Comprehensive Sundered Lands Guide - (Will be updated by Rams28 to RoS)

[Revenancer]

CONSOLIDATED TACTICS FOR SUNDERED LANDS

This thread, hopefully, will be a one stop location to get all the information about sundered lands tactics and runes that you could want. It will have descriptions of all the rune's uses and common upgrade paths, as well as common combos. If you have any great combos you use or ideas you want to share, it'd be great to have them in one place.

Sundered lands is an interesting faction. It has a strong variety of champs, with at least one filling every conceivable role. It excels at damaging spells and has a number of strong utility effects to round out its arsenal. The faction bonus is strong, a full faction army basically takes 32% less damage from enemy champs across the board. The biggest problem with SL is expensive spells and sometimes units. SL is one of the most powerful full faction decks.

Tiers
The page has gone through a bit of a redesign. I've decided to divide all the runes into play tiers, so its easier to pick out the best from the worst. The tiers will be alphabetic. Tier 1 will be the runes that are necessary for competetive decks. Tier 2 is runes that can fit into wildcard slots in competetive decks, and will perform well in fun decks and decks with limited rune pools. Tier 3 is runes you probably should not play.

Tier 1
Tier 1 has seen some notable changes recently, though the old standbys are still holding on. 2 runes have snuck up from tier 2, and one newbie gets in. The charger is hanging on by a thread after losing 1 range.

Acid/Flame Dragoleech:

Still an automatic single include at least, the dragoleeches were nonetheless hit noticably by he loss of miner. While they can put a big dent in opposing nora production, they no longer surpass it. This makes them much less attractive when the enemy has no nora production - though they are still excellent against IF, UD and FW almost always and many other 10/10 or faction builds sometimes. They were compensated with the loss of miner by getting regen, which is a big help against the unholy tomb, and makes them more combat worthy. In general, the combination of nonphysical damage (very much needed in SL), flying and leech still makes it hard to argue against these champs.
Upgrades: 9 speed, +3 hp, regen: 59 nora. Thats pretty much all you need. You could go better combat stats, I guess, if you were weird.

Archnic:

Once web was changed to a 3 ap cost, the archnic quickly skyrocketed in popularity. The power of poison 3 at range and the negative effect of web made it supremely effective. Recently web saw some changes, gaining a minimum damage of 10 (buff for him), ensnare instead of slow (eh) and cooldown 2 (ouch). However, the archnic is still very much worth a slot or two in every single SL group. He is dirt cheap, very resilient, and poison 3 outputs a lot of damage with a debuff to boot. Even the vulnerability to blister can't slow this champ down (though it can be annoying :P).
Upgrades - 9 speed, +6 hp and poison 3 is all you need, for a cool 69. You could possibly go to 79 with 11 speed, but its not needed.

Draksar Charger:

The poor charger got hit hard by the loss of a point of range, even though he was compensated for it nora wise. He barely hangs on to his spot in tier 1 against competition like the destroyer and shifter because of initiative, which is very powerful. In combat, it is slightly harder to fight effectively with 1-2 range because he can't attack over 2x2 allies. However, he still has very solid stats offensively and defensively.
Upgrades: It basically comes ready to use. The only upgrades I would make is speed raised 2 points to 11 and +6 hp, making it 85 nora. At that point it is basically a cheaper ravager with less mobility and more combat use. If you don't mind nora costs you can give it a couple points of damage or regen upgrades and keep it under 100, but I recommend the cheaper build.

Draksar Master:

The master is a very effective support champion. In the GD era he lost calculated attack in favor of regen and got a cost decrease. This double whammy buff has made him a strong argument for a double include in any deck. He has good damage, good survivability and the ever powerful drive - an ability which causes people to play otherwise useless champs like the ghern taskmaster in nonmoga, or the dwarven handler. A master can significantly help the threat range and damage potential of your army, and still fight as a general heavy melee unit. He also helps to balance out the often expensive initiative melee that high level SL decks love.
Upgrades - The basic, most effective build is 9 speed, +6 hp and drive for 65. 11 speed versions are almost as viable, sitting at a cool 74, and are better for speed oriented decks. For a shrine rusher, 11 speed, 14 damage and seige is a bit expensive but very damaging. Whirlwind attack is a decent upgrade at only 2 nora, it can be tacked on to either build at players discretion.

Ravager:

An amazing opener, perhaps the best antirange melee champ and a decent enough combatant in his own right. The ravager is a staple of all SL decks. Getting a ravager first turn is often an automatic win on the SL and SP maps, and will always get you your font early on all the others. In terms of combat, ravagers are perfect for chasing down and crushing ranged units with dodge and leap. They can compete against most melee with strong stats and execute, but will generally cost more than opposing unit, so such conflicts are not optimal.
Upgrades - With dodge recosted, the optimal build is now leap 3 and 51 hp for 94 nora. Alternately a speed build with init 2 and 12 speed is possible, or a higher cost build with leap 3, 14 damage and +6 hp for 100. 14 dmg is significant for shrine rushes (10 shrine damage) and general combat.

Skeezick Cannoneer:

One of if not the best ranged units in the game. 2x autoinclude in basically every SL deck and 10/10, even draksar can't match it. The draksar archer just can't compete due to lower damage and much higher cost, even with the cannon nerfed slightly to 4-7 range and +5 nora. The knockback generally helps at least as much as it hurts, and it usually helps more. I can't stress the importance of running cannons alot, they are supremely good.
Upgrade: Cannon builds vary alot. The build I use is 9 speed, 12 damage, 38 hp and regen, which costs 74, is very survivable and hits hard. Alternately you can go with a cost build at 9 speed and 38 hp for 64, or a high cost, high power build with 11 speed, 10 damage, regen and 38 hp for 79 nora.

Skeezick Drummer:

These things are brilliant, one of the best support units in the game. Multiattack allows it a decent offensive ability, with 9 spd it can attack twice every turn. You can feel safe delaying enemy melee with this guy due to block and the impressive 34 full faction defense, and do decent damage in the mean time. Drumming provides an impressive benefit, and stacking/repeated DB and drumming turns is extremely devastating. Now that DB does not stack, having a drummer to stack it with is wise. In skeezick decks, this guy becomes an absolute monster, with average attack and a solid damage multiattack backing up his defensive and support abilities. Autoinclude 2x in skeezick, and worth a slot in most other decks.
Upgrades - I recommend SPD 9, 38 hp and either 9 or 7 damage, depending on whether you mind the cost or not. This will make him either 74 or 80, quite able to take some hits, and decent offensively in a normal deck, powerful in a skeezick deck.

