The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

How to beat those cowardly High Elves?

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toots
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The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by toots »

ok - first things first - i've only played about 6 games in total since returning from around 15 years away from the game. and i have to say i love playing dark elves. whereas my contemporaries blindly stumble forwards to their doom, i really quite enjoy using the first three turns to manoeuvre and generally 'chess it up' for massive full-scale charging in turn 4, on my terms. anyway that's what i did in the league i played in last weekend. props to those who responded to my army list i posted - it was a pretty good list, apart from... the magic phase.

one level 4 and a dispel scroll did not an effective magic phase make. i had mindrazor, pit of shades, miasma and the withering. basically i didn't have much choice as to which spell i could cast, my opponent knew it was coming and dispelled quite easily. or i rolled badly. or i miscast and got sucked into the warp (happened twice in four games). anyway let's not think about that magic, but i have been thinking and i have it all figured out(!).

basically there are a few separate threads knocking around right now talking about dark magic, and power of darkness spell. i've come to the conclusion that dark magic should really be ludicrously powerful if you go all-out offense, and take a unit of warlocks. always a unit of warlocks. always always always. i am always going to take 4 bolt throwers from now on and that -1 to toughness is going to be phenomenally useful. i know i have in the past said that warlocks "aren't cricket", but that was before i basically didn't have a magic phase and lost games as a result!!

firstly, let's talk about power of darkness. level 4 needs a 3+ to cast it on a single die. on successful completion we get +1 unit strength and D3 power dice. i'm robbing from another thread but to make use of the +1 strength we should bang her in a unit, say black guard or corsairs, ten wide so she's on a corner. fine. and the power dice? 66% chance of producing more than it cost you. on a 5 or a 6 you're in the money! but also taking a wound. so give her a 4++, and also make sure the unit has the lichbone pennant, so she has a 3++ against this. and, actually, whilst we're at it, soul stealer would a be a great choice for her to take. no one will both stopping it (i think...) as there's far nastier stuff coming so she can boost her wounds for combat, miscasts and misadaventure involving PoD.

ok so now you're thinking: if she fails that single die roll, magic phase over (for her). well that's where another part of the master plan comes in: sac dagger. just shank a model or two until it comes off. not ideal but hey, whatever. so for this reason i'd take her in corsairs - don't like the idea of blackguard getting shanked. one unit of corsairs can take a 25pt banner too, which is ideal. you might want to put a difficult-to-kill bsb in the unit with a 1+ re-rollable, but maybe not. any unit coming into contact with this one should be word of pained and these corsairs will be strength 4 so... let's have it boys!! we'll chop you up!!! and sing sea shanties or something. got to be a big unit of corsairs, at least 30. ideally she'd have crown of command, sac dagger and a 4++, but it's 5pts too much... so drop the crown.

now that you have a level 4 with the sac dagger and DARK MAGIC, you'll also hopefully have word of pain and doombolt. with any luck you'll be in range of enemy units with your four remaining spells (two spells from warlocks and doombolt and word of pain). you can then proceed to use the minimum number of dice for each spell to get maybe a 60% chance of casting (i.e. rolling two dice if you need a 7 or more), and then boosting that by killing corsairs if you fail it. that way you should get off a couple more spells per magic phase than he dispels, and also your corsairs are pretty tough!

so yeah, it kinda depends on your sorceress being in range to draw out some dispel dice - 24" for WoP and 18" for doombolt. pretty close with the second one there. but i'm looking forward to trying it out.

of course, the downside to this is the lack of dispel scroll (i'm not taking another wizard if i already have warlocks and a level 4). this is mitigated by i guess my second idea - that i probably won't be taking massive units again for a while. the 40 execs looked fantastic in their base i ordered from eBay (really well-made and cheap), but weren't so great when a third of them got finally transmuted. i'll probably just take 21 next time (my army was actually technically illegal!! damn, forgot about that!) and bulk up on corsairs. anyway my point is that final transmutation and curse of years and dwellers do a lot less damage to a smaller unit. so i'll probably be taking medium-sized ones in the next game of mine.

another upside to this idea is that you'll maybe be having to 5-6 dice spells less often so miscasts won't be as common. in two games when my caster miscast and died i didn't have a scroll to use anyway!

looking forward to your feedback; i'm also looking forward to giving this a go as soon as i can!


