I don't really care about competitive viability, heresy most vile and foul I know, but I have yet to get the case of tryharditis. So to those of you that might know diddleysquat about IS Construct decking, I'm all ears to know and, fortune willing, might even get some of it into my thick skull! But perhaps it would be easier if I provided some actual questions? 1) Which Support champs are worthwhile, or that I should just be aware of? So far I am a fan of Dwarven Tinkerer and Silverclan Tinkerer, with a helping of Dwarven Medic. I am not particularly impressed with Dwarven Engineer, as I feel Dwarven Tinkerer is more worthwhile for cheaper pricetag. Dwarven Handler is someone I need to give another go, but beyond being an aura-chump that I might as well give remote control I don't know what I'd be paying him for. 2) Which Ranged champs are worthwhile, or that I should be aware of? I guess there is the Turret Team, Dwarven Mortar Team, Dwarven Catapult, and Siege Engine? Been trying the Siege Engine for a bit, and it doesn't really impress me. Dwarven Mortar Team looks ridiculously expensive. The Dorfapult looks like it could be hecka fun though, and Turret Team was MVP in the past from what I've been reading. Beyond those there is short-range chumps like Silverclan Cavalier, Lodestone Builder, lineholding Silverclan Hoplite, and Lodestone Megalith from what I could tell after a cursory glance. Been using the Builder and Hoplite, the former is a bit too cumbersome and the latter I really dig. Hoping to get some Cavaliers and Megaliths one day, because those look fun. Mostly I'd want to know what my really long-range options are, but anything 3+ max range is ranged enough for my tastes. Oh yeah, I have been using the Valdaci Bolter for ranged too, I like that guy a bunch. Decent enough, I assume? 3) Which Blockers/Tank champs are worthwhile, or that I should be aware of? Been trying a bunch of the Common/Uncommon rabble, and of course Silverclan Hoplite, but have yet to find any I really like. I want to like the Earth Golem and Animated Armor, but one is slow as molasses and the other only marginally less so, so I really could use some ideas here. I'm looking into trying to grab one of those Valdaci Shield-Draksar chumps at some point too, how useful are they? 4) Which Beaters/Damage Dealer champs are worthwhile, or that I should be aware of? Have yet to really go all in on trying to rack up damage, so this is also an area I could use help with. 5) Which Utility champs are worthwhile, or that I should be aware of? This differs from Support, from my point of view, in that the Support are there to make my dudes better while Utility is there to shore up weaknesses or mess with the enemy, things like Detection of which I can always use that Valdaci Skeezick Guy for, or maybe War-Enchanted Groble for Dispel(but then I'd lose out on magic immunity, sadly). 6) Which Spells are worthwhile, or that I should be aware of? I guess Ironfist Spells in general, but so far I'm bringing along Repair, Spare Parts, Melt Down and MOTHERFIRKING GROBLE BOMBARDMENT as far as Construct-centric ones are concerned. That last one is the #1 spell in all of PoxNora as far as I'm concerned. How is the Groble Strike Force one? Not terribly keen on Spare Parts so far, it sounds cool but I imagine it would need too much setup to really be useful, that and it doesn't really mix well with Melt Down from what I noticed. Though given how I got Tinkerers aplenty, should I consider Desperate Heal? 7) Which Relics are worthwhile, or that I should be aware of? Guard Tower, check. Banner, check. I want to like the Mystic Forge, but I guess it isn't all that good in the end. Armory I'd love to use, but given the abundance of Shatter I guess going Equipment heavy ain't too wise? Is Merchant's Quarter any decent? 8) Which Equipment are worthwhile, or that I should be aware of? Remote Control, check. Been trying out Rock Collection, Stonearm Sash, Full Plate Armor, and a bunch of others. I'd love to get some Forge Hammers one day though, those look nice, I assume it works on Ranged champs? Shame most of the decent-looking Construct-typed ranged dues are Unequippable from what I've seen. Oh and Flamethrower Engine, or whatever its name was, any advice on how to best use it? Should I even use it? 9) Any other advice a scrub like me could use in regards to Constructs? Go wild I guess! inb4 no replies because none around here can endure reading a bit of text.
