* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: In Arcanists, certain spells can be relied upon to show up in any non-themed Member spellbook, while others show up semi-regularly:
** [[BoringButPractical Flight]] provides an almost unparalleled mobility advantage, and doesn't even end your turn, allowing you to do all kinds of mean things to your still-grounded opponent.
** [[BoringButPractical Arcane]] [[{{Teleportation}} Gate]] can be [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere essential for making a quick getaway]], or [[RandomNumberGod getting out of a bad spawn.]] Or [[DirtyCoward hiding in a tiny hole somewhere]] [[note]] or on the cliff-face side of the most basic map [[/note]]. Having it available also prevents you from being forced to use it via CastFromHitPoints when you're [[{{Troll}} inevitably]] [[SuperDrowningSkills knocked into the water]].
** [[DishingOutDirt Mega Boulder]], as a comparatively easy to use potential OHK which will deal massive damage if it hits anywhere near the target, is a mainstay. It also blows up a fair amount of earth, making it powerful against enemies that have been trapped prior to using it.
** [[DeflectorShields Light Shield]] instantly gives you a 50hp barrier at no cost [[note]] beyond taking your turn and putting it on cooldown [[/note]], [[{{Whoring}} can be recast every 5 turns whenever you get a spare turn]], and protects the aforementioned Flight [[note]] which is otherwise cancelled by taking damage [[/note]].
** [[BaseOnWheels Clock Towers]] one-up the aforementioned Light Shields by adding 75hp, but are incompatible with flight and cost you some of your mobility [[note]]although less so than other towers, each of which has its own advantages[[/note]]. They also stack with Light Shields.
** {{Black Knight}}s, [[MightyGlacier while lacking in mobility]] and unable to hit flying targets, have enough health to make [=OHKing=] them difficult and usually impractical, while their own giant axe can inflict massive damage and even {{One Hit Kill}}s with impunity, often leaving your only option as ''running the heck away''. [[BoringButPractical Or using]] the aforementioned [[{{Teleportation}} Arcane Gate]] [[note]] as most players will save them for when your Flight has been shot out and is on cooldown [[/note]].
*** Mounting them on a {{Pegasus}} makes them ''even more'' dangerous, by [[ImplacableMan allowing them to hunt you to the ends of the Arena.]]
** [[ShockAndAwe Shock]] [[CartoonBomb Bomb]] is the hardest-hitting ''reliable'' damage spell, as well as [[RingOut being able to send opponents flying]]; with skilful play (and a bit of luck in positioning), it deals massive damage (although not on the same level as the above spells) ''and'' [[RingOut forces them to spend their turn]] [[SuperDrowningSkills teleporting out of the water]].
** [[DishingOutDirt Mud Ball]] traps your opponents by creating terrain around them, limiting their options next turn (and setting them up nicely for a Mega Boulder or Black Knight follow-up).
** [[BoltOfDivineRetribution Sky Ray]], while less powerful than most of the above spells (and examples of that trope), is still a laser-precise DeathFromAbove attack that deals just enough damage to shoot out a damaged Light Shield, and is thus excellent for grounding flyers (or just dealing damage) no matter where you are. It also has a decent splash radius, allowing it to get past light cover, especially with skilful aim. [[note]] Perhaps it wouldn't be as commonly seen if Light Shield wasn't also its prerequisite, so if you have a Light Shield, you might as well take Sky Ray too[[/note]].
** [[LifeDrain Drain Bolt]], although strong enough on its own [[note]] dealing just over half the damage of the basic Fire Ball attack, thus gaining you a slightly greater net advantage as the drain is 1-1 [[/note]], ''really'' shines when you [[CombatPragmatist box your enemies in with minions,]] and then [[BadBoss drain them all.]] Or drain your own Tower/Light Shield, making their temporary HP boosts more permanent by adding them to your actual life pool.
** [[CoolGate Arcane Portal]] has a variety of (ab)uses, and requires only [[BoringButPractical the aforementioned staple Arcane Gate]] as a prerequisite.
* GameBreaker:
** Conductor Rod in Arcanists before it was [[{{Nerf}} nerfed]].
** In Armies of Gielinor, it used to be possible to block the opponent's portal by parking a flying unit on top of it--potentially locking them out of summoning units for the rest of the game if they lacked a ranged unit to attack it. Portals have since been updated to deal damage to enemy units that camp on top of them.
** Those with a decent knowledge of mathematical theory may realize [[spoiler: Tetralink, like any connect-4 variant, is mathematically solvable and you can guarantee yourself a 100% win rate with the appropriate guides.]]
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