Visions of Amareth Runes Retrospective

So we have had these runes for a few months and just got introduced to the midterms...

So now that we have a good idea of the runes what are your favorites? How do you think your faction of choice did? Which ones are the strongest in total?

 

For FS I would rate the champs as:

Boghopper Dredger > Salaman Privateer > Circadian Forcemage > Snaptooth Frenzy > Darkmarsh Siphon

All of them are pretty playable in their specific themed decks, but I suspect that the only one that is going to be played outside of themed decks is the Boghopper Dredger and that Snaptooth Frenzy and Darkmarsh Siphon are going to be more options than must-haves. Forcemage and Privateer are new core piecess.

 

I love the new enigma (as I keep saying on discord chat lol) but the Flashblade rocks awesomeness.
I like the variety SL got between each of the different themes and even got a few all rounders (enigma, fabricator). Vex core pram is amazing and I think it is a very good answer to SL's difficulty with high def champs. I think SL got some well balanced and really cool, fun, and actually good runes







Guilty pleasure: I also love the two new witches.

 

Headchucker is a neat zombies piece, although insufficiently strong to use elsewhere.

Reflecting works, but is perhaps too awkward and expensive to earn a real spot in worms. I almost never deploy him.

I haven't touched either of the new witches. They're witches, they're probably fine, I hate that theme and don't care about the runes unless they specifically fit some other deck, which is rare.

Never touched Mine, only seen it in play twice. Seems weak.

Collar provides spot dispel, which is neat and potentially useful. Getting that on an equip is getting a bit old, but there you go.

Excavator is almost awesome, besides getting bagged with a ton of SPD he has no way to use. Reasonable 1x for Seism in most decks, if you feel it necessary. To be clear, him being 7 SPD is total garbage.


So, based on expectations for FW from recent history and how design decisions relate to my own desires, it's a damn solid expansion.

 

SL:

Myx Hurricane is probably my favourite. Brings flight and aerial supremacy for a round which can work like a mini DB in some cases, has a ranged attack with poison otherwise and aerial supremacy. It's good in myx/arthro and pointless anywhere else, a solid rune although 2x is kind of pointless.

I haven't used vex cor pram mostly because my units usually don't get above 3 defence and I can deal with enemies + def in other ways. It's ok but I don't see much point in running it unless you really can't deal with def tanks/find a way to get your own champs to 4-5 def.

Flashblade is really nice even though I hate logistics - range. It's so much better with that abillity that it invalidates the cheap blind build. I'm glad that punish/fatigued is so prevalent in draks, makes them focused on something other than stats.

Fabricator is meh. It has 2 abillities, Bane Shift stats and really doesnt do much. It's better than skeezick arthromancer, i suppose? Draketooth rifle is really good because its fixed damage at super range, but I dont like giving sl units 8 range, it just feels wrong.

I haven't tried sonicbolt but he looks like the tits. Costly tits, but really good tits. Racial aerial supremacy is too good when slapped on so many units, also makes the theme pretty boring -> you outpower your enemy or die trying. Not many tricks in dragons but hey, it's sl.

Fault marker is interesting but not particularly strong. I have hard time judging when exactly it would be better than scouring jasper/gatling gun.

Not sure why gatling gun is 20 nora, I used it at 25 (it was 25, right?).


I like dunes enigma, I really want to make a taint trix bg with stupid Bane Shift like this becoming a draksar and getting access to all the draksar goodies, but whenever I try that it becomes terrible.

 

Flashblade is pretty much the only rune from the initial expansion i like.

De'lim and lonx icelord are the only midterm units i like. Pro tip stop making witches

 

Indeed.

Please find the nearest cliff, and jump off of it with legos duct taped to your feet.

My respect for you knows no bounds.

I see what you did there.

 

Out of curiosity, why don't you guys like the witch theme?

 

I, I just don't like Witches man. Can we not talk about this?

Their general healing, utter lack of respect towards other units defensive measures, and their ability to seemingly pull DMZ out their ass doesn't help. Not being Undead in a faction of Undead. Me deploying a unit and seeing Cursed 30 doesn't help either.

Makorov, you liked the post after I edited it out. Felt it necessary to bring back the content you liked it for. Highlight the post if you must.

 

I play FW for dead Bane Shift. kill the milfs then bring them back then we'll talk about playing them

 

Haha I would say that witches fit FW's theme pretty well
Not to derail the thread but there's an interesting discussion going on in the FW forums discussing the FW bonus, and I have to say I'm of the opinion that it pigeon holes the faction. Like all your bgs HAVE to be built a certain way to take advantage of the bonus, and it just. gets. so. repetitive.
I don't think everything HAS to be an undead and never ending horde in FW

 

Please find the nearest cliff, and jump off of it with legos duct taped to your feet.

 

Auto debuffing is a stupid, annoying theme abillity. They barely need to do anything to outstat their opponents.

 

Psh I'll just land on my head

#getonmylevel

 

I have been loving him.Improve range,commander,defender and shroud which worms can get all works very well with him.Mirrored is an amazing defensive ability if used right.
Upgrades: leech vitality and fellowship
Also a great rune for pestilence,because of leech vitality.
Edit: Ghost pedant is also good on him.

 

<3

 

Yeh the 2 new Witches are my favourite too along with the Cyclops Rockshaper and Hyaenid Stomreader...

 

If I wanted to play a bunch of slightly varied, 75 nora, 6 SPD champions that you try to keep alive, I would play literally any other faction in the game, dawg. Seriously. They have no compelling elements of their gameplay. Like, other themes at least have some flair to theme; Witches don't actually debuff except for landing a perma curse, they don't use the Curse ability at all, hell, they don't really have that many unique mechanics -- you drop your same-y champs and cast a couple tagged spells.

I do not watch Witches games because I find them too confusing: I can't tell if I should fall asleep or throw up. They are the disgusting result of previous FW players crying out into the void for something that worked like other factions, and hot damn they got their wish. For me, FW is one of the last havens against the onslaught of 10/6/1/1/45 : 75, and witches are the enemy vanguard. Chroma Visionary -- change the paint job, and that's could just as easily be KF, ST, SP, maybe even UD.

Some people like Witches, and that's ok. For me though, they embody the destruction of faction identity, the broader homogenization of champions, and the propagation of linear, identical strategies. Those things aren't fundamentally bad or good, and Witches sometimes do neat stuff. Even so, I really, really hate them, at a mechanical level. Them all getting "Race: Undead" would be a mockery.