Mavic A719 have been damn near bomb proof in my experience. I use them for nasty winter commuting, while I use Open Pros for the other three season. Both have been solid, and both sets are 36 spoke. I go over a lot of cobblestones and rough roads too.

As for tires I like Conti 4 Seasons for spring, summer, and autumn; they have great flat resistance, are excellent in the wet, and are fast. For the winter I prefer Schawlbe studded tires as I find them to be considerably faster than the Nokians they replaced, with no discernible difference in grip or wear. The major difference is on totally unplowed roads, with no car tracks to ride in. In these conditions the knobbies of the Nokians are better, but the vast majority of my riding isn't in these conditions so the Schawble wins.