by MillertimeRC
Mage Wars!This is a game I was really excited about, enough to go to eBay to pick up a copy from someone that went to Gencon. In hindsight I should have saved my money because I've not have much luck in getting people to play! Before tonight I had played three times against three different people, each game I was teaching someone on their first play. Although I could tell I liked the game, it was really hard to gauge the game since the learning games were slow and not very competitive. With the Organized Play kits finally hitting the stores it was time to get a "real" game!
In each of my three previous games I had to focus on teaching the game, watching the rules for both of us, trying to make moves to show examples, and pulling my punches so as to not be a jerk and slaughter the new player.. I wanted to hook them
Unfortunately this meant I was going to be facing real competition for the first time. Several people were not able to make it out this night, so we ended up with four. Myself, two others that had played 9 times against each other, and one person that had never played. We would play two rounds with a 75 minute time limit on each round. I'm not sure if that was in the OP rules or just something the store owner decided on, but it had some good and bad elements and did change the game some. I was happily surprised to find out there would be a story; the organizer read a background to us and gave some idea of what was coming. In case some will be playing this in the future I won't spoil the story or the extra conditions that would net scoring at the end of the night.
Because I haven't played enough to really know the game and cards, I took the Wizard default book. I have played as the Wizard and Warlock before and I like the Wizard's style. In the first round I would be facing a Beastmaster customized book. I had reviewed the Wizard book in advance and made mental notes of what was there, and how flexible it was to react to my opponent's style. Against a Beastmaster I expected a flood of creatures, so I wasn't sure how effective mana denial would be against a plan that involved low cost creatures. I started with a pretty basic setup, getting out two Mana Crystals, and equipping an Arcane Ring and Moonglow Amulet while moving ahead one zone. The Beastmaster remained in his corner, bringing out a Spawn Point and equipping a Ring of Beasts, then quickly proceeding to summon four Bitterwood Foxes.
I put down a Mana Siphon and brought out a Blue Gremlin to try to clamp down on his summoning and keep him busy. As expected, the Siphon grabbed his attention right away and he began to charge it with the Foxes. I equipped an Elemental Wand with Chain Lightning, expecting that it would be my best bet to combat a swarm. It was extremely effective and in a few rounds I was able to take out the Fox pack as my Gremlin's piercing attacks were chipping at the Beastmaster. He summoned a Wolf and several Falcons, setting the Falcons after my Mage and using the Wolf to take care of my Gremlin. My Chain Lightning was creating havoc on his plan, so the Beastmaster finally left the corner and came at me. I summoned the Basilisk to help keep things under control. Once the Beastmaster was in an adjacent zone I cast a Poison Gas Cloud on him and crippled him with the Basilisk. This was very effective and held him for several rounds, slowly chipping away at his health as I dealt with his other creatures.
I equipped a Mage Wand and bound Sleep to it to help keep the animals at bay. Unfortunately I made a rookie mistake here and forgot to leave mana to pay for revealing my Nullify, so he was able to dissolve both of my wands. Sleep and Chain Lightning both gone.. that could be a serious problem. The Beastmaster cast the tree that provides regeneration (cannot remember the name) to offset my poison cloud and also destroyed my Mana Siphon, so things were sliding downhill for me quick. I focused on directly blasting the Mage with the hope of convincing him to not rush me. Lightning Bolts and the Basilisk Gaze managed to keep him away for a few more round as I hit him over and over. And then.. TIME!
I had forgotten all about the time limit, and I think it may have saved me. I had a good lead in health, being barely touched myself. A few more rounds and that would likely have reversed. My early push and his reluctance to come out of the corner enabled me to grab an early lead.
For round 2 I would face another Wizard, although using a custom book to my default. I will come back later to detail that battle, as it went a real knockdown drag out affair.
At the end of the night I was really happy to have finally played this game against people that knew the game. I learned a lot about what the default book lacks and where it shines.. it has a nice balance that allows you to adapt to any opponent, but lacks any real strength of it's own. A 75 minute time limit changes things, and I'll try to find out if that's official for the Organized Play. If it is I will need to build books around that idea, slow play strategies will probably not be a good idea. I think it will favor front loaded themes with heavy hitters and quick bursts. But I'm definitely hooked and can't wait for the next session!
