A World at War - Level 7 Missions

Special thanks (again) to Omega Sanction..

THE MAGES OF VARU'S TOWER
(Human-Human-Human)

"Darius on the loose, orcs advancing through the forests," Pozak grumbled to himself. "What else can go wrong?"

A messenger brought him a scroll, and seeing his expression, quickly retreated. There were crashing noises inside the tent, and Pozak strode out.

"Varu and his mages think they can join this little rebellion. They're wrong."

MISSION: Demonstrate the mages' error to them.

SQUADS: CONTROL
We will be fighting humans so we're expecting infantry units. I decided to go with archers, but only 1 squad to avoid Chain Zap.

Zarin Boltcaller
Estian Cleric (3)
Aanglor Bladesman (1)
Aanglor Veteran (1)
Estian Wizard (1)

Adamans Firehand
Aanglor Highguard (2)
Heavy Pikeman (1)
Aanglor Knight (1)
Aanglor Veteran (1)
Estian Cleric (1)

Firestarter Arfalas
Silvintri Mage (1)
Silvintri Marksman (3)
Aanden Venombow (2)

BATTLE LINKS:
http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5e9971-ff10-472a-a4eb-1042c0a8012b

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5e9e96-21fc-4fb5-9d15-17d2c0a80130

I don't know if it's because of lack of sleep or just sheer ignorance, but I never saw the Warlords coming, plus the number of Blast and Zap spells is just overwhelming, making Clerics almost useless here. Still, we were able to pull it through. With the amount of tech units in the opponent's deck, I think Trap will work here if you're going with a control theme. Block is also not useful here as the enemy relies much on special damage.

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5e9b5e-5698-405e-81bf-5884c0a8013b

We lost this match, we can see how Block is barely useful here.

With Zap, Retaliate and the Blast/Zap spells, it is clear that the opponent's aim is unit elimination. Like other control decks, this require setting up a good defensive line first in order to uhm well, establish control. I think Silvintri Marksman is the best counter here as it can one-shot any unit that the opponent has. Allowing a Chain Zapper to live for another turn is just too risky, so the key to this scenario when playing control is to kill fast (either the opposing unit or the player) as the opponent can easily turn the table once he gets too many zappers, especially with spell support.

SQUADS: AGGRO
I'm not really sure if our aggro setup can make it as the match with control shows that the opponent runs a squad that can easily waste cats and dogs.

Landen Hawkeye
Silvintri Archer (3)
Shadow Panther (3)

Blademaster Wilaren
Aanden Silverback (3)
Silvintri Warrior (1)
Forest Crawler (2)

Sicilis Stonefist
Estian Wardogs (2)
Estian Skullcrusher (2)
Estian Warrior (1)
Aanglor Footman (1)

Well, this is not much of a rush, but this is perhaps the fastest, safest rush that we can pull off, considering the crappiness of Novice cards that we have.

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5e9759-4e34-4a02-8469-7799c0a8012e

Well, the pseudo-aggro worked, but barely. It seems that going with cats and dogs ain't a bad idea here as they can come out faster than the apes plus they can one-shot any unit that the opponent can drop on the table. In my opinion, cats and dogs are pretty much on par with the Venombow when facing Estian Warlords, as the result can be decided on who'll score the first hit. With this in mind, the beast is better offensively, as it does huge morale damage. With the average Deploy cost of the opponent's deck, it is highly likely that the opposing unit will face a meatshield rather than your beasts. Still, it's kinda risky, so it's your call.

I went back to the risky old aggro setup that we used in the previous missions - The Grays (I call it The Grays as the deck contains only gray non-hero cards).

Landen Hawkeye
Forest Crawler (3)
Shadow Panther (3)

Blademaster Wilaren
Shadow Panther (3)
Silvintri Warrior (1)
Forest Crawler (2)

Sicilis Stonefist
Estian Wardogs (2)
Estian Skullcrusher (3)
Estian Warrior (1)

As I've mentioned in the other missions/guides, this deck's aim is to drop a line of chump units/meat walls then strike the enemy's morale with cats and dogs. Just imagine yourself holding an unbelievably large shield on one hand and a BFG on the other.

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ea187-2a0c-494d-a33c-1327c0a8012f

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ea1fb-d6ac-4838-a3c0-5974c0a8012a

This setup works great when facing slower armies, but loses power as squad size increases as the deck tends to lose gas against opponents with high morale.

