Arcane Wonders Forum
Mage Wars => General Discussion => Topic started by: MrSaucy on March 27, 2013, 11:58:53 PM
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List your mages from most favorite to least favorite. Here is my list:
1) Warlord
2) Wizard
3) Priestess
4) Beastmaster
5) Warlock
6) Forcemaster
I absolutely hate the Forcemaster. I have been successful with every mage except for her. In my opinion, she is the weakest of all the mages. She has almost no attacking options, and if she is playing against a Beastmaster or Warlord (who knows anything about what they are doing) she will lose every time.
I like the Warlock, but I find that his spawnpoint leaves much to be desired. He has a couple of solid creatures, and though his fire spells are cool, I would take lightning over fire anyday; daze and stun are far more annoying than burn conditions.
I like the Beastmaster because there is nothing very complicated about him. You just summon a lot of creatures and keep them buffed up. Fun and simple.
The Priestess is VERY powerful. Her defenses are hard to crack, she has tons of healing options, and a few of her creatures are very powerful. I like her a lot.
The Wizard was my favorite before the Warlord came out. He feels very dynamic. He has great offensive capabilities, such as his powerful lightning spells (thunderbolt especially), but decent defensive capabilities too. He also has a lot of "trickery" cards, as I like to call them.
The Warlord is my favorite just because I like almost all of his cards. His creatures are dynamic and useful, he can catch his opponents off guard very easily, and there a lot of cool combos he has between his Horn of Gothos and his Helm of Command.
So... what is your list? No offense to any Forcemaster aficionados, but I absolutely despise the Forcemaster in almost every single way.
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Tough choice?? I like all of them.
Beast Master - just too good
Wizard - very good overall - I like his specialty build (Mana Supression)
Priest - I like playing the Angels (mass Grey Angels) + Temple of Asyra (with clerics)
Warlock - lots of specialty build with curses and demons (with burns)
Forcemaster
Warlord
I ranked them based on how many times I played them or succeeded in winning with them (win streak).
Recently I have been playing the Warlord to see if I can perfect a build for him (I play him almost every other day).
It seems like he is the weakest of them all due to 3X cost for arcane spells (unfortunately all utility spells are arcane - nullify, dispel, mana crystals and others). His familiar does not channel. His weapon is too pricey for sweep that takes both hands and does not hit flying. He has the same strategy as the Beast Master except that the Beast Master has it easier (ex: quick cast to call a level 1 animal + lair is 14 with 2 channeling versus Barracks + tower at 16).
Well Forcemaster also is 3X for Arcane but they build so many force spell cards that he does not need a lot of Arcane spells (with the help of Thoughtspores) or other cards.
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For me its weird because I like certain schools moreso than the mages themselves.
Like, Im really looking forward to Paladin, because I like Holy as a school but not quite as fond of the Priestess's ability set (not that they arent strong)
Warlock is what I play most, but mainly because I like Dark. When Necromancer comes out I might focus on him more just because he has access to the school.
Same deal with Wizard. I like the arcane creature stable and teleports and stuff, but his Voltaric Shield and Zap with a lower health total dont make for an appealing mage to me.
So for me favorite mages and favorite schools are two very different things, and right now I only like certain mages because they have certain schools.. but would be less fond of them if there was other options.
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1.Any mage but the warlock
2.Any mage but the warlock
Really, I like the Priestess alot, Wizard, and the ForceMaster.
I love the Wizards spawn point, and the Gorgon Archers, and all the meta cards you can fit in.
The Priestess I like alot too with the temples, and most of her creatures are good.
ForceMaster......my answer to the solo warlock.He wont play much Mana Control, I can force hold him and knock down battle forge, I will use force hold, have a her familiars spell bind- desolve, dispel, and just rip him apart. Wands dont go well in my meta, they will be desolved right away, but there isnt much you can do about a spell bound creature when you are being force held. And if he summons a creature....Mind control.
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1. Beastmaster (until Druid will appear) - sentiment - when I started my adventure with general fantasy games, I always prefer nature related characters. I like the combination of wisdom and brute force.
