Protecting Old Willow or Kelpie

[Bob Smith]

what are the best ways to protect these guys other than leveling up their land?

I usually don't have enough G to upgrade them to a safe level until much later in the game and by then they usually just get killed or enchanted.

Thanks

[masonik4]

When I first started playing, I got one of them Old Willows, and added it to my deck. I did ok with it, but like you say, it is difficult to keep it well protected, but the kicker was the price. On a lot of stages, getting 2 reds to qualify the willow was too much, and I had to dump it. I suppose an aggressive opponent will give you the most trouble, someone like Zagol or Zeneth, but someone like Selena you might do well against, since she isn't agressive, or maybe even Luthien.

[Decoy]

I am not sure if this is really a good strategy, but since the only way I can win is by doing this it seems to work well for me.

Try having a decent amount of high defensive creatures in your deck (Walls seem to work very nicely) and get two of them on fire territory so you meet the requirements. Then level up one of those spaces (Or both if you want to be careful or have two Willows). When it gets around level 3 or 4 , use the territory command (Having a Revelation card or the ability to Holy Word onto a tower can help) switch that creature for the Old Willow (Since you have already met the 2 red requirement technically you can have only the Willow and one other card on red which makes the cost feel a bit cheaper . Using Land Protection on it afterwards is good to protect it from cards that will lower it's stats or Peace. I have also found that Wind of Hope helps if you happen to be unlucky enough not to have drawn an Old Willow yet.

Another way to try is to Place the Old Willow on a color other than red, level it up and and switch it later, but the cost of switching the color of the land raises quite a bit after you have leveled it up.

[Kepi]

Usually, for both Kelpie and Old Willow, I keep a Counter Amulet and/or a Diamond Armor in my hand before I drop them. The Counter Amulet will pretty much stop 90% of the attacks, while the Diamond Armor will preotect it from scroll attacks. I also have Dullness to overide any curses like Sleep/Paralysis. With Dullness on a Level 5 land, there's very little that will kill them.

[WhoseYerLilith]

I try to not to play with them, but since they're so damned fun they pop up in my decks often- my favorite method of protection are red/blue shields with the occasional plate mail/diamond armor/gaseous form. Most enemy cepters will simply not attack if you have these items in your hand.

[CKaz]

yeah lots of good options item-wise (beware of RUST!)

gaseous form, 'color' shields, counter amulet early..
when you have it levelled a bit gremlin amulet works well too

reality is they're better for bigger maps/as you grow a bit - ie play zagol on Dunnan and yeah you better wait/you're going to be defending it A LOT..

kelpie helped knock out my enemies on the altar map bigtime

[CKaz]

and don't have an old willow yet

to help vs Rust consider a barrier type spell or two if you think your enemy may be packing

[AceLeader]

Simulacrum almost always does it for me. The only thing you watch for is if they play with spells, such as Luthien does, your Willow will be vulnerable to Binding Mist or something devastating like that. Of course, you can counter that with yet another Simulacrum or a Land Protection. In any case, always have a defense item ready to use, and make sure you have enough magical power to use it. I've lost willows before cause I have 90G and a counter amulet in hand.

[WhoseYerLilith]

The problem with Simulacrum in my experience is that the creature that has it becomes a prime target for opponents attacking you at every oppertunity- especially if said creature is unfortunate enough to be standing next to an opponents creature.

[AceLeader]

Thats why you can't cast it when your territory is level 1. Once the toll to pay is higher than the amount you'd lose, you'll be fine. Usually level 3 works for me, if you have a chain going.

[WhoseYerLilith]

Well then the problem becomes what do you do if you draw a Simulacrum on the first hand? Do you just hold it until you get a level 3 land? I tried Simulacrum in every way I could think and in every deck and I eventually just stopped using them altogether- either they're immediately replaced with Peace, Fog, Anti-Element, Drought, Disease or Parasite, or someone like Ryvern, Zagol, Zeneth or Balberit will place a creature right next to the one being Simulacred and move his creature to attack mine, not having to pay the toll and being a pain in the ass in the process. I prefer always having an item on hand since most of the time it deters opponents from attacking, either computer or human.

[AceLeader]

Usually works fine for me. The same problem occurs when you get an Old Willow in your starting hand, whereas you can't play it for a while. Almost every time I have an old will, I level up say a Pyro Drake to level 3 then switch it out for Old Willow later when I can better protect it. I know Simulacrum isn't perfect, but it works in my favor 95% of the time. And it's better than wasting a spot in your hand for an armor that may not even save it completely.

[WhoseYerLilith]

Ugh- I hate getting an Old Willow on the first hand- I generally just discard it because it's way too much hassle to try to set up the trap, (though nowadays I almost never play with them)...although if there's a Gold Idol in play or in my hand, I may consider holding off on discarding it. What can I say, I'm glad Simulacrum works for you- it's always a hassle for me and never worth the price, meanwhile holding an armor in my hand is always worth it since it deters most attacks and I can guarantee 95% of the time that the armor will protect it.

[AceLeader]

I actually have a book based around Old Willows and Kelpie. Basically, it uses card draw to get the required land and the required creatures, then I level up a creature and switch out. After they pass over my cool trapping guys, I cast Chaos Panic and make them go through it again. It's awesome, and I usually have a Necro Amulet for defense in my hand, as Barrow Wight then becomes pretty much the only thing to stop them from paying the toll. But I'm playing with 2 simulacrum, because it's not that great until I have enough G to level up to level 5, and at that point, I usually win.

[CKaz]

hmm I've never thought much of, nor feared, simulacrum
of course that's AI's use (ie Morroc likes it a lot)

AIs/players can abuse it by wracking up the G loss w/territory command
If you're playing items to avoid that, you're defeating the plus of not needing items in the first place
I always paralyze them or put dullness on those territories for fun/as needed, erasure does too in a pinch

but you don't really have to even do that, a sleep scroll or two and -
you wont get the toll and simulacrum is gone

here's another one, heavy damage you pay for (ie leo or gouda) and they use a rainbow piece

I'd have to look but dont scrolls get past it too?

not knocking it, and it can be a pain, but I can't say I'm a big fan of anything that creates potential money sinks

nor do I often put any stock in any land buff spell as *any* other buff/curse rips it off

I protected my Kelpie simply by having chosen nice def and keeping an item or two around.. just gotta watch rust (I like a anti-mag spell or two)

course I usally dont put all my eggs in a landstopper basket anyways

cheers
CKaz