Skeezick General:

The general is slightly more specific than other tier 1 units, he is not really an autoinclude in most decks. After the change to alliance, he is definitely at least good as a combat oriented charger without initiative in most decks, though chargers or destroyers are probably more generally attractive. He does after all have enrage, 1-2 range, relatively high defense/hp, and pummel with rend and regen as upgrades even if you aren't making use of his skeezick surge. However, the general really shines in a skeezick deck, where having 5 skeezick out pumps his attack and damage to huge levels. An enraged general with 5 skeezick out has +11 attack and +10 damage - a pummel is likely to outright kill many champs at that level.
Upgrades: For cheapness, he is fine as he is with +6 hp and maybe rend or regen. 11 speed after that costs 83, and IMO is worthwhile. Aside from that, regen and rend are great additions to any build. This is a champ that can carry his weight comfortably in the mid 90s.

[Revenancer]

Vindrax:

Vindrax solidly holds on to his tier 1 spot in GD, though he has been messed with yet again. Currently his best use is as a mobile platform for acid breath AoEs, though obviously he is no melee slouch. His high damage and the rules mechanics of cone abilities means that he can usually toss out acid breaths for 15 damage + scour (which lowers defense now). He can still tank for an incredible amount of damage, and magic vulnerability was buffed noticably, dropping the amount he is vulnerable and reducing the cost simultaneously. Vindrax is so dominant in early game and still a powerhouse late game, he will likely be a permanent fixture at the top.
Upgrades: Standard is 11 speed, resist 2, acid breath 3 for 100 on the dot. Alternately, a 9 speed, +1 dmg, acid breath 3, resist 3 build is possible for 100 for more defense and damage but less speed. Generally builds over 100 are a bad idea nowadays.

Draconic Benediction:
Brilliant spell, almost the equivalent of mobilization, which is one of the most overused spells ever. Only +2 ap, but one turn of terrain avoidance and an effective +3-4 damage (that attack really does help) can turn that +2 ap into a kill. This spell is great when used in conjunction with the great medium melee champs - crokadar, constrictor, master - in order to allow them to do immense damage. 9 or 11 speed units only need 2 or 1 extra ap to make two attacks, don't forget.
Even more heinous when comboed with drummers. Must be cast after any other spells you may cast now.

Firestorm:
The most damaging AoE there is. 2 firestorms is a mainstay of SL armies. Dragon skulls pump them to astronomical levels. Theres not much to say, except firestorms hurt. Alot.

Acid Trap:
A great trap. First, it does decent damage and a DoT 3, so it usually totals about 10-12 to whatever it hits, usually one or two enemies (-5 defense too). Next, it blinds, so proper placement ensures an enemy champ cannot attack this round. It is pretty cheap, only 35, so it will cooldown often - you can probably get 2 or even 3 uses out of one trap. Like all traps, it is also good for contesting fonts, as a stealth relic. Definitely worth an include, as it is our only form of spot disablement, and a very good one.

Draksar Warbanner:
Same as every warbanner. If you have one, I heartily recommend it. The attack and defense bonuses can often make a 1 point difference in damage due to rounding oddities, and +5 hp is really nice - especially with our defense. But the real selling point is that it gives back 10% of champ costs, which really helps with our expensive, nora starved faction.

Tier 2
This tier has gotten a lot bigger with the faction changes in GD. A few runes here, like taint, the destroyer and the shifter are kept out of tier 1 mostly because of like role competition or slot space.

Cobra Spitter:
A decent rune, sort of like archnic lite - both in size and effectiveness. Spit is longer lasting and more powerful than web, but it has a much longer cooldown. Damage is good, 10 + poison, but the cobra is relatively frail. It is a snake, so it fears enemy snake charmers and loves allied ones. Envenom is also a decent option, allowing him more disabling power (it acts like slow), but it is noticably expensive. Worth a slot in a disable focused group or a snake group, but otherwise, go with the archnic.
Upgrades: 9 speed, +6 hp, poison 3 is 69 and the reccommended build. After that, envenom gives him something to do while not spitting, though it is very expensive. 9 speed, +6 hp, envenom and poison 2 is solid at 71.

Destroyer:
Very good rune. Super cheap, great stats, good upgrade options. Unfortunately for it, the role of 2x2 melee is covered in SL pretty extensively, and his lack of 1-2 range init, or leap makes him a questionable choice over charger or ravager - he competes pretty closely with charger in combat terms after the nerf though. He has amazing stats, and can be run in a cheapness battlegroup nearly at base. He is also a dragon, and therefore is a great help to any dragon battlegroups. Sits at the tippy top of tier 2, the only reason the charger is higher is beacause of the game winning power of initiative.
Upgrades: Hes good out of the box. For a cheap approach, go +6 hp, rend for 69. If you want a more dangerous hitter after that, go to 11 speed for a solid 77, possibly adding regen 1 for 81.

Diamondhide Basilisk:

Similar to the Draksar Knight, this defensive champ got a nice buff in GD that gives it a purpose in life. Now that it actually has some sort of damage, charge is useful, and it can make opponents want to try to kill it because of stun - which, with 20 defense base, is exactly what it wants. Upgrades are solid - amphibious is a useful mobility helper, block helps with its tanking, as does deflect - though deflect is very costly, and charge gives it offense.
Upgrades - SPD 9, Charge 3 and 50 hp is 75. Bit expensive, but he'll live long enough to pay for it. Amphibious and +2 damage or 11 speed will take him to 84, for a more expensive basilisk.

Dragon Handler:

Enjoyed a brief time in the sun as a 4x vulnerable 39 nora pile of ridiculous, but losing vulnerabilities made him much more balanced. Now serves as a dragon oriented draksar master lite, since he can get drive. He does have a unique capacity to screw over elemental decks, notably frost. A pair of frost immune handlers is a great asset against savage tundra. He recently gained surge: dragon 2, which is unfortunately insanely overcosted.
Upgrades: 9 speed, +6 hp and drive is 70 nora. At that cost he is more expensive than a master, and requires 4 dragons to be out to have the same damge - so you can see why the master is far more preferable. Immunity frost is great to tack on if you have problems with tundra.

