matter the cost might not come. But when it does you will wish you had a scroll instead of hoping you roll 10+ on the last 2 dice you had that round.

I usually run with 1 scroll for each 1k pts started and sometimes more against certain opponents. (against a certain VC player I know I wouldnt go below 1 scroll for every 500 pts)