I mainly dont play constructs (or IS for that matter) but here is a few tips, others will probably add more useful stuff later: Silverclan protector is a beast with protective on, 2x2 is a downer but his damage output for his cost is pretty insane. Bolters and shieldwarden are both really good. Lodestone Megalith is really good as well although i personally dislike it. You can play structs in a lot of ways so support champs depend a bit on how much of a summonspammer you want to be id say. But Silverclan tinkerer is imo an autoinclude. Earth Golem is indeed a beast for its cost as long as he actually gets in to the fight, Rev 'em up can help with that. When i played structs briefly I usually added a Groble Rock Eater just to deploy when the enemy are heavy on physical and/or contest sidefonts. I would never build an IS deck without at least a blink or divinitys touch, they are so multipurpose and can solve a lot of the Doom/Possess/build up charge on a champ-abuse that is going around now. I would also include a Medal of Valor and one of the spot cleanse items.
1) I like Dwarven Engineer and Silverclan Tinkerer as my support units. I didn't like Dwarven Engineer at first because he's so squishy and if you're not used to using him he's hard to use properly. 2) Valdaci Bolter, Silverclan Protector, and Flamebreath Ballistae are my go to range units. 3) Crystal Golem, Faultbreaker, Groble Rock Eater, Valdaci Shieldwarden, and Rugloth's Revenge (he's kind of a hybrid beater-tank) 4) Stone Colossus and Metallic Slag. Most of the damage from my BG comes from the range units, while I stall with my front liners/summons. 5) WEG used to be one of my auto includes, but I slowly phased him out. Valdaci Sentry is my main source of detection. 6) Groble Strike Force or whatever is terrible. Desperate Heal is an auto in all IS BGs, imo. 7) Earthshaker and Morin's Corner might be worthy includes. Merchant's Quarter sucks. 8) The only equip I use if Vial of Holy Water. Medal of Valor and Flamethrower Engine are good too. Use it to skewer champs when your enemy positions them badly. 9) I suggest being patient when playing Constructs. They work better mid-late game so learn to stall with your front liners and gather your range units to pick off units.
Thank you both for your input, it is appreciated. 1) Support. Good to know I was on the right track, but I might have to give the Dwarven Engineer another go just because. The Dwarven Handler will remain benched though. And now that I got a bunch of Platinum Tokens from buying 2 Poxtoberfest packs, my Lodestone Armory can also help healing a little, which might be nice. But probably not nice enough to warrant a spot. 2) Ranged. Good to know Valdaci Bolters sound solid enough to use, because I both can't afford nor really like the Silverclan Protectors. Even less so because I've heard that Protective is being hit with the stick someday soon, I believe. Wish I could afford Lodestone Megalith, but alas. Flamebreath Ballistae looked neat, but much like Megalith it is out of my price-range right now. I would certainly like to know more about the Flamebreath Ballista tho, as it sounds like an interesting piece. The 'assist attack' mode for instance, is it a flat 2AP cost per attack, that doesn't increase the more it fire? That'd be radical. Some other Ranged options I'd like to have opinions on would be the Valdaci Needlewing, as it looks pretty goofy and can't seem to decide if it want to be Melee or Ranged given the ability set. Could use thoughts on the Ironfist Glider and Siege Engine as well, as having some AoE options would be nice, and these seem to be it for such. 3) Blocker. I now got myself a Valdaci Shieldwarden, so I am quite pleased in this regard. I've been trying to give the Crystal Golem a shake but he doesn't seem to play nice with me somehow, more tests to come, same deal for the Earth Golem really. And as you both mentioned him, gonna have to give Groble Rock Eater another few rounds on the field. The 'Unequippable' part is truly disheartening though. One day I would want to have both a Faultbreaker and a Rugolth's Revenge, but alas my Shardpouch is empty. Any specific thoughts in regards to Silverclan Hoplite? So far I got two of them, and they feel more or less glued stuck in my deck, though I might end up removing one now that I have a Valdaci Shieldwarden. Any thoughts on U1 and U2 for them? Vigilance looks nice when everyone get stuck in, but I like Throw Javelin for flexibility. And while I very much like Hold the Line, maybe there is some merit in more aggressively attacking with Aid Defense instead? Less of an immobile brickwall and more of a rolling cluster****, I suppose. 