Tacullu deck build (Benders)

Many people do not enjoy playing against Tacullu and his Benders due to the amounts of tricks that mess with your deck. However, that does not mean playing as Tacullu is easy. Play too passively and you will get overrun by champions or you will end up with a coin flip game with two summoner’s facing off till end game. Play too offensively and he will die. Key to playing him in my opinion is drawing out enough of a reaction out of your opponent that you can take advantage of your ‘tricks’ (or just winning outright by assassination of course). This guide will go more into depth how to do that; but it won’t include mercenary units yet. Oh and this game I’m talking about is Summoner Wars (by Plaid Hat Games). It’s available on android / iOS / Vassal.

Basic idea
TaculluIn essence the Benders are about countering what the opponent is doing. Some examples: Commons attacking you are countered by Mind Control & Deceiver; events by Mimic and champions by Counter Summon and Mind Witches. An opponent that’s aware of this will try to play around these. Which, if you don’t apply any pressure yourself, will leave you with still a pretty strong faction by itself, but a much harder game to win. So how to play? I’d recommend matching your opponent’s moves. If he plays very aggressively, you pretty much have to go defensive and burn enough magic to survive.

Against a very defensive opponent however, you can afford to start taking out his walls or pressuring him to force him to respond. Other advantages the Benders have are their high attack dice, almost all ranged units and hugely effective abilities. Their main weakness is their low life, so trading units one for one is one thing Benders don’t like and keeping Tacullu from being assassinated is something to always keep in mind. They are not too draw dependent due to having both three Mimic’s and three Mind Control’s. Champions and Commons are somewhat expensive for their health, but magic often isn’t something a Bender player will lack. Overall, competitively, I’d say the Benders are one of the best factions around.

Benders-Tacullu-ReferenceADeck build (18 / 25 magic for the champions / commons)
– 1 Sorgwen
– 1 Gwalark (anti-turtler/repositioning)
– 1 Kalal
– 5 Deceiver (2 initially)
– 6 Controller (2 initially)
– 4 Mind Witch
– 3 Breaker

Sorgwen is easily the best Benders champion as her ability is almost always very useful against pretty much anything. In second position I included Gwalark, mostly because he’s perfect at dealing with turtling enemies and can reposition your units. For the last champion slot I’m torn between Gulldune and Kalal. Right now I’ve included Kalal because his extra attack dice is very useful against tougher units and because I generally get enough magic to make use of him. There are some factions against which Gulldune is better though. Talu & Kalu I don’t really like. Mostly because you’re not getting any potentially devastating special abilities out of them and they cost two slots (they do allow you to summon more commons though).

cardbackIn terms of commons I feel the Parasite’s are basically excess baggage. All other commons are tremendously useful situationally. Breaker’s I’ve included the least of as you generally don’t summon more then 1 or 2 due to their huge impact and low attack dice. Mind Witches are incredible, but not as useful against every faction. Controllers and Deceivers finally are almost always useful to include and I regularly cannibalize the initial one’s on the field so I need some backup one’s in the deck.

Some tactic and combo suggestions:
– Forcing your opponent to summon more commons by being aggressive with your initial commons / Tacullu can be a good tactic. Especially as this can set it up for Magic Drain / Deceiver & Breaker combo’s and Mind Control.
– Keep watch of how many commons you have of each type left. Against some factions you might want to hold that last Mind Witch, Controller or Deceiver in your hand to use.
– Watch out for analysis paralysis. The amount of options the Benders can have with how their units interact (especially the Minds Witch) is uncanny.
– Assassination combo’s can often present themselves. Don’t give into temptation and go for every combo. Weigh its advantages versus how much magic it will cost you and at how much of a disadvantage it will place you.
– Playing multiple events in a row can be devastating with the Benders.
– Playing walls in the third row instead of the fourth can be very good. No mêlée common will be able to hit it without risking mind control and it gives you a bit more of a defensive posture.

Playing the faction
Against any faction with catch up events you’ll want to prioritize having either fewer or the same number of units. This is because if they can’t play their catch up event immediately they’ll be forced to build it or risk the chance of you stealing it from them with Mimic. Especially if you draw your own Magic Drain. I’d recommend one or two of the deceiver’s as they are cheapest. Another thing to remember is to build enough magic at the start. You are weak against everything if you can’t respond with a counter summon or summon something yourself. I like using my initial units to draw out aggression / extra summons by hitting their walls or their units from range. Sorgwyn and Kalal are great champions to aim for early (and if you summon one of these first against a catch up event faction, you’d better be aggressive). Mind Control can be a double-edged sword as it does give you more units. Place walls to protect against assassination attempts, while still allowing yourself maneuvering room / good summoning spots.

