#less lethal pyromancer

[dappercyborg]

[potpourrifandoms]

Hell yeah I loved tactical breach wizards and your telling me I get to see cool Gracie fan art of it hell yeah

Well... I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it "cool", but I definitely have been drawing Steve and Bori a lot lately. Not in their in-game clothes (those look too hot/difficult to draw), but I mean... I gave them comfy PJs, so that's something. They can have a slumber party while holed up in a safehouse waiting for Liv to finish doing her Big Important Liv Things.

It's such a fun game, though. I did not expect the story part to punch me in the gut as much as it did!!

[redrorums]

Different Types of Spell Casting/Weaving

We’ll start with Wizardos…

Pyromancer-instead of having a book type Grimoire, pyromancers will oft carry a Glyph Lantern, Candlestick, Torch, etc. This Lantern would have to be crafted by a Master Enchanter or Master of Arcane Smithing. That being said, most Dwarven Master Smiths are so immensely skilled, they can craft a far superior Glyph Lantern compared to any other mortal arcane smith and WITHOUT the need for arcane knowledge. This is because dwarves literally put their heart and soul(and by default, a bit of their magic) into everything they craft. The problem is just finding a dwarf who cares enough about ya to craft something for ya. ANYWAYS, the lantern is designed to constantly generate an amorphous and flame (fire that has not yet decided what type of fiery reaction it’s going to be). This makes it much, MUCH easier to cast any and all fire-based spells with far less effort and concentration required. Glyph Lanterns are sentient (like all Grimoires) and can manifest a fiery familiar to automatically defend their Wizard and assist with some spells. Pyromancy is extremely popular as it is both practical for combat, but also flashy and good for entertainment. Fire will always be a Wizard’s best friend 👍. Pyro Glyphs are also the the most essential element in most, if not all, healing spells. The generation of heat is required to reinvigorate cell growth and whatnot. Pyros will be able to turn their Aethflame into healing heat that’s absorbed by the cells, burns away sickness and boosts regeneration. As with all Aether-based healing, it heals your body at the expense of your total vitality. Essentially, you’re sacrificing time off you’re total lifespan to heal in the moment.

One would think ice wizardry would be a branch of Hydromancy WRONG!!! Aether cares not for YOUR logic, it functions on the logic of dreams made real. *clears throat* That being said, it kinda makes sense since the Pyro is simply turning the Aethflame inside out. An inverted blaze that absorbs all nearby heat, effectively freezing targets. Pyromancers are usually well studied in the fields of alchemy and witchcraft, as these skills allow them to craft an unlimited number of reactants for their Aethflame.

Electromancers- the favored class of Wizardry for duelists. They tend to stick to tradition, wielding Glyph staves or wands with a targeting glyph scopes attached. Lightning is by far the most practical battle arcana as it is relatively easy to cast, unbelievably fast, and exceedingly lethal upon a successful hit. Electro Glyphs are also the key components of enchantment wizardry, allowing the wizard to effect objects on a molecular level. They can change the objects form, give temporary life to inanimate objects, or leave reactive traps inside the target. The most common use obviously being to simply encrypt nonmagical objects with quasi-magical effects and activatable abilities.

[jeeperso]

D&D Quotes Without context

Miscellaneous Edition, for those quotable lines from between sessions

"All I wanna do, is fork a giant woman! A giant woman!" "Jonni, I'm pretty sure she is some type of undead, probably a vampire. Are you sure that is a good idea?" "If I don’t get turned into a blueberry it won’t be my worst date." "Okay, but if you have to defend yourself just don't burn the place down for once." "Oh, Nyx. Sweet summer child. I never make promises we both know I won’t even try to keep." "Jonni, if I wake up to my bed surrounded in flames again I'm short-sheeting your next bed every night for at least a month." "I know you're trying to score here, but Lady Dimitrescu's daughters are literally vampires AND bugs. I can overlook one, but as a Paladin, it is my sacred duty to burn this place to the ground and stir the ashes."

"We don't let Marshall make breakfast anymore." "Those waffles are well-fortified." "I'm going to be charitable and call it hardtack." "We can use these waffles as melee weapons." "Well if we need to deflect siege engines they'll be good to have." "This is still carbon based and digestible by human systems without any poisons." "I can't serve this. It'll cause ... death." "Marshal we've been over this. This Pizza has 10% less of a lethal amount of grease." "Plus they signed the waivers when they bought a ticket. It's fine." "And don't forget to push the Cakeon." "Cakeon being slices of cake wrapped in bacon." "The special sauce is a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, ranch, horseradish, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and anything unfortunate enough to fall into the mixing vat."

"You do have a copy of the legal code I requested in my letter? As landed gentry you should actually have legal avenues to... I'm sorry did you say Burning child?"

"First I'm going to nail a crossbow bolt through your heart. Then I'm going to mount your balls to walls on opposite sides of this chamber." "I need Three Barrels of Butter" "Are you serious? Those Claws could crush an elephant in full plate!" "You're Right!" *Turns to first person* "We might need more than three barrels of butter."

"So Ioun is the patron of poor college kids. that scans "

"its hardtack or a mug of molten cheese-fried... something in a woven mug of bacon. your choice."

