# Best Epic (and lower-rarity) Troops **URL:** \ **Category:** Gameplay Chat (PC/Mobile)\ **Created:** [July 26, 2019, 12:28am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651 "2019-07-26T00:28:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TheIdleOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@TheIdleOne](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/TheIdleOne)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 2:05am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/61 "2020-03-27T02:05:04Z")
If they wanted to make it memorable/good… they’d swap the Create 6 Blue Gems boosted by… and make it the blue gem creating version of Shaman of Set: " _Choose a Color. Create Blue Gems equal to the number of Gems of that Color._", keep the damage to first and last, and make the mana cost 13 or 14 ---
**Author:** ![Mana\_Surgeon](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mana_surgeon/32/55678_2.png) [@Mana\_Surgeon](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mana_Surgeon)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/62 "2020-03-27T02:46:50Z")
That would be an improvement, for sure, but would you use it even then? I’d think the damage would have to be pretty good to justify relying on random gem creation. ---
**Author:** ![TheIdleOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@TheIdleOne](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/TheIdleOne)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 4:17am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/63 "2020-03-27T04:17:43Z")
Honestly, I do like Shaman of Set. It has a way of sneaking in a big cast. So yeah, a blue version would be pretty useful. A good gem creating generator that can do damage and have a solid damage reduction would definitely be a solid addition to the game. ---
**Author:** ![Mana\_Surgeon](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mana_surgeon/32/55678_2.png) [@Mana\_Surgeon](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mana_Surgeon)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/64 "2020-03-27T04:35:54Z")
Interesting. I’m a bit surprised you’ve had success with Shaman. It’s also kind of surprising, but there isn’t a single-color gem-creating Legendary that does damage in the game yet. Agreed that we could use one. I do think the buffed version of the new legendary, with the 2x boost per blue gem, combined with the Shaman of Set gem creation, would be pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![jdk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/jdk/32/58002_2.png) [@jdk](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/jdk)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:25am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/65 "2020-03-27T05:25:11Z")
> [@Mana\_Surgeon](#): > > a single-color gem-creating Legendary that does damage Webspinner? ---
**Author:** ![Mana\_Surgeon](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mana_surgeon/32/55678_2.png) [@Mana\_Surgeon](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mana_Surgeon)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 6:01am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/66 "2020-03-27T06:01:58Z")
Ah, right. I legit forgot Webspinner does damage with its spell. ---
**Author:** ![jdk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/jdk/32/58002_2.png) [@jdk](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/jdk)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/67 "2020-03-27T20:04:25Z")
Yeah I mean no one USES the spell, pretty easy to forget 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mana\_Surgeon](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mana_surgeon/32/55678_2.png) [@Mana\_Surgeon](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mana_Surgeon)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/68 "2020-03-31T02:18:15Z")
Back to what we were discussing earlier, I’m backing off on Rover-300 and War Wolf being added to the list. Too much work to make them useful, for not enough payoff. Turtle Cannon being an outstanding front slot troop makes him a special case, where he benefits the team independently of his gem creation. I’ll also add Shaman of Set, who I’ll now have to mess around with a bit more. ---
**Author:** ![TheIdleOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@TheIdleOne](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/TheIdleOne)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/69 "2020-03-31T02:27:46Z")
Shaman is a faction troop ---
**Author:** ![Mana\_Surgeon](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mana_surgeon/32/55678_2.png) [@Mana\_Surgeon](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mana_Surgeon)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 3:57am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/70 "2020-03-31T03:57:09Z")
I added faction lower-rarity troops [here](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/30) by popular demand. I could use some feedback on that point though - what’s the most effective way for people to see the newest lists? A string of links, as I’ve been doing, or should I just update the first post? ---
**Author:** ![Ronkol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d78d45/32.png) [@Ronkol](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Ronkol)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 12:12pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/71 "2020-05-22T12:12:00Z")
Raksha Free-blood can replace egg-thief in certain delves. Templar is a very nice converter with Rowenna. Truth to be told there’s a long list serviceable converters (Spell paw etc.) if color blocked. Further, you put Valkyrie with the gem converters and Acolyte with the soul farmers. That seems a bit arbitrary (though understandable), perhaps put them at both sections? ---
**Author:** ![Elroy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/elroy/32/61150_2.png) [@Elroy](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Elroy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/72 "2020-05-22T20:02:52Z")
Thrall and Bogstrider should both be on the common list ---
**Author:** ![Oonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Oonder](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Oonder)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/73 "2020-05-25T04:40:46Z")
Thrall and Bogstrider should be on any list, regardless of rarity. ---