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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Red... »

All sounds like well thought out logic. The best way to approach the magic phase is to have a coherent plan, and your one sounds sensible to me.

Give some though to the enemy's magic phase too, as that's equally (if not more) important. For me, it comes down to the following line of thinking:
- First and foremost: know your opponent's spells. When he generates them at the start of the game, take a minute to read them through and understand what they do. This is essential, because you need to know which spells to dispel when. With that in mind, let's have a look at the breakdown of casting:

- On a low winds of magic phase (e.g. 2-4 dice for your opponent, 1-3 dice for you), your opponent will typically try to cast one or two spells. If he holds some dice back from his first casting, you can safely assume that he is going to try to cast a second spell. If he rolls all of his dice, you can assume he is just going to try to cast one. If he is going for two spells, decide whether the first spell is the one that has most threat potential against you. If it is, then throw all of your dice at it. In doing so, you have a reasonable chance of dispelling that spell, but he will be able to cast the second spell without opposition. It's essential that you make sure you dispel the scarier spell. Do not try to split your own dice to dispel both spells, as you are likely to fail to dispel either, thus taking both in the face. If he is going for just one spell, then throw all of your dispel dice at it (no point in not doing so).

- On a mid-level winds of magic phase (e.g. 5-8 dice for your opponent, 3-6 dice for you), you want to adopt the same basic approach, but this time be aware that your opponent may try to cast anywhere between one and three (even four, although that's unlikely) spells. If he has just 5 or 6 dice and rolls all of them at one spell, you can safely know that he is only going for one spell, and again you should roll all of your own dispel dice against it. If he rolls less than the number of dice he has, again you need to decide whether the spell he is casting is the scariest one that he has or whether other spells he has are worse. If it is the spell which has the largest threat potential, then roll all of your dice against it (unless he managed a really paltry score to cast it, in which case you may be able to hold some dice back, but that's a risky gambit, so really think about that before you do). Again, he will be able to cast his other one or two spells with impunity, but you will hopefully have dispelled the biggest threat.

- On a high-level wind of magic phase (e.g. 9-12 dice for him, 5-6 dice for you), you again follow a similar approach, but this time you may want to try to dispel more. Again, every time he casts a spell, decide whether or not it is a very high threat to you (e.g. if he has four spells, if it is one of the two better spells he has) and then decide whether to try to dispel it or not.

To give an example. Let's say that your opponent has a level 4 shadow mage, opposed by your level 4 sorceress. He has four spells: steed of shadows, the withering, penumbral pendulum, and mindrazor. In his magic phase, he rolls a 5 and a 3, netting you 5 dispel dice to his 8 power dice (for our purposes here, let's assume that neither wizard channels successfully). Earlier in the phase, he has successfully charged his horde of 40 empire swordsmen into the front of your unit of 10 Cold One Knights. You categorize the threat of his spells in your head: mindrazor is the biggest threat, as it will allow his swordsmen to butcher their way through your cold one knights like a hot knife through butter. The withering is reasonably threatening, because it will allow his unit to wound your knights more easily (on a 3 or a 2 rather than a 4), but won't impact on their 2+ armour saves. Penumbral pendulum is of limited threat, because almost your entire army has an I5 or above (let's assume you have no low I monsters or artillery for now), and steed of shadows is fairly useless most of the time (and let's assume that it is not looking helpful for him at this time). He tries to cast penumbral pendulum first, nominating a unit of 20 witch elves as his target, and rolls four dice to cast it successfully. You note that he still has four dice left, and that the spell he is trying to cast is less scary than the ones he has in his hand (mindrazor and the withering), so you let it through. He kills on average 3-4 witch elves, and then tries to cast mindrazor on his swordsmen, throwing the other four dice at it. At this stage, you throw all of your 5 dispel dice at it, and have better than average odds of dispelling it. Of course, there are no guarantees when it comes to the dice gods, but there you go.

It's worth noting that many opponents will try to sneak a spell past you by casting one that sounds scary, but is actually less scary than his upcoming next spell. For example, a player with a fire mage may try to throw a 2d6 fireball at your 20 bleakswords to scare you into dispelling that one, only to then hit your bigger and more important unit of 40 witch elves with a flaming cage. So do always try to think one step ahead and work out not just what damage will this spell do to you (or benefit will it give to him), but also what damage will his next spell do to you (or benefit will give to him). Let the softer one through and dispel the harder one.

