Taunt is an ability that allows you to draw your opponent's attention toward a specific target. Used correctly, Taunt can give time to other monsters to do damage or buff themselves to lead victory.
When to use Taunt?
Protect the Glass Cannons
I find that taunt is excellent when I want to use the Glass Cannon style of monster. The Serpentine Spy or Exploding Rats for example. Both of these cards have very low health and (relatively speaking) high damage outputs. In that example I want to take the heat away from those cards and utilise the time gained while they are alive to cause as much damage as possible.
Buffing cards
In the case of Bloodlust with cards such as Grum Flameblade and Chimney Wallstop, they often need a little time to activate their Bloodlust. In order to do so, I often deploy a Taunt to redirect damage away from them to buy time. I have example here of where I used this strategy to good effect.
Keep the Distraction Alive (Backline)
Combining a Taunt with a backline heal such as Triage is a nasty combination which can prolong the life span of your Taunt. Spirit Hoarder, Angelic Mandarin and a Wave Brood would be an excellent example of a line up taking the heat away from the front line and utilising a healing strategy to frustrate the opposition. I cannot say I have used that exact combination but Spirit Hoarder and a Taunt is definitely one I enjoy using.
Keep the Enemy Focused on You (Frontline)
A typical Shieldbearer deployment is at the front of the lineup followed by a Repair such as Scavo Hireling and a Venari Crystal Smith. What this does is it allows the opponent to focus directly on the Taunt and the constant repair of the both armour and health can make it a terribly frustrating experience for others. This was a strategy that was spammed quite heavily at some points in Bronze. It seems to be less prevalent now though and certainly has its uses.
When not to use Taunt?
The Fury Ruleset is one such instance where Taunt can be counter intuitive to use as the Fury ability does double damage to any Taunt monster. So, if you want to keep that Taunt healthy... stay well away from Fury rulesets and abilities.
Blast is an interesting one. The ability allows damage to pass onto adjacent monsters so if Taunt is used correctly then this can play to your advantage alongside a monster with Reflection Shield (Venator Kinjo for example).
Otherwise, it is just a matter of knowing your damage types and using the correct Taunt option a the right time and the only way to do that is to have access to all of them.
How many Taunt cards do you know of?
Let's review each of the available Taunt cards.
Iziar
Cost: Free $ (Current Reward set)
11 mana for 12 health, 2 Magic damage, Void and Taunt? - Count me in. This is one of the new Soul bound cards and an awesome one at that. While on the high side for mana cost, this card is bound to do some serious damage in rulesets such as Wands only. Looking forward to picking one up as soon as I can. Martyr at the highest levels as well which is always a nice bonus.
Terraceous Hulk
Cost: Free $ (Current Reward set)
For 11 mana you get Void Armour and Taunt alongside a beefy 4 melee damage. The Hulk is one of the slower cards around but comes equipped with some serious 9 health and 6 armour which all help to impose this beast on the battlefield. At higher levels Terraceous Hulk gains Demoralize which reduces melee damage for the opposing team which is an awesome ability overall. This card is certainly your more traditional Tank style of card and a mean one at that!
Iidri Fyre
Cost: Free $ (Current Reward set)
Another Soul Bound Reward card and at 6 mana cost is good for 8 health and 3 armour. With a speed of 3 it is on the speedier side of things as far as tanks go. As it does not have an attack of its own pairing it with a card such as Ferexian Hero to share attacking stats might be an idea. But for a relatively low cost tank it is a good choice. Redemption at second level is awesome to have and Return Fire at 4th make this a fantastic choice to use. At sixth level the option of Phase is also available making this a pretty stacked card latter on.
The following are purchaseable on the market or within packs of the relevant set.
Night Ghoul
| Cost Per BCX | Max Level Cost |
|---|---|
| $ 0.157 | $ 64.80 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost |
| 185.77 | 76,677 |
I really like this card as it occupies a Tank spot on the Death team that I do not think any other card occupies. 11 mana and 10 health alongside 4 armour is a nice combination and an attack of 4 is a pretty decent deal. At fourth level it gains an additional melee damage and then later on this slow card does increase its speed to a potential 3 at max level. At sixth level Night Ghoul gains Forcefield which is always a bonus, preventing any massive attacks from wiping it from the field of play too quickly. Overall for the relatively cheap dollar cost, this card is worth picking up. I know I will be levelling my own up soon enough.
