Battle Mage Secrets - We Learn And Improve From Losses

The theme for the current "Battle Mage Secret" challenge is Fog Of War ruleset this time! This means all units lose the Sneak, Snipe, and Opportunity abilities and Scattershot still works in this ruleset. It's not always easy to get the specific ruleset, but if you play hard enough, you definitely can find one! This time I was lucky enough to have one - woohoo!

So here's the interesting battle that I encountered.

Anyway, I thought it would be still be interesting to introduce some useful cards and show how their strengths can be maximised especially with a particular ruleset. In this post, the featured card is an Epic Dragon card, Kra'ar Xoc!

Kra'ar Xoc is an interesting card because it comes in at 1 mana but the potential is limitless! With Scavenge ability, its HP can shoot through the roof in battles where cards fall easily, and being a card without attack, it can also undergo Weapons Training. Imagine a 1 mana card dealing damage and yet have a bulky HP! The only downside is that it's a Dragon card which requires a Dragon summoner haha!

As usual, here's the lore for Kra'ar Xoc for your reading interest:

Kra'ar Xoc was a young shamanic neophyte when he was compelled to embark on a pilgrimage which took him from the Burning Lands' Sskah City to the frontiers of Praetoria. He bid his family, his peers, and his elders farewell and set sail on a Ferexian galleon bound for the Great Lowlands.

And so began Kra'ar Xoc's transformation from young neophyte to master shaman.

Upon his arrival, he quickly adapted to this new world, a land full of potential and rich with magic. He wandered the wilds, learning from the people and beasts that called the frontier home, absorbing all they taught him with relish.

Many years passed before he returned to Sskah City, not the frightened youngster those who knew him remembered, but a powerful shaman steeped with wisdom and a deep inner calm.

Kra'ar shared with them an impressive display of his powers: feats of restoration, hexes that dampened the magic of his opponents and increased his vitality, and even a mastery of blending into his surroundings until he was all but undetectable. They were amazed by what he had learned.

Kra'ar petitioned the shamanic elders of Sskah City for a congregation of neophytes to return with him to Praetoria, so he could start a new den and teach them all he had learned, with the promise that, one day, they would return to the Burning Lands and spread their knowledge among the serpentine of Sskah City.

And so, Den Xoc was born from the pilgrimage of one bold, young neophyte; Kra'ar went on to lead and teach many who, like him, dared to risk the comforts of tradition for the raw, untapped potential found within the wilds of a new world.

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Battle Type & Team Lineup

Position	Card/Level	Mana
Summoner	Helios Matriarch	6

This was a brawl battle and with Chaos and Rebellion being the only available editions, I wanted to play Dragon (Djinn Chwala) and hence I opted to go with Helios Matriarch.

Position	Card/Level	Mana
1	Djinn Chwala	8

For this Fog Of War battle, Djinn Chwala was chosen to be my tank because it would benefit from the additional armor and this would enable him to deal more Thorns damage.

Position	Card/Level	Mana
2	Exploding Rats	4

Because Reach ruleset is in play for this battle, I deliberately slotted Exploding Rats in the second position. This meant Exploding Rats could attack from behind while its squishy 1 HP was protected.

Position	Card/Level	Mana
3	Radiated Scorcher	1

This was a low mana battle and Radiated Scorcher comes in as a filler card.

Position	Card/Level	Mana
4	Kra'ar Xoc	1

Similar to Radiated Scorcher, Kra'ar Xoc comes in as a filler card. Of course, it has Scavenge ability and it gives more protection to the last card.

Position	Card/Level	Mana
5	Dijnn Apprentice	5

Shaking up things up a little, Djinn Apprentice is another trump card that stays at the very end. This meant it can comfortably deal 2 Magic damage per turn.

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• Pre Battle: When both lineups came out, I knew I didn't quite stand a chance. Not only were the levels of the cards very different, my opponent had Legendary cards as well as a Level 3 Epic Djinn Inferni. Let's see how this plays out.
  

• Round 1: My opponent effectively countered my entire strategy. I wanted to use Thorns but their tank has Shield to fend off some damage. I had two Melee cards and my opponent fielded Disintegrator to reduce my damage output. Not only I was facing a higher level lineup, all my attacks were paralysed.
  

• Round 2: I was clearly struggling to make any progress, and in came the opposing Level 3 Djinn Inferni, slamming 4 Magic damage per turn at my turn. My entire team was collapsing like a house of cards.
  

• Round 3: Kra'ar Xoc managed to delay the onslaught with some good amount of HP accumulated for Scavenge! And I finally managed to take down 1 card.
  

• Round 4: That must be a consolation prize as I was swept off the board cleanly. Not too bad that I survived 4 rounds.
  

If you are interested to watch the battle, you can find it here.

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Post Battle

Did my strategy work? Let's be straightforward, this was one battle to forget. I didn't do well and amidst all the glorious wins, such losses are not uncommon and I think it's time to post some battle losses instead of always writing about the wins. It's through losses that we learnt and become a better player.

What's the Battle Mage Secret? Sometimes, it's through losses that we learn and become a better player.

So that's all I have! What are your takeaways from this battle? Feel free to comment below, as I am always keen to learn and improve!

As always, thanks for reading and have a pleasant day ahead!

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