Best use of ruby ring?

[lil' fisty]

Are there any good ways to use this item to maximize our magical capabilities? A level 4 fire sorceress with sacrificial dagger and the ring could saturate with spells and help draw out dispel dice early on with a boosted dagger roll (is that even allowed?). Getting the extra +D3 to cast quickly is great if you can focus on a single target.

I heard someone here mention a level 2 metal sorceress works well with the ring. I have also considered it on a level 1 signature beasts or life sorceress.

Or is it just not worth the points?

[Demetrius]

The best use for the ring is leaving it at home. it would be useful if you could boost bound spells, but you can't, so most people will either be happy to let you drain your power dice and take the D6 hits, or dispel it easily with their level 4.

The only use I can really see for it is if you absolutely know you are coming up against a horde of trolls. But even then, you can get a 10 point flaming banner on the unit of crossbows you take anyway.

[Daeron]

It's a good item for small games, where the extra spell can help you when you roll high on winds of magic, or you simply don't have that many options... and where the D6 S4 hits actually matters. In particular, for a level 2 metal Sorceress it can be handy since the Metal Sorceress lacks a simple magic missile that can deal damage against low armoured troops.
For larger games, I think a unit of Warlocks is a far superior magic support

[Dangerous Beans]

Actually gentlemen I have to come to the aid of my old faithful friend the Ruby Ring and disagree!

The Ring is a very nifty item to have depending on your army setup. I play an avoidance mobile gunline list where the ruby ring adds an extra complication for my opponents to figure out. Mostly the conundrum lies in combining it with a Fire mage. I normally take a Level 2 Fire Sorceress on a dark steed with a scroll and almost always swap one of her spells for the signiature Fireball. She is paired (in the magic phase anyway) with a Pegasus mounted Level 4 Death Wizard.

The scroll can be used at any point and the dark steed allows her to get into range / position to target enemy models that would potentially suffer the most from D6 S4 flaming hits - one such example would be Hell Pit Abominations to strip the regen off them, the Level 4 can then happily finish the target off with a simple Spirit Leech or Caress as needed. Normally however the enemy target will be the enemy unit that I will be concentrating my fire spells on - notably flame cage or Fireball.

The extra +D3 to cast (as a result of the Lore Attribute of Fire magic) turns a Level 2 offensive caster into the equivalent of a Level 3 - 5 for any further Fire spells cast by them onto the enemy target. Thus this makes the measly 1D6 Str4 hits far more potentially nasty.

With a single dice (or 2 if you really want to push any extra Fire spells onto that same target - some would argue that this is unwise, however I'll explain as to why it can be worthwhile in a moment...) you can draw enemy dispel dice easily; as it is a bound spell you don't risk breaking concentration by casting it and personally I'd be happy if my opponent decided to swap a single power dice for the equivalent dispel dice. If you use 2 dice then this can be a worthwhile gamble as the +D3 that you gain for the next spell helps alleviate the 'lost' power dice in pumping the original spell through AND means that your opponent will have to expend more dispel dice to stop it. Saying that, remember that Bound Spells do not gain any extra +2s to cast (for a Level 2 Wizard, +3 for Level 3 etc) so if up against an enemy Level 4 dispeller or an equivalent then this probably won't be worthwhile...

So its main uses are:
- to add +D3 to any further Fire spells can on that target
- to strip Regen off an enemy target you wish to focus non-flaming spells at (eg. Doombolt, Spirit Leech etc)
- to draw enemy dispel dice and to confuse an opponent as to your intentions for your magic phase

For 25pts its a neat extra for a scroll caddy and particularly for one that can be mobile (Dark steed / Pegasus) and especially if there is a Fire Wizard in the army; 4 D6 Str4 hits can become far more viable through using this combo and the Ruby Ring helps force through the larger fireball or to assist a lower level wizard in being able to cast the large fireball.

Finally, as an Enchanted Item this little baby can be given to any of our characters, however being as our characters are pretty much split into: 'Wants to be in combat' (almost everyone) or 'Doesn't want to be in combat' (Sorceresses) the ring is of better use for the Sorceresses although it could be a neat surprise for a Scourgerunner mounted Beastmaster - if anyone takes one that is...

[lil' fisty]

Could you add a sacrificial dagger die to a ruby ring roll? It's technically still not a modifier like a wizard level...just another die to cast....

I have been trying a level 1 beasts scroll caddy on dark steed with the ring. Tossed into roaming bands of multiple dark riders and shades, you can suddenly create lots of threats adding Wyssans to one of these units, or focus firing bows plus the extra D6 for some gravy.

Warlocks are clearly a better choice, but frankly I don't like the fluff. It just seems untypical Malekith would let a sorcerer live, but that's just me. I'm considering converting 5 with the old female torsos and calling them sorceresses of slaanesh, haha.

[Dangerous Beans]

Have a look at the list in my sig - it was based around that concept and remains unbeaten as yet although I've not tried it with the new army book. I love your reasoning for not using Warlocks - and I couldn't agree more!

[Dalamar]

Dagger can only be used to add a die to spells cast by the sorceress. Ring is a bound item and it's the item doing the casting, not the sorceress. So no dagger.

[Elodin]

Wood Elves.


Truth be told it's not even really optimal in higher point games (imo) but nothing says "I tailored this list to cause you as much pain as possible, hippie" as having a Ruby Ring of Ruin on one of your characters.