Welcome back. Now that we've looked at everything that the Rise of the Demons has to offer I thought it would be a good ending note to look at what I find to be the most game changing creatures in the game. What I mean by 'game changing' is that when this creature is in the game not only do you need to know he/she/it is there but it's presence, more often then not, will actually alter the strategies in the game. (I've also included the local nicknames for these guys if they have any.)

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If you haven't already read them here are the links to the first 3 parts

Dealing with the Demons (part 1)

Dealing with the Demons (part 2)

Dealing with the Demons (part 3)

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But before we get to that, I wanted to mention 3 honourable mentions who are just outside my top 5 but should never be ignored.

Death Dealer (Cost 3/ Glory 2)
Normally I won't spot light a second version of a creature but the two versions of the Death Dealer act so uniquely that I don't even feel bad about it. This version is of the Death Dealer is the answer to players who can never roll enough quiddity to get the upper level creatures. When this creature scores you can trade it for any die in your opponents used piles. This is not just a game changing die but if your opponents are paying attention it will actually prevent them from capturing more powerful dice when you have him in your ready area if they can not defeat him. Just remember that now your opponent has him and you'll have to watch out for him.

The Strong Primordial Ooze AKA: 'the frog' or 'the copy cat' (Cost 7/Glory 2)
First summoning the ooze still means you have no soul and are a horrible, horrible person........ but if you can come to terms with that, you will see that this is a remarkably versatile and consistent creature (almost the opposite of ooze kind) as all 3 side of this creature will give you the ability to copy, completely, the most advantageous opposing creatures. If you can live with yourself this is a creature to watch for.

Mighty Witching Hag (Cost 5/Glory 3)
All 4 of the Witching Hags are great but 1 on 1 this is the only creature in the game that is undefeatable on it's Lv 2 side. Attacks over 3 become 3 and it's defence is 5 (almost double). When this Hag is out and about it helps to be able to have several creatures attacking instead of just one big creature. She will also be an unbeatable side kick to creatures with large defences helping your whole team score.

All great creatures but they just didn't have enough to crack the top 5 just yet. Remember that I'm basing all of this on multi-player games and the 2 player version of Quarriors plays quite differently.

#5 Mighty Defender of the Pale AKA: 'taxman' or 'the piper' (Cost 6/ Glory 3)

A Knights Code
"A knight is sworn to valor.
His heart knows only virtue.
His blade defends the helpless.
His might upholds the weak.
His word speaks only truth.
His wrath undoes the wicked!"

Bowen,
Dragonheart

Now I know that some people will be surprised to see him so low on my list, and I would have had him higher on the list (probably top 3 of the base game) if there wasn't, at least in my opinion, a shift/increase of negative effects to letting your opponents score (like the Mighty Demonic Lord) and his 1 or 2 attack value is not going be contributing much to the offence. What he will be contributing is some of the highest printed defence in the game and the unique ability to make all of your opponents have to spend more quiddity to summon their creatures while he is active..............and those are two outstanding things to bring to the table. That is why I have him in my top 5.

#4 Strong Death Dealer AKA: 'the assasin' (Cost 6/ Glory 2)

"You probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business;
we in the killin' business. And cousin, business is a-boomin'."

Lt. Aldo Raine,
Inglorious Bastards (modified)

Believe it or not the Death Dealer's 4 attack (on it's Lv 2 side) has it tied with 2 other creatures (the Wizard and the Hag) for 3rd highest attack behind only the Dragon and the Overlord. But that's not enough to make this top 5 list. The reason he is on the list is because of his special ability.....when you KO even one creature while this creature is in your ready area you score him immediately and retain his attack value for the remainder of the turn. So before you even summon him you can look around and see if he's going to score (barring some spell reactions) being able to near guarantee being able to score this creature at the time you summon him is outstanding as it is almost unstoppable and when there are Victory spells that you can attach to him without having to worry about him surviving all of your opponents next round creatures. The first tournament we held when Rise of the Demons first came out showed how valuable he was as many of the top players were talking about how much this guy helped out. Sure only 2 Glory isn't a lot but for the near guarantee of him scoring when you summon him I feel slightly less glory is a good trade-off I'm willing to accept. This is also a really good example of how the 2 player game is vastly different from the 3-4 player game....in the 2 player version this creature probably wouldn't even be a honourable mention in a top 10 creature list. But in the 3-4 player game he really does shine.

#3 Mighty Demonic Overlord (Cost 9/ Glory 5)

"OVERLORD! OVERLORD! OVERLORD!"