Benders-Tacullu-ReferenceBHow you move towards the mid game depends heavily on your draw / their draw / their play. If you get Sorgwen early you can often throw seven dice at a target with one extra controller. If there are still catch up events around you can have Tacullu and just a champion on the board, unless the opponent is being pretty aggressive with his units. Aggression often involves using Deceivers, Controllers or a champion to set up advantageous situations or to do good trade’s. So don’t be afraid to summon some commons where necessary. You’ll generally have enough magic. Another thing to watch out for in this stage is deck pacing. If they go through their deck pretty fast, you’ll have to match somewhat or risk being overwhelmed by multiple champions at once. Also, remember that you can counter summon enemy champions more efficiently then they summon them.

A Benders end game ideally involves your opponent decking out while you still have a bunch of units and magic. You can then go and mop up his summoner. This does need some planning ahead so you don’t just have magic and no units left. One on one your summoner will lose against most other summoners. A similar problem occurs if both sides only have champions left; Benders champions don’t fare too well against many other champions one on one. A more aggressive end game can involve you having a huge magic advantage early on and simply charging in with a few units and assassinating the opponent. This works in example if they are building magic slowly to outlast your Mimic’s. Remember to counter summon a stronger champion as that can be much better than summoning one yourself (Jacob Eldwyn in example).

Match up analysis
I’ve played some Benders versus Benders match up’s. Those were rather crazy as you’re continually out guessing your opponent and both sides can pull off crazy combo’s at pretty much a moment’s notice. I wouldn’t recommend those ;). Against any faction that’s combo or catch up event heavy you’re in great shape. In general, make sure you can defend yourself as any faction that won’t attack you fast and hard will lose. Deep Dwarves and The Filth being exceptions as they can out turtle a Bender.

First summoner specific cards

CardDeckNotes
BaseHis ability effectively gives the benders a fourth attack (that costs magic to perform). However, it's generally magic efficient as it also costs the opposing summoner the one magic from the card he summoned. So counter summoning cheap or zero cost units is very efficient. You don't get the magic though, so if you can kill the unit instead that's preferable. An interesting tactic can be to kill one unit in a line then counter summon the second. His ability also allows you to take a bit more risk as you can counter summon if you get pressured / fail an attack.
Base (x3)This event is pretty much what defines the Benders as a faction. It's insanely powerful as it forces your enemy to either use / build their events immediately or get them used against them. And even if you don't get to steal an event, you get to see what he's got in his hand. Being able to steal events is especially powerful against factions that really thrive if they can get combo's off. Try to hold on to Mimic's for when it seems most useful for him / her to have multiple events. Note: Crazy effective against factions with catch up events.
Base (x3)You can basically take control of your opponent's unit for the same magic cost as he paid for it summoning it (event card versus his use of the unit card). However, you gain an unit and he loses an unit, so it's a big magic swing if used on a high magic common. This has the added benefit of opponent's not daring to enter your side of the battlefield so you can ping away at them with ranged units. In such a case it's fine to build these. I generally end up building at least one or two anyway.
Base (x2)The four magic swing event. You can combo this with Mind Control and Mimic to do stuff like: Magic Drain, Magic Drain, Mimic (get another catch up event), play that, Mind Control, Mind Control to suddenly have way more units on the board then your opponent. It's often worth killing of some of your initial units to make use of this.
BasePretty useful in Tacullu's deck because of Kalal and Sorgwen. If I have another champion in hand already I'll often build this to prevent hand clogging. Even if I don't I might still build it, depending on the match up.

