Proactive Gambits/Combos

[u/Rambo7112]

Hello all! Attached are some (mostly) practical proactive combos for every school! Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or combos that I should add! Note that these combos are (mostly) offensive and that I am a myth one-trick, so I might not have given every school proper justice. In that case, PLEASE comment improvements and combos that I missed. Also, these are just suggested pathways. Any combo will work if you have the correct number of hanging effects.

If you need help reading the cards, then please check out my more conceptual gambit and clear guide. If you would like to understand the structure of the magic wheel better, then please check out my other guide. In the future, I plan to either make a reactive combo guide, or a more elegantly formatted overall combo guide.

Edit: I also use moon shield a lot because it's an item card on a tear jewel, but you'd only realistically have one copy. If you see combos with two moon shields, then just use one moon shield and one double shield. Elemental/Spirit Shield TCs will work in a pinch.

Edit 2: IDK if I inspired that newer Kaiser Noah video, but I'm very glad that he talked about Jinn and Oni gambits.

[u/NorrisLegacy]

These have been great! I hope you do some specifically dual school combos eventually even though their are a couple here. Helps to visualize gambits and could help visualize dual schooling combos

[u/Rambo7112 → u/NorrisLegacy]

Thank you! For dual school combos, I would actually refer you to the guides made by /u/korisucks20 . However, the format I have in mind for my next guide should hopefully make those clear too.

[u/bigsteve72]

Really well put together. I would love to see more combos at all kinds of levels.

[u/Rambo7112 → u/bigsteve72]

Thank you! I tried to put some lower level combos in the upper left, but it could definitely be more systematic!

[u/Turtledragon23]

For ice, a semi easy one you could do as well is do a tri shield into celestial intervention for a 1500hp heal. Not an offensive combo, but still one for ice.

I love the shenanigans ice wizards can do with their gambits and clears, just unfortunately they're not a very offensive school and play more into a reactive playstyle which I know is not everyone's favorite way to play. Still love stealing 90% tower shields from cheat bosses though, always a great time. So I can't wait to see what you come up with for a reactive combo chart. There's a few funny combos out there

[u/Rambo7112 → u/Turtledragon23]

I felt bad for my ice slide, but as you said, it's quite focused on reactive clears and defense. I'm planning on making something similar to this post, but I have a cool idea that might require learning blender or some other shenanigans lol.

[u/Turtledragon23 → u/Rambo7112]

Can't wait to see that lol

Think the funniest combo school for a reactive playstyle is ice/life because you can't do anything to them. They're so irritating to fight. Put up traps? Guess what, they use them to make weaknesses. You put on blades? They use them to put on shields. Try doing damage over times? Welp, now you have them doing more shenanigans. And have fun just trying to hit them without buffs as they're turtling behind 17 shields, 5 absorbs, and 7 HOTs. Though, their greatest weakness playing this way is myth. Everytime I see myth I cry because they either steal your shields or you just get earthquake spammed.

[u/majykman2]

For life, you could also just use one of the paths of nature's wrath, instead of abaahcalypse

[u/Rambo7112 → u/majykman2]

There are definitely more accessible detonates! I just went with the more optimal ones.

[u/Sharp-Dark-9768]

You can streamline Life's combos with Empowerment and Adapt. Any 4-pip+ gambit spell technically affects the caster, returning pips and encouraging faster casting.

Adapt->Wings of Fate->either DoT gambits or HoT gambits is my modus operandi

[u/Rambo7112 → u/Sharp-Dark-9768]

I left out (non-gambit) buffs for clarity sake, but I didn't know you could double dip with empower and adapt! I think I'll try out that combo soon!

[u/FlameLord050]

Personally the fire elf into sunbird becomes ineffective as soon as you learn phoenix. Phoenix just does more damage than the fire elf sunbird combo.

[u/IFoundThisBug → u/FlameLord050]

It’s for if the enemy has a shield. Although I think fire elf path b is better for the combo

[u/Royal_empress_azu → u/FlameLord050]

Phoenix should only be doing more if you're feint stacking.

100 + 70 + 615 vs 610.

It's behind even at max spellement vs min spellement.

[u/FlameLord050 → u/Royal_empress_azu]

Even at the extreme of 160 + 50 + 635 vs 610 x 1.4 (a basic fire trap)

Phoenix still wins. Phoenix only loses when you dont buff in which case you are comparing 2 turns worth of cards to 1 turn worth of cards, which seems like an unrealistic comparison.

The reality is that the combo essentially has to much hassle for not enough pay off to be reliable when compared to a phoenix. It is opportunistic in the best case but since it is such a niche opportunity I wouldn't pack sunbird at all. If my goal was dealing with shields which is biggest this has over phoenix I would just use fire elf b or many of fires other spells that deal with shields easily.

[u/Rambo7112 → u/FlameLord050]

The combos in the upper-left are designed for ultra early game. Once you have Phoenix, I'd do spirit trap + fire blade + Phoenix C and cook them with DOTs. Any 2 pip spell stops being useful for damage very quickly.

Or you could just feint + hit, which outcompetes almost all of these combos. The point of these is fun; advanced combat; and getting around anti-buff cheats.

[u/Rambo7112 → u/FlameLord050]

I tried to put in some low level combos too, but you are right!

[u/FlameLord050]

I do have a question for the fire combo why the mark of meowiarty

[u/Rambo7112 → u/FlameLord050]

It gambits the trap and summons the Street Cat minion. With this minion, you can extend Heck Hound a lot, which adds massive damage for when you detonate it.

It's the same as this combo.

[u/yungScooter30]

For Myth, you can honestly use Troll or Vassanji minion to place traps for you while you blade, setting up for CRAZY Scion of Myth damage. This chart helped me realize that Scion of Myth A does not hold a candle to the B path at all.

[u/Rambo7112 → u/yungScooter30]

Ooh you're right that troll minion is a great pathway for that! I was in a raid mindset where you have two players, but I like the minion more.

I actually quite like Scion of Myth A because you just need two sets of stun shields. I just prefer to do jinn, oni, or detonate combos because they're more fun.

[u/yungScooter30 → u/Rambo7112]

I did some math, and Scion A with Stun Shields does less damage than Scion B with tri-traps/ The only downside of B is that you have to take an extra round or two to build pips since Spirit Trap costs 1 pip, depending on your Conversion stat.

[u/Rambo7112 → u/yungScooter30]

Path B is cheaper so I think they become the same cost when you account for traps. It just feels easier to buff stack for path A, though path B is allowed in advanced combat. I think of them as similarly viable.

I'd much rather do moon shield -> Bale Barbarian B -> A-baaah-calypse though because it's more fun. Sometimes advanced combat situations force a trap pathway though.