2. Warlord - for the brute force part :P
3. Wizard - for wisdom part - also I find this character the most chalenging in terms of strategy - and I like chalenges.
4. Forcemaster - look below
5. Warlock - I simply do not like this theme.
6. Priestess - I don't like this theme even more :P
EDIT (as I was in hurry to the workplace)
I find theme more important to me than playstyle, when deciding which mage to play, as I like every playstyle :P For gameplay reason, I think every single mage is very interesting.
And for mages that are not realesed yet, here are my predictions:
0.5 Druid - she will be my number one - I am certain of that.
1.5 Necromancer - I enjoy this theme almost as much as nature ;)
2.5 Illusionist - I think I will like him more than Wizzard, but not sure.
5.5 Paladin - welkome to my "I don't like this theme" group :P
6.5 Sorcerer - if Sorcerer will be walking artyllery like in D&D, I think there is nothing to like :P
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I suspect my list will change as we get new cards but for the moment it goes something like this.
1. Wizard - He just fits my play style. Plus I like the choice of an elemental school. It's easy to build 3 wizards that feel different, that will go up to 4 when we get more water spells.
2. Priestess - she fits my play style second best after the wizard. Like the temples, angels, and Knights of Westlock.
3. Forcemaster - She doesn't fit my play style, but I find her challenging to play. I like her unique feel.
4. Warlord - I haven't played him much, but I get the sense I could learn to like him.
5. Beastmaster - I want to like him him more, really! He just doesn't fit my favorite play style well.
6. Warlock - I like his theme least of all. He doesn't fit my play style well, although I do want to build a control version of him. Maybe I'll like him better if that works out for me.
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1. Beastmaster: I really like Quick Summoning, which allows the BM to summon even while he's doing beatdown, and I don't need to play a spawnpoint to do it. Quick Summoning makes the BM the most flexible in terms of his turns, and I really like the ability to be free form with my turns. I like his access to strong enchantment buffs, mobile creatures that are easy to buff, and his strong beatdown option. I really like Fellella, although I don't always bring her out.
2. Wizard: I really like how well the Wizard can play control and midrange strategies. Right now I have an Earth Wizard build, but once I get more cards I plan to have 1 of each element (well, this will be after they flesh out the water school). Huginn is awesome for position control, and I like having easy access to attack spells. I like having Voltaric Shield as a defensive option. I enjoy running mana denial strategies, although that's not all I do with him by any means.
3. Priestess: The Priestess has such strong control options. I like the ability to stack so many daze/stun chances, and give myself defenses with rerolls. I use a temple plan, but I don't drop temples right away, I open with at least one creature, then transition into temples and/or beatdown. Staff of Asyra is amazing.
4. Warlock: I really like dark creatures, and I like the idea of curses and fire spells, it's just that I feel like whenever I play a Warlock my mana is a problem. When I'm playing the other 3 original mages, I have a sense of having good options at various mana prices, and my play feels relatively smooth. For whatever reason, the Warlock doesn't feel as smooth to me, it feels choppy and awkward. I think that I need to just play several more games with the Warlock to get a better handle on how to play him effectively (not that I lose when I play the Warlock, it just feels more awkward).
5. Forcemaster: I've played a bit with the FM, and I think I'll start liking her more once I've played with Thoughtspores. She has some awesome control and beatdown options, but I need to play more games with her before I can really evaluate how much I like her. So far I've liked her okay, but I think the reason I like all of the original mages more is just that I've explored them more.
6. Warlord: I just don't like the Warlord. I haven't played him yet, but I've thought a bit about spell book options for him, and I've played a couple games against him. The cost of position control options combined with his need to use full action attacks and specific positioning for bonuses make me dislike him. Fortified Position and Standard Bearer rely on having things positioned just right, and his main advantages compared to the BM require full actions (sweeping and ranged attacks). Whenever I think about playing him I feel like I'm picking up a neutered BM with earth attack spells thrown on top. This will hopefully change when I figure out a good strategy for him, but so far I just haven't liked him.