Draksar Broodqueen:

The SL healer champ. Unfortunately, she doesn't really heal so much as restore AP, and revitalize has a 3 turn cooldown. Thankfully she has gotten much cheaper with time, and is now pretty usable. She also gained access to the lay hatchling ability, which is sort of like a mini hatching season. All in all, a decent support champ these days. Some upgrades can make her into a strong opener too, because of flight.
Upgrades - 9 speed, +6 hp puts her at 69 - honestly, thats probably good to stop at. You can get lay hatchling if you like (good in dragon skull decks), or revitalize 3, but revitalize 3 costs a crazy amount (8 nora). An 11 speed, +2 damage combat build is 84, and will be good for opening in addition to some healing later.

Draksar Chameleon:

Notably repurposed in GD, he got quite a bit better, becoming essentially a less combat oriented, more versatile draksar constrictor. Stealth was exchanged for shadowspawn, which is probably a buff, as he was always easy to find, and the first reveal is most important. He generally is used to sneak in and constrict an opposing ranged unit when it is unexpected. Also serves as an antiequipment platform thanks to disarm. His big drawback is that he has to be high cost. Stats are decent, and he is fairly tough with regen, but he is hard to put out. Also, 2x2 is a big drawback.
Upgrades: 9 speed and +6 hp is 68 for a cheap disarmer. You want constriction on that for combat, putting it up to 78. Not much to get at that point - assassinate and stealth are too expensive, and regen 2 is unnecessary. Damage +2 puts him at 84 after constrict, which can be worthwhile.

Draksar Constrictor:

The constrictor is an excellent, cost effective answer to annoying enemy ranged units, can delay HoC users (something nothing else in SL can do except multiple baiters) and can hold its own in melee. Constriction is excellent, it has great starting speed and damage, and decent toughness.
It's hard to use this thing wrong. In DoW, it also can upgrade to amphibious, which makes it even more maneuverable and invaluable on the 2 maps with a bunch of water. In GD it has become a serpent, making it nice in the SL/KF bg and a bit of a liability against snake charmers. It can constrict them to stop possession though.
Upgrades - Can be run fine at base for 64. Amphibious and +6 hp is 70. 11 speed, amphibious is 75. A deluxe build with 11 speed, amphibious, regen 1, +6 hp and +1 damage is 85.

Draksar Consulate:

Our diplomat. Its alright. Provides magic damage and shatter, which are the main reasons to use it. In combat it is nothing special, and fairly expensive. May not be worth trading a lord for. If you have one, it is a very solid wildcard slot, being able to help with openers, deal decent midrange damage, and gain a tiny bit of nora back for you. A must if you worry about HoC, best way to punish it.
Upgrades: 9 speed, +6 hp is 77. Not sure how much shatter costs, but I would add that and maybe a point of damage, for a mid 80 cost. No combat dynamo for mid 80 cost, but decent support.

Draksar Footman:

A surprisingly decent champion. He is dirt cheap, and comes standard with regen 1 and block 1, making him a very nora efficient use of hp. With a warbanner, the basic build has a 1 to 1 hp to nora ratio, something few champs can boast. His offense is very blah though. Damage upgrades and riposte can help it out noticably. Sort of like the budget version of the new draksar knight.
Upgrades - +6 hp and 9 speed sits him at 50 to start, and is the basic build. If you want him to have offense as well, I recommend adding +1 damage and riposte for 59. 8 damage is alright, and you don't want to get too high in cost.

[Revenancer]

Draksar Gunner:

Very useful in highlander, and the premier ranged unit on draksar side with the nerf to the draksar archer. Fairly cheap and damaging with piercing shot 3. Its pretty easy to get two of these on the field and rack up some shots, and they are reasonably resilient to boot. Not competetive with the skeezick cannoneer though, stats are comparatively too low to make up for 2 range.
Upgrades - Super cheap build is 60 for +6 hp, 9 speed. Adding piercing shot 3 to that makes him a cool 69, which is a decent stopping point. Either 11 speed or +2 damage and regen can be added to put him at 79, for a skirmisher or a beater respectively.

Draksar Knight:

The knight suffers from being a defensive champion in an offensive game. However, with recent changes he is pretty damn good at doing that. He was given block 1, fear 1, and a 7 nora discount on top of that - total of about 15 nora swing. The new and improved knight is still worse than the master, destroyer, constrictor and the like, but he has a real niche. He can tank for quite a long time against melee, and get some nora back while doing.
Upgrades - 9 speed, +6 hp is 66, and stopping there is recommended. His purpose after all is to be hp efficient and gain you some nora, so let him do it. If you really want you can bump damage a point for 69.

Draksar Lord:

Gotten quite a few cost drops over the last few expansions, but he is still pretty expensive. Shifter and destroyer generally outshine him as a beater, though he has some tricks up his sleeve. Regen 2, high base defense and high base hp make him nearly nonpareil in his ability to absorb all types of damage (though vindrax crushes him against physical). His damage is solid as well. The real problem with the lord is that he is very bland and also big and costly. However, if you need something to be a meatshield, he will serve well.
Upgrades: 9 speed is 74. 9 speed, +6 hp and power attack 3 is 84, and a reasonable stopping point. 11 speed, power attack 3 is 90 nora - lowers the cost effectiveness of his toughness, though he hits quite a bit better. Pummel is generally overcosted, as is regen 3.

Draksar Shifter:
After losing his regen 2 sandbag, the shifter got much sexier. His two forms are nice, with the flying form providing some hit and run style mobility until you want to go to melee as a pit dragon. The pit dragon form has a whopping 65 hp with upgrades and banner, and has 22 attack and 17 damage, making it extremely dangerous. The shifter is able to move around pretty well s a dragon and deal some serious damage when he has to. The only problem with it is competition with other 2x2 melee in SL. He is basically at the same level as the destroyer - the pit dragon form hits a little harder, even with rend, and is tougher than the destroyer, and the dragon form is superior to charge for mobility, but he is a bit more costly and requires time to shift.
Upgrades: 9 speed, +6 hp is 72 nora or 11 speed, +6 hp is 80 nora. Not much else is needed after that, though a point of damage is not remiss. Possibly two additional hp upgrades as well, for a more tanky champ.