"Welp, all this coke ain't gonna snort itself..."

"Right hand me that dress and the bail money. I'll get Jonni." OOC: Well I mean they allow men in the city. Its just no men live in the city. "I stand by my statement. I'm allowed to look pretty every now and then." OOC: And dragons are the most unprejudiced lovers of anyone after bards.

OOC: Well I mean come on, its Ravenloft: saying a place is of death and madness is like making the observation the day ends in y. "Going out. Getting laid." "Jonni, she’s a werewolf." "Going out, forking a werewolf." OOC: Well Lycanthropy isn't usually sexually transmitted. Its just that Mercedes is a biter. OOC: ...I don't have an appropriate response to that.

"You seriously think I’d turn on my friends for a pile of gold?!?" "sigh I’ll show you my tits. "Hot damn, let’s get these murders done!" "No, Jonni, stay good. Besides, there are plenty of other girls who will do that without asking you to murder us." "Hmmmm… this is the moral quandary of my life…" "I’ll give you five bucks." "Scales tipped!" "Phew, I thought I was going to have to cover her next trip to the topless bar." "No, no, I have the bail money right here."

Nyx: So what’s the inside of Jonni’s head like? Edmund (with thousand yard stare): Imagine every ladies only smut magazine you’ve ever heard of going on forever into infinity while everything is on fire. Food was good though.

"It’s cool. They stole it." "And you know this how?" "Magic." “90% of Ravenloft deaths are mysterious vanishings.” "Why does everything come out covered in glitter and … is that …" "Lube. I’ve got a few theories." "Please don’t share them."

OOC: This is a plan that ends with Strahd having fewer brides, his castle is in flames, and he’s lost his cape.

OOC: Our team consists of a horny pyromancer, a gnome who can fillete you in five seconds, an HP lovecraft protagonist with actual magic backing them up, a literal slab of iron with a face, and a guy with a "I went to the eternal city of Ryleth and all I got was PTSD and this lousy T shirt". Gorbash smashing his shield into their face: "Have! You! Considered! Therapy!" OOC: Good news is you guys will no longer be the most conspicuous guys at the masquerade now. Jonni: Challenge accepted! "Nyx, the bounty on stealing his fake mustache is still on."

"Vanilla is the king of flavors. What does it say about society where vanilla is considered just 'regular'?" "That they have a lot of vanilla." Lash: "Don’t you want wishes?" Jonni: "Do I need wishes to get to see you naked?" Lash: "No?" Jonni: "Fuck ‘em." Vesh: "Oh dammit its my arranged fiance." Pit Fiend: "Milady." Vesh: "An extra wish to whoever punches this douchecanoe in the nards." Jonni: "I wish…for Bigby’s clenched fist of nard punching."

Soth: "Oh, gods, why am I on fire and why is Immigrant Song playing?" Jonni: "Take a guess." Hazlik: "Okay, so its a partridge, stuffed inside a chicken, stuffed inside a duck, stuffed inside a turkey, and the whole thing is fried on a stick. Congratulations, that's the most horrible thing I have ever seen, and I once crossbred an elephant and an owl." "I give him the 'itis, and we run like we stole something." OOC: ...weirdly Curse of Strahd has stats for Strahd zombies but not Strahd Skeletons. Or Strahd's skeletal Steed. Strahd once went to a branding seminar hosted by Bane and it changed his life.

"Are we on a high enough floor that if I throw him through the window he'll be killed by the fall?" "Oh, but when I say stuff like that it’s all 'Jonni, murder is wrong.'" "When they say pick your battles they don't mean to pick all of them. That's too many battles Jonni. Put some back." OOC: He's technically already got a symbiote. OOC: They can get married. Gorbash: "I'm increasing the rent." Venom: "Can I keep the pool table?" Gorbash: "I'm not a monster." Giant Brain: "Jonni… I have summoned you here for… WHY AM I ALREADY ON FIRE! PUT ME OUT! PUT ME OUT!"

"Hello We're the party-crashers. This is Jonni, she's here to steal your women and burn your shit down. That's Nyx, she's going to repatriate certain items from the premise. Marshal over there, is here to studiously ignore our shenanigans. This is the New Guy. He seems pretty chill. I'm Gorbash... and I have been distracting you."

"Will you walk into my parlour?" said a spider to a fly. Jonni: "Hold up. Trying to sex a spider." Nyx: (throws her hands up) And then Jonni wakes up with a spider venom hangover webbed to a wall waiting to be eaten. Jonni: "Eh, I’ve had worse one night stands. I’m not a fucking blueberry." OOC 1: Hey, where does your weed elf grow [her] crops? OOC 2: She probably just grows them in the room she hasn’t paid rent on. OOC 3: Because I was also considering a circle of spores druid tortle. OOC 2: We could be partners! We could turn this into road to el dorado staring Cheech and Chong. OOC: Wait, I just realized five people are hanging out in a pirate bar, and none of us are rogues. We are gonna need someone to get thieves tools. OOC: We have a barbarian with a big stick.