THE DARK SCOUTS
(Human-Human-Human-Undead)

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"That whoreson Darius out for a walk with a bunch of zombies? Looks like."

"The Lord General isn't going to like this, Isidore."

"No," Isidore said. "I reckon he isn't. Let's give him some good news to go with the bad. Sound the attack!"

MISSION: Disperse the undead and rebel scouts

SQUADS: AGGRO
Landen Hawkeye
Forest Crawler (3)
Shadow Panther (3)

Blademaster Wilaren
Shadow Panther (3)
Silvintri Warrior (1)
Forest Crawler (2)

Sicilis Stonefist
Estian Wardogs (2)
Estian Skullcrusher (3)
Estian Warrior (1)

Three squads? Yep. Only three. I think I've mentioned this in the other missons/guides before. Sometimes, it's better to go with lesser squads, especially if you don't have enough good cards to make another squad. In such situations, running a filler squad will lessen the chances of drawing the good cards, thus decreasing the chances of having an early good setup. So, we are going with three as we want to avoid drawing unneeded cards as much as possible. Sometimes, there are people bragging in chat that they used only two squads against the opponent's three or four. Well, this is not an amazing feat at all as they have better chances of getting the cards that they need. They may say that they have lesser life than the opponent, but this argument does not prove anything. Having a better chance of getting the right cards is always better than having a higher life/morale value. MTG players will surely understand what I'm saying here, especially those who were playing in the Necro-Summer days (try asking an MTG veteran to play against you with a 60-card deck while you're using 30 cards or less. surely, you'll get a sucker punch or two).

BATTLE LINKS:
http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5eaf0d-b4c4-478f-a63e-4356c0a8012e

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5eaf64-6404-428a-a397-3050c0a80130

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5eb275-a478-4be8-aaf1-7896c0a8012a

SQUADS: CONTROL
Zarin Boltcaller
Estian Cleric (4)
Estian Wizard (1)
Aanglor Bladesman (1)

Sicilis Stonefist
Estian Cleric (1)
Aanglor Highguard (3)
Wall of Spears (2)

Firestarter Arfalas
Silvintri Mage (1)
Silvintri Marksman (3)
Aanden Venombow (2)

Firestarter Arfalas
Dangerous Paths (4)
Aanden Wolverine (2)

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ea509-2e0c-4e39-b6b2-4296c0a8012b

The opponent just had a sucky draw here, I think as the trolls came too late.

Some new players are having problems with this mission, saying that the troll is just too much for them. I won't disagree with this. The troll is strong, especially when using the Novice set where flyers are nonexistent. Because of this mission tends to be tough, but still beatable.

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ea672-f4dc-47b8-bb17-64bcc0a8013b

This is a link where we lost. The opponent had a good setup here, especially with Ririk holding a sap blade.

These things might help out those who want to go with control in this mission:
1.) The opponent's theme is mainly unit elimination, supported by Sap to weaken your units. Thus, it is preferable to go with units that do special damage here. If using archers, it's better to go with Marksmen over Venombows as the former can still attack after one hit. Retaliate, Zap and Heal are pretty useful here. Another thing, the opponent relies much on the spell, Rust, rather than on the Wailing Ghost in terms of Sap, so going with Block to counter ghost won't do much.
2.) Trappers are good here, especially when mixed with Zappers and Healers. Just remember to go lightly with Retaliate if you're going heavy on Trap as it pretty much makes Retaliate useless.
3.) Splash some units that does heavy damage. It is better to go for the morale while doing the trap lock as the longer the match goes, the higher chance the opponent gets in breaking the lock.

THE BLACK ARMY
(Undead-Undead-Undead-Undead)

"So, Priestess, it seems we have another army on the march."

Enyi traced the troop movements on the map. "It didn't take the Abtu-Kahn long to reassemble their forces," she said. "What are we going to do now."

"Now?" Pozak said. "Now we slow them down, keep them tied up while we build up our own defenses."

"Are you ready for this?" Enyi asked.

Pozak paused and thought.

MISSION: Slow down the Black Army.