Mycelic Slipspawn
| Cost Per BCX | Max Level Cost |
|---|---|
| $ 0.25 | $ 26.157 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost |
| 295.823 | 30,951 |
A really strong contender for my favourite card on this list. A great Taunt with Magic damage and a staple in a modern Earth lineup. Combined with Obsidian this card can easily do 3 damage in an attack which from the backline in the card you expect to lose first and relatively quickly is pretty awesome in my opinion. Gaining Forcefield at Fourth level is nice especially for a card without armour and then at max level the addition of Slow is pretty cool too. In my opinion, this card is well worth it at current costs for each league.
Wave Brood
| Cost Per BCX | Max Level Cost |
|---|---|
| $ 2.41 | $ 98.94 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost |
| 2974.574 | 122,117 |
I see real value in this card and I personally see an increase in value going forward. With Water being strong candidate of best deck (certainly at the levels I have played) Wave Brood is currently the only Modern option for a Taunt which leaves it in a very unique position. Perhaps not as strong as The Kraken but also at a discounted mana cost, this card often does its job well.
Shieldbearer
| Cost Per BCX | Max Level Cost |
|---|---|
| $ 2.63 | $ 334.556 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost |
| 2958.574 | 376,286 |
A very strong card and now at a good price too. With the shift of Untamed moving out of Modern, it has fallen quite drastically. With good Armour, Health and damage, this card is the ultimate Life deck tank. I for one will miss using this card when it moves to Wild. For now though, a good cheap mana cost tank that really pulls its weight.
Dark Ha'on
| Cost Per BCX | Max Level Cost |
|---|---|
| $ 14.986 | $ 156.424 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost |
| 16,855 | 175,935 |
At 10 mana and 13 health you know you are in for a beastly card. Taunt and Fly is always a nice combination to have and with a good Tank speed of 3 you know there is always a miss just around the corner. A really strong card but expensive on the mana. This is a card I find quite rare to come up against but it certainly has a place in the right rulesets if you are lucky enough to own it.
Magnor
| Cost Per BCX | Max Level Cost |
|---|---|
| $ 18.50 | $ 226.356 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost |
| 20,807 | 254,590 |
I think this is an excellent card and while it might be situational for the Fire deck, I think the stats are good enough to be considered. 4 damage and 3 speed is strong and 13 health all for 10 mana is great. Sure there may be more popular cards out there but this is a strong one in the right rulesets.
Coeurl Lurker
| Cost Per BCX | Max Level Cost |
|---|---|
| $ 25.00 | $ 277.149 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost |
| 28,118 | 311,718 |
With Dodge and high damage this card is a nasty Taunt to go up against. With Magic being its only weakness, it is important to assess when it is best to deploy it. A newer addition on the list with the Riftwatchers expansion. I look forward to picking one up in the near-ish future. 4 damage is great and with such high speed this card is a bit of a pain to hit at times. 10 health for 11 mana as well is also pretty good value to be had.
The Kraken
| Cost Per BCX | Max Level Cost |
|---|---|
| $ 25.00 | $ 296.849 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost |
| 28,118 | 333,875 |
A really solid tank. Expensive mana cost but honestly worth it. More expensive and perhaps even a bit overpowered, this card is a staple to any Water deck playing in Wild. 14 health is huge and the 4 damage and 4 speed is also pretty good too. This card is worth it for the Wild lineups if you are into that side of things.
Agor Longtail
| Cost Per BCX | Max Level Cost |
|---|---|
| $ 28.10 | $ 310.289 |
| DEC Cost | DEC Cost |
| 31,604 | 348,992 |
In my opinion one of the most powerful of the Rift Watcher expansion cards. Well worth the price tag and one I cannot wait to get my hands on. Two attacks and void armour... yes please! A hefty 15 mana cost but the stats of this card speak for themselves. Top tier card in my books.
Which of these cards do you own or want to own? Are there any great cards you would combine with these? Which level do you consider essential for each of these cards to be?
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