"Are we Foxhound now? Blunderbuss Octopus." OOC1: You want to put the stoner in charge of food. OOC2: Eyup. OOC1: I see no way this can go wrong! OOC3: We need the four basic food groups. Beans, Bacon, Whisky, and Lard. “We pray to Almighty Darkseid! Give us a sign! Thumbs up, for the triumph of the human spirit! Thumbs down to begin the everlasting reign of darkness!” “Where did you find this guy?” “Me? I thought you hired him.” OOC: Yup, nature, arcana, history, investigation and religon at +6. MJ got baked and watched the Discovery Orb a lot. Tordek: "But we have a cleric, Jozan, over there." Strahd: *sigh* Snaps fingers, and suddenly one of Strahd's brides sucks Jozan out the window, cue screaming. "Oh look, you suddenly have an opening, how fortunate." Tordek: "We also have a druid...." Vadania: "SHUT UP, TORDEK!" Edmund: "I think the first order of business may be to discuss your Human Resources strategy..." Strahd: "I have a guy for that too."

"When someone as smart as him talks with himself, it's not crazy...They call it monologing." "I thought it was soliloquy?" "No, soliloquy is when you're talk at someone else when your talking to yourself." "Most people would run from a demon, you run towards it to study it." Professor: "THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING! A FROGHEMOTH, AND RIGHT UP CLOSE, IT WILL BE AMAZING TO SEE THIS PERFECT KILLING MACHINE IN ACTION." OOC: Also note the Professor is Lawful Good, Archie is Chaotic Good, so collectively they balance out to Neutral good. OOC: That's good. "The incinerations will continue until morale improves!" “You never incinerate the women!” “Because I’m fucking them!” “I… was not expecting you to be so honest about that…”

"You got what you wanted....but you lost what you had...." "Yes, I'm familiar with how capitalism works."

OOC: Dragons are like, “That’s Krandor the shiney. He only fucks other dragons. Weirdo.”

Gorbash: "D'awww, so tiny... perfect size... FOR PUNTING!" *boots tiny mind-flayer into the horizon*

"Dracula hasn't been spotted in almost recently. Whats he gonna do, destroy all we know and love like he definitely can?" "... my god you people are too stupid to live." "What are you doing in my house?" Gorbash: "...well Edmund has been reading your books, I've been sorting through your armory, Nyx and Irost has been going through your other shinies, Marshal has been cleaving anything monstrous that gets too close, and Jonni has been lighting things on fire to stave off boredom." Gorbash: "Okay Marshal, Jonni. Rock, paper, scissors over who gets [to kill] the bishop."

Jonni: "Did you really think this would make up for what you did?" Nima: "I… killed everyone you grew up with." Jonni: "Yeah, and I’m still not forgiving you for what you did to Eddie." Nima: "I am missing some key context here…" Nima: "Also I committed identity theft on you by having my new undead army tell everyone you are running the show." Jonni: "Oh, no. You’ve fooled the boar tribe. Who still haven’t figured out shitting in a hole." Nima: "Yeah I noticed that. I ruined two pairs of shoes attacking their camps."

[elsylynneverbright]

An Old Friend Part 2

It was still raining at a steady rate as the two walked. It wasn't enough to be disorienting, but it was definitely enough to leave the two soaking before they reached their destination. Elsylynn hoped to use this to her advantage. She knew Fleuretta's flames were strong and mostly uncontrollable, but perhaps the rain could help lessen the blows a bit, or at the very least minimize the overall environmental damage.

“This place good enough for you? It looks the same as every other stupid fucking clearing we’ve passed.” Fleuretta rolled her eyes as she stepped across from Elsylynn. She cracked her neck as well as her knuckles, flaring the air up around her in preparation for the fight.

Elsylynn stepped across from Fleuretta as well, unsheathing her daggers and getting into a fighting stance. “It's a decent distance from people, so someone getting in the crossfire is unlikely.” “Knock off the noble act, you stupid bitch.” Fleuretta muttered an incantation and prepared a fireball in her hands. “We both know you don’t actually give a shit who you’ve hurt.” “I’ve changed.” Elsylynn remained ready, eying Fleuretta closely. She wasn’t going to throw the first punch, but she sure as hell was going to be ready to counter.

“Yeah, right. You’ve changed about as much as I have.” Fleuretta laughed as she finally chucked the fireball at Elsylynn. Elsylynn immediately broke into a sprint toward Fleuretta, easily ducking under the fireball and closing the distance. She then began to assault Fleuretta with a flurry of slices, directed at key weak points on her body.

Fleuretta easily dodged each of Elsylynn’s strikes as well, laughing all the while. Elsylynn knew it wouldn’t be so easy, however. She watched Fleuretta’s movements as she dodged each of her attacks, quickly identifying the pattern. As she attempted a slice at one area, she quickly kicked Fleuretta’s leg out from under her, just as she was lifting it to step backwards. Knowing Fleuretta was now off balance, Elsylynn struck her in the chest with the hilt of her blade, and then she quickly sliced upwards as Fleuretta was falling to the ground, finally landing a shallow laceration on the side of Fleuretta’s stomach.

As Fleuretta fell back, and felt the blade cut her side, she let out an angry scream and shot a jet of fire up from her hands directly into Elsylynn’s face, causing Elsylynn to let out a scream of pain and back up, covering her face with her hands. Luckily, Elsylynn’s helmet and hood blocked most of the attack, but the sudden heat was enough to catch her off guard.