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In 6th place: Forcemaster. I strongly dislike obviously powerful effects, and to me, many of her cards are super strong (clearly unlike the OP :)). I also don't really think you can do much different with the Forcemaster - most FM books will be largely the same.
In 5th place: The Priestess. I think her Temple 'bolt on' (4 cards - 1x Temple of Light and 3x Hand of Bim Shalla) can easily fit into any Priestess build (and usually does), and it's a pain in the rear to deal with. Plus, I really hate all the heals... Last game against her I played she did around 30 dice of healing. 30! Makes the game longer, makes you die a little inside.
In 4th place: The Beastmaster. I do like the Beastmaster, really, but I just prefer the other 3 over him. However, I would like him to get some more level 1 creatures to add a little diversity. All in all though, I like the *feel* you get when playing him though, as well as a lot of his cards.
In 3rd place: The Warlock. I love dark spells and undead and demons, always have. I love fireballs and other vulgar magic, so the Warlock is a natural fit for me. I have a feeling when his spell pool gets expanded, this guy is gonna rise in the ranks... Also, he a better ability for me would be better too - maybe the alternate...
In 2nd place: The Warlord. A new entry for me, having recently only just played him, but I love his toys, the feeling of making a 'fort' with walls and outposts, and he has some cool creatures. Replaced the Beastmaster for me at scratching that swarm itch.
in 1st place. The Wizard. What can I say - versatile, awesome innate abilities, the complete package. Voltaic shield is crazy good, cheap access to all those arcane spells (and HUGE arcane creatures - not to mention an AWESOME familiar), and the adaptability to use any element keeping spell book construction fresh (as well as keeping him feeling fresh himself), he's an easy winner for me. I expect this to only get better too as the elemental schools get rounded out and water magic sees some love.
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1. Beastmistress- I love her versatility and speed! She can hang back and buff up her forest, or she's not afraid to rush up attacking naked with +4 swings and 36 HP! I like the Lair's stability for a conjuration and the extra card per turn synergizes so well with all her builds! From the well balanced wolf, to the speedy foxes, to her familiar, to the huge bear, to my favorite bird in the game!... Her critters are my favorite and fun to play. I never feel locked into a single gameplan with her. She's the best, IMO, at adaptation.
2. Warlock- A ton of fun to play! This is more what the Forcemaster should've been... not completely creatureless, but balanced. I like having extremely fast AND slow options in the same build. He can stack himself into a house against campers, or rush in with Adrammelbuddy against swarms. His weapon has reach, and fire spells to the most damage (with burn) in the game. (not to mention a 30 attack game finisher from the Werewolf makes you feel all warm and fuzzy...)
3. Wizard- The wizard was a lot more fun before Forcemaster was released, but now even my Air and Fire Wizards are Earth School, lol! Again, I like the speed and versatility or rushing in with Huginn and spells, or ranching with the Gate. Teleporting Hydras is fun!
4. Warlord- I like the Warlord's playstyle. Right now, he's challenging. Soldiers are cool, but it's annoying to know that other mages could do whatever he does, but better. Triple arcane really limits the spellbook versatility. In my opinion, he doesn't need more equipment, but better "Warlord Only" buffs to his soldiers. That's what makes his swarming unique. Beastmaster can swarm faster, but Warlord should be able to buff more. He's a commander, not a fighter.
5. Priestess- Meh. Too defensive for my taste. I feel she's too predictable and cannot effectively react to opponent's strategies on the fly. I haven't played her much, and she does have some powerful aspects, just not my style.
6. Forcemaster- The game would be better off without her. Seriously. Her glaring weaknesses need to be compensated by overpowered items to make her playable. Games with her OR against her are lopsided... she's either terrible or overwhelming. It really bugs me that every spellbook stands no chance against her until it's modified to her meta... and then she stands no chance against them! Games without the Forcemaster involve so much more zone strategy, tempo, dice, plan adaptation, and reacting to your opponent's moves effectively.
Great topic! I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts above!