Draksar Spellsword:

A pretty simplistic basic melee rune, he barely makes it into tier 2 after being given spellswallower. The combination of spellswallower and magic eater make him very strong vs kthir, and give him some unique role against everything else. He is also nonphysical melee, which is a very useful feature against things like ghosts and earth golems, who like RD. His stats are not impressive though, being decidedly average. Keep him back if you can, and let him build up +3 or +4 to attack/defense/damage from spellswallowing, and he will be much more effective.
Upgrades: He actually comes ready to use. A cheap build will run 75 with spellswallower and +6 hp. 11 speed after that takes you to 83.

Krikkinwing:

The K-wing is a very useful champion, his only real drawback is high cost in a nora poor army. Poison cloud is a wonderful ability, and flight and his 2-4 range make him very mobile in damage dealing and he has solid hp. It's best to use poison cloud to wall off points and spit fire (which isn't fire damage sadly) at enemies who are stuck. Hard to fit in these days, but makes a strong argument for a highlander spot or a spot in a deck that needs some flying love.
Upgrades - 9 speed, +6 hp is 85, for a solid basic build. Adding regen is decent enough, for 89.
11 speed is a possibility, with +6 hp it is 94. He will be expensive no matter what though.

Skeezick Dragonslayer:

Saved by removal of one of his hefty sandbags. Hunter:Dragonkin is a nice hunter with a few uses in most factions, and affects nearly all of SL. Stats are mediocre but not terrible, and he can upgrade rend to give him some damage. Fester is mildly useful, in case you face a menalaus or some such. A solid choice for a skeezick deck, since melee is not a skeezick strong suit. Not worth a general include though, he is tier 2 for his skeezick usefulness only.
Upgrades: 70 nora gets you rend 1, 48 hp, and 9 speed, which is solid. 11 speed after that is 79.

Skeezick Filcher:

A useful, if quirky champion. The filcher has energy thief, which steals ap from all champs that get close. This has two purposes - it harasses enemy melee units, and it allows the filcher to attack more often than normal. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have the damage to be an offensive power, but he can still fight decently well in a skeezick deck, as one of the very few nonphysical damage options. Also useful in any build that likes stealth, as he can get
shadowspawn and starts with stealth.
Upgrades - 9 speed, +6 hp is 74, which is nice and cheap, but unfortunately very weak. 11 speed, +2 damage lets him use his stolen ap much better and puts him at 89, which is a big setback but still workable. Use the cheaper build if you want him just to harass, the more costly one to fight (quite well in an alliance deck). Shadowspawn is usable with either build.
(There is a pathing issue with filchers that allows champs with not enough ap to run into a filcher and destealth him, be careful.)

Skeezick Netter:

A solid unit, a very compelling unit for skeezick decks. It has decent damage, range and hp. Under alliance it can do quite a bit of hurting. The biggest draw is the low cost, which makes it great for hitting the magic 5 skeezick number.
Upgrades - SPD 9, +4 hp is 59, or +6 is 60. Keep it cheap, that is its real strength. Speed 11 brings it to about 70.

Skeezick Rioter:

A very weird rune. Its combat stats don't warrant running it by itself, but swarm gives it a ton of playability. One of the closest runes to T1 in T2, it loses out because of its hit or miss nature. A required 2x in skeezick decks, to take advantage of alliance, and very good in many 10/10 combinations. Won't make it into a nonskeezick SL deck. If you can save nora for DB and firestorms you can set up huge domino effects with rioters.
Upgrades: Either cheapness, 9 speed and +3 hp for 68, or expensive at 11 spd, 10 damage, +3 hp for 83 nora. Both builds work really well.

Skeezick Scoundrel:
A very cool utility rune. Knockout is a great support effect, and disarm is much better on him than the chameleon. His damage is pretty high, but speed is average and hit points are low for melee - not necessarily bad news, stealth covers a lot of the HP issues. Very expensive to use, but a good rune for an antiequip wildcard in most any SL deck, and an almost necessary single include for skeezick decks.
Upgrades: Posion breaks knockout, and is thus useless. He is very expensive, so its probably wise to go light on the upgrades. Disarm, 9 speed and +6 hp is 89, and I recommend stopping there. 11 speed is not worth putting any more eggs in the relatively fragile scoundrel basket.

Skeezick Trapper:

One of the most evil support units there is. The ability to drop two traps for free every other turn is heinous. The poison cloud can do a ton of damage, and the fire trap is useful for protecting the trapper (the cloud will hurt him if it is next to him) and hurts undead. Also, he has decent enough damage and speed for his cost. Use his traps to cover one side of the map while your forces move up the other side, or keep him by the shrine to lay down a wall of traps. You can also use him as a portable poison cloud, by having him activate his own traps. Best used in a super cheap skeezick deck.
Upgrades - 9 speed, +6 hp puts him at a solid 54 nora. Stop there if he is alliance fodder in a skeezick deck, he will be useful enough. Fire trap 3 puts him at 63, then +2 damage takes him to 69, if you want more of a useful straight combatant - fire trap is best in a 1 on 1 fight, where you can use it as free hits.

Skithmaw Hunter:

A very solid rune, especially with the upgrades he got in GD. Now has leap 2 and can upgrade charge pathways, in addition to detection 3. He is fast, maneuverable and decently damaging, and handles stealth detection with aplomb - cheap as dirt too. Can easily replace blisters if you prefer champs. He's become what the crokadar used to be, yet more versatile.
Upgrades: Quite usable at base. Charge 1 and +6 hp puts him at 59, for the uber cheap build. Charge 3, 11 speed and +6 hp is 74, for the "expensive" build- between leap and charge he will be able to get anywhere, and his combat stats will be workable. My personal favorite is 11 speed, +6 hp and charge 2 at 70. Sting is possible, but not recommended - bit too costly, and the skith has no problem engaging.