Taking a dispel scroll is brilliant because, assuming you follow the formula above, it means you can reliably shut down your opponent's entire magic phase for one magic phase in the game (except for in a high level wind of magic phase, in which case you can shut down most of it).
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BruceATL
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by BruceATL »

Where I'm having issues is investing so many points in a random resource dice phase. Now I usually take 2 units of warlocks so I spend most of my dice rolling 6 for a big doombolt or a bubble soulblight. I play combat heavy lists so a level 4 doesn't usually work for me. A level 2 or 1 with a scroll usually does the trick. Now I like the options a level 4 gives me but I usually lose her or blow her up, so 290+ points down the drain.

Anyone run a magic heavy list with 2 warlocks and a level 4? What lore do you run and why?
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by toots »

totally baller responses guys, especially from my man RED who responded to the dispelling side of the magic phase which i had totally forgotten about.

what i'd say re that is... sod it, if you can generate an absolute bollock-load of power dice every magic phase and basically carve yourself an early magic phase lead by getting off two or three more spells than he can dispel in your first few turns then it's not such a big deal if casts a big 'un like final trans because by that point the game should be in your favour. however, i could be talking absolute shite. really looking forward to trying it though!!

actually, i'm going to roll some dice right here and now.

8. 6 and a 2 so i get 8 and you get 6.

i just cast PoD on a roll of 4. wanna dispel it? no you don't. damn i only got one power dice. anyway...

i cast doombolt from my level 4 with two dice. roll 11 and so that's a 16. you attempt to dispel on 4 dice, rolling 15, dispelled. still got 6 left, i cast WoP with two dice, roll a 7 and it's in play on it's boosted version. you roll two dice getting a 6 and, like an idiot, do not dispel it. ha ha ha. still have four dice left, although i cannot shank anyone to cast doombolt and soulblight from my warlocks... oh well. 4 dice onto doombolt with my warlocks, i miscast like an idiot and one dies as a result. anyway, that was a dumb move considering i only needed 7, but there you go. two proper spells went off and my corsairs are marginally stronger. could definitely have been better, but whatever, just wait until i do it in a real game!!!

bruce - what i'm saying is: let's take out the randomness of the magic phase by generating a vomit-inducing amount of dice!! which is exactly not what i did in the example above but... whatever! kill those corsairs and get PoD to actually do something! WILL it to happen! :burns:

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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by marcopollo »

BruceATL wrote:Where I'm having issues is investing so many points in a random resource dice phase. Now I usually take 2 units of warlocks so I spend most of my dice rolling 6 for a big doombolt or a bubble soulblight. I play combat heavy lists so a level 4 doesn't usually work for me. A level 2 or 1 with a scroll usually does the trick. Now I like the options a level 4 gives me but I usually lose her or blow her up, so 290+ points down the drain.

Anyone run a magic heavy list with 2 warlocks and a level 4? What lore do you run and why?


I a currently running Morathi, one warlock unit, and a scroll cady. So you could say that it is magic heavy (615 pts at 2.5K).

What I'm finding is that I can usually combo spells quite well. So for instance I can miasma to reduce initiative and then, say pitt of shades, or purple sun. Or, I can get 2 spirit leeches off at ld 10. With two pegmasters running around I can smoke and mirror to get line of sight and extend the threat space.

My current meta has three woodies, two WoC, lizards, OK, DE, dwarves, and HE. So a decent amount of diversity.

Sometimes, the round is a bust, but most times I am able to do good work early, mid and late. If I can do imprtant things at all times in the game, my magic is earning its keep. Of course, I've been sucked into the warp too. But that is how it goes.

