Papa Smurf at the Battle Of Gargamel's Discarded ShoeZul'tan Bloodletter is a true Nothrog war wizard. Designed with intent of surviving onslaughts that would crush less self sufficient Wizard Warlords, Zul'tan can mount a fierce and determined blitz without having to worry about hiding out in the second rank. Sporting the stats of a Nothrog fighter,
Powerattack, range strikes that can target adjacent ranks, and a built in DC for an extra wound each turn, he is one of those Warlords that will have your opponent worried no matter how strong their position seems.
Indeed, his main strength and the most frustrating thing about him are one in the same: he was born to be in the front rank, and his often paper thin army won't allow him to sit in the second for long, so you'll find yourself constantly exposing him to harm. That fourth hit point helps, but often it means you get one extra action before you're toast...but that one action can be a game winner. If this sounds appealing, this may be the Warlord for you.
Common Deck Styles1.
Blitz !Best n00bie style!: Do you like biting right through your nails? Well, this is the style for you. Utilizing the potent low level Nothrog army and as many offensive spells as he can fit, Zul'tan can run over most opposing armies on the first turn. If he doesn't, that huge strike and a judicious
Powerattack, or a Lightning Bolt, can seal the deal. Zul'tan will probably sit in the second rank, popping up to the first when he can to take out a second rank Warlord, depending on how much movement you place in the deck. Defense is limited here; you're depending on offense and that 4th hp to carry you through.
2.
Sniper: Here the goal is to blitz a little, but only so much to set up a kill shot, likely a Viper Whip or Hungry Spirits. There should be a little more defense and movement, and cards to enable or enhance your kill shot.
3.
Uber: 'Uber' basically means equipping every defense bonus imaginable to your Warlord in an effort to make him invincible. Not quite possible with the 4e card pool, but you can get close. Despite his low starting AC, Zul'tan can build it up to respectable levels with just a few cards, and then plop himself in the front rank, daring opponents to swing into a
Power Word: Kill. Mostly a "for fun" style, it will make the
Timmy in you cackle with glee.
Card Pool[Cards marked with a "*" are staple uncommon or common cards, found in almost any style of Zul'tan deck]
Common StartsZul'tan, especially the blitz version, is one of those Nothrog warlords that can, and should, carry a start for every occasion. I harp on this in other guides, but I cannot overstate this enough: the ability to tailor your start in the second or third game of a duel to any opponent is
amazing for a blitz deck.
Due to his proclivity for spending time in the second rank, he makes the best use of the
Trugg/
Tass'daesh start, since Trugg is a good character for him sitting in the main deck if he needs to switch the start out. However, this start is very feast or famine; lose initiative and miss your first Tass'daesh swing, and your ranks are toast.
Gunda is great against those decks that are unprepared for her, but those decks are very rare now.
Lorik is awesome if you REALLY hate the opposing second rank, and aren't afraid of getting out-blitzed. Gush is better from Krenthor, but still gives you a volume of first turn strikes you can't match otherwise. Sphylrix gives you a decent AC and an interesting ability to potentially ditch some great cards into your opponent's discard pile...or just give him cards to recur.
● 3x
Trugg OR 2x
Trugg, 1x
Grukth/2x
Tass'daesh (vs.
Ryan Mornington,
Genecourt Initiates)
● 3x
Lorik/2x
Ballista Crew (vs.
Brine Fiend/
Bosun Blacknose)
● 3x
Lorik/2x
Teb'w'bam (vs.
Genecourt Initiate,
Profit,
Gush)
● 3x
Sphylrix/1x
Ballista Crew, 1x
Teb'w'bam (vs. decks lacking recursion)
● 3x
Gunda/2x
Teb'w'bam (vs. anyone not running a Gunda counter)
● 3x
Gush/2x
Teb'w'bam OR 2x
Ballista Crew (vs. and 2hp start,
Amatria Tansiq)
Characters●
Sir'Kan*: Mentioned first for a reason. Start with 3x of him, and your deck is better.
●
Pelanth: Off class, never makes that darned
Medicine check. But that army wide buff can give you the boost you need to take out some high AC characters. And he does make that check once in a while. Not quite a staple, but close.
●
Ballista Crew*,
Teb'w'bam*,
Trugg: These guys are worthy of inclusion regardless of their component use in alternate starts.
●
R'ress: Tempo, tempo, tempo.
●
Tek'a: Even better tempo. Be careful how you play her; you want your opponent to have no good choices. Someone should be a threat to move forward.
●
Muddfleck,
Ac'vuk,
Durga*,
Bithkrid: Your weenies. All of them are of the 'late turn drop' variety, and all have distinct advantages. Muddfleck offers a big range strike, Ac'vuk a big melee strike, Durga meta against recursion, and Bithkrid has
Powerattack for a potential additional wound, and the potentially to be alive next turn.
●
Bludgeon*: A level 3 with serious blitz potential.
●
Green Hag: Her react really makes the world go round for Zul'tan, giving his little DC 15 a bit more bite.
Stealth Wizard to boot, best option for a back up caster. If you can get her, run her.
●
Yeg-Igryll's Altar: Between this and Sir'kan, that Viper Whip is unstoppable. And it's a wizard!
●
Chaltak: If you're running a Sniper or Uber deck, and perhaps are looking to sit back a couple turns for your items, Chaltak may be worth waiting for too.
●
Zentis: Keep melee threats out of reach. Best if you're running level 1 or 2 spells to maximize her usefulness; her react isn't quite worth it on its own.
●
El'can The Wily:
Stealth-in-a-can. Good for Sniper or Uber. Blitz is too manly to stealth.
