I think it depends. Unicorns are quicker than bears. And they often are depicted as having wings. If the unicorn has wings, if it can't fly, it will probably be able to glide a bit, or at least run faster. Not to mention those horns can be really sharp. The bear has a lot of brute strength, sharp claws and teeth, and a very heavy body. It's also of course not as fast as a unicorn. Naturally this would usually equate to a an aggro-midrange versus an aggro-control style battle of sorts, with the unicorn using its magic combined with hit and run tactics to tire the bear, and the bear trying to land the one or two hits it needs to kill the unicorn before the unicorn can get out of its range. Of course, if the unicorn gets really angry, it might try a charge with its horn. Against the bear this tactic probably has a relatively low chance of success in spite of the bear's low reflexes. If the unicorn gets angry it will likely make loud hoofsteps and possibly neigh, giving the bear more than enough time to react to the charge.

And this is all without the supervision of a mage.

So in conclusion, it could go either way, but the unicorn has the advantage.

Particularly:
1. How much would it cost to build a competitive spellbook? Can it be done with just the core set? If so, how long might it be viable to do so?
2. How much does the amount of money spent on Mage Wars products affect game outcomes between players of the same skill level? Of different skill levels?

I've looked everywhere, and I've yet to find an answer to these questions. It's kind of surprising to me, since I think these questions would be of great importance to many prospective players. If not being a collectible trading card game like MtG makes a real significant difference in the affordability of Mage Wars, I would hope that specific information about why and how that makes it more affordable, and to what extent it does so, would be more readily available.

I really want to get into Mage Wars, but I don't want to have to be restricted to playing the same way with the same people in a small playgroup over and over again. It's one of the reasons I quit playing MtG, the other reason being that it was too expensive. I think competitive play would give the variety that I'm looking for, but it won't be worth playing if it isn't affordable. I'm hoping to at least play at the local level, or in informal events at the university that I will begin attending in the fall. I don't think they have a Mage Wars club though, at least not at the moment, but I'm sure it is very likely that there are enough students there who would want to join one.

I'm really excited about Mage Wars, so any help in clarifying these matters would be very much appreciated!
Thanks!