Edit: points calculations.
Last edited by marcopollo on Mon Aug 11, 2014 10:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by toots »

what i didn't make clear is that i think that Dark Magic is a lore which really requires a unit of warlocks to get the best out of a level 4 using it. casting soulblight immediately makes black horror and our strength 2 (and 1!) hits more dangerous. it seems to be all about synergy and getting off certain spells before others (boosted WoP or soulblight for instance before black horror say). generating lots of power dice along the way, having lots if not all of your spells within range (so you both know there will be maybe four spells cast this phase, and if he's lucky he'll dispel two), throwing one die at soul stealer for instance, hoping to get a 6, if not then by shanking one or two guys you've got a 72% chance of casting it successfully with another sacrificial die. ok those odds aren't great but you see what i'm getting at. maybe as a last die in a magic phase. use those corsairs as power dice until you have the upper hand in the game!

also, the more spells you cast per magic phase, the more that +1 to cast comes into play. cast 4 spells? that's 4 more points - an extra power die right there. ok maybe you'll only cast three spells with your level 4, but you can see what i'm getting at.
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Cold73 »

@BruceATL.
You throw 6 dice at a Doombolt...in hopes of getting a IF so that i cannt dispell....
If you manage that...then yes...you will hurt my units, but also hurt your own unit in the process. If that is the way you like to play...then...I agree a lvl 4 is not a good investment for you.
For me...magic is a game within a game. I never try to get just one spell off...I try to cast every spell at my disposal. The tactics in the rest of my turns...depends on which spell i get off.

Do i get a Doombolt off, and do serious damage to one of your units in the flank..then my Warlocks are gonna go in there the next turn and kill it so i can threaten your flanks.
Do i manage to get Black Horror off, then I will move on that that damaged unit FAST.
Getting Word of Pain off on a unit in combat is always good...most of the time that means they will be hitting me on 5+ instead of 4+

So many possibilities.....and I dont have to make them all every turn...
For me it is all about letting my opponent make difficult choices in every phase of the game...
In my magic phase...in his movement phase...the more choices he has to make the better the chance for me he will make one mistake...
and once he does that.........
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Falstaff »

Hello!

I think the key is to "double up" spells. In most turns, you will have more PD than your Opponent. If you only have one spell to make damage over range and you're not in cc, the Opponent will always use all his DD to dispel that spell. This is especially so, if your comp maxes the use of PD/spell. However, if you have 2 range damage spells (e.g. 2 doom bolts), you can cast both with equal PD and your Opponent will only be able to dispel one or have to use the scroll.

Similarly in cc. If you have one Major buff... guess what the Opponent will try to dispel!? If you have 2 (e.g. double soulblight), again, your Opponent will dispel only one. In this case, it's particularly important to be able to draw the scroll early.

Note that this is one (of the many) reasons why having 2 Units of warlocks is just so gooooooood.
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by toots »

couldn't agree more; that's kinda what i was trying to say when i said to have as many spells in range as possible. which is why i struggled with my shadow magic when i only had one spell in range! having the warlocks will be a great help to that i think! and for chanelling. i'll start off with one unit DRs and one unit of warlocks.
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by T.D. »

marcopollo wrote:
I a currently running Morathi, one warlock unit, and a scroll cady. So you could say that it is magic heavy (615 pts at 2K).

What I'm finding is that I can usually combo spells quite well. So for instance I can miasma to reduce initiative and then, say pitt of shades, or purple sun. Or, I can get 2 spirit leeches off at ld 10. With two pegmasters running around I can smoke and mirror to get line of sight and extend the threat space.


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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by marcopollo »

T.D. wrote:
marcopollo wrote:
I a currently running Morathi, one warlock unit, and a scroll cady. So you could say that it is magic heavy (615 pts at 2K).

What I'm finding is that I can usually combo spells quite well. So for instance I can miasma to reduce initiative and then, say pitt of shades, or purple sun. Or, I can get 2 spirit leeches off at ld 10. With two pegmasters running around I can smoke and mirror to get line of sight and extend the threat space.


You Sir, are a cunning man!

Thanks, actually I run it at 2.5K. It is an MSU list. I am still practicing with it, I am still trying to figure out the best load outs for my pegmasters and scroll caddy. Also, Morathi has some challenges with lore selection that I am trying to master. But by and large, I like the way it plays. Lots of fun really.
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by BruceATL »