Ambush:
Better now that it only hits one enemy and has to go off. 35 nora for 20 damage isn't bad. First turn, the font claim turn, turns when the enemy has been saving up are all good times to use this spell. A decent backfire break, if you already have it in there. If you draw it early, it will be worth its slot, but sometimes useless.

[Revenancer]

Blister:
8 damage across the board for 45 nora is good, no doubt about it. 2 blisters are a welcome addition to a SL 20, but firestorms are more generally useful so go for those first. It can mess up bunny replicas, nora beasts, and nora miners if used properly. Take note that some enemy champs (all dragons) are immune. Its a waste of nora if your enemy doesn't have at least 2 champs. Also note that it is physical damage, and will be reduced by resist.

Broodguard:
This spell dramatically increases the usefulness of hatching season. Almost never will the opponent clear the eggs before one or two hatch, and dropping this on a font you are advancing towards is royal screwage. The immunity to hatchling friendly fire and the 16 hp make the eggs require alot of effort to take down. If you use hatching season to font contest, I really recommend it. It is also the best backfire break in SL, which is important with your best spells in the 60 nora range.

Drought:
Hey, they made drought worthwhile! Nice terrain counter, and it does decent damage in a huge area with a worthy side effect. Basically a SL earthquake, but doesn't hurt the SL champs ever.

Hatching Season:
Got a nice high powered buff in GD. Now drops 6 eggs, which hatch 2 at a time, and the broodlings are faster. Outputs a ton of damage and can contest a font very well combined with broodguard. This has always been one of my favorite spells, and now it justifies itself rather nicely in most battlegroups. Space can make it hard to fit with a broodguard though - broodguard really ups the effectiveness.

Quickening:
Basically gives you 5-8 free AP that can only be used to attack. It SOUNDS nice, but in reality DB is better- you can use DB to get extra mobility if need be, not Quickening and the damage difference is rarely heavily in quickenings favor. Now must be cast after any other spells.

Skeezick Revolt:
A very cost effective spell. Produces 145 nora worth of skeezick, including a rioter, for only 80 nora. Your enemy gets a mostly useless draksar hunter in return. Skeezick decks love this spell, as it will almost always bring you into rebellion. It can possibly be effective in any given deck, because the hunter is so negligible (even though it got a slight buff), and the trapper and rioter at least are effective units. Unique for a reason.

Taint:
Taint is now high tier 2. It provides regen 3 and draconic force, which was kindly buffed. The healing effect is stellar given a little bit of time, and draconic force is great for a surprise damage boost, especially on something like a Vindrax acid breath or a skeezick rioter's swarm. If you can make a spot for one, you probably won't regret it, though in my opinon the low cooldown makes 2 unnecessary.

Tornado:
Strictly inferior to firestorm in terms of AOE damage. However, it does have the added benefit of WTFPWNing relics. Worth a slot if hate ice shards, since it'll take em down instantly, or in highlander.

Dragon Skull:
Lots of fire in SL now. Worth a slot as an effective third firestorm alone, often times. If you run a flame leech, shifter, trapper or hatching season as well as firestorm, seriously consider this rune. 2 hatching seasons put out a ton of damage with this rune. Also extremely powerful in UD/SL firedecks.

Tier 3

Crokadar Guardian:

A solid enough champ - once top 3 in the faction - he is seriously overshadowed by both the draksar charger and the destroyer, and now the skithmaw as well. He carries the charge and gore combo, and decent stats overall - great speed, moderate damage and hp. Serves as a mobile harasser, charging past frontline to engage and damage ranged units. Losing sapping blow sucked for him though, gore is a poor replacement. Able to do some real damage with charge and DB or drumming, but otherwise not heavy enough to compete with his 2x2 pals.
Upgrades: Charge3, 11 speed, +6 hp for 70. You can tack on damage if you feel like it, it will make him more threatening. Sapping blow might be a worthwhile upgrade as well.

Draksar Archer:

The poor archer has really fallen from grace because of the nerf to farshot (costs +1 ap). 11 speed is now needed to deal 2 hits, but it makes him very costly, and farshot only goes to rank 2. Basically impossible to get good stats cheaply anymore :/. Can see some use in highlander, or in a strict draksar build, but cannoneer makes it cry.
Upgrades - A basic 9 speed, +6 hp, farshot 2 archer is only 68 nora, but not very combat effective. A better build, in my opinion, is 11 speed (for easier farshots), regen, and +1 damage, for 84. Not a hard hitter, but able to keep harassing for a long time.

Draksar Broodling:

Please don't use these. The spell hatching season costs 50 nora and effectively makes 5 of these. 33 nora for a champ that does nothing but explode is so pointless, especially when you consider how small the radius is and how slow the bugger is. If you must use it, only use it with dragon skulls.
Upgrades - Well, you will need alot of SPD and hp. It will cost a ridiculous amount once it is fast enough, but theres nothing you can do about that.

Draksar Explorer:

Got quite a bit better with GD, but still not nearly enough. Decently mobile, and provides detection, but not even close to being as good as the skithmaw - even the scythbill kind of overshadows it. He can get sentry, regen, scry and detect 3, but aside from being a jack of all trades revealer type he has very little combat use. One of the least useful melee in the faction.
Upgrades - Detect 3 and +6 hp sets him at 64. Sentry and regen after that would put him at 69, or +2 damage would let him hit decently well at 70. An expensive build could be +2 damage, speed 11, detect 3, +6 hp and sentry, for 79.

Draksar Hunter:

Saved by some nice buffs in the faction review. Originally a laughable champ with no purpose, now after a buff to draconic force and some recosting he is usable enough. Draconic force now actually has a chance to activate, and combined with his decent starting damage he can hurt pretty well. However, he is still worse than nearly every other option, because his niche (antiskeezick) is basically pointless except in the skeezick revolt spell. Because of this competition he stays tier 3.
Upgrades: +6 hp is 65, and he can sit pretty right there. 73 puts him to 11 speed, and a further +6 hp or +2 damage puts him to 79, if you are so inclined.

Scythbill:

Went from being a miniravager to being a miniskithmaw. Compared to his larger cousin he is less maneuverable without charge, much less combat effective and more frail, though slightly cheaper. If you really want a bunch of leapers he can sneak in, as he is really cheap. He did get a much needed hp boost recently. Maybe if he had detection, instead of the skithmaw :/.
Upgrades - Leap 3, SPD 11, +6 hp are musts - putting you at 65 even. After that, consider +2 damage seriously, he needs damage output.