4) Beater. I do have a Stone Colossus now, so I am going to give him a go. The 'Prestige' part might be useful, but I don't know if Constructs really care about mind-effects all that much to begin with. Do they? Anyone know? And if I had the Shards I'd get a Metallic Slag in a heartbeat, looks like it could be fun to play with. Reasonable to have the frontline consist of more Blockers than Beaters, but until I get my Faultbreaker and Rugolth's Revenge and figure out which Ranged really work for me I'll mix and match around. I've recently picked up a Groble Piledriver I intend to use, any thoughts on that chump? Or further insight in regards to Metallic Slag, would that chump be worth it as a source of Forge Hammer? How about Silverclan Purger? I've had one sitting around forever, but never quite liked the guy. I'd probably switch out the base U2 for something else ASAP. Also, any thoughts in regards to Silverclan Cavalier? Got my eyes on that chump, and would really like to have one or two some day, but I'd also like to know if he would be worth it and which category he'd fit into. Looks more Beater than Blocker or Ranged, but having some AoE from his Grenades looks handy. And if anyone have used it, or have opinions on it, any thoughts on the Reticulated Spinehawk? Ain't a lot of decent looking Constructs with Flight, and Swoop looks like it could be fun playing with, but it does look awfully frail for its Nora cost. But that is what 'Superior Tinkering' and 3 helpings of 'Build em Tough' exists for I suppose. 5) Utility. Any specifics as to why War-Enchanted Groble was phased out? What upgrades you used, and what you added that nudged it out? And yes, Valdaci Sentry feels nice to have, though I wish the U2 set had something else to offer. Might just need to play around with it some more though. 6) Spells. I will look into Blink and Divinity's Touch, flexible spells are nice to have. I've also picked up Desperate Heal, only used once so far but I might well replace one of my two Repair with it. Any thoughts on Might of Ironfist? Been using it a few times now, and I really dig it. 7) Relics. What makes the Earthshaker good enough to drag along? Compared to, say, Guard Tower? Noted about Merchant's Quarter. As for Morin's Corner, was that some kind of AoE heal? Hard to track down a description for what it does by current means at my disposal. 8) Right, sounds like Vial of Holy Water and Medal of Valor sounds worthwhile. Lately I've been rethinking my use of Equipment, and instead of packing Full Plate Mail and Granite Bracers willy-nilly, I've instead opted for more offensively inclined ones. Flamethrower Engine is one I need to try some more, but hard to go wrong with a line attack and some chargin' action. Currently I've replaced Full Plate Mail with Mail of Barbs, given my idea of trying for more offense over defense. 9) Slow and steady wins the race. Unless you get ran over at the starting line I suppose. Given how my spirit animal is the noble Confused Turtle, Tinkerer/Constructs lend themselves well to my playstyle of slowly building up my chumps and my preference of keeping my masterpieces alive as long as possible. Again, thank you both for your replies.
2) Yes, when Ballistae is in Assault mode or whatever if you attack a champion within it's range it makes an attack at 2ap. Pretty awesome. 3) Hoplites are good, I love the Spartan feel to em. I use Vigilance and Hold the Line. Never really tried to use Aid Defense. 4) Groble Piledriver isn't worth a slot. Metallic Slag is my wildslot card that i'm constantly trying to figure out what champ would work best. Silverclan Purger is a cool rune, but I just feel like there are better champs. 5) I used Spellswaller and Immunity: Magic. Other champs are more useful and magic isn't as common as it used to be. At one point KF Meta was filled with Magic champs. 6) Might of Ironfist is auto in any IS BG. 7) Earthshaker is a good CC + finisher. There's pretty much one in every single IS BG I make. Morin's Corner is a AoE 2 12 HP Heal CD 5.
