phoenix pretender problems

[Fantomen]

I use awake Phoenix sometimes. I found that putting death 5 or more on it makes a lot of sense.

1. You get fear/awe innate combo, which makes it last much longer in melee. (remember CBM phoenix has awe even without high dom, awe +3 with dom 10)
2. You can script frighten after airshield from turn 1, in combination with fear that makes the indies rout after fewer explosions. I found this makes a key difference in expansion.
3. You get soulvortex/phoenix pyre combo in midgame, as addition to mistform, fire shield etc. That makes it a powerful defensive grenade in dominion and lets him stay on cast spells without fatiguing out.
4. A cloud trapezing immortal with high death, air and fire isn't the worst support in lategame, not to speak of just having powerful death access.

If I put on any equipment it would be a ring of regen to keep afflictions down, perhaps horror helmet for extra fear and some ring of appropriate resistance. But I never do that until I have soul vortex so my phoenix actually survives most battles.

[Jarkko]

Ooooh! Never thought of D5 and soul-vortex on Phoenix. Now *that* does sound nasty! Does the vortex hold through phoenix explosions too?

[Fantomen]

Originally Posted by Jarkko

Ooooh! Never thought of D5 and soul-vortex on Phoenix. Now *that* does sound nasty! Does the vortex hold through phoenix explosions too?

It does. But d5+(for fear and also to keep fatigue from SV buffing low) and mistform is cruical here, since you really need to last long enough to suck up enough fatigue after each death. D3 isn't enough.

A particulary nasty script I found is:
mistform/soul vortex/drain life x2(drops buffing fatigue back to 0 or close)/attack/cast spells

You'll pick up drain life on your way to soul vortex anyway.