In our beloved Mage Wars game, there are some spells which should automatically be included in each and every spellbook due to shear awesomeness, some spells which rarely (if ever) see the light of day and wouldn't know what a spellbook was if they were hit on the head with one, and some spells which may fall into the misunderstood category, and like the ugly duckling, have a Swan-like potential hiding inside their "they-have-a-wonderful-personality" exterior... In other words, the Good, the Bad, and the Neglected.
The Good:
- Dispel... If you're not already including at least 2 of these in every spellbook, then "welcome to the Arena!" You must be new to Mage Wars!
- Dissolve... Similar to Dispel, at least 2 Dissolves should be on hand to rid your opponent of those pesky wands, armor, cloaks, and stainless steel fanny-packs.
- Teleport... Arguably the best spell in the game... You'll ALWAYS find a use for these babies, both offensively and defensively to (literally) pull your creatures out of the not-so-proverbial quicksand.
- Seeking Dispel... Ever find yourself staring at a face-down card in the Arena, and realize that the card is staring back at you?... Me? I hate that! Seeking Dispel the sucker!
- Regrowth Belt... Dying won't help you win the game... But regaining 2 health every upkeep will! And to force an opponent to use a precious Dissolve to get rid of it? Bonus!
- Decoy... I don't know why I wouldn't include at least 1 of these everytime. Is it a curse? is it a nulify? Is it a trap? Only YOU know the answer to that! Plus, it's an extra way to pop an opposing Nulify!
- Cheetah Speed... This is simply a great first turn spell to cast on yourself! Cheetah Speed makes your Mage more flexible, aggresive, and slippery... why wouldn't you want a Fast mage? Why?
- Hand of Bim-Shalla... For the low low cost of 5 mana, add +1 melee, +1 Armor, or heal 1 health ANYWHERE in the arena? Did the designers forget to add a 1 in front of that 5 mana cost? Wow! Useful in any spellbook.
The Bad:
- Standard Bearer... 7 Mana to paint a large bullseye on your creature, in addition to encouraging crowding your soldiers into a target rich environment vulnerable to a Zone Attack, while the Standard Bearer himself gets no bonus whatsoever? Why? Just.... why?
- Barracks... 1) May not be adjacent to another outpost... 2) Flame +2.... 3) May not be adjacent to another outpost... 4) Did I mention it can't be adjacent to another outpost?
- Pentagram... I love the Warlock... But this is arguably the worst Spawnpoint in the game. I want to make it work, but 14 Mana in the first round of the game doesn't fit the Warlock's aggressive style.
- Mangler Caltrops... I only see the Warlord possibly including these in his spellbook since they are in his school, but why he would waste 5 precious mana points to throw down a Jacks game, sans the rubber ball? Meh.
- War Sledge... The War Sledge is a Two-Handed weapon.... The Horn of Gothos is a one-handed item... Warlord can't use both at the same time... See ya later War Sledge!
- Akiro's Hammer... So many people were giddy when they first saw this 8 Dice flinging War Machine... giddy, that it, until they read the fine print... Expensive, slow to reload, Flame +2, with a minimum range of 2, and only does zone attacks (meaning your opponent can simply snuggle up to your creatures, negating the non-conjuration attack threats)... That "new war machine smell" didn't last long. I originally had this in the Neglected" list, but after one more try, had to relegate this wooden monstrosity to the "Bad" list. Fun to use occasionally, but just not competitive.
The Neglected:
- Wind Wyvern Hide... Who's afraid of wind damage? As of June 1st, nobody... Hopefully this will change with future expansions.
- Bearskin... Frost Damage? Who even knows what that looks like? When the Necromancer enters the Arena, I'm envisioning a lot of bear rugs being equipped. But for now, it can sit on the cabin floor in front of the fireplace.
- Resurrection... As a spell level 4 incantation, a Holy Mage so far is the only one with a vested interest in this spell... And a spell that many snub due to its cost. But in a spellbook with several wands and a couple copies of Resurrection, a Priestess could really field an unending army of creatures for low spellbook cost. Think about it.
- Gate to Hell... An often-maligned Conjuration, but in a demon-heavy Warlock build, this bad-boy could truly turn the tide... whipping all demons into a stronger Melee frenzy, and properly placed, it threatens 10 out of the 12 Arena Zones with a nasty unavoidable 4 Dice Burn/2Burn attack! Expensive? Sure... But also extremely efficient when you consider the extent of it's reach.
- Shift Enchantment... I have yet to see an opponent play this spell in a game... but think of how flexible this spell makes all of your enchantments? Your buffed creature just quicksanded? (is that a word?) shift his Bear Strength to another creature that can still use it! Your opponent put out a better creature to curse than the one you bestowed much happiness upon? Shift your dark energies to a more worthy target!
- Fellella, Pixie Familiar... Maybe some out there really like this green little Pixie, but I have yet to see her fly over an opposing Beastmaster. But picture, if you will, an arena overgrown with Wall of Thorns... Your Beastmaster loses line of sight to all his critters? Not a problem... with a philanthropistic Pixie overhead casting helpful enchantments on all your wall-ignoring creatures swarming the opposing mage, Bear Strengths will be aplenty...
- Goblin Builder... "But he only removes 1 damage from a coporeal conjuration in his zone!" Yes... Not much of a Fix it Felix, but consider his other ability to cast conjurations where least expected. I envision this industrious fellow getting more looks in coming expansions when new conjurations appear.
- Goblin Bomber... Yes, he's dangerous to summon, if one isn't properly prepared... but combine these witless firecrackers with some Teleport Wands, and your opponent will come to resent their zeal for Orc and Country.
- Sectarus, Dark Rune Sword... You knew this was coming, right? Sectarus is often seen as the poor-mans Familiar. However, all of my Warlock spellbooks always include Sectarus along with a couple copies of the Hellfire Lash. Why? Because having a free Curse casting action, along with Piercing +1, is nothing to sneeze at. Is it better than the Lash? No. At least not in my opion. But as a game-starter, I'll take Sectarus over the Lash 90% of the time, and then eventually switch over to the Lash for the mid/end game pain-fest once my curses have been sufficiently shared with one and all. Curses! Curses for everyone!
- Sacrificial Altar... Another card that resulted in many a "huh?" when first read. Why would you want to voluntarily kill your own creatures? Here's why: Quicksand, Charm, Force Crush, Banish, Essence Drain, Pacify, to name a few. Don't let near-death or permanently useless creatures go to waste! Toss 'em on the Altar for one last hurrah!
Obviously, the above lists are just my humble opinion, and there were a number of spells that came darn close to being included, but I wanted to focus on the ones I felt most strongly about at this time. I'm sure this list will evolve in the coming months, as new strategies and cards are revealed. But I do want to say that I'm really impressed with how short my "Bad" list truly is! This simply screams volumes about the quality of this game, and the work that went into designing it, considering the hundreds of cards being considered.
But there you have it. Snotwalker's take on the Good, the Bad, and the Neglected.
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