Laharl,
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Strong die, the only Lv 4 creature in the game (and only 3 creatures are able to be Lv 3 right now), 10 attack being the highest in the game (next is the dragon at 8 and then 3 creatures tied at 4 attack) and the second highest printed defence in the game at 7 (behind Defender and Wizard at 8 and tied with the Dragon). Now take all of that and put a gold star on it and then look at two of the most vicious abilities in the game today. The first removes from the game 1 die from each opponents used piles. Not bad hun? Well when he scores with his burst ability he also makes each opponent lose 1 glory. That is a creature to be rightly feared. So you're probably asking yourself......well why is he only #3 on the list? And that is a good point. The reason he isn't in my top 2 is simply that he can be dealt with....if you have enough attack or a spell that bumps up your attack he's actually not that much of an issue. Don't get me wrong he still is tough and a 7 defence is nothing to joke about but if you can get enough attack (and you should be able to some way or another in every single game) he can be dealt with. The creatures that make up my top 2 will just laugh at you most of the time.

#2 Ghostly Spirit AKA: 'Boo mother######' (Cost 3/ Glory 2)

"I guess you being a Spirit makes more sense?"
"#### ya it does. It's way less geeky ###hole"
"A spirit?"
"Ya, that's right."
"A ghost?"
"Boo mother######."

Agent Washington and Church,
Red vs Blue Season 6: Reconstruction, Episode 17

First off, no that's not a mistake. In the land of the giants this little 3 cost creature is just as valuable, if not more so, as any creature in the game. Here is what he's not going to do for you. He's not likely to be out of your spending range to capture. He's not going to cost you much to summon. And his defensive values probably are not going to be enough to save him from being destroyed by your opponents. And that's where he starts to shine. You see each time he is destroyed you can bring him back for the 'cost' on culling 1 basic quiddity from your used pile. That's not a 'cost' that is a 'benefit.' As long as you have some basic quiddity around, and they are easy to keep around (especially with the advanced rules that most people will be using, if not now then soon) your opponents will simply not be able to destroy him enough to actually prevent him from scoring. If you have 3 basic quiddity in your used pile and 3 opponents (barring some fun with death spells) not only will they not be able to destroy him enough to prevent him from scoring they will also be helping you cull your dice pool! Late game when you have to pull out all of the stops to prevent someone from winning this creature really shines and can make the end of the game inevitable for an entire round. Near unbeatable and by far the best 'point-for-point' creature in the game that is why the Ghostly Spirit claims the #2 spot on my list.

And the #1 is of course..........

#1 Strong Quake Dragon AKA: 'Dick Dragon' (Cost 8/ Glory 4)

"Yeah, yeah, Hydra is legion. But when was the last time you faced a dragon?"

Danny Rand, the Immortal Iron Fist,
The Immortal Iron Fist #1

All you need to know is this. First, by the numbers, the Quake Dragon is one of the most powerful dice in the game 8 attack is second only to the Demonic Overlord's 10 and double the next highest attack of 4 to be seen in the game. Defence of 7 is one less than the highest printed defence in the game. But it his ability that sets him apart...........creatures Lv 2 or less can not even attack him (and the rest of your creatures!). Oh well that's a neat ability, right? Yes it is until you actually look at the Lv 3+ creatures in the game. In the base game only 3 creatures even boost a Lv 3 side and all of them only on one of their 6 sides. Of the 3 one is the dragon, and the other 2 are the Defender of the Pale (attack of 2 on Lv 3) and the Questing Wizard (attack of 4 on Lv 3). So only the questing Wizard can defeat a dragon and only a Lv 1 dragon at that. Heck 2/3 of the time even a dragon will not be able to attack another dragon. Thankfully with the addition for the Demonic Overlord we have both another creature over Lv 2 and, far more importantly, an attack that can actually deal with the dragon when it is rolled. When this creature is in the game you need to take a hard look at anything to help Death spells that can destroy Lv 1-2 creatures, or creatures up to 6 defence, spells that grant attack bonuses, 'break glass' spells, spells that rotate creatures up a Lv, ect..........try to get one (or more) yourself is probably a good stratagy too. If you have him you might want to take a second look at 'attach' spells as there is a really good chance that he's going to score when you summon him.



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So that's my list for now........agree, disagree? Other thoughts you want to share?



I'm sure I'll do another top creature list (and maybe a spell list as well) at the end of my Quarmageddon write-ups I'm planning to do.