The next adventure deck is coming soon to my table, and as an Ezren player I'm reconsidering the use of this basic spell.
Arcane Armor is a spell in the Basic Set, with the traits MAGIC, ARCANE, and BASIC.
It's check to acquire is Intelligence or Arcane 4, which is doable even for those without Intelligence or Arcane skill, so it's use during an adventure as a throwaway defense is likely for most characters at some point in their adventuring career.
Now, it's Power is that it reduces Combat damage by 2 when discarded, and without the Arcane trait it must be banished. If an Arcane check of 4 succeeds it can be recharged instead.
What happened to Ezren in my solitaire play through was that I did use this spell several times to reduce damage from a blade trap that would have been game over without it. Ezrens ability to examine the top card of his deck and put it into his hand if it is a spell after playing a spell with the Arcane trait, combined with a low life total, and high recharge potential meant that I was able to cycle my deck well enough to chain cast Arcane Armor against a trap that I kept failing against until I was able to find the card I needed to deal with it.
A question I have is what about combat?
Arcane Armor is a defensive spell particularly suited to reducing combat damage.
I wanted to clarify the rulings on damage dealt by monsters after combat because of this. Generally Ezren is going to use a a spell to deal with most encounters. For monsters, it will almost always be a combat spell. Is this a problem for Ezren? Let's find out in the following example.
Let's say Ezren has a hand full of items and some allies, none of which will help his in a combat with a monster, along with Force Missile and Arcane Armor.
He decides his best chance of success to beat the monster is to cast Force Missile, but his check fails to succeed by 2.
Is it true that Ezren must take 2 damage because he is not allowed to play a second spell (Arcane Armor), after failing a combat check where he used a spell?
FAQ reads:
If I've already played a spell on a check, can I play Arcane Armor or Mirror Image to reduce damage?
Generally, you can't play a second spell on a check unless it says so. However, damage-reduction spells (and only spells, for the most part) should usually say so.
Resolution: On the spell Arcane Armor, add the following at the end of the first power: "You may play this card even if you have played another spell on this check."
On the spell Mirror Image, change the first power to the following:
"If a monster deals damage to you, you may display this card, even if you have played another spell on this check. Roll 1d4; on a result other than 1, reduce the damage to 0. Do this each time a monster deals damage to you. Discard this card at the end of the turn."
@raven614 :) Thanks I missed that post!