Noticing that Elsylynn was now off guard and clearly unstable, she took the opportunity to kick Elsylynn’s legs out from under her. As Elsylynn falls, Fleuretta quickly jumped back onto her feet and positioned herself over Elsylynn. She then heated up her fists and tried to slam them down onto Elsylynn. Elsylynn saw the fire engulf Fleuretta’s fists, and she quickly rolled out of the way, forcing Fleuretta to merely slam them onto the ground. Elsylynn then took the moment to pivot to her feet and lunge at Fleuretta, tackling her to the ground. Elsylynn positioned herself on top of Fleuretta and tried to plunge her dagger into Fleuretta’s heart. Fleuretta, however, quickly caught Elsylynn’s hand and kept it from plunging all the way.

The two struggled against each other for a while, pushing back and forth. Elsylynn refused to give up on her efforts though, and continued to push down upon Fleuretta with all of her might. Elsylynn’s dagger slowly descended upon Fleuretta as the tiny elf’s strength was too much for the pyromancer. Fleuretta’s hands begin to heat up around Elsylynn’s wrist as she manages to pull Elsylynn’s dagger up a bit, causing it to sink into her shoulder rather than her heart. Fleuretta let out a scream of pain as the heat surrounding her hands turned into a burning inferno. Elsylynn returned the scream of pain as she fell back. Fleuretta slapped the dagger away from Elsylynn as she fell back. Fleuretta stood up and placed her hand on the wound Elsylynn had just given her. Elsylynn backed up a bit from Fleuretta, still prone and clutching her now burned wrists. “All these new friends of yours. The second they know what you are, they’ll hate you just like the rest.” Fleuretta spit at Elsylynn as she took the chance to kick her face, knocking her to the floor.

Elsylynn rolled over and spit onto the ground as she shook her head. “You’re wrong. That won’t happen again. I’ve changed.”

Fleuretta laughed as she created a fireball in her hands. “Right, right. Says the bitch who came all this way just to fucking murder me.” Fleuretta then chucked the fireball at Elsylynn. Elsylynn side-eyed Fleuretta and waited for the moment she threw the fireball, at which point she immediately disappeared in a puff of shadowy smoke. She instantly reappeared above Fleuretta, falling down on top of her and wrapping her arms around her neck. Fleuretta gasped for air as Elsylynn began choking her. She flailed about fruitlessly for a moment before turning her back to a tree. She then backed into the tree as hard as she could, knocking the breath out of Elsylynn and forcing her to release the grip she had on Fleuretta.

The two both cough and sputter for a moment, trying to regain their breath. Fleuretta then began to create another fireball. “You little shit.” She threw the fireball at Elsylynn once again, and once again Elsylynn saw it coming and rolled out of the way. The fireball hit the tree, engulfing it for a moment before the rain slowly quelled the flames.

Elsylynn was still out of breath, falling to the ground on her knees after rolling off the tree. Fleuretta walked up to her and slammed her foot into Elsylynn’s face once again, knocking her fully to the ground. Fleuretta then positioned herself on Elsylynn’s back and wrapped her arms around her neck, beginning to choke Elsylynn just as Elsylynn had choked her. Fleuretta, however, had an added advantage. She began to heat up her arms and burned Elsylynn’s neck as she choked her.

Elsylynn struggled against Fleuretta futilely due to her position on the ground. There was no way she could get Fleuretta off with sheer strength. Instead, she started reaching for her dagger that she had dropped earlier, which was nearby her current position, but was just a few inches out of reach. Elsylynn continued to struggle and reach for the dagger as Fleuretta choked her out. Elsylynn’s vision began to fade as her fingers slowly grazed the dagger and moved it just a bit closer to her. She finally managed to wrap her fingers around it, just as she was close to passing out. She then quickly plunged the dagger into Fleuretta’s side.

Fleuretta let out a howl of pain as she released Elsylynn and fell backwards. Elsylynn coughed loudly as she struggled to fill her lungs with much needed air. Both of them took a moment to merely lay there in pain, before Elsylynn very slowly pushed herself up and located her other dagger. She stumbled a bit as she straightened herself out, glaring at Fleuretta who was clutching her side which was now bleeding profusely.

Elsylynn took in a few deep breaths before starting to spin her blades around. She gracefully, or at least as gracefully as she could at that point, moves her feet and her body in an almost dance sort of way. Fleuretta merely scoffed as she stood up, still clutching her side. “Ohh, NOW you finally show me what you’ve got. Come on then, speedy. Lets see that shadowdance.” Just as Fleuretta said the words, Elsylynn disappeared from sight. She then suddenly reappeared for less than a second, striking Fleuretta with her daggers as if it was a step in the dance she was performing. She then disappeared just as soon as she had appeared, appearing once again on the other side of Fleuretta and striking her in the same manner. Elsylynn continued this pattern of dancing in and out of the shadows, striking Fleuretta with each appearance.

Fleuretta let out yelps of pain as Elsylynn’s daggers found their mark each time. None of the strikes were lethal, but each of them hurt like hell. Fleuretta’s anger welled up as Elsylynn continued her dance, until she finally screamed. “Fuck OFF!” Fleuretta sent out a wave of flames in all directions in anger. Elsylynn was instantly thrown out of her dance as the wave connected with her, scorching her chest as it sent her flying back.