ActionsGenerally, if you're going blitz or sniper, you want a lot of actions- between 17-20 - to make sure you get to use Zul'tan's react every turn. Uber decks are naturally looking for more items. ●
Viper Whip*: I don't want to stifle your creativity or nothing but...come on. This is why you're playing this guy!
●
Ball Lightning*,
Icy Surge,
Incinerate: Order strikes/saves. Bread and butter of blitz. Ball Lightning is great second action from Teb'w'bam; Ice Surge offers some control; Incinerate is just big strikes.
●
Disintegrate: Annoying targeting restriction and reliance on Zul'tan's relatively low skill for a Wizard WL aside, this is still an essential item destruction spell. Prudence when using it is key; if you know you're facing a WL with items you'll need to remove at some point, avoid wounding him with potshots early on.
●
Dimensional Rift: Very meta card, works most consistently in a blitz deck to be the final piece in breaking ranks. Often, though, it can essentially be a dead card. Nifty trick: use it on a low level character, and use Zul'tan's react. The weenie may die before returning to your opponent's hand.
●
Lightning Bolt: A little slower than the order: strike/DC spells, but packs a punch to back it up. Best when you've got other level 3 Wizards in the deck.
●
Harness The Storm: You certainly have the Wizards to pull this off, but you're going to need a lot with Zultan's low starting skill. It's not killing any WLs on its own however. Still, a legitimately awesome level 5 spell.
●
Chain Lightning: This can be a devastating spell...or it can be an underpowered Lightning Bolt.
●
Heaven's Wrath: The amount of Air actions you can put in your deck can make getting this react off trivial if you want to, and the spend order isn't shabby either. Great in all styles.
●
Hungry Spirits: 3+1 DC 15s? Even Warlords will roll low on one or more of those, the spending is gravy. Cuddle up next to a Green Hag for even more fun.
●
One Last Time: Not triggering Zul'tan's react, but still potent. No good for a Sniper, but the blitz/Uber can get some use out of it. Synergizes well with Sphylrix.
●
Blind Vengeance: If you want to Snipe with Viper Whip, this is an option for getting you to 3 wounds. Great with Gush, too.
●
Churning Wrath,
Flame Arrows: Good to run out of your level 2 Wizards, if you want to take some pressure of Zul'tan.
●
Stolen Substance: More rank destabilization.
●
Teleport: Spell movement, and some control if needed. Or just target an opposing character to get your react off.
●
Power Word Kill: A lot of people immediately associate this card with Zul'tan. It's very strong, but it will end up dead in your hand a lot of the time, and simply killing off some pleeb most of the rest...but it is pretty sweet to kill a wounded fighter Warlord just for looking at you. More a fun card, so best for Uber (get some
Scribe to save it)
●
Blink: Best cancellation card in the game. If you decide you want to run a defensive action (you probably don't; stick to items), this is it. The movement can be clutch or make it impossible to play.
ItemsIn most styles, you're only picking a few items. Zul'tan has a lot of choice ones to choose from, so be prudent.●
Staff Of Storage: Zul'tan's Weapon slot is very competitive, but this one has the edge by a hair. Putting a Viper Whip on there is amazing.
●
Incendiary Glove: Great blitz or Uber card, especially if you plan on spending a lot of time in the front rank.
●
Ivory Scepter: A personal favorite, especially if you also run Camel. That DC gets up there pretty fast in a blitz deck.
●
Pyre,
Dancing Scimitar,
Dragon Buckler: Zul'tan's ability to equip fighter Weapons is nice, but not often utilized, simply because Wizard weapons fit his needs better usually. These are the three you'll most likely think about. Both the Scimitar and Buckler have great effects, but note that their static text does not work with Viper Whip, though their reacts will. The three Wizard weapons are generally a better choice.
●
Thunderclap Bracers: Well, looks like Zultan did get something awesome. Zentis in a can, and another strike/Air action to boot. Note the OPT errata; it's still good though.
●
Golden Circlet: Best thing to remember about this item is it can remove itself to satisfy its cost, so it's essentially another action card.
●
Shroud Of Lost Souls*: Nice AC boost, another DC check, and discard hate. One of the best items for all styles.
●
Cloak of The Leech: The Shroud's only competition for the Armor slot, and it's mostly a no-brainer to go with the Shroud. BUT, if you want to Snipe with
Hungry Spirits...
●
Necklace Of Spell Storing: In most wizard decks, it's an auto include. Zul'tan's low skill makes it not as worth the slot.
●
Bracers of Deflection*,
Ironcloth Bracer: Generally, if you want to run any pure defensive items, the Bracers of Deflection win. But if Snipers are a worry for you, Ironcloth protects better.
●
Ivory Ring: Depending on some back up casters? This can be a clutch card. Can win you the game with a
Ballista Crew.
●
Chime Of The Aerie*: Excellent 1x include in any Wizard deck, especially if you run
Heaven's Wrath.
●
Curious Mephit: Well, isn't that precious. If you're going sniper, this is actually quite good.
●
Camel: Movement, small AC boost, and great synergy with the many level 5 or lower items Zul'tan might run. One of my all time favorite cards.
●
Ring of Vorn: More movement. Could put a
Ballista Crew in position for a shot on the Warlord. Or equip it to a
Teb'w'bam for fun.
●
Wyvernskin Robe,
Teufeltiger's Mask: For Uber.
Tournament Deck ListsOKC Summer Campaign 2010 winner, piloted by Sceth_Heckbringer. Full on, balls-to-the-wall blitz, eschewing movement and defense entirely: See next post
NJ SoO Proxie Event, 2010 2nd place/NJ Surge of The Sutek 2010 Event 3rd place, piloted by Bach. Both decks are slower than Sceth's, being a bit more cav and a bit more sniper, respectively:
Deck Lists and Tournament Reports
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