Skeezick Alchemist:

The cone changes made him kinda crappy (the 50% damage, specifically). Originally he was able to use them to make more attacks and add some damage for cheap. Now, his base damage is poor, and he can't get rank 3, so he can't use them in the current method and the old one is gone. Combined with his high cost, it means that the only reason to ever use him now is in a dedicated fire deck (and he's sketchy there)
Upgrades: 9 speed, +6 hp, fire bomb 2 makes him 88 *cringe*. Tack some damage onto that if you want. He is way too expensive.

Skeezick Baiter:

Ugh. This used to be good when hindering blow would happen on normal attacks. Now it is pointless. At least it costs next to nothing. With some increased speed and damage, he can do decently I guess. There is next to no reason to use this honestly. You can theoretically use it in skeezick decks, but the other skeezick are better - only use as a cheap alliance enabler.
Upgrades - With the low cost, you can get whatever you want really. I recommend pumping damage and speed, obviously. There isn't much you can do to make it good.

Skeezick Sniper:

Oh wow, what the hell. Sorry, but any rune I can't control is not going in my deck. Positioning is not something I want in the hands of a computer. About the only thing I can see him being used for is shrine defense, or maybe on the FW map. Really, something you have no control over is just stupid. However, he does have some use at least in a cheap skeezick deck as an alliance enabler.
Upgrades: 9 speed, then damage to taste. Don't worry about it dying, since its no loss >.>

Varu Howler:

An interesting unit. 1-2 range is useful, and he is super cheap. Gets a damaging aura, which is kinda nice since it adds 6 damage to whatever he hits, though it often will plink your own units.
He does nonphysical damage, which is rare in SL. Base cost is only 46 now (!), but he is still inferior to champs like the crokadar and skithmaw because of lack of useful abilities.
Upgrades - Speed 9, +6 hp and 10 damage is 59, probably best stick with that. You could put him at 11 and +1 damage for 65.

Boil:
Only useful in combo with monsoon, where it does a whopping 24 damage total. Pointless in SL 20 armies.

Draconic Sacrifice:
Basically an impervious spell with a huge drawback. It is a massive gamble, but sometimes it will pay off. However, with all the great runes in SL I don't see a place for this in most battlegroups. If you really want this effect, just 10/10 with ironfist, impervious is much better (cheaper too).

[Revenancer]

March of the Skeezick:
Eh. Competes and loses against DB. Seems like it would be a good idea to recast repeatedly on even speed skeezicks, but doesn't match duration to cooldwon. Best use, IMO, is to doublecast, giving you +2 speed for a little while as well as 4 ap. Very expensive combo for a gimped out mobilization. Still, usable in a skeezick deck or highlander.

Skeezick Blade:
Wow, kind of similar to our OTHER equips >.>. This is basically another version of the dragonclaw greaves. Frankly, the only way I would run this is if it had a cooldown of 0 (does it? I assumed it was cd 1). Why is this a rare? We already had it before.

Thaw:
Notoriously bad. It is pretty questionable even against ST, terrain control and 7 damage is okay but not great. Maybe this will have a use when the sideboard comes out. Until then, shelve'd.

Tainted Statue:
A decent enough spell seal. It is inferior to failed amp, but it is in faction and therefore a decent alternative. Spell seals in general are weak, but if you are gonna use one this is one at least does something. 2 can put a real damper on spellcasting. Don't use any spells yourself though.

Dragon Claw Greaves:
Eh, you don't need this for anything. It gives a secondary attack with +5 attack, +3 damage and rend for only 25 nora. It works great on a ranged unit like the cannoneer or archer with big blind spots theoretically. Cooldown kinda makes it crap. Much better than the poison fang, at least.

Forbidden Fruit:
Wow. From good to useless, in one fell swoop. equipping the fruit now causes you to lose all ap. It can't be used the same turn, without DBs and drummers, and that puts a GIANT target on the equipped champ. That means that it is useless on low hp champs. That means that it just sucks. You can't even really use it on hatchlings. Get rid of these if you can. Only real use is with mobi or summon imp + invigorate.

Poison Fang:
Bleh. Very lackluster, especially with poison not stacking with itself. Would be useful if ranged attackers could use it. It basically works like a worse crystal spike that lowers ATK and DEF a bit. If you have a bunch of melee champs, you might find one useful.

-GENERAL TIPS/TRICKS-
This section contains general tactics for countering common units, tactics and popular builds. It also includes specific tactics that are useful for dealing with enemy factions as a whole. The first bit lists a couple essential concepts which you need to play the game well with any army - general concpets not specific to SL.

Counting Squares:
This is a rather simple and intuitive concept that most players basically develop on their own. Basically, it refers to keeping track of how much ap enemy units have/need to do their abilities or attack, knowing how much they will have next turn, and maneuvering to prevent that from happening. For example, if you know a melee champ will have 6 ap next turn, stop 4 spaces away from him - he will not be able to attack unless he casts mobilize (and you can go so far as to predict mobilize, but don't overdo that or you will never get into range). It is very important to do this as much as possible, denying your enemy efficient ap usage is vital. Another aspect of this is to count damage, and know if your champions will survive the attacks they would suffer if you do X. Make sure to take attack into account (I assume anyone with higher attack than my def will do +1 damage, just to be safe) although this is rarely an issue with full SL. Also, make sure that the attacks will not leave your champ at 10 or less hp or you will likely be spelled for that last bit of damage. Once you are confident at counting squares, you can move to the next step of assuming your enemy will count squares as well and even encouraging this action.
You can lure in enemy ranged units by leaving champs with low numbers of AP or that appear to be blocked by terrain or another enemy champ, then remove that obstacle with spells in order to catch your foe off guard.