Fleureta fell to her knees as she released the wave. She held herself up with her hands as she spit out blood onto the ground. She was covered in cuts and stab wounds, to the point that the ground around her had begun to stain red. The fact that she was even still standing at this point was a testament to the unbelievable stubbornness she shared with Elsylynn. Elsylynn laid on the ground clutching her stomach as the pain had grown to be almost too much for her. She was not looking much better than Fleuretta at this point. She was covered in far less blood, or at least far less of her own blood, but that was merely due to the nature of Fleuretta’s attacks. She was covered in burns of varying degrees. After that last blast, even her armor had melted in some areas, some of it even fusing with her skin. Elsylynn very slowly stood up and recovered her daggers, staggering uncontrollable as she limps over to Fleuretta, who was still on her knees. She then pressed her dagger to Fleuretta’s neck. “It's over.”

“Good. Kill me then” Fleuretta chuckled as she spit out more blood. “Show me exactly who you are.” Elsylynn looked at Fleuretta for a moment, glaring at her as she contemplated. She pushed the dagger even closer to Fleuretta’s neck before finally removing it. “I don’t ever want to see you again.” She said as she dropped her daggers. 

Fleuretta looked at Elsylynn with anger as she spit at her. “Are you fucking kidding me? Too much of a fucking coward to finish the job?” Elsylynn shook her head as she turned around and began to slowly limp off, clutching her abdomen and wincing with each step. How far she could actually make it at this point with the injuries she had sustained was unclear, but she was sure as hell gonna try to do it herself. “You said it yourself…. If I kill you, I haven’t changed at all.” Fleuretta continued to glare at Elsylynn as she walked off. She then finally just smiled as she slowly stands up, clutching her side. “Good. I wasn’t quite done yet. If I understand correctly, I missed one, right?” Elsylynn stopped in her tracks as Fleuretta spoke. “I’ll make sure your sister joins your parents soon.”

Elsylynn let out a little sigh before turning around and running, or at least limping quickly, at Fleuretta. Fleuretta was prepared for it though, and attempted to slam it into Elsylynn, but Elsylynn shadowstepped at the last second, appearing behind Fleuretta and wrapping her arms around her neck once again. This time, Elsylynn kicked Fleuretta’s legs, and sent her falling to the ground on top of Elsylynn.

Fleuretta wasn’t going out so easily though. She put her hands on Elsylynn’s arms and started to heat them up, burning Elsylynn’s arms as she choked her. Elsylynn let out a scream of pain, but she continued to choke Fleuretta. The pain didn’t matter anymore. Elsylynn then began to grab for one of her daggers she had dropped nearby.

The two struggled for a while, both nearing the very end of how much they could take. Elsylynn finally got the dagger in her hand though, and she plunged it into Fleuretta’s carotid artery. 

The second the dagger entered and exited Fleuretta’s neck, the burning on Elsylynn’s arm stopped. Fleuretta’s blood began gushing from her neck uncontrollably as the life finally left her. Elsylynn continued to plunge the dagger into her, though. Stabbing her over and over again, covering herself in more and more of her blood. 

Once she was finally satisfied, Elsylynn dropped her dagger and pushed Fleuretta’s lifeless body off of her. She laid on the ground motionless for a moment, staring up into the sky. She then finally called out for help over the seal.

“I need help… Wetlands… Northeast of Menethil Harbor…” That was the most she could manage to get out. She then continued to lay there, motionless, waiting for whatever help may arrive. She was only conscious for a few minutes longer before her body finally couldn’t take it anymore.

[pauperpedia]

What’s the future for Aggro?

Pauper will never be the same after Commander Legends. This has been the set everyone wanted, but at the same time it seems everyone is fearful of it, and rightfully so. We've gotten access to some very powerful cards in regard to control, midrange, and tron strategies which will shape the format for a long time to come. Aggro decks, however, did not get any new toys or bigger creatures with which to counteract all these new cards. So which cards am I framing here that could make aggro a less than viable option when figuring out a deck to play in the future?

