Solo Playthroughs' Mage Rankings in Mage Knight!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

So, I was supposed to be starting a live playthrough right about now...but I'm a bit sick and I didn't think you all would appreciate Arythea Dungeon diving through a series of coughs/sniffles. :) Instead, you get this Top 10, which I was originally was going to publish a week from now. Really excited to get this one out there though! I'll be back with the Dungeon Lords live playthrough in two weeks. Happy Gaming! Greg

[@Sajatzsiraf]

It must be some manticore poison...

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

If anyone was going to figure it out, I knew it would be you!! :)

[@tzera_rhuon]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Tzera!

[@nocken89perfil2]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Tovak worst hero? That was inconceivable! Now for your next solo you must play with him! lmao

[@johnathankokoski]

Great list! I loved Tovak at first because he is so defensive, especially with his block skill. I hated wounds and was scared to take chances. And then I watched your videos and my mages’ decks became a bloody mess lol

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Johnathan! I honestly liked Tovak a lot as I learned the game...but the "defense first" strategy becomes more problematic as you take on higher level challenges - at least for how I play the game. Speaking of which, I take more than a little bit of pride in your "bloody mess" deed decks! :)

[@schmoopy77]

I love mage knight, haven’t played it in over a year, it was the first solo game I every played, and got me into terraforming Mars and spirits island! I own the base game, and volkares expansion, just haven’t played because it’s such a complex game to dive into after a long time! Great rankings! I find herbalist is kind of op, and can lead to some really great combos with other powerful units!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Michael! Yeah - I didn't add the Lost Legion content until I won a solo conquest at 5-8 with all of the original 4 mages, and I think that served me well as I learned the game. And yeah - the Herbalists can be really helpful, although I rarely take them these days, as I prefer a lot of the Regular Units more and will find other ways to heal/get mana.

[@rambler209]

3:45 a Cannipult is a trebuchet that enjoys eating catapults on the weekends.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Sounds reasonable. But I definitely had to Google "trebuchet"! :)

[@stephenfarrell8587]

I expect that the catapult comes with its own Ettins or oxen to pull it through forests and over hills while the puny humans are just there to deploy it. Also, they would have a cook to provide your hero with snacks! Cheers

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Snacks! Now you’re talking! Hopefully there’s a mead or two as well! 🤣

[@bryanscollick8305]

Feel better real soon! Thanks again for your list!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Bryan!

[@WillStecho]

Thanks for the video. I'm a pretty new player but I've had a lot of success with Norowas and Arythea but I haven't really been able to grok Krang, so I've pretty much ignored him. Thanks for breaking him down. Can't wait to give him a try.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

You’re welcome! Much of my early success with Mage Knight was with Norowas and Arythea as well. Krang is definitely the trickiest to learn but once you start getting max value out of his skills and unique cards, he’s just ridiculous! Good luck! 🙂

[@djv2041]

"Call to arms" is the spell that allows to use a unit's ability or to recruit one, i think

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yep! That's the one! :)

[@sartopia8969]

Thanks for the top, learned a lot. I actually never played Krang before, definitely will !

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

You're welcome! And Krang is so cool - I didn't fully "get" his deal my first few games with him, but now I love playing as that crazy dude. :)

[@clausboehm8603]

Back to MK after a long break - great video actually never had chance to play Krang but remember it coming out and always felt his cards were kinda OP maybe it’s because I played GoldL a lot but Krangs harvesting just seem really OP - and his skill to completely ignore reputation seems also huge

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Claus! Krang is definitely strong. I personally wouldn’t say OP as, like with all the mages, you still need to find a way to maximize the potential of all of Krang’s abilities. And you can always just notch up the difficulty to account for Krang’s strengths. He’s a really fun way to play the game!

[@adams.3738]

Hey man! I finally got my game and can't wait to play it! (Waiting for sleeves and LL to start haha) I went over the rulebook and wanted to ask about a rule I've read but never noticed in any playthroughs.. "forced withdrawl" so basically if you end up in a not safe space (like failing to conquer a keep or whatever) you're supposed to move back until you reach a safe space and then *apparently* get a wound for each space you moved back? That's kinda rough imagining it would mostly happen once you lose a fight anyway so your hand will be filled with wounds at that point already. Wanted to make sure I understood it right.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Adam! So, Forced Withdrawal RARELY happens in an actual game. Basically, if you fail to defeat a Keep or a City, you move back to the adjacent space from you attacked from - this is NOT forced withdrawal and does not trigger any wounds. However, if you had a special spell or action that let you attack a fortified site by moving through or over hex that you normally can't end your turn on (i.e., a lake or mountain), and then you failed to defeat the fortified site, you will need to trace your movement back to the first safe space you can at the end of the battle, taking one wound for each space you move after the first. It's a super edge case rule.