@Cold73 - yeah I get the game within the game part. This thread actually inspired my latest army tourney list which I'll be trying out this weekend. I usually go for fast aggressive lists since the new book and this edition. Back in 5th and 6th I usually went for more balance in the phases. Combat, shooting, and magic. By going more infantry-ish, I can see how using Dark along with the warlocks can really put pressure on an opponent. Just have to play the odds a bit on getting IF too early or with a small amount of dice.
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by toots »

actually i just decided that Soul Stealer is a good spell. one i'll be taking. but again, relies on those warlocks casting soulblight to get the toughness down. if you have that level 4 in that big horde of corsairs, and she's got a 4++ and she'[s in the front rank, she's going to be an absolute bullet-magnet. best get her some extra wounds by casting a seemingly harmless spell via your last spell dice and the sac dagger. if the enemy is T3 then a soulblight and a reasonably accurate hit from this will garner you quite a few wounds with which to enter combat. and with 4++, that's a load of attacks that won't be hitting and wounding your corsairs. still need to try this out!
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by toots »

Right - I finally tried my mega magic phase strategy out and... resounding success!! The number of power dice I was creating was crazy. Of course, corsairs were dropping like flies but what the hey. Worked well in two battles, I'll keep trying it.

the problem with just having one caster is that there may only be one or two spells that are A) in range B) useful in the current context C) castable given the number of power dice available. that unit of warlocks provides 2 spells which are both useful and most likely in range of something. add that level 4 with dark magic in a big unit of corsairs advancing towards the enemy, well, you got a stew goin' on! downside is that the caster can't cast doombolt into combat (but there's nothing to say she can't cast it out of combat into a unit which is itself not in combat).

i was really synergising (that may not be a verb or even a word) well, using unboosted and boosted word of pain and bladewind on a unit of 40 saurus warriors. what was important was getting the multitude of spells i was casting in the right order so as to make the maximum impact. WoP, soulblight, bladewind then doombolt. PoD in there somewhere too. and then by having four bolt throwers, if soulblight is successful, 24 shots from them into one unit is utterly devastating.
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Heartsbane »

Great to hear it's working well for you!

As a minor rules clarification, doombolt is a magic missile, and under the description of MMs in the BRB, it states they can't be cast if the wizard is in combat. Sorry.
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by toots »

shiz!

should have known really!! ok well, i still think this is a great strategy!

:badh:



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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Lord hajjij »

I don't want to hijack this thread,but I feel like this fits here and I don't want to start a new one.

I'm thinking about going with the following in a 2000 point game:

Supreme Sorceress, lvl 4, Dark
Sacrificial Dagger, Black Amulet

Sorceress, lvl 1, Death
The Forbidden Rod, Dark Steed


The idea here is that with Power of Darkness cast with 1 die by the supreme (dagger in case you don't make the 3+) and the use of the Forbidden Rod, you can increase the PD during a vital magic by d6 + d3, AND have the dagger available as well.

Obviously works excellent in a turn where the enemy has only 3-4 DD. Could maybe even draw the DD out by casting Soul Leech before using the rod, leaving potential combos like WoP + Horror/Bladewind or 4d6 Doombolt.
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Liquidedust »

Lord hajjij wrote:I don't want to hijack this thread,but I feel like this fits here and I don't want to start a new one.

I'm thinking about going with the following in a 2000 point game:

Supreme Sorceress, lvl 4, Dark
Sacrificial Dagger, Black Amulet

Sorceress, lvl 1, Death
The Forbidden Rod, Dark Steed


The idea here is that with Power of Darkness cast with 1 die by the supreme (dagger in case you don't make the 3+) and the use of the Forbidden Rod, you can increase the PD during a vital magic by d6 + d3, AND have the dagger available as well.

Obviously works excellent in a turn where the enemy has only 3-4 DD. Could maybe even draw the DD out by casting Soul Leech before using the rod, leaving potential combos like WoP + Horror/Bladewind or 4d6 Doombolt.


Rod isn't really as useful as you might think, since you have to use it before you know how many Power Dice are available to you (at the beginning of magic phase means just that, before you roll for winds of magic even). And you pretty much ate the Level 1, since its 2/3 chance you'll eat her with the wounds inflicted. Those are some very pricey power dice, considering you don't even know if you'll be able to use them (all dice above 12 are discarded before you even get to touch them)

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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Lord hajjij »

Yeah, thanks Liquid, I noticed that wording when I got home. Less useful for sure. I'm going to give it a shot though in my first larger games of 8th. I think that with Power of Darkness and the Dagger, you're looking really good to AT LEAST get a 6 dice Black Horror attempt off in a vital turn.