Generic cards

CardDeckSSCF*Notes
Base-1This can be a champion to use a Hero is Born on as his power really shines in the early game. If you get him later, his special power is way less useful, but he's of course still a three ranged dice attacker. With his ability you can put walls at the end of the enemy deck, load up his hand with events to steal with Mimic or put that key champion at the back (or front). Or you can check your own draw pile and make sure you get those cards you need next turn. And you can combo him with a Breaker to have them discard their best cards.
Base-1His ability is optional so don't use it unless you're gaining some kind of advantage by having control of that unit (as otherwise it costs you magic you could have gained). Obvious uses are having the extra unit, attacking another enemy unit or using it's ability. Generally your target will need to be at low health, so his ability is most useful against low health commons.
Base-1Three ranged dice and the best special ability the Benders have to offer. She can give any of your two ranged dice commons another attack. So you basically get a fourth attack each turn (which can hit another target). She's especially powerful with Controllers (a 2nd move), Breakers (2nd card discarded) and Mind Witches (2nd special ability use). And the fourth attack can come after Tacullu's counter summon. Her only weakness is her insanely low health.
Base (x7)0Insanely powerful ability especially if you can get two or three commons at once as it renders the common useless for their turn (even if they kill the Deceiver). He's pretty much forced to respond in some way giving you further advantage (like being able to do a magic drain). If he doesn't or can't respond you can use a Breaker to ping away at them or simply kill them at your leisure. Another nice combo is to use Controllers to move their commons next to your Deceiver. Stunned units can form a defensive wall against aggressive factions. Do be aware that units can still use special abilities!
Base (x6)0Their ability is best used in combination with other Bender units. One very effective use is attacking with a controller, then moving the enemy unit in range of another controller to attack (controller chain). You can also use a controller to move an unit that just attacked out of the way of a counter attack. This can also set up four to six dice attacks down straight lines. And you can attack your wall and then move a unit from behind it!
Base (x5)-1I really like using them in combination with Sorgwen and / or Deceivers as they can quickly destroy any chance your enemy has. They are a bit costly though, so make sure you can get at least two Memory Break's off to make them pay for themselves (even if the opponent discard, it still costs them the one magic). Best used early in the game and remember that even if they pay magic, the card goes to the bottom of their draw pile. Controllers can also be used to help protect these.
Base (x3)W
Reinf0These twins offer huge (dis)advantages if both included. You can get two attackers and four dice of attack out for six magic, but you aren't including one of the other Bender champions (although you can counter summon with the surplus magic). They die quite fast from concentrated attacks. One advantage is that you can extend your reach by summoning one, then placing the other one further next to him. Including only one seems like a waste to me, considering the other Bender champions. Note: "Instead of attacking" abilities don't hurt both twins as it doesn't trigger Mind Link.
Reinf0See Kalu. Do note that you can choose not to summon the other twin if summoning one. And that if the second one dies through mind link you get the magic, not the enemy.
Reinf-1His ability is especially powerful because it allows other units to also move through cards. And you can move Gwalark first and only then move the unit you want to move through cards (effectively extending his range). An example: I used him with Sorgwen / a Mind Witch to suddenly move the Mind Witch next to Bolvi and blasting Bolvi for five dice times two (Sorgwen). Also interesting to use with Deceivers.
Reinf (x5)0The most useless common in the Bender deck. Their only use really is to be a meat shield as generally they'll die before they can use their special.
Reinf (x5)0The most insane common in the Bender deck as it can copy any enemy ability that's within her range. These are best used situationally as not every ability is useful to steal / they are expensive, but when you get a good ability and when combined with Sorgwen they can be pretty game breaking. Do remember that your mimic ends at the end of the turn and that you can't make use of abilities that are specific to another faction's units.
* SSSCF = Super Simple Summoning cost formula = attack value + base health + 1 if ranged - (2 if common OR -3 if champion) - magic cost. I haven't included the worth of the ability as that's generally controversial.

References
All Benders cards (especially strategy section and comments are useful)
A Doug’s Guide To Summoner Wars podcast (strategy discussion and community news)
Mythacle Battleplan for Summoner Wars (deck builder and I got the images from there)
– Summoner Wars on iOS by Playdek (I played some test games here)

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4 Responses to Tacullu deck build (Benders)

  1. Maks says:

    Good read once again!
    When I play Benders I feel kinda dirty, they can do a lot of jerk moves. I consider them as being quite strong.
    They really profit from the mercenaries. Had success with Stone Golems, Demon Hands, Khan Queso and Rygos. Vermins are a good option as well.

    • Cognitive bias says:

      Thanks! Yeah, especially if you get into situations where whoever makes the first move has a disadvantage. I’ll make sure to consider those mercenaries when expanding this post, a Vermin has already been my undoing in a Bender v.s. Bender matchup.

  2. McBehrer says:

    You said Oldin, but do you mean Bolvi? Oldin’s ability lets him use the Wall as a shield. Bolvi lets you wound your walls for extra damage.

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