[@adams.3738]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I see. Thanks a lot for explaining! Glad I found your channel, helped me a lot with getting familiar with the game.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

It’s a beast! Have fun exploring the game. Logging those first wins is extremely satisfying! 🙂

[@adams.3738]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Thank you! Gonna play it solo mostly but out of my excitement already taught my younger brother many of the mechanics in hope for future co-ops! Do you have any tips on how to smoothly introduce/teach the game to people for the first time?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

No real shortcuts esp. Having them watch the intro series done by either Liz Davidson (Beyond Solitaire) or Ricky Royal (Box of Delights) could be the best place to start!

[@pauldelguidice8063]

I liked this one. My list would be different, but that is what makes this game so good. When will you go back to Farmingdale? And how about a top ten for those heroes?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Oh yeah - playstyle is such a huge part of my rankings here. I can see other lists being wildly different! I'll be back in Farmingdale next Wednesday - I don't know the heroes well enough yet for a Top 10 but doing one in the future is certainly on my radar!

[@amansparekh]

Was waiting for this eagerly!

[@tzera_rhuon]

I recently purchased the game and have played once with Arythea, so she's #1 😁 Do you have any opinions on mages that work well together (player & dummy) for the purposes of combining their skill tokens. Also, that Braevalar mini, omg. When I was unboxing the game I was trying to figure who the blond-haired mini belonged to 😂 I'll probably just use Volkare's mini instead.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Tzera, Congrats on recently getting this game! As for combos, honestly, nothing comes to mind. I always randomize and you are generally only seeing 3 dummy player skills early enough in a game to make a difference - plus, the fact that taking the dummy player skill forces you to take the bottom advanced action card will often lead you to choose one of your own. That said, Bonds of Loyalty (Norowas) and Flight (Goldyx) can ALWAYS come in handy, so making sure one of those two is in your dummy player skill stack is never a bad idea. :) And that's funny about Braevalar - you're the second person today who told me that story of opening up the UE and having no idea who that mini was supposed to represent! It's pretty bad...but hilariously so. :)

[@andrzejm3906]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Taking the dummy player's Motivation skill token could also be useful (especially when plaiyng as Braevelar 😉). Two more cards in your hand do make a difference while assaulting a city or fighting with Volkare.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Andrzej! Yeah - this is a really good point. I’m such a sucker for Motivation and do like snagging the dummy’s player’s Motivation skill in the right situations!

[@amansparekh]

Wolfhawk is great for volkares Quest, also I really like know your enemy. Losing that paralyse, or swiftness, elusive, physical resistance is almost always comes up once a round and is very useful

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - I should have definitely mentioned Know Your Enemy, and Wolfhawk's movement does come up especially big in the Volkare scenarios. :)

[@mazen.k9839]

I am still a newbie at MK, and I don't play any mage except Tovak 😂

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Mazen! Honestly, Tovak is great to learn with, and my opinion of him is definitely colored by the fact that I play at higher levels where "defense first" is more likely to be not good enough to give you a chance. I remember liking him a ton more as I was learning the game! :)

[@rueyashirogane2710]

Great video! Do you think Tovak would be ranked higher in a PVP setting due to his combat oriented deck?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Rueya! That's a really good question but I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer it since I've never played PVP. I'm guessing that Tovak shines a bit more PVP with all the defense that he can bring to the table in his skills/unique cards. :)

[@Linknot100]

Aryrhea’s polyrasation skill is OP also . You can turn a useless color into a useful color. Also good for source manipulation.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Oh yeah - such a great skill!

[@Linknot100]

Agree with your list regarding top 3 . Norowas my fav , 1 thing is not correct , his rejuvenate is only max lvl3 ready . His skill is the only lvl4 ready in the game

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Nice catch and thanks for the clarification!

[@ragnar3434]