After all, if no opportunity presents itself, you aren't forced to use it and probably kill the lvl 1.

Edit: think how many times the lines are close to engaged and you could have got a 6 vs 3 or 6v4 black horror off at close range. Or making the opponent test on Ld7 or something with a key Shroud.
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.

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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by toots »

it's a bit hectic to try to use the Rod as well, you're going to be generating a good number of extra dice anyway. problem with this build is the lack of dispel scroll. but keep your units =<30 and perhaps spells like dwellers below won't decimate you so hard!!
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Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Liquidedust »

Lord hajjij wrote:Yeah, thanks Liquid, I noticed that wording when I got home. Less useful for sure. I'm going to give it a shot though in my first larger games of 8th. I think that with Power of Darkness and the Dagger, you're looking really good to AT LEAST get a 6 dice Black Horror attempt off in a vital turn.

After all, if no opportunity presents itself, you aren't forced to use it and probably kill the lvl 1.

Edit: think how many times the lines are close to engaged and you could have got a 6 vs 3 or 6v4 black horror off at close range. Or making the opponent test on Ld7 or something with a key Shroud.


In its defense, you can pretty much force out a 7-8 split in dice with the rod in ideal circumstances though. So it has its place. But not as good as one might first think.

My Hobby Thread

Stats since I started playing again in 2013
W/L/D
Total: 16/21/1
vs. Demons: 0/2/0
vs. Dwarfs: 1/2/0
vs. Empire: 2/4/0
vs. High Elves: 0/4/0
vs. Lizardmen: 3/0/0
vs. Orcs & Goblins: 3/0/1
vs. Ogres: 1/0/0
vs. Skaven: 4/4/0
vs. Tomb Kings: 0/1/0
vs. Warriors of Chaos: 0/3/0
vs. Wood Elves: 2/1/0
Hillbilly Carl
Corsair
Posts: 93
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 7:03 pm

Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Hillbilly Carl »

I also run 2 units of warlocks without any casting characters. I have never wished that I had a casting character apart from the want for a scroll every now and then. Miscast/IF with warlocks is not a bad thing. 3D6 S6 hits on a unit that has 4+ ward save? I'll take that with a smile on my face if it means that an opponent gets 4D6 S5 hits (and a handful of S1 hits from the lore attribute) or a bubble of soulblight.

Sure, it is less academic than your very well-thought out system but it works. Say I miscast every turn and do 3 wounds to my unit every turn. With 2 units of 5 I can have 4 successful magic phases before my warlocks are gone. That is the potential for 16D6 S5 hits if I cast Doombolt every time, or a good portion of the enemy units being -1S-1T for over half the game. Well worth it.

It is a sledgehammer approach to the magic phase rather than your scalpel but I'd rather spend my time thinking about the movement phase. That's where the real magic happens.
Cold73
Highborn
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2011 7:06 pm
Location: the Netherlands

Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by Cold73 »

It is all a matter of how you approach your games I think.

Yes...2 units of Warlock pack a hell of a punch, the Sledgehammer is a good suggestion if you want to do that.

A lvl 4 gives you a few advantages over a lvl 2 or just warlocks.
* Easier to dispel opponents spells
* More choice of deadly spells. (16D6 S5 hits sounds deadly...but when playing against Skaven it is peanuts....a well placed shroud can win you the game however)
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lil' fisty
Warrior
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2013 4:30 am

Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by lil' fisty »

I think the channeling staff is a handy item if it can fit somewhere. Most of the other arcane items I find either overpriced or pointless, haha.
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marcopollo
Assassin
Posts: 570
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 7:44 pm
Location: The thin edge of the wedge

Re: The Magic Phase - ALL. FIGURED. OUT.

Post by marcopollo »

I am finding that the staff of sorcery (+1 to dispel) is pretty damn good; not as good as dispel scroll though. Having that item makes it tough for my opponents to play "small ball" magic. Knowing that I have that +1 over their own lv 4 makes them use more dice which is then perfect for the Ring of Hotek.

2 weeks ago, I had my SS with staff of sorcery and RoH in a warlock bunker behind the DR. His damsel was trying to chain lightning my units. He knew he had to beef up his dice to compensate for the +1 from the staff. Bang, miscast on double ones. Reduced his level by two and then the magic phases were all mine afterwards.
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