I have a soft spot for high mana cap games with ruleset modifications that don't kill the vibe – not those that create an environment too hostile for monsters to survive beyond a couple of rounds or those that are overly restrictive. As a huge fan of strategy games (with the possible exception of Kingdom Come Deliverance – the most realistic RPG ever; I can’t wait to play KCD2, which was released a month ago), I prefer to build my deck piece by piece, tailoring it to the ruleset. The combination of Fog of War and Born Again guaranteed fun, although Weak Magic complicated devising the proper strategy. Here is one of the entertaining battles, where I can only attribute my victory to one of the best healers in the game and the perfect synergy. I needed to combine the Dragon and Death sets, and the faster my monsters were, the better. Helios Matriarch was an easy choice.
Martyrs are always handy in Born Again battles, and with Fog of War in effect, I had no option but to use Venari Marksrat as a decoy tank.
The actual tank was rather unusual either – Will-o'-Wisp is hardly the first choice for most players. However, it can easily dodge physical attacks, especially when double-buffed by a martyr.
Additionally, Will-o'-Wisp was weapon-trained by Skok Duskblight, a cornerstone of my set.
Riftwing is an ideal monster for this ruleset, provided that it can be weapon-trained. Its Scavenger ability guaranteed it would have well over 10 HP by the time it reached the first position.
Night Reaper could be the game changer, capable of slaying flying monsters anywhere in the opponent’s deck. Although this ability went in vain, it remained a potent magic striker.
I could hardly have achieved such dominance without Arachne Weaver’s Corrupted Healing, which kept my tank alive throughout the battle.
My Opponent’s Deck
My opponent drafted a set similar to one I had been considering. Grund as an offensive tank – though weak in defense – Quora Towershead as a power monster that could be double-buffed by Fungus Flinger, and Thane Newsong to inspire his melee fellows, along with Ava the Undaunted to weapon-train Thane. The only monster I would not have chosen was Halfling Refugee in the fourth position, as it was evident that this monster would be too exhausted to participate when it reached the frontline. The set had one major weakness – all these monsters are slow, so targeting my fast, flying tank became even more challenging.
The Battle
The battle unfolded as expected – my martyr died twice, and I managed to slay the opponent’s tank in the first round, completely eliminating it by the dawn of the second round, thereby removing the second most dangerous monster in the set. My tank survived the second round almost intact, only to face a buffed Quora Towershead in the third round. This was the only moment my opponent could have shifted the tide of the battle; however, Quora missed and was slain before it could attack again.
Eliminating the remaining three monsters was then an easy task. Halfling Refugee did not attack at all, just as I expected, and the last two ranged monsters were no match for my magic strikers, supported by Arachne Weaver’s healing. Although it took three more rounds to completely wipe them out, the better-assembled set ultimately triumphed.
See the full battle here!