This video makes me revisit my decision not to bother with Shades of Tezla. I'm still not enthusiastic for it (every time I play a scenario other than solo conquest, I end up wishing I'd just played solo conquest) but looking at your list, I think I might actually enjoy low tier characters more. Their best skills tend to be interesting, Wolfhawk especially. Know Your Enemy is up there with my favorite skills in the game, essentially letting you no-sell one enemy per round. All that movement is an intriguingly indirect strength to have -- how do I turn this into combat strength this time around? Ambush? Wings of Night? Just neglect movement during level ups so I can focus on other things? And of course you can use that movement to stray from the beaten path a bit, reach resources you otherwise couldn't. Knock over that extra monastery or keep once per round, you know? And last night I used swift reflexes to trivialize a manticore's swiftness and then later used it with Know Your Enemy to take down a lava dragon, so I'll stand up for it any day. A copy of swiftness that stays relevant the entire game? A rare instance of "reduce enemy attack" in someone's starting deck? Love it, absolutely love it. So I guess I just want to see what I can do with Braevelar. What's the killer app for shapeshift? Does feral allies have as much potential as I think it does? Too bad I'd have to spend $50 to find out.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey ragnar! Tezla is a tough one. While I've grown to like it, I'm not sure it adds all that much to my experience of the game. If Braevalar's mini wasn't absolute junk, perhaps I'd feel differently. :) But you're right that, if you play a lot, Braevalar presents a welcome set of challenges and can absolutely make the game feel a bit more complete. Beyond Braevalar, only one of the scenarios in Tezla feels fully developed to me and the enemies and faction tokens are a mixed bag for me (hence why I don't add them to non-Tezla scenarios). Based on what you wrote though, I think getting it makes a lot of sense for you!

[@Fkellog]

I love the addition of units to make the top 10! I can subscribe to your ordering, I would only rate Tovaks Instinct much higher, as the freedom to not discard a card (which you now can use for its intended purpose) saves me so many headaches! YEAH KRANG N.1! Cheers, F

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - that's a fair point about Instinct not requiring you to discard a card. I just feel like there are so many times when I'm using Instinct that I also end up using a card sideways, so it effectively feels the same. But there are those times that Improvisation jams you up because you don't have a card you want to discard...and you don't need the full amount anyway. Meanwhile, gllad to share the Krang love! :)

[@amansparekh]

Altem mages OP. Whether they come up dramatically changes my success. Altem guardsmans are also good IMO, all units with all resistance can be pretty good

[@Fkellog]

I love tanking a whole city with just my units :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - the Guardsman were on my short list. As for the Altem Mages, I always hesitate to say "OP", as there are multiple things in the game that could be called "OP". I think part of the fun of the game is the occasional opportunity to do blatantly RIDICULOUS things!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Oh yeah - Into the Heat + take a bunch of wounds and get knocked out + let your units go wild is one of my favorite moves in the game! :)

[@joonasjarnvall832]

I would swap arythea and krang, and norowas and goldyx. Other than that very much agree with your analysis. For units altem mages are obviosly broken and I really like catapult, but sorcerers are such a spicy unit to make range builds work.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - Krang still edges Arythea for me but I totally see the counter argument with her wound management. As for the Altem Mages, I push back on them being broken only because of how hard/rare it is to actually recruit them but I get that they could afford to be tuned down a bit to maintain a little more balance. :) And I do love the Sorcerers, too - it feels like it's been forever since I've actually had a chance to recruit them in a game!

[@joshb4613]

I'm surprised Goldyx and Norowas were where they were. I could have sworn you would have liked Goldyx more, especially given your playstyle. But maybe it is the constant arson crimes you commit that makes Norowas better. Your T-shirt is excellent by the way, even before you pointed it out. And yeah, positions 1 and 2 are definitely sensible given your general comments about Krang and Arythea as you play. Could have sworn that Bravelar would be 7 only because of the mini, it was a surprising plot twist. Get well soon, happy gaming :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the well wishes, Josh! And yeah - the dragon and the elf could easily have been flipped! (Incidentally, The Dragon and The Elf should be a Disney movie - I’d be interested for sure! 🤣) For me it comes down to how much I trust Norowas to get a powerful array of units v. how much I trust Goldyx to get a couple units AND get some strong spells AND to have the right spells in hand with the right mana when you need it. Norowas just seems a bit more consistent to me. And, yes, I considered docking Braevalar a notch cause of his mini - but I decided it wouldn’t be fair to punish the druid for WizKids’ crappy production! 🤣

[@joshb4613]

I guess the other important question is whether you would change the order of Mage Knights based on the scenario you're playing, though I'm sure 1 and 2 would still stay the same. And yes, a move about an Elf and a Dragon, it just screams Disney or Pixar ;)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - great question. The rankings are pretty Solo Conquest-centric for sure, with some consideration for the Lost Legion scenarios, since these are the three scenarios I've played the most. If it was only Lost Legion scenarios, I probably put Wolfhawk ahead of Goldyx, because her movement is extra helpful there - but it's still super close. In Dungeon Lords, Norowas is an easy drop to 7th, since units will do him little to no good unless you get lucky and get Bonds of Loyalty at the first level up. I don't think the Tezla scenarios would change things too much for me, but I'd have to think more about it. :)

[@Sajatzsiraf]

He done DID IT!!!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I did! :)

[@Kentchangar]