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My current thoughts below (that seem to change almost weekly at the min!). I've not played much with the two new mages yet so ratings might change after more games and for info 6th, 5th place doesn't mean I hate them like others, in fact I think all the mages have merits and a place in the game but I digress and currently.... laydees and gemman.... we have *drumroll* :
6th place - Warlord
I feel dead guilty about this as I think he's a fun mage and my good friend (Sausageman on here) has shown me the theoretical power of a ranged Barracks/Deadeye/Horn opener followed by 2-3 turns of defensive fort-building but I've yet to see or think of more than 2-3 *good* books with him so very limited IMO. He also has some big-ass holes in his defence if you ask me and aside from very generic defence strategies, is weak to fast beatdown and has that grim triple-cost Arcane weakness. Not my style. I like Arcane spells.
5th place - Forcemaster
I don't love/hate this lady as much as many other seem to but do have some comments. I think some of her cards and in general her main 1-2 books are both very obvious and not much of a challenge or fun to build. I also think that she has really shaken up the game and perhaps that the VERY easy combo of Forcefield, Galvitar and her innate abilities *is* too powerful as things stand currently. I can't think of any other cheap,durable and effective combo that attacks, defends and nullifies so many staple strategies in the game at the moment. As I said, I think her powerful books (tbh the only ones I'm interested in B) ) map themselves out for you, so bookbuilding-wise she presents almost zero challenge. That doesn't appeal. All that said I do think she has a place in the game and that she isn't quite as broken as some people think.
4th place... just outside of the medals we have - Priestess
Again, pains me to put this chick in 4th but I like getting nifty ideas and then exploiting them and her 'best' books build themselves; sadly I don't think she has much versatility. Saying that, her Temple module IS strong like bull, I really rate most of her mid-range creatures and she has massive control options with daze/stun as others have mentioned. Lack of extra 'actions' in a Familiar, a crap 'Lair' and other ways to cast is also a real issue for me and while I am sometimes a 60/40 defensive player, the challenge of getting Priestess to win regularly with the saaaaame book could get old.
3rd place, with the Bronze medal it's - Beastmaster
After getting to a new stage of bookbuilding in the last month or so, I have renewed respect for the old BM and think he has a lot more potential than just MW - easy and lite mode. Shockingly efficient and fast with a swarm, a number of effective strategies and tactics to muck about with and exploit he rates highly for me. Your opponent better be prepared for a swarm and lots incoming or they are gunna be on their backs and not in a good way! Pick your flavour of (admittedly limited at the moment) creatures and Lair up, build a beatdown module or go hands off and buff your buddies and you have a fun-to-play book that if played well, is hard to beat and not a drag to play.
In the runner up position we have - Mr Warlock! Yay!
1st and 2nd were a real struggle for me. The fact that the Warlock has a fair number of poor cards nudges him down to 2nd though. That said, I do love the speed and potential for beatdown, curse and mild defence he has and like the fact that he has easy access to a lot of things that are in the mid-high level of 'things that have to be dealt with or I am going to dieTM'. As has been well documented for sometime, a big creature, a strong curse or two and mage melee coming at you is not very funny. At all. That lot added to the fact that being evil is cool kids! and the Warlock encouraging you to play an offensive and proactive game and he's a solid #2 for me... hopefully a future title holder with new spells and better abilities please - not a fan of his existing ones much at all. Compare to Forcemaster... wtf?
Aaaaaannnd the gold goes to ... of course, the Wizard
From day one my favourite and remains so. He's versatile, fun, mobile, tactical and strong, all words I like a lot and would associate with the Wizard. His balanced abilities and access to great options all through the game, coupled with solid counters to most strategies and common books make me smile. Options in bookbuilding are a joy; Slow creatures a weakness? Use Wand/Port. Worried about offence? Use your Shield and layer armour, regen and a defence on him and feel a lot safer. I've also always enjoyed disrupting the tempo, tactics and flow of others' games as a tactic of my own and this mage makes it hard not to do that well with full access to the duffle bag of Arcane tricks. The Wizard also has some great creatures that are there to plug specific gaps in defence and a mean, counterstriking, triple-headed bodyguard if you want to build that in.
