Greetings, readers and fellow World of Warcraft Minis lovers, and welcome to “One Man’s Junk.” Since this is my first article on the main page, I will do a little introduction; you might already know me as Jeriatric in the forums. There isn’t much of a player base where I live, and let’s just say I don’t make it to many competitive events. Nevertheless, this game fascinates me; I love thinking up new and crazy uses for the minis and Action Bar cards. If you haven't already seen the frenzied madness of my articles in the forums, then hang on to your hats—it's going to be a wild ride.

Let me ask you something. Have you ever felt like your Minis games were getting too stale? You use the same minis over and over again, or your opponents always have the same teams. Or perhaps you have a mini you would like to use, but you’re not sure how to make it work. It’s time to dust off some of those minis and ABCs that you haven’t used in a while, because I'm going where no man/woman/child has ever gone before, all in the name of fun. Whether you like zany builds, play Minis just for the fun of it, or, like myself, enjoy the look of incredulity on an opponents face when you pull out something spectacularly insane (Halloween band, I’m looking at you), this is the place. The motto around here is that there are no bad minis, just bad matchups.

One of the things I love best about World of Warcraft Minis is that every mini or card has a niche it can fill somewhere. Regardless of how bad something seems, there is a way to make it work somehow. Savin-Wall variants or HTX clogging up your local Battlegrounds? I’ve got the perfect tech for you. It’s a little piece of equipment called Doomfinger. Fear not, intrepid reader, I haven't lost my senses. Doomfinger is sheer awesomeness in disguise. Let’s start with a breakdown of the Doomfinger in all its under-used glory.

Doomfinger is a relatively expensive bit of equipment, weighing in at 3 honor. It can only be used by clothies (i.e. Mages, Priests, and Warlocks). For that steep honor cost, you get the underwhelming effect of 2 ticks to deal 1 damage. Of course you can channel the effect, provided the target stands still and doesn’t hit back. A bleak prospect at the outset, perhaps, but with a little effort, we can unveil the gem underneath.

First, consider this. Two-tick attacks have a relatively large range of attack powers on minis, ranging from 2-5 damage flat out. Of course, this is no guarantee of anything, as each individual die has nearly a one in three chance of missing. Then you have to consider defensive rolls. High armor/resist are significantly harder to punch through—it is quite possible to whiff and not deal any damage at all. Doomfinger, on the other hand, hits every time. There is no missing. You know exactly what you are paying for and what you will get. It’s the safe route, with no surprises. Channel it, and your damage per tick increases.

Second on our list, Doomfinger's action is not an attack. We already kind of knew that with the whole “not rolling for armor/resist” thing, but it matters in another way. Because the target of Doomfinger is not being attacked and is therefore not a defender, the action cannot be protected against. Suddenly, 3 honor isn’t quite so expensive, as you have effectively rendered opposing protectors nearly void. Blessing of Sacrifice won’t save them either, and Sulfuras will not trigger.

Third, unlike theoretically similar Action Bar cards Rain of Fire and Mind Flay, Doomfinger does not exhaust when you use it. You get to use it over and over.

So how do we apply our newfound knowledge? Doomfinger is going to fill a niche where the mini has an unimpressive attack but brings something else significant to the table. Next on the agenda is finding a way to keep stuff from breaking the channel by moving out of range or attacking. This can be accomplished in two ways: tick stuff up or hold it in place. Throw in some good tanking, and you’re good to go.

Team 1: Finger Lock - 23 Honor

Amon brings something to the table here that no other mini can. Life Tap lets Amon use Doomfinger any time at the reduced tick cost normally reserved for channeling the ability. Aside from a slight loss of life, there is no difference if the channel is broken and Amon has to start over again—almost like a single target Hellfire that has a range of 3! This gives you a lot more flexibility in deciding how to get at your opponent’s weakened minis. There is also a marked increase in damage output from Doomfinger. Blessing of Sacrifice will often keep Amon from being interrupted while channeling and sets up Tranquility for maximum healing. Elune’s Blessing will also help alleviate the Life Tap usage. Roots and the Pally ABCs either tick up opponents to be BBQed or freeze them in place for pretty much the same thing.

Team 2: Holy Doom, Batman! - 19 Honor

Players have long pondered the disparity between Priests and other casters, with Priests having relatively horrible attacks and a reduced range. Doomfinger solves all those problems. With these guys running interference, Ja’nah should be able to lay down some serious hurt. Auto-damage ftw!

Team 3: Fish Fingers - 21 Honor

Blindsight brings a whole new dimension to Doomfinger. Your opponents will not be able to screen weaker minis from the awesome power of the Finger. Oh, and for those that missed the Bogstrok piece I wrote on the forums, the Razorclaw can hold a mini in place for up to 5 ticks. Sigh, if only it were a Warrior too! Then you could use Hamstring and make a mini motionless for the rest of the game, but I suppose that would be ridiculous. Five ticks is plenty and adds up to 4-5 unmitigated damage from Doomfinger! Throw in Bleakheart and Santuria to tick stuff up, and the damage continues to mount.