Well, Pauper finally got the sweeper that people have talked about for years in the form of Fiery Cannonade. Now, if you look at the sweepers we had before, they mostly did one damage or gave -1/-1 to each creature until the end of turn, which was fine because most of the time these were sideboard cards you would bring in against token decks or go wide strategies. One could argue we already had Pestilence, Crypt Rats, and Evincar's Justice. My argument would be is that Fiery Cannonade is not only one mana cheaper, but a heck of a lot easier to cast when it comes to color requirements. It's also instant speed which is a huge deal when it comes to control decks or anything that runs Mystical Teachings. Some decks already run Suffocating Fumes in the mainboard, in part due to its cycle ability when it's dead, so I'm curious to see if any decks would run this mainboard as well. This set also opened up the playable color pie when it comes to Monarch cards. Monarch is a mechanic that was created primarily for multi-player formats. It is an effect that cannot be permanently removed from the game state once it's introduced. If a player controls the monarch, they draw a card at the beginning of their end step. The only way to lose or gain the monarch is to deal or have combat damage dealt to you via creatures. In multiplayer formats this is a fun mechanic that encourages people to attack in the face of any in game politics. The player holding the monarch becomes a target for other players to come after them. In a 1v1 scenario, however, this means that the main focus once the Monarch once has been introduced to the game state is to protect it. I think we can all agree protecting something against one assailant is a lot easier than protecting something from multiple. The main goal is to amass more resources than your opponent and eventually kill them in the long game. In order to protect the monarch, decks utilize fog tacticts to delay the game in the monarch's favor. This leads to long, drawn out, and uninteresting games for the aggro player once this situation presents itself. Commander Legends gave blue two very powerful monarch cards, Fall from Favor & Azure Fleet Admiral. Fall from Favor is an unprecedented enchantment-aura spell which can give a player the monarch for three mana. Being able to lock down a creature that would threaten to take the monarch away and give you the monarch at the same time doesn't bode well for any aggressive decks not holding up targeted protection. Then you have the Admiral, which not only gives you the monarch, but also makes it so that you can take it back relatively easy allowing you to set up situtations to lock your opponent out from getting the monarch back in the future. I guess Azure Fleet Admiral dies to Lightning Bolt and Savage Swipe, but any decent player running monarch cards will most likely have resources at hand to deal with that outcome.

So how will aggro decks adapt to overcome these hurdles? I've had the great plasure to chat with some of our formats well known players. A common concern regarding aggro decks is their ability to recover from board wipes now that Fiery Cannon is a thing. Stompy is the biggest deck that could suffer. Most of Stompy's creatures are 2/2s so they can take full advantage of Savage Swipe. As the deck stands now, it will hinge on whether or not they can represent lethal by turn three or have a creature big enough by casting Hunger of the Howlpack. The problem with that is that even a really good hand, presenting lethal by turn three is highly unlikely. Even having one big creature puts a Stompy player in a bad position due in part to Skred, Cast Down, Defile, and Snuff out to name a few removal cards that could be run alongside Fiery Cannonade.

Calpine, a notable Tortured Existence player and daily Pauper Twitch streamer, told me he thinks aggro decks will have two paths moving forward. One path relies on going even harder on faster kills, and ignoring midrange stuff like Elephant Guide, in favor of Groundswell. I wonder if perhaps Stompy will go back to its roots and focus more on one drops that go in for a quick kill? Calpine said another path is for aggro players is to build a deck with more resilient threats or rely on burn more. Calpine noted that creatures like Mogg War Marshall, Safehold Elite, Young Wolf, etc. will become more popular. He also said that red decks will lean more heavily on burn them out strategies. I think creatures like Viashino Pyromancer & Orcish Hellraiser are decent candidates that could see more play. Goblin decks could also run pirates which dodge Fiery Cannonade, so I think creatures like Fanatical Firebrand & Goblin Trailblazer have a chance at seeing more play as well.

Zimplfy aka NotGood on MTGO, host of the UnFamiliar Territory podcast & all around good guy, went on to say that Elves is definetely going to get hurt by Fiery Cannonade. There was some discussion floating around that Wrap in Vigor could be an option, but both Zimplfy and I don't think that would be good enough. So, like all good investigative reporters, I sought out an Elves expert to find out how Elves could adapt. Thankfully Walker735 was willing to give their insight. Walker735 went on to say that Elves already has a lot of answers. Hydroblast, Prohibit, Negate, Dispel, and previously mentioned Wrap in Vigor are the best examples. It's just a matter of which ones will end as the best answers moving forward as it pertains to the metagame. Walker735 said this about what they want from their protection spell suite: 1) 2-3 protection spells in the main that are useful more or less in every matchup. 2) A combination of 4-6 protection spells in the 75 for every relevant matchup. 3) The protection spells used in the matchups have to not only be effective, but also efficient. Post Fiery Cannonade, Elves will probably have to give up on some sideboard slots that used to be dedicated to other things. This is a shame because it will weaken the overall deck, but hopefully not too much. Walker735 said it's difficult to theorycraft a specific protection spell suite already, beacause we dont have the data for what the metagame will look like. They're confident, however, that with all the good options available, Elves will be able to come up with a suite of protection spells that meet the requirements.

As someone who loves playing the white slice of magic's color pie, there are only two options when it comes to aggro decks. You have Heroic, a deck focused on buffing your creatures and holding up protection, or you have White Weenie which can either go wide or try and play like Stompy albeit not as efficiently. I think its pretty safe to assume any White Weenie strategy is now most likely dead, if it was even alive to begin with. In order to combat an efficient sweeper like Fiery Cannonade, White Weenie decks would have to run mainboard protection spells like Hallow or creatures like Loyal Cathar and Doomed Traveler. The main thing holding White Weenie and Heroic back, is the lack of card draw playing white has to offer. There's no coming back from early removal followed by a boardwipe, there's no Winding Way or Lead the Stampede. Until pauper gets downshifts or new relevant white cards in the format that not only combat sweepers more efficiently, but spells that can bring you back from the brink, white will continue being a support color in pauper strategies. Moving Forward now that we have an interesting downshift in Champion of the Flame and a new card in Benevolent Blessing (a more efficient Cho-Manno's Blessing), Heroic could become a Boros deck. This could change could give Heroic more reach, but at the same time you run the risk of losing early tempo now that you run two colors. Hexproof is already a really good deck that often loses to its own manabase, and I think running Boros Heroic just makes the deck a worse attempt at what Hexproof already does.

