Hello everyone, great questions.
A typical spellbook has about 55-65 spells in it (call it 60 average).
Most of those are going to be within the schools you are trained in. I would say 80%. Some Mages love to dabble in other school, having fewer spells to play with, but putting together the best from each school. Most players go outside of their school just for support spells they need (like Dispel, Dissolve, and Minor Heal), or for a a couple big surprises.
A good game lasts maybe 15 rounds, and if you cast 2 spells per round, you won't go through half your spellbook before the game is done.
In 5 years of playtesting I have only seen one player "decked", and that was because a Mind mage was pulling spells out of the opponents spellbook (making him "forget" them). Being decked is not the end of the game. As you mentioned, a player can still fight on with their base melee attack and any creatures they have in play. However, you probably need to wrap up and win quickly!
I should mention that once you get down to half you spells, your remaining choices become very limited. You will have fewer answers to your opponents threats and tactics. The other player starts noticing that and may pull out his end game tactics!
A typical spellbook has about 55-65 spells in it (call it 60 average).
Most of those are going to be within the schools you are trained in. I would say 80%. Some Mages love to dabble in other school, having fewer spells to play with, but putting together the best from each school. Most players go outside of their school just for support spells they need (like Dispel, Dissolve, and Minor Heal), or for a a couple big surprises.
A good game lasts maybe 15 rounds, and if you cast 2 spells per round, you won't go through half your spellbook before the game is done.
In 5 years of playtesting I have only seen one player "decked", and that was because a Mind mage was pulling spells out of the opponents spellbook (making him "forget" them). Being decked is not the end of the game. As you mentioned, a player can still fight on with their base melee attack and any creatures they have in play. However, you probably need to wrap up and win quickly!
I should mention that once you get down to half you spells, your remaining choices become very limited. You will have fewer answers to your opponents threats and tactics. The other player starts noticing that and may pull out his end game tactics!