Tovak was my least favourite in the beginning but now he's among my favourites, probably number 2 below Arythea and above Wolfhawk. Goldyx is 4th, Norowas 5th then Krang and Braevalar last. PS. Wolfhawk was a balerina in my copy as well. As was Volkare. :D

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Kentchangar! Tovak at number 2 is really interesting to me. There is that one skill of his that gives him +2 movement every turn during the day that does really open up the game if you can snag it early - but I often find myself missing something (ie, mana, available units, elemental attack, etc.) when I play with Tovak. Meanwhile, that's funny about Wolfhawk and Volkare - I totally forget that it literally took me months to realize that the orange, feathery thing wrapped around Volkare was supposed to be a fiery sword! :)

[@Kentchangar]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I don't disagree about Tovak but he ends up working for me in the end. I don't know why. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome! Just go with it then! :)

[@Sajatzsiraf]

Still mad the Scouts didn't make it.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

The Scouts defy ranking. They are just that awesome! 🤣 Seriously, would you rank the Manticore in a list of monsters? Of course not - it would be insulting to the Manticore!

[@Sajatzsiraf]

@@SoloPlaythroughs that is such a perfect comment to take out all the venom from a sarcastic comment. 10/10. on a more serious note: top 10 enemies would be a cool list to make. pick either difficulty or annoyance as ranking criteria :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@Sajatzsiraf It’s a solid idea! 🙂

[@marcprobin1659]

Pretty soon you will get closer to top 10 with the new characters, Ymirgh, and Coral, so 9.... :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! Maybe...although my days of Top 10s seem to be safely behind me. :) Coral seems interesting! Still need to snag Ymirgh the next time it's available on Etsy.

[@marcprobin1659]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I will be getting Ymirgh at the end of this month and preordered Dragon Apocalypse.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@marcprobin1659 Nice!

[@cyphen]

Wait... aren't the Fire Golems absolute *trash* against the Freezers enemy token? The enemy Freezers have Fire Resistance on their token (so they're resistant to the attack of the Fire Golems), and the Freezers have an Ice Attack, which is the one resistance that the Fire Golems lack. Did you think you were talking about Ice Golems? With the Ice Golems on you team, you don't even have to worry about blocking the paralyzing attack of the Freezers, since the Ice Golems can tank it without even taking a Wound!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for commenting, Cypher - it’s a good question! Since I play so much against Volkare, I generally prefer the Fire Golems. In a way, I often keep the Ice Dragon in mind more than the Freezers when choosing units. Plus, the Freezers only do 3 damage (5 in the Blue City), so I’ll often just assign that to my worst unit (disbanding it). That said, there are a lot of Units I thought about for my third favorite unit spot, including some regular units - lot of marginal differences that can matter a lot (or a little) depending on game state. 🙂

[@cyphen]

I feel ya. Volkare's army gets *pretty* nasty! I was just thrown for a loop by your mention of the Freezers in the video. Golems are a great choice! Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Familiars (since they work well with my crystal-heavy play style), and of the Foresters (they're *exactly* what you need, early game, and give a lot of Armor for their Influence cost).

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Huh - might have misspoke if I said Freezers. I’ll have to check that back! I actually slept on both the Familiars and the Foresters for too long! You’re exactly right about the Foresters. Just amazing damage soaks and super useful on top of the that. The Familiars are a bit trickier for me with my playstyle but love when I can get them to work their Magic for me for a game. I seriously misread the rule for a long time as requiring a mana a turn (instead of a round), which would be insane!! 🤣

[@cyphen]

Oh boy, yes, that is *quite* the difference! Familiars (much like the Delphana Masters) are more of a "luxury item" than a common pick, but if. You find yourself playing an unbalanced game (in which you are too mana-rich), then their extreme versatility can seriously re-align you.

[@Radiobrennt121]

Hi, really like your List. but i think invest in a bit better camera or try moving a bit less. getting kind of sea sick watching you.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Appreciate the comment and feedback. That said, this is a pretty old video.

[@mrsamtheman80]

I disagree about Krang being the most handsome mage. Clearly, it is Braevalar. Have you seen his portrait? That beard, that rugged look… Unfortunately he looks nothing like that IRL…

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Excellent points. Excellently made. 🤣

[@amansparekh]

Nooooooooo! Arythea for 1

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! She's close for me... 1-B maybe??

[@eluvitar]

No way Tovak is the weakest. Not even close.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

You are far from alone in this opinion and it's definitely a playstyle thing for me. I just find the 6 other mages stronger for how I approach the game at the levels I play. :) I've also heard that Tovak shines a lot more in PvP, which I've never played in Mage Knight.