1) Support. Silverclan Tinkerer > Dwarven Tinkerer > Dwarven Engineer 2) Ranged. Valdaci Bolter, Silverclan Protector, Flamebreath Ballista, Lodestone Megalith 3) Blocker. Valdaci Shieldwarden, Groble Rock Eater, Silverclan Hoplite 4) Beater. Stone Colossus, Metallic Slag, Rugolth's Revenge 5) Utility. Valdaci Sentry 6) Spells. Repair, Melt Down, Might of Ironfist 7) Relics. Guard Tower 8) Equipment. Medal of Valor, Vial of Holy Water, Remote Control, Forge Hammer, Flamethrower Engine Just trying to summarize some of the talked about Runes for various categories, with emphasis on Construct decks in particular over general IS stuff. No particular order save for #1, as that seems to be the ranking of the support Tinkerers for Constructs. I doubt I'm getting much closer to having my ideal deck yet, as there are simply too many things I want to include in an all too limited deckspace. But having some second opinions on stuff always helps in trimming the excess fat. Spoiler: Dumb stuff I should try to keep in mind As far as 'meta checklist' go, to the best of my knowledge, I guess it goes something like this: Shatter: Silverclan Tinkerer Detection: Valdaci Sentry, Guard Tower Cleanse: Vial of Holy Water, very few other options Dispel: Crystal Golem, no other option? As for the 'Phalanx' checklist: Battlemaster: Guard Tower Defender: Valdaci Shieldwarden & Silverclan Hoplite when Holding the Line (Neither help your whimpy Tinkerers tho!) Enduring Aura: Silverclan Hoplite Prestige: Stone Colossus Weaken Spells: Valdaci Shieldwarden Boost: Dwarven Engineer (Constructs only) Improve Speed: Lodestone Armory No Commander, No Shroud, and probably some other stuff I've missed. As far as damage mitigation workarounds are concerned, so far I've felt happy enough. Damage variety: Physical: Lots of this. Magical: Silverclan Hoplite, Silverclan Protector, Lodestone Megalith, Metallic Slag, War-Enchanted Groble Acid: Valdaci Guardian Fire: Reticulated Splinehawk, Dwarven Mortar Crew And some other stuff I've likely missed. Non-Basic Attacks are a bit of an issue for me to find, but they are to be found: Throw Javelin: Valdaci Sentry, Silverclan Hoplite Flamestrike: Silverclan Purger Power Attack: Groble(ie from Groble Bombardment) And some other stuff I've likely missed. As far as immunities and other defenses against common damage types are concerned, there is some to be had: Physical Immunity: Animated Armor, Earth Golem Physical Resistance: Stone Colossus, Rugolth's Revenge, Faultbreaker, Earthmover, Earth Golem, Stone Dragon Rock Eater: Groble Rock Eater(duh) Magical Immunity: War-Enchanted Groble, Lodestone Megalith Magical Resistance: Earth Golem, Stone Dragon Magic Eater: Lodestone Megalith Fire Immunity: Groble Acid Immunity: Valdaci Guardian Mirrored: Crystal Golem And probably some other blurb I've missed. But beyond that, I now have a Reticulated Splinehawk, Rugolth's Revenge and a Forge Hammer that I'm going to be playing around with. Also the hunt for some AoE bombings and general long range units beyond Valdaci Bolter continues for me. I have more or less written off Silverclan Protector as not being for me, due to the size and how 'Protective' is about to get a 3 stack cap if I recall correctly. That, and most long range units(including a bunch of close-range Grobles!) have Unequippable which makes me sad. Reticulated Splinehawk in particular might turn out fun. I need to see how conveniently it could pull off a 'Might of Ironfist > Swoop > Pummel' combo though. And what its 'Gift: Spare Wings', for +1 SPD and Flight, is best applied to. Rugolth's Revenge, my scrubtastes say! And speaking of Rugolth's Revenge, any opinions on Tremor VS Pummel for him? Would he be worthy of a Hammerheart Platemail, for +3 Damage and Scale Armor? And for Valdaci Bolter, Barrage VS Multiattack(1)? I'm leaning towards the latter after having been using Barrage up until now, as Barrage wouldn't even let me get through stuff like One With Nora(but making my Hoplites get Throw Javelin could, I suppose). So far I've also slapped Forge Hammer on a Bolter most of the time, given how he can always just plop down his own relic to cash in his Relic Guardian benefits check on. And speaking of Silverclan Protector up above, and one of my issues with him: 2x2 sized units. I figure it is a wise decision to run as few of these as possible. But lets say an arbitrary limit of just two(2) 2x2 sized units, which two would be included? Or which one, twice? Stone Colossus and Rugolth's Revenge? Rugolth's Revenge times 2: Ironfist Bogaloo? I suppose the size issue is slightly less of a problem when it comes to long-ranged champs, IE Siege Engine, but large ranged constructs have mobility or cost issues up the wazoo as far as I've seen. I also really want to like the Lodestone Armory and Lodestone Builder, but the former doesn't really feel too great just for the Improve Speed aura and the latter is kinda clunky. Logistics: Range might be nice on it though, any thoughts? Oh yeah, and bump I guess. Can't allow a topic about Artifice die off, now can I?
Sorry if this comes off as rude, but I play Pox for fun so i'm not really trying to read all that. Maybe someone else will help you
I don't see it as you being rude, I see it as fairly typical behavior. I find the 'play for fun' comment odd, but not in a negative sense. Thank you for your previous replies, they were helpful in and of themselves, but as I have a tendency to write walls of gibberish text, it might be for the best to escape while you still can. I shall remain here. Polishing my Grobles. Waiting.