Nora Watching:
This sounds alot harder than it is. Basically, you want to have a rough idea of how much nora your enemy is using to accurately predict his capabilities. If you are really hardcore, you can keep a running tally in notepad of estimated or known costs, but that is a bit much. What you really want to do is just get a general idea of when your enemy is going to be able to drop more champs. Usually, most players play a champ at most once every other turn, and if they are casting a spell each turn the gap grows larger. If the enemy is blasting you with spells but only has one champ protecting his font, you can be fairly confident that he won't be able to deploy a champ before you can contest. This prediction gets alot harder in rapidly shifting nora situations where fonts are being contested and uncontested and nora generators are in play, but hopefully you can maintain a rough idea. Also, it is fairly safe to assume that an enemy can drop a spell every turn, and if they aren't doing that or dropping champions there is probably some kind of combo about to pop up, which you can hopefully predict based on their army (monsoon+drown, shard->shard->ice storm, etc).

Prediction:
This is the most important aspect of the tactical game, and that is guessing what your opponent will do. Both of the previous tactics are essentially tools for helping you out with predicting your enemy's responses. The easiest aspects of prediction come when the enemy has faction runes. If an opponent has 10 forest, tundra, or whatever, you can expect certain common runes to pop up - always when it would be worst for you. Don't walk into the enemy shrine zone if you are playing k'thir and only one mountain garu has popped out, for example, because the other will likely appear to hit your hapless champ twice. The easiest way I can define my prediction strategy is to start from the assumption that the enemy has exactly whatever rune they need to completely ruin you. I then decide if it is worth the risk, or if i have already seen 2 of the likely rune, or even if I know they don't have it based on process of elimination (all 20 runes have been used). Prediction can be tricky, but successful prediction can lead to a lot of wasted or weakened tactics by your opponent. You can also use it against your opponent - if you have a 14 hp unit near their shrine, and you know they have hammerstrikes, toss up a snowblind or backfire and watch as their predictable tactic fails, wasting their time and nora.

Melee Roles:
SL has a fairly crowded melee runespace, and it can be hard to decide what to use. I put together this section while I was working on the guide as a sort of reference. Its just a list of each melee champ and their key abilities and purposes. It doesn't really take into account stats, except in the case of champs who are useful because they have such good stats.

Archnic: 2x2, DoT, Semi Ranged, Disabling
Cobra Spitter: DoT, Disabling
Crokadar: Charge
Destroyer: 2x2, Efficient, Charge, DoT
Diamondhide Basilisk: Stun, Charge, Defensive
Dragon Handler: Drive, Immunities
Draksar Broodqueen: Flight, Healing
Draksar Chameleon: 2x2 Stealth, Antiequip, Constrict
Draksar Charger: 2x2, Semi Ranged, Initiative, Efficient
Draksar Constrictor: Constrict, Efficient
Draksar Consulate: Antiequip, Flying, Semi Ranged
Draksar Explorer: Mobility, Detection
Draksar Footman: Cheap, Defensive
Draksar Hunter: Antiskeezick
Draksar Knight: Defensive
Draksar Lord: 2x2, Defensive, Power Attack
Draksar Master: Drive, Efficient
Draksar Shifter: 2x2, Efficient, Flight, Semi Ranged, Nonphysical
Draksar Spellsword: Nonphysical, Spellswallower
Ravager: 2x2, Mobility, Initiative, Antirange
Scythbill: Mobility
Skeezick Baiter: Cheap
Skeezick Dragonslayer: DoT, Antidragonkin
Skeezick Drummer: Defensive, Nonphysical, Multiattack, Battle Drum
Skeezick General: Efficient, Surge, Pummel, DoT, Semi Ranged
Skeezick Rioter: Swarm, Semi Ranged
Skeezick Scoundrel: Stealth, Knockout, Antiequip
Skeezick Trapper: Cheap, Traps
Skithmaw Hunter: Detection, Charge, Mobility, Efficient
Varu Howler: Nonphysical, Semi Ranged
Vindrax: 2x2, Semi Ranged, Physical Resist, Flight, Efficient, Nonphysical, AoE

[Revenancer]

-DECK BUILDS-
Traditional SL 20/-

2x Draksar Charger
2x Ravager
2x Skeezick Cannoneer
1x Archnic
1x Draksar Master
1x Skeezick Drummer
1x Dragoleech
1x Vindrax (replace with a wildcard, if you don't have one)
1x Draksar Shifter (wildcard)

2x Firestorm
2x Draconic Benediction
1x Blister (wildcard, best replaced with skithmaw)
1x Taint(wildcard)

1x Acid Trap
1x Draksar Warbanner (replace with wildcard, if you don't have one)

All of the wildcard slots are just my preference, you can switch them with most any Tier 2 rune and do fine. Ravagers and Chargers provide init and melee, cannons provide range, and each other champion performs a necessary support role in addition to any combat abilities (nora, drum, drive, web). Vindrax is vindrax. Fairly simple deck, not too hard to build, and only really has weaknesses to HoC or shrine rushes.

Skeezick Sl 20/-

2x Skeezick General
2x Skeezick Cannoneer
2x Skeezick Rioter
2x Skeezick Drummer
1x Skeezick Netter (skeezick wildcard)
1x Skeezick Scoundrel (skeezick wildcard)
1x Dragoleech
1x Archnic(wildcard)
1x Vindrax

2x Firestorm
2x DB
1x Skeezick Revolt
1x Blister (wildcard, best replaced with skithmaw)
1x Draksar Warbanner

Vindrax and the archnic provide some nonskeezick and non physical damage (poison, acid). The skeezick and leech are self explanatory. Skeezick revolt can be cast whenever, but is optimal when it will bring your skeezick into alliancesuddenly. Very powerful, the skeezick are tough and very damaging with alliance, which you should be able to get up. Keep the cannons, netters and drummers fairly cheap so you can pump them out early. You can easily swith the ravager for the other leech.

SL 20/- Cheap Skeezick
2x Skeezick Cannoneer
2x Skeezick General
2x Skeezick Drummer
2x Skeezick Rioters
1x Skeezick Netter
1x Skeezick Sniper (skeezick wildcard)
1x Skeezick Trapper (skeezick wildcard)
1x Skeezick Baiter (skeezick wildcard)
1x Vindrax
1x Dragoleech

2x Firestorm
2x Draconic Benediction
1x Skeezick Revolt
1x Warbanner

All the skeezick are run at minimalist builds, and a few are included that are a bit less than optimal but cost in the to 40-50 range. This allows you to get alliance out ASAP and try to spam rioters. Vindrax gives you a late game punch if cooldowns are pinching, and the leech keeps you from being counterspammed by better units due to nora production, both also help vs the spawned draksar hunter.