SQUADS: AGGRO
Landen Hawkeye
Forest Crawler (3)
Shadow Panther (3)

Blademaster Wilaren
Shadow Panther (3)
Silvintri Warrior (1)
Forest Crawler (2)

Sicilis Stonefist
Estian Wardogs (2)
Estian Skullcrusher (3)
Estian Warrior (1)

BATTLE LINKS:
http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ebaa6-cee4-4b8b-84cf-7a99c0a80127

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ebb0e-3f50-48f9-9934-59adc0a80129

Aggro is still possible here but it relies TOO much on the opponent's opening draw. Still, it's worth to try if there are no other options available.

SQUADS: CONTROL
A control freak eh? This can be really hard as the opponent's Festering Trolls never seem to end. The troll can one-shot more than 95% of units in the Novice set as it deals 3 damage plus the -1 health from Disease. The only units that can survive this are the "1/5 foot soldiers and 'specialty' units (pikemen, riders)." Since the REWARD packs (note the stress on "reward") are too generous to give lots of these little guys, perhaps, it's about time that they see play. Of course, some control players will scoff at this deck as it looks like an aggro. I admit it, this is indeed an aggro deck modified to have a little control theme.

MEET THE GRAYS 2.0:
Sicilis Stonefist
Aanglor Footman (3)
Estian Warrior (1)
Estian Wardog (2)

Grovekeeper Dyrbral
Silvintri Defender (4)
Silvintri Warrior (1)
Shadow Panther (1)

Landen Hawkeye
Shadow Panther (6)

Blademaster Wilaren
Dangerous Path (6)

The units utilized in this deck are given away by the Novice packs like there's no tomorrow so we'll try to utilize these. The object of the deck is just like the aggro-wall - drop meatwalls then finish with cats and dogs. This time, we'll be using Dangerous Paths to prolong the life of our defensive line. Wall of Spears is not advisable to use as it doesn't do damage to morale plus with a Path in play, they will just sit on the table doing nothing.

BATTLE LINK:
http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ec58e-7b3c-4b42-8e8f-23d1c0a80126

Hmm... Good enough, but the deck would be better with the old Silverbacks.

Since the possibility of having this exact squad is slim, here's a list of heroes/units to use plus alternatives:

Heroes: Grovekeeper Dyrbral and Sicilis Stonefist. They are probably the best as they tend to last long in the field, enough for the cats and dogs to deal damage. Landen and Wilaren are good options too as attackers. If going with offensive heroes, perhaps it would be better to add more defensive units to have a good balance of meatwalls and damage dealers.

Units: Silvintri Defender/Aanglor Footman - the best overall as they tend to last in the field. Dangerous Path for Trap (the elf/human 6 drop 1/2 trappers can be utilized too but I find them a bit slow). Other alternatives are the 4-wait 2/3 warriors and the Skullcrusher, though I'd choose the warriors as they can last a turn against a regular vanilla 2-attack unit.

Most units in the Human faction have exact counterparts in the Elf faction, i.e. Shadow Panther = Estian Wardogs, Silvintri Warrior = Aanglor Warrior, etc. Because of this, there can be lots of variation for this deck, but the key here is to have the right chemistry. Having too many trappers can slow the deck a lot and I admit our list above has far too many Paths.

UNHOLY ALLIANCE
(Undead-Undead-Human-Human)

"They just keep coming! And now your people are joining them!"

"They aren't my people any more, Enyi. You know that."

"It's just . . . relentless," Enyi said. "We win battles, but the war keeps slipping away from us. We're losing."

Pozak rested his hands on her shoulders. "I know the way seems dark, Enyi. But I believe there is hope flickering in there somewhere. You've made me believe it."

He gave her a gentle squeeze, then let go. "Believe in the things you've helped me to believe in," he said. "That's all I ask."

MISSION: Push the undead and rebel forces back.

SQUADS USED:
Sicilis Stonefist
Aanglor Footman (3)
Estian Warrior (1)
Estian Wardog (2)

Grovekeeper Dyrbral
Silvintri Defender (4)
Silvintri Warrior (1)
Shadow Panther (1)

Landen Hawkeye
Shadow Panther (6)

Blademaster Wilaren
Dangerous Path (6)

The Unholy Alliance is made up mostly of Estian Wizard, Rangers, occasional Cultists (of Kulnar) and lots of Festering Trolls. A more aggressive approach is recommended here as the opponent's deck is relatively slow.

