Rt/N Explosive Creation

The Explosive Creation build deals damage throughout and upon the creation, life, and death of animated minions. This build takes advantage of Spawning Power's ability to affect minion creation as well as spirits.

Attributes and Skills

Equipment

An Insightful staff of Enchanting, possibly with an Inscription of "Aptitude, Not Attitude", which gives HCT of Death Magic (20%), or a Poisonous Sword/Axe of Enchanting with Bortak's Bone Cesta//Armind's Focus. The weapons from Shichiroji are favored for their +5 Energy mod.
Best Vigor rune possible and superior Spawning Power. All other minor runes to conserve health.
Harbinger's Armor or Halcyon's Armor. For Nightfall, this is Survivor and Radiant Insignia, respectively. Runes of Vitae and/or Attunement are also recommended.

Usage

Use Rotting Flesh to start spreading damage if you do not have minions or when there are no corpses.
Keep Boon of Creation and Explosive Growth up when creating minions.
Create a Flesh Golem when you do not have one.
Create Bone Minions when you already have a Flesh Golem. This doubles the Explosive Growth damage and provides two targets for Death Nova. With Boon of Creation, this skill almost entirely recovers its energy cost upon successful cast.
In PvE, if you still have minions before a battle, activate Signet of Creation, cast Death Nova on all of them, and rush them into battle, preferably near a large group of enemies. The Signet should keep most or all of them alive to attack your foes for up to 30 seconds, and then kills them all simultaneously, activating Death Nova's explosions.
Use Blood of the Master to keep minions alive between battles.
Check General minion mastery guide for an in depth discussion of minion usage.

Counters

Remove the enchantments upon which the build depends.
Exploit the corpses with faster-casting Necromancer skills.
Use Smiting Prayers, which double damage against undead creatures.
Use high-level magical Area of Effect damage against the low-level minions before they come into Death Nova range.

Variants

Use Bone Fiends, Vampiric Horrors, or Bone Horrors instead of minions for longer lasting undead followers.
Use Spirit Channeling to provide energy for creating a constant supply of Bone Fiends or Horrors and fund Blood of the Master.
Attuned Was Songkai may also be used for energy management when focusing on higher cost undead animations, but keep in mind it negates all weapons and off-hands while being held.
Add quickly recharging spirits such as Destruction and use Rupture Soul, possibly drawing them into position with Draw Spirit allowing you to deal damage on creation and destruction of the spirit.
Use Taste of Death instead of Signet of Creation to focus on killing off specific minions, specifically the Flesh Golem to create a new one, to trigger Death Nova when required, and to self-heal.
Use Generous Was Tsungrai with a few extra points towards Restoration when low on health and immediately drop to heal.
Reduce Spawning Power, increase Restoration, and add spirits such as Recuperation to help your teammates and minions last longer.
If a resurrection skill is necessary, leave out either Blood of the Master or Rotting Flesh. If you increase Restoration, take Flesh of My Flesh.
Switch out Rotting Flesh for Bitter Chill for spammable damage, Vile Miasma for damage and degen, or Deathly Swarm for groups of enemies.

Nightfall Variations

Boon of Creation

Explosive Growth

Spirit's Gift

Putrid Flesh

Animate Bone Minions

Death Nova

Reclaim Essence

Optional

Boon of Creation

Explosive Growth

Spirit's Gift

Putrid Flesh

Animate Bone Minions

Death Nova

Jagged Bones

Optional

Swap out Blood of the Master for Spirit's Gift and Rotting Flesh for Putrid Flesh, for disease/degen on your foes and healing/condition removal for your minions.
Swap out Flesh Golem for Reclaim Essence for superior Energy management or areas with heavy Enchantment removal. Or, Jagged Bones makes every allied minion an "exploitable corpse", ensuring an infinite source of bomb material, another activation of Explosive Growth, and another source of degen via Bleeding.