SL 20/- Highlander
1x Draksar Charger
1x Ravager
1x Skeezick Cannoneer
1x Vindrax
2x Dragoleeches (heh, thankfully they are two runes)
1x Archnic
1x Draksar Master
1x Destroyer
1x Draksar Shifter
1x Draksar Gunner
1x Skeezick Netter

1x Draconic Benediction
1x Quickening
1x Firestorm
1x Blister
1x Drought
1x Taint

1x Acid Trap
1x Warbanner

The nature of highlander makes the decks supremely variable, this is the version that I prefer. Pretty much the whole tier 1 is in because of power reasons, as are the super heavy tier 2 melee champs and taint. Quickening sneaks in to replace the second draconic benediction, and drought becomes an alternate AoE, though it focuses more on the nifty effect. The netter and gunner are in because range is pretty important in highlander, both are decent enough at low cost to be playable. Leeches are in because many decks have room for resistances, they also provide flying and some more range.

SL/KF

2x Elven Druid/Elder Garu/Ranger
2x Skeezick Cannoneer
1x Spirit Singer
1x Skeezick Rioter
1x Woodland Ambassador
2x Dragoleech
2x Elven Mage
1x Ranger (Elven druid if you use rangers instead of them)
1x Ravager

2x Firestorm
2x DB
1x Thorn Collection
1x Nature's Wrath
1x Brambles

The old top metagame deck. This is one variant. Still works pretty well, though the druids are a lot more blah in toughness - if you can replace them with elder garu, you won't regret it, and rangers make a solid choice for an init focus. Nora supremacy is the name of the game, with a miner, 2 leeches and nora shield. You also have amazing range and powerful spell damage.

KF/SL - Snake Deck
2x Cobra Spitter
2x Draksar Constrictor
2x Skeezick Cannoneer
2x Elven Mage
2x Snake Charmer
1x Ranger
1x Woodland Ambassador

1x Devolve/Brambles
1x Brambles/Thorn Collection/Nature's Wrath
2x Call Serpent
2x Firestorm
2x Draconic Benediction

Obligatory since it meshes so well. This is just one build, many are technically possible. The charmer gets boost and heal serpent 2, and all 4 of your SL snake champs and whatever summons you get out suddenly become very dangerous. The nonsnake runes provide a solid enough base of power that you can get by in most battles. Not top meta, but fun.

SL/UD -BBNL (Banish Banish Nora Leech)

2x Nora Leech
2x Ravager
2x Skeezick Cannoneer
2x Deep Elf Priestess
2x Nefari Siphon
2x UD champs

2x DB
2x Firestorm
2x Banish
1x Shattered Nerves
1x Sacrifice

BBNL. Discussed in a sackett's thread. I messed around with this idea a bit in SR beta myself, and it is good. Much better than I thought at the time, now that I've done the math. The leeches equal out the nora gains through rounding, so banish is 55 nora to remove a champ. It also has strong nora capabilities with siphons and leeches, and good combat synergy (def + damage and good champs). A good deck to counter the nora shield deck.

SL/UD - Fire Deck
2x Skeezick Cannoneer
2x Dragoleeches
2x Draksar Shifter
2x Fire Elemental
2x Nefari Dragon
2x Imps

2x Firestorm
1x Draconic Benediction
2x Fireblast
2x Sacrifice

1x Dragon Skull

4 flamestriking, high stat dragons, backed up by leech/sacrifice nora supremacy and a solid group of runes. Once the skull is out, the damage becomes intense - firestorm and fireblast hit for 21 and 18 before char, respectively. Plenty of physical damage to deal with fire immunities, DB for versatility, and the huge damage coupled with the defense boost make this a deadly deck. Dragon skull goes over fiends because of the irritating DE bound.


IF/SL
2x Skeezick Cannoneer
2x Dwarven Sharpshooter
2x Deep Miner
2x Dracoleech
2x Draksar Charger (SL melee wildcard)
2x Dwarven King

2x Draconic Benediction
2x Firestorm
2x Hammerstrike
1x Desperate Heal
1x Righteous Deflection

Really powerful nora generation, you don't have to worry about being outnora'd, ever. Solid spell selection and synergistic faction bonuses. Then the meat: the best ranged team in the game. Your average cost will be about 60 nora for your 9 speed, 10 damage ranged units, meaning you can easily get all 4 out in most every game. The melee is just there to run interference, and do warcry/openers respectively - you can switch to other things if you want. This deck can be very slow to start, the leeches at least are useful for most font grabbing (leech + miner is a valid turn one drop). Once you get rolling, you are likely to find that you can pummel down most enemies with 4 warcried ranged units.

IF/SL - Skeezick Style
2x Half Skeezick
2x Dwarven King
2x Dwarven Sharpshooter
2x Deep Miner
2x Skeezick Cannoneer
2x Skeezick General
2x Skeezick Rioter

2x Hammerstrike
2x Firestorm
2x Draconic Benediction

Very champ heavy, but in this case it works. 4 warcry units, hammer strike and DB make it incredibly easy to enable rioter kills, unfortunately focusing on rioters makes DH prohibitively dangerous. With 8 skeezick and plenty of help to swarm, you should be able to get rebel bonus very easily. The kings and sharpshooters are in for being brilliant, but must be kept cheap - no 11 speed for the king. He will be useful enough with warcry and divine favor and your skeezick swarm. The half skeezick are best run fairly cheap, maximize their hp and get war cry 2 or 3. They have multi, so its easier for them to pop war cry than kings, making them preferable until you have damage to heal on deploy. The inabillity to fit leeches sucks, but dropping skeezick hurts alot.

[Revenancer]

Repost of the main portion of the guide thread. Can someone point me to the font size change protocol?

Oh, and can I request a resticky of this from one of our moderators?

[jibtekw]

Legendary thread, quite the bible when I started playing.

But man, does it need an update.

[Revenancer]

When I start playing again after this expansion I'll go through it again :P Mostly what needs doing currently is tier shuffling and rewriting all the decks.

[DirkOfPerk]

Rev is still a ****ing god!