Re: Path To Glory - Star Dragon Practice - BR vs OK 15.08
Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 5:22 pm
:: Star Coven - Looking Ahead ::
I tried various ways of playing the Star Coven some time ago. The long story short is that I didn`t find it feasible because the mages were too exposed. However I have since thought of 2 things that might make such an approach more valid: First of all, by having Crown of Command on a mage, you can afford to run the Helms around in a 3 or 4 wide manner, depending on how likely the champ is to die (thus forcing a mage to the front). The problem with this approach is that the Helms are suddenly very, very reduced in the roles they can play: applying static combat res becomes nearly impossible (apart from bringing a banner + bsb into combat) and the sheer size of a proper bus means that you`ll have a huge footprint that`s hard to move around as you please. It is however superior to keeping the mages in a 5-wide bus with the huge inherent risk of losing one or two in combat every time you charge something, depending on how many initiative steps you are up against.
Anyway, let`s take a look at a sample list:
I tried various ways of playing the Star Coven some time ago. The long story short is that I didn`t find it feasible because the mages were too exposed. However I have since thought of 2 things that might make such an approach more valid: First of all, by having Crown of Command on a mage, you can afford to run the Helms around in a 3 or 4 wide manner, depending on how likely the champ is to die (thus forcing a mage to the front). The problem with this approach is that the Helms are suddenly very, very reduced in the roles they can play: applying static combat res becomes nearly impossible (apart from bringing a banner + bsb into combat) and the sheer size of a proper bus means that you`ll have a huge footprint that`s hard to move around as you please. It is however superior to keeping the mages in a 5-wide bus with the huge inherent risk of losing one or two in combat every time you charge something, depending on how many initiative steps you are up against.
Anyway, let`s take a look at a sample list:
As some of you may remember, I tried for a short time to run bunkers of reavers for the mages. While I didn`t find it to be successful, the problem was not the Reavers themselves, but the lack of magical and miscast protection from BOTWD, as well as a reduced bus which was basically a huge points sink. I think the problem here was that I didn`t take the concept far enough outside of the box. What is far enough outside of the box you might ask? Read on:Stubborn Bus Star Coven wrote:Prince on Star Dragon: Star Lance, Dragonhelm, The Other Trickster`s Shard, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Shield = 598
Noble BSB on Barded Steed: Heavy Armour, Spear, Shield, Banner of the World Dragon = 168
Mage L2 Light on Steed, Dispel Scroll - 155
Mage L2 Light on Steed, Sceptre of Stability - 145
Mage L1 Light on Steed, Crown of Command - 130
Heroes/Characters: 598/1196
15 Silver Helms, Full Command, Shields = 375
5 Reavers, champ = 90
5 Reavers = 80
5 Reavers, bows = 85
Core: 630
4 Repeater Bolt Throwers = 280
Great Eagle = 50
Frostheart Phoenix = 240
Special & Rare: 570
Army Total: 2396
A possible change here would be to reduce the Reavers to 2 bunkers to include another Helm dart. The Helms` main purpose is to provide the Star Dragon with a challenger to ensure the Prince brings the Star Lance to full effect. The idea of triple reaver bunker was presented by a clubmate who originally had a different idea: play High Elves in a highly annoying avoidance manner. Consider the following:Reaver Bunkers Star Coven wrote:Prince on Star Dragon: Star Lance, Dragonhelm, The Other Trickster`s Shard, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Shield = 598
Noble BSB on Barded Steed: Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield, Banner of the World Dragon = 172
Mage L2 Light on Steed, Dispel Scroll - 155
Mage L2 Light on Steed, Sceptre of Stability, Ironcurse Icon - 150
Mage L1 Light on Steed, Ring of Fury - 120
Heroes/Characters: 597/1195
10 Reavers, bows = 170
9 Reavers, bows, champion = 163
9 Reavers, bows = 153
6 Silver Helms, Shields, Champion = 148
Core: 634
4 Repeater Bolt Throwers = 280
Frostheart Phoenix = 240
Great Eagle = 50
Special & Rare: 570
Army Total: 2399
Some new ideas here for sure. If I return to try an offensive Light Coven, I`m definitely looking to go with one of these listsCatch me if you can while I burn you! wrote: Anointed on Flamespyre Phoenix, Dawnstone, Giant Blade, Potion of Foolhardiness, Enchanted Shield = 530
Noble BSB on Barded Steed: Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield, Banner of the World Dragon = 172
Mage L2 Light on Steed, Dispel Scroll - 155
Mage L2 Light on Steed, Sceptre of Stability, Ironcurse Icon - 150
Mage L1 Light on Steed, Ring of Fury - 120
Heroes/Characters: 597/1127
10 Reavers, bows = 170
10 Reavers, bows = 170
10 Reavers, bows = 170
5 Silver Helms, Champion, Shields = 125
Core: 635
Flamespyre Phoenix = 225
Flamespyre Phoenix = 225
2x1 RBT = 140
Rare: 590
Army total = 2352