Because "The Grays" are winning, we will be using them here (and in future missions unless that certain mission can't be beaten by sheer grayness).

BATTLE LINKS:
http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ece7f-0a88-4c81-9f25-0eeec0a8013a

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ed057-9e34-489b-a913-5a27c0a80128

ASSAULT ON THE WALLS
(Human-Human-Undead-Undead)

"So it's come to this. A vast army is at our gates. There are no more delaying actions, no more retreats. Now we throw them back, or we die."

Pozak looked at the men assembled before them. He said, "The situation looks grim! I will not make light of it. But our walls are stout and our courage unmatched. The enemy has committed everything to destroying us, and when we break their attacks today, we break their hold upon our land."

"So ready your weapons, men! The Light will be with us this day, and so will victory!"

MISSION: Throw back the first assault.

We tried The Grays (control) here thrice but was not able to beat the opponent, so we tried going with real control.

The Human-Undead assault team is composed mostly of mages (Estian Wizard/Battlemage, Abtu Khan Priest/Acolyte ), with some DRZ and Putrid Daggers thrown in the bunch. The theme is a bit reminiscent of a classic Zap/Blast squad - regenerating DRZ's and draining Acolytes for tanking while dropping Wizards and Priests to kill opposing units.

SQUADS: CONTROL
Sicilis Stonefist
Estian Cleric (3)
Estian Wizard (3)

Firestarter Arfalas
Silvintri Mage (1)
Silvintri Marksman (4)
Silvintri Boltmage (1)

Zarin Boltcaller
Aanglor Highguard (2)
Aanglor Veteran (2)
Aanglor Bladesman (1)
Estian Cleric (1)

Firestarter Arfalas
Dangerous Path (4)
Aanden Silverback (2)

Since the opponent is using infantry, decided to go with archers, but opted not to use Venombows because of Disease. I went with the regular Block plus Retaliate with the Highguards, backed up with Clerics and Wizards. The deck also has three blasters - 2 Firestarter Arfalas and 1 Silvintri Mage.

BATTLE LINKS:
http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ede9a-63b4-4fc9-b068-0e31c0a80128

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ee00f-a7d8-4697-9860-4fb7c0a8012d

THE NIGHT ATTACK
(Undead-Undead-Undead-Undead-Undead)

"Pretty quiet out there tonight, Gallis."

"Yes, Captain."

"It's still Isidore, old friend. At least when the men are out of earshot. Think it'll stay quiet?"

"Maybe. But I was thinking -- ghosts don't make a lot of noise."

"I hate it when you're right, Gallis."

MISSION: Stop the attacking ghosts.

SQUADS: CONTROL
Sicilis Stonefist
Estian Cleric (3)
Estian Wizard (3)

Firestarter Arfalas
Silvintri Mage (1)
Silvintri Marksman (4)
Silvintri Boltmage (1)

Zarin Boltcaller
Aanglor Highguard (2)
Aanglor Veteran (2)
Aanglor Bladesman (1)
Estian Cleric (1)

Firestarter Arfalas
Dangerous Path (4)
Aanden Silverback (2)

The opponent runs an Apparition deck with Unnamed One as hero and some Recycles and Demonic Rituals. Going tech here can be annoying because of the Immune Mist Stalkers. Still, the opponent has only several of these to worry about and I managed to beat this mission with luck and a good hand with a tech deck.

I used the same deck here, not because of the principle that I mentioned above, but because I was too lazy to change decks.

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ee2a8-61fc-48f2-b14b-7457c0a8012c

This is a lucky win. With Dual Arfy in play, the opponent just succumbed. Perhaps luck plus having a lower card count played a factor here. I haven't seen anyone asking help for the Night Prowlers, so I decided to just give it another try and a just stop there.

http://www.warstorm.com/battle/view/4a5ee64a-fdac-49e1-9135-7a8cc0a80126

To anyone having trouble with this mission, try to go with Retaliate and Blast as Death Aura can be quite annoying. Damage from specials is also quite useful when facing units with DA. Block is good here as the enemy has no real source of Special damage except from the Wisps. Having both Retaliate and Block, the Highguard really shines, especially with enough Blast/Zap and Heal support.

End of level 7 mission guide.. Thanks for reading..