**Author:** ![Mana\_Surgeon](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mana_surgeon/32/55678_2.png) [@Mana\_Surgeon](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mana_Surgeon)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/74 "2020-05-28T22:41:39Z")
> [@Ronkol](#): > > Raksha Free-blood can replace egg-thief in certain delves. Thanks for your feedback in these threads, it’s been helpful! While I want to highlight some replacement troops here, I mainly want to focus on substitutes for Mythics (especially for scaling content), not so much for those in troop-restricted events. The list would get kinda crazy if we included all those. > [@Ronkol](#): > > Templar is a very nice converter with Rowenna. > > Truth to be told there’s a long list serviceable converters (Spell paw etc.) if color blocked. That’s interesting. So you think there’s an endgame niche for single-converters who generate colors they themselves don’t take? I tend to overlook single-converters (unless empowered), as you often get stuck waiting for an alignment (or safe time to cast) and they usually don’t provide enough side benefits to justify using them. Do you find Templar teams outperforming more standard Rowanne builds? > [@Ronkol](#): > > Further, you put Valkyrie with the gem converters and Acolyte with the soul farmers. That seems a bit arbitrary (though understandable), perhaps put them at both sections? I’m just trying to minimize clutter in the list. I could flag Valkyrie and Dark Troll as having soul-farming value as well. (I would never recommend using Acolyte as a gem creator under normal circumstances, way too unreliable.) > [@Elroy](#): > > Thrall and Bogstrider should both be on the common list While I think these are a bit too random still for use in general play (even with our magic stats increasing), Thrall I know at least has use on Shahbanu teams, where his magic can be scaled to destroy gems at near-Egg Thief levels. He’ll be added to the niche list. What kinds of endgame teams use Bogstrider effectively? I guess you could scale his stats on a Dervish team, where he can be an effective front troop, but that’s going to be a bit slower than Thrall+Shahbanu (or even Marilith with Treachery). ---
**Author:** ![Lorien1973](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/lorien1973/32/75546_2.png) [@Lorien1973](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Lorien1973)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/75 "2020-05-28T23:26:06Z")
Bogstrider is my go to destroyer where thrall cant be used … without potions, it’s a tad quicker than marilith. Delves mainly. ---
**Author:** ![XLS78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b2d939/32.png) [@XLS78](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/XLS78)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/76 "2020-05-29T00:03:53Z")
> [@Mana\_Surgeon](#): > > What kinds of endgame teams use Bogstrider effectively? Many could. For 8 mana, he destroys 35+ gems per cast with a couple of Nysha medals, he entangles when matching skulls, and has skull damage resistance. He’s a great mana generator troop especially if you don’t want to block purple. ---
**Author:** ![TheIdleOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@TheIdleOne](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/TheIdleOne)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/77 "2020-05-29T01:04:46Z")
> [@Mana\_Surgeon](#): > > While I think these are a bit too random still for use in general play (even with our magic stats increasing), Isn’t an exploder random as well? ---
**Author:** ![Emos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/emos/32/5163_2.png) [@Emos](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Emos)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/78 "2020-05-29T01:15:50Z")
I have increasingly been using Thrall instead of Leprechaun in some of my Explore 12 teams and any delve that uses purple. As long as the banner is +2 purple Thrall will fill on any purple match. With my current Magic he destroys 46 gems, almost the entire board (3 Nysha). ---
**Author:** ![jdk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/jdk/32/58002_2.png) [@jdk](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/jdk)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/79 "2020-05-29T02:00:08Z")
> [@Mana\_Surgeon](#): > > Do you find Templar teams outperforming more standard Rowanne builds? A looooong time ago I used Templar, 2x Rowanne, prismatic orb as a blue GW team. I’d say it doesn’t “outperform” modern teams but If you’re color restricted (I.e. no urskaya shield) maybe that team still has a niche … ---
**Author:** ![Mana\_Surgeon](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/mana_surgeon/32/55678_2.png) [@Mana\_Surgeon](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Mana_Surgeon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 9:33am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651/80 "2020-05-30T09:33:07Z")
While consistency was my concern with Bogstrider, he seems to at least be reliable enough for scaling content at the very least. I’ll add him to the next list, thanks all for the input. > [@TheIdleOne](#): > > Isn’t an exploder random as well? Depends on the exploder, but the commonly-used exploders tend not to be as random in 2 respects: a) many of them explode a single color, making their board clearing more predictable, and b) they generally clear out more of the board than these two troops (unboosted). Destroying 35ish gems generates a lot of mana, but exploding four gems can roughly do the same level of board clearing, and most exploders currently used explode significantly more than 4 gems. (Lets set aside overlapping explosions for the time being.) With such a relatively small amount of board churn seeming a bit unreliable for board clearing/generating extra turns, I’dve thought a troop would need significant other benefits to be usable at endgame, and questioned if Bogstrider brought enough. Evidently it is reliable enough (and its side benefits are pretty good), so I’ll add it. > [@jdk](#): > > A looooong time ago I used Templar, 2x Rowanne, prismatic orb as a blue GW team. I’d say it doesn’t “outperform” modern teams but If you’re color restricted (I.e. no urskaya shield) maybe that team still has a niche … Good to know, thanks. Kind of confirms that Templar is more of an early game/restricted-troop event option, rather than something you’d use in unrestricted modes. [Previous page](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651.md?page=3) [Next page](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/best-epic-and-lower-rarity-troops/56651.md?page=5)