GrumpCat's Guide to Order

In this guide I will be going over all the scrolls in order and various different ways in which they can be used. This is a basic guide just to give people an idea of different combinations for order scrolls.


More information on the order scrolls can be found on the wiki:
http://www.scrollsguide.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page





Blessing of Haste Target unit's Countdown is decreased by 1.

This scroll decreases target unit's Countdown by 1. I generally don’t use blessing of haste on something unless it will make it attack next turn. There’s not much point in reducing from 3 to 2 because there’s a high chance it will be dead next turn.

Blessing of haste works well for surprise attacks, and when combined with focus you can use weaker creatures to take out larger threats. While not as fast as speed, due to the low cost blessing of haste is definitely a scroll which should be in every MO deck.


Callback Unsummon target unit you control back to your hand.

This scroll can be used to unsummon and recast memorials, but for a MO deck this isn’t very useful. As nothing in order has haste there is no reason to want to unsummon creatures. This scroll is only really viable if you are making a GO deck so you can use them on Kinfolk Veterans, Ragged Wolf or Mangy Wolf.


Crossbowman Creature with Ranged Attack.

Crossbowman have a countdown of 3, making it a tricky scroll to play. They can be devastating if played early game before your opponent has a chance to ramp and get some removal in their hand. If combined with speed and/or focus they deal a high amount of damage with an attack of 4. Late game they are too weak, unless placed around an Honourable General before his countdown reaches 0, or hasted.

It is also worth mentioning that as they are ranged attack they can kill spearmen without taking damage, and will also attack when bombard is cast.


Crown of Strength Enchanted unit gains +1 Attack and +2 Health.

Crown of Strength can be used in several ways, for example to buff spearmen so they live for longer and will do more spiky damage. It can also help to quake-proof units you don’t want to die. And the +1 attack can make weaker creatures more of a threat. However, due to the amount of removal scrolls available, Crowne of Strength is now less viable.


Decimation All units on target row lose 1 Health. Opponent's idol on that row loses 2 Health.

This is one of my favourite order scrolls. While it does deal damage to your own units if they are on the same row, if used correctly decimation can be the difference between winning and losing a game. Decimation shouldn’t really be used early game just to get a cheeky 2 idol damage as it’s not really worth it. It can however be used as decent removal for things like Sister of the Fox, Gravelock Raiders and Kinfolk Braves – if combined with Kabonk/Spiky for example. Late game when your opponent has amassed units on the field you can use it to reduce their health and then go swinging in with a Skirmisher.


Also if you have got an idol down to 1 or 2 health and your opponent has started defending heavily, decimation allows you to bypass those units and deal direct damage to the idol. Meaning that there defences are elsewhere and you can start going aggressively for another idol. If you manage to have two decimation in your hand late game, dealing 4 idol damage makes a big difference.


Desert Memorial When Desert Memorial comes into play, increase Energy by 1.

This memorial is used for splash Energy decks. They can also be used as temporary defence against creatures without relentless.


Divine Mark When enchanted creature is destroyed, it is returned to owners hand. If it was killed by damage from another unit, that unit is returned to its owner's hand.

This was one of the new scrolls which was released with the latest patch. While it is interesting in a GO deck, it’s not particularly helpful in MO. The downside to this card is that it returns the opponent unit to their hand as well, which isn’t always good news. For example, if your spearman is killed by a kinfolk, you really don’t want another one killing your stuff next turn either. However, this scroll is useful for dealing with creatures with relentless as they will be return to their owners hand before they can cut through the rest of the lane.

Overall Divine Mark is interesting and fun to play around with, but it’s not as useful as you may think.


Ducal Infantryman All friendly creatures on the same row as Ducal Infantryman gain +1 Attack.

This is an extremely useful creature which has a low cost and can be used to buff stronger creatures. Put one on the same lane as a crossbowman and he’s now able to deal 5 damage – that’s half an idols health. Or if you are short of Focus, you can use this creature to get extra attack damage.


Ducal Skirmisher Creature with Relentless ability.

Skirmishers are the main threat in any MO deck. Their relentless ability makes them a force to be reckoned with as they can cut through defences. They have 4 health which means they are pretty beefy and not so easily taken care of. Hiding them behind Spearmen and Waking Stones will keep them alive for longer.


Ducal Spearman Creature with Spiky 2.

Spearmen can absolutely cripple some decks. Spearmen are a great way to build up defences, while still being able to attack. Although they only have 2 attack, their 2 Spiky damage more than makes up for this. If you use Decimation or Kabonk to knock down opponents health to 2, then you know that there’s not much chance of them charging into a spearman.


Faith Blessing Sacrifice target unit you control and heal the idol on the same row by 4.

Faith Blessing is not very useful in an order deck. You will want to maintain a field presence so unless you have the spare units and resources, I wouldn't bother using it.


Faith Chains When enchanted creature is destroyed, Faith Chains deals 1 damage to each of opponent's idols.