I think early on in the Post Commander Legends era, aggressive decks will find it hard to grab a decent foothold in the metagame. I think the most viable aggro decks moving forward will be Hexproof, Affinity, and I think you might see a resurgance in Tireless Tribe if you could classify that as an aggro deck. All three of these decks have ways of killing an opponent early, dodge Fiery Cannonade, and have answers when it comes to fighting monarch style decks. Deluxeicoff, original deck designer & host of Pauperganda, stated that Benevolent Blessing will be a house in Hexproof. It will be hard to measure how many feel right in the deck, but the deck will just "feel better/more consistent. In addition to that, I’d like to add that Hexproof also has access to cards like Essence Harvest which it brings in against decks that try to fog combat or prevent damage with Prismatic Strands. The two paired up do sound nice. Affinity is already a strong deck that has been on a recent trend of playing Jeskai Colors. I think the new addition of Fiery Cannonade will force Affinity to go back to playing Myr Enforcer and Carapace Forger and forgo the white splash in Glint Hawk, Thraben Inspector, and Kor Skyfisher. Tireless Tribe is a fun deck that could see a rise in success. Benevolent Blessing is definitely a card that can give this deck a boost. The built in ability for Tribe to dodge sweepers and mainboard counters to beat fogs, could make Tireless Tribe a sleeper deck that could spike a tournament or burn through a league with good results.

Of course, all of the above is heavily reliant on Fiery Cannonade being the major factor when it comes to aggro's demise. It will most likely be an abundance of factors that combine the influx of newer and cheaper monarch cards as well as the new sweeper. Keep in mind, the sweeper hits non pirates only and the new relevant monarch creatures are both pirates. I actually had a dream where a new UR Pirates deck was running amok and was the new deck to beat. While this nightmare scenario is just that, a fictional nightmare, it's not that crazy. I think you will see UR Faeries try to make a comeback. You started to see the deck deploy a more robust land selection so that it could reliably cast Crown-Hunter Hireling. Let's be honest, while it did put up results briefly, Crown-Hunter Hireling is a horrible card. Now, you can have the monarch on turn three with Fall from Favor if you need it, and can continue to get the monarch back if you lost it thanks to Azure Fleet-Admiral. This kind of tempo and card advantage will spell disaster for opposing aggro decks. Only time will tell which will be worse for aggro decks; the introduction of an easy to cast three mana "sweeper" at instant speed, or the new monarch cards in blue which was already a strong color to begin with.

[moontheoretist]

Warden Commander Amell would be really badass during the Inquisition

Considering the fact, that all specialisations and spells, which we could have learnt during the game series, are changing all the time I decided to rebuild my Warden Commander (Warden Amell), because it’s pointless to base her abilities on these, which are available in the Inquisition’s trees. Some of the spells are the same, of course. But a lot of entropy magic is not considered at all. Which kills me, because I liked to use this kind of magic. Also, I noticed that fire magic spells are weaker in DAI than in DAO. (We don’t even have a fireball spell, bitch please).

That’s why I’m going to describe my headcanon tree for my Warden Commander during the Dragon Age Inquisition, including her specialisation. (One, because in DA2 and DAI we can only have one specialisation).

The highest level in the Inquisition is 27. But Warden Commander as a Hero of Ferelden could be a little stronger, because of fighting with the Darkspawns during DAO: Awakening and ten years of peace after that. That’s why I will create some trees, considering the fact that the Warden’s level can be higher than our Inquisitor’s in the end of the game.

ENTROPY MAGIC TREE (from DAO but in DAI style):

1. Weakness (active) - The caster drains a target of energy, inflicting penalties to attack and defense, as well as reducing its movement speed.

2. Miasma (passive) - The caster radiates an aura of weakness, hindering nearby enemies with penalties to attack and defense. They can also suffer a penalty to movement speed.

3. Paralysis (active) - The caster saps a target's energy, paralyzing it for a time. If spells is less effective, its movement speed is reduced instead.

Upgrade: Mass Paralysis - All hostile targets in the area are paralyzed for a short time. If the spell is less effective their movement speed is reduced instead.

4. Vulnerability Hex (active) - The target suffers a hex that inflicts penalties to cold resistance, electricity resistance, fire resistance, nature resistance, and spirit resistance. 

Upgrade: Affliction Hex - A contagious hex inflicts penalties to cold resistance, electricity resistance, fire resistance, nature resistance, and spirit resistance on the target and all other enemies nearby.

Upgrade: Death Hex - The target suffers a hex of lethal bad luck. Every normal hit it suffers becomes a critical hit.

5. Misdirection Hex (active) - The target suffers a frustrating hex of inaccuracy. All hits become misses, while critical hits become normal hits.

6. Drain Life (active) - The caster creates a sinister bond with the target, draining its life energy in order to heal the caster. 

Upgrade: Death Magic - While active, the caster draws in nearby entropic energy, draining residual life-force from any dead enemy nearby to heal the caster.