Faith Chains in my opinion are not as good as Decimation, it only damages idols and only does this if the creature is destroyed. As this is a 5 cost order scroll, it’s really not worth it.


Flip Move target opponent unit to any unoccupied tile on opponent's board.

Flip is a very interesting scroll and is great fun to play. It’s definitely useful for those who don’t have some of the rarer order scrolls. It can be used to trap a threat in a corner, move a unit in front of your attacking creature, or disrupting their defences. So if they have hidden a Great Wolf behind an Eternal Statue, you can flip it out from there and dispose of it.

Focus Target unit gains +3 Attack until end of turn.

Arguably one of the best order scrolls there is. If you have two of them in your hand and 2 order resources available – that’s an extra 6 attack on a lane and a lot of dead creatures ! Even having one can be deadly to your enemy, and if combined with a Ducal Infantryman this can seriously cause them problems.


Frost Wind Add +1 Countdown to target unit and all adjacent units.

Due to the amount of countdown reset in scrolls, Frost Wind isn’t particularly useful. It may buy you an extra turn if you’re lucky but more often than not it won’t.


Heritage When enchanted unit you control is destroyed, you draw 2 scrolls.

Heritage are one of the few decent draw scrolls in order and is extremely useful if you are lacking Imperial Resources. Heritage can be used on creatures or structures, but are better used on creatures as your opponent is definitely going to want to kill them (and not just flip them out of the way or something). Heritage can be combined with Powerbound to increase ramp and help keep up with those pesky Fertile Soils. However, as Heritage is a 3 cost scroll this is quite high for order when most of the creatures are around 3 or 4.


Honorable General When Honorable General's Countdown becomes 0, all adjacent units have their Countdown set to 0.

Honorable Generals are beasty unit for a MO deck and can completely turn a game around. If you have a general surrounded by Skirmishers and a Speed in hand, that means bad news for your opponent. Although their initial countdown is high, with Blessing of Haste and Speed this can be easily dealt with. The Honorable General also has 6 health which means that he makes for good defence too.


Horn of Ages Opponent's units may not move during next turn.

Horn of Ages is an interesting scroll and needs to be executed carefully. You can use it to bring your units closer to your opponent, or even use it to move them further away. So it can be both offensive and defensive in that sense. It can also cause problems for your opponent if they are stuck in a corner or bottom lane, or if you have flipped them out of the way and want them to stay there.


Imperial Resources Draw 2 scrolls. Your idols are healed by 1. All your units are healed by 1. Increase order by 1.

This is another of the new order scrolls, and is one of the most powerful order scrolls there is. The only perceivable downside to this scroll is knowing when to cast, you don’t want to cast it in favour of having field presence, but at the same time the ramp and scrolls it provides gives you a huge advantage over your opponent. As soon as you hit 6 order I’d be looking for a chance to use this scroll.

Don’t forget this scroll also heals structures, which means that if you have a waking stone on 2 health it will be healed back to 3!


Kabonk Deal 1 damage to target unit. Draw 1 scroll.

Although Kabonk doesn’t immediately appear like a strong scroll, it most certainly is. It can be used for removal of small creatures, knocking down heath of larger ones and of course drawing an extra scroll.

It is also worth mentioning that Kabonk can be used to damage your own creatures. So let’s say you have a creature on 1 health with heritage on it, and you want those extra scrolls in hand – you could Kabonk it !


Knight Scholar Draw 1 scroll if Countdown is 0. Countdown is reset to Knight Scholar's base value.

Knight Scholar has the choice to attack or draw a scroll when his countdown reaches 0. This means that he can be used as constant draw while he’s on the field.


Mangonel Lobber. When Mangonel comes into play, all Mangonels have their Countdown set to the lowest Countdown of any Mangonel you control.

Mangonel is another of the newest order scrolls and is the only offensive order structure. Although the idea of Mangonels sounds good, their high countdown makes them difficult to play. Unless you are using summons it will be very difficult to draw them in a 50 card deck. Their 2 health also makes them very weak when compared with other structures. So the chances of you having one still alive after getting another one in hand aren’t that great.


Metempsychosis Target unit you control is resummoned on the same tile.

This scroll can be as a healing card, resummoning a target unit to full health.


New Orders All units you control may move again.

This is another useful scroll for movement strategies and can be used the same way as Horn of Ages. It allows you to manoeuvre around your opponent as you please and place yourself in a more advantageous position.

Obelisk

Obelisk is a wall structure with 5 health and can be buffed with Shrines or other enchantments.


Plate Armor All combat damage to enchanted unit is decreased by one.

Plate Armor is a fairly decent defensive scroll, it can be cast on your structures as well as creatures (although there is no point putting this on a Waking Stone). It can be combined with something such as Resonance Helm to keep your units alive for longer.


Pother Target unit is moved to a random unoccupied, adjacent tile. Draw 1 scroll.


Pother is an extremely useful scroll when considering the positioning of opponent units. It works in a similar way to flip, in that you can launch surprise attacks by moving things like structures out of the way. Although the movement of the unit is completely random, if played correctly Pother can provide a huge advantage. Pother is also cheap as it’s only 1 cost and lets you draw an extra scroll.


Powerbound When enchanted unit you control is destroyed, increase your Order by one.

Powerbound is used to help ramp and can also make your opponent less willing to kill the unit enchanted with this ability.


Purification Remove all enchantments from target unit.

Purification is a fantastic low cost card which completely removes all enchantments from a target unit. So you could remove Ranger’s Bane from your own units, or get rid of Plating on an opponent. The only downside is that in a 50 scroll deck you may not draw one when you actually need it.


Pushback Target opponent unit is returned to its owner's hand.

Pushback has several different uses, the first is used in a similar way to purification. If an opponent has enchanted a unit, for example a Gravelock Elder with Potion of Resistance, can be pushbacked – completely removing the enchantment. Pushback can also be used to kill units if used in the correct way. For instance if units have 1 health remaining and are only alive because of an Infantryman buff, you could push him back and kill the other units.

It can also be used to buy yourself another turn, for example if a creature is about to attack you can use Pushback so that its countdown is reset again. It also means that your opponent has to spend another turn recasting it.


Resonant Helm Enchanted unit's Health is healed by 1 every time you play a spell or enchantment.

Not a very useful healing scroll as it only activates if another spell or enchantment is cast.


Royal Infantryman All friendly creatures on the same row as Royal Infantryman gain +1 Health.

This creature can be used to buff health of units. They have a low cost which makes them a useful scroll for buffing the weaker Spearmen and Skirmishers.


Royal Skirmisher Creature with Relentless.

Royal Skirmishers are the weaker of the two Skirmishers, but they still have the relentless ability and cost less to cast. This means that you can keep building them up to gain more field presence. Their health and attack can also be buffed used Infantrymen.

Royal Spearman Spiky 2.

Royal Spearman can be used in the same way as Ducal Spearman, except that their 3 health makes them more vulnerable to Kinfolk Veterans. They are best played early game and it’s a good idea to be looking for a Ducal Spearman in the meantime.


Royal Vanguard When Royal Vanguard's Countdown becomes 0, all other units you control gain +1 Attack until end of turn.

The Royal Vanguard is a key player in any order deck. Not only is he a fat unit, but he buffs the attack of all units. This means that if you combine him with an Honourable General surrounded by Skirmishers you can effectively activate the order version of God Hand.



Shrine While Shrine is in play, all friendly units gain +1 Health.

While Shrine’s are not a strong structure by themselves, they can be effective in building a strong defence. They can buff Waking Stones and Spearmen, making your units much harder to kill. However, due to the low health of Shrines they tend to be removed quickly.


Sinmarked Zealot When Countdown is 0, Sinmarked Zealot can be sacrificed to deal 2 damage to target unit

Sinmarked Zealots are orders low cost removal scroll, they can either attack or be sacrificed. When I play Simarked Zealots I usually put Heritage or Powerbound on them so that if they are killed you can still get value. You can also use them to kill themselves if you want to get the effect of Heritage but there are no opponent units on the field.


Speed Set target unit's Countdown to 0.

Speed is the best source of countdown reset in order. It can be used in many different combinations, and it most effectively used on Honorable Generals.


Summons Draws one Structure from your library.

Summons are used to draw Structures, including memorials. Please remember that if you have 3 structures in your deck, summons will not find any more when you cast it if they are already in hand or on the field.

Transposition Switch places of two units you control.

You can use transposition in the same way you would use flip. So you can use it to switch an attacking unit with one still on 1 or higher countdown, or you can use it to swap around units you don't want to get attacked. You can also use it to change the positioning of your units if some of them die. For example if you had a Skirmisher behind a Spearman and infront of an Honorable General, and the Spearman is now dead - you can transposition the Skirmisher and General to protect the Skirmisher.

Thought Trap Target unit's Countdown is doubled.

Similarly to Frost Wind, Though Trap is rather weak considering the amount of countdown reset available. Although if played early enough you may have a chance to get value for it.


Vengeance Veil When enchanted unit receives damage, it's Countdown decreases by 1.

Although this scroll is a source of countdown reset, it’s not particularly effective. Blessing of Haste and Speed work much better as they don’t rely on your unit being attacked. Once your opponent see’s Vengeance Veil, they will aim to kill it in one turn so you lose the effect.


Waking Stones All damage dealt to Waking Stones is reduced to 1.

In my opinion, Waking Stones are the best defensive structures there are. They have 3 health and only take 1 damage, making them a complete nightmare for your opponent (unless they are using Tick Bomb of course). Waking Stones can help you protect your units, or prepare to set up a defence when an opponent’s units are about to attack. They can be buffed with things like Crown of Strength and can be healed with Imperial Resources.


Woodland Memorial When Woodland Memorial comes into play, increase Growth by 1.

This memorial is used for splash growth decks.



I've made a video to go with this now, hope it's useful.