7. Curse of Mortality (active) - The caster curses a target with the inevitability of true death. While cursed, it cannot heal or regenerate health and takes continuous spirit damage.

8. Death Cloud (active) -The caster summons a cloud of leeching entropic energy that deals continuous spirit damage to all who enter.

WINTER MAGIC TREE (combined tree with spells from DAO, DA2 and DAI):

1. Winter's Grasp (active) - The caster envelops the target in frost, freezing lower-level targets solid. Those that resist suffer a penalty to movement speed. [DAO]

Upgrade: Winter’s Blast - Winter's Grasp is now likely to freeze opponents, and may leave some in a BRITTLE state that warriors and rogues can exploit. [DA2]

2. Fade Step (active) - You let invisible wave of magic carry you forward, blurring ahead a short distance. [DAI]

Upgrade: Frost Step - Passing through enemies hurts them and leaves them chilled. [DAI]

Upgrade: Energizing Step - Each time you pass through an enemy with Fade Step, you gain mana. [DAI]

3. Cone of Cold (active) - A cone of deadly ice shoots forth from the mage's hands to injure and slow opponents. [DA2]

Upgrade: Deep Freeze - The Cone of Cold freeze some enemies solid, and may even leave them BRITTLE, vulnerable to further attacks. [DA2]

4. Frost Weapons (active) - While this mode is active, the caster enchants the party's weapons with frost so that they deal additional cold damage with each melee attack. [DAO]

5. Blizzard (active) - An ice storm deals continuous cold damage to everyone in the targeted area and slows their movement speed while granting bonuses to defense and fire resistance. Targets can fall or be frozen solid. [DAO]

FIRE MAGIC TREE (combined tree with spells from DAO and DA2):

1. Flame Blast (active) - The caster's hands erupt with a cone of flame, inflicting fire damage on all targets in the area for a short time. [DAO]

2. Flaming Weapons (active) -While this spell is active, the caster enchants the party's melee weapons with flame so that they deal additional fire damage with each successful attack. [DAO]

3. Fireball (active) - The caster's hands erupt with an explosive ball of flame, inflicting lingering fire damage on all targets in the area as well as knocking them off their feet. [DAO]

Upgrade: Searing Fireball - Fireball scorches a larger area and is more likely to send enemies flying. [DA2]

4. Pyromancer (passive) - Long practice with wielding flame increases all fire damage that the mage inflicts, including basic attacks from a fire staff. [DA2]

5. Inferno (active) - The caster summons a huge column of swirling flame. All targets in the area take constant fire damage as they burn. [DAO]

LIGHTNING MAGIC TREE (combined tree with spells from DAO and DAI):

1. Lightning (active) - The caster fires a bolt of lightning at a target, dealing electricity damage. [DAO]

Upgrade: Exploding Bolt - Lightning Bolt does more damage if there are other enemies nearby, and if there are enough close to the striking point, a wave of force will knock back all enemies except for the paralyzed primary target. [DAI]

Upgrade: Lightning Cascade - Lightning Bolt now paralyzes other enemies near your main target. The more enemies it affects, the shorter the duration. [DAI]

SPIRIT TREE + ARCANE TREE (from DAO and DAO: Awakening but in DAI style):

1. Mana Drain (active) - The caster creates a parasitic bond with a spellcasting target, absorbing a small amount of mana from it.

2. Spell Shield (active) - While this ability is active, any hostile spell targeted at the caster has a 75% chance of being absorbed into the Fade, draining mana instead. Once all mana has been depleted, the shield collapses.

3. Fade Shield (active) - The mage alters Arcane Shield to step partway into the Fade, adding a significant chance of resisting hostile spells or evading physical attacks while that spell is active, and a lesser chance of both when the spell is inactive.

4. Elemental Mastery (passive) - The mage has learned to amplify the effects of each of the elements, increasing any elemental damage inflicted by other attacks.

5. Attunement (passive) - The mage has become more attuned to surrounding magical energies, gaining bonuses to willpower, magic, and mana regeneration.

SPECIALISATION: BATTLEMAGE TREE (from DAO: Awakening but in DAI style):

1. Draining Aura (active) - The battlemage thrives in the heat of combat, creating a field that drains life from nearby enemies to heal the mage for as long as the spell is active. Each time an enemy is drained, the spell consumes a small amount of the battlemage's mana.

2. Hand of Winter (active) - The battlemage releases a burst of intense cold, damaging nearby enemies as well as freezing them and inflicting a penalty to movement speed otherwise.

3. Stoic (passive) - The battlemage has learned to harness pain and transform it into power, restoring mana whenever the mage suffers damage.

4. Elemental Chaos (active) - The battlemage creates a field of chaotic, swirling energy that continuously harms nearby enemies with damage from each of the elements in turn for as long as this spell is active. The spell consumes mana rapidly.

I don’t think that it’s too much considering the fact that in DAI we can choose only one upgrade. Without upgrades we have here 28 abilities. With them there are 39 abilities (36, because of compulsion to choose), which gives us more or less the highest level of the Warden Commander after DAO: Awakening. It’s the limit in the game. After ten years without a huge amount of Darkspawn it would increase only a little or not at all. I hope that it seems fair enough.