No one has really talked about the mind games that happen in a game of MW either and this gent helps you with that side of things too IMO. Getting a small, competitive edge in a tourney could be as simple as disrupting enemy's flow with a Jinx and stopping/melting his spells with Nullifies and Dispels, the Wizard has the space and versatility to try those things in quite high numbers, not just 1-2 cards here and there.
If anything, I'd say the only glaring weakness he has for me is that it can be tempting to put all his tools in and forget to keep your eye on the prize; you only win by killing the opposing mage after all. Keep that in mind and make your wizard book as offensive as possible and you'll have options, fun and a good chance of winning.
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Understandably, the Wizard is getting lots of love. He was my initial favorite from the original 4. Glad to see I am not the only one who can't stand to play as the Warlock or Forcemaster. Sorry, I like to have creatures. I feel vulnerable with only 1 or 2 creatures out. And yes, even though I love the Warlord, I will admit that his x3 for arcane spells is very annoying. I can see why that alone would deter people from playing as him. Arcane spells are extremely useful, which also explains why the Wizard is so popular. The Wizard, for me, is the near perfect balance of defense and offense. Voltaric Shield and Thunderbolt, anyone?
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Understandably, the Wizard is getting lots of love. He was my initial favorite from the original 4. Glad to see I am not the only one who can't stand to play as the Warlock or Forcemaster. Sorry, I like to have creatures. I feel vulnerable with only 1 or 2 creatures out. And yes, even though I love the Warlord, I will admit that his x3 for arcane spells is very annoying. I can see why that alone would deter people from playing as him. Arcane spells are extremely useful, which also explains why the Wizard is so popular. The Wizard, for me, is the near perfect balance of defense and offense. Voltaric Shield and Thunderbolt, anyone?
Sure the wizard is balanced, but don't underestimate the enjoyment gotten from the freedom of picking an elemental school to specialize in. While all of the mages can have spellbooks with a different focus, the wizard best lends himself to good builds that feel different from one another. My biggest want from Arcane Wonders at the moment is more water spells, especially some damage dealing frost spells.
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Who can guess my list in order?
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Who can guess my list in order?
1. Forcemaster
2. Beastmaster
3. Warlock
4. Warlord
5. Wizard
6. Priestess
What do I win?
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1. Warlock
2. Forcemaster
3. Beastmaster
4. Warlord
5. Priestess
6. Wizard
I like mages that can be self-reliant when they need to be, as you can tell from my preference list. That said, I pretty much always have an escorting Thoughtspore or Dark Pact Slayer.
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@Tacullu64
You would have to be correct first. :lol: JK
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1. Wizard (love the versatility and his Shield is one of the best abilities in the game, plus Arcane is arguably the most useful school)
2. Priestess (love the control ability of this mage, love the powerful creatures)
3. Warlock (love the theme, love the look)
4. Beastmaster (solid all-around mage and I think a bit stronger than the Warlock but I don't like the theme/flavor as much)
5. Warlord (seems fun, but haven't had much chance to mess around with him much)
6. Forcemaster (pretty strong mage, but too one dimensional for my tastes, hopefully we don't see many more of these "one-trick pony" mages in the future)
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@Tacullu64
You would have to be correct first. :lol: JK
If course, I am Tacullu, summoner of the Mind Benders. Did you really think your secrets safe from me? :cheer:
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I am a mod your mind trick do not work on me :P
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I am a mod your mind trick do not work on me :P
I foresee a planeswalkers Vs. Bolas future for you Shad0w.....We will snuff out your spark!
Do you know where you greatest of enemies lie, Darth?
It has been around since the dawn of time,
follows your loved ones, as well as mine,
can take the form of a mountain, as well as a flower,
it cannot be outrun by the greatest of power.
Do you know where you greatest of enemies lie? Within Shad0w.-The first Dark Father of Random occurrences.
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1) Warlock.
2) Priestess
3) Beastmaster
As to the bottom 3, I don't really think I have a least favorite... I really enjoy the dynamics and challenge of my top 3, so that's pretty easy to put them first.... But I also equally enjoy the Wizard, Warlord, and Forcemaster.
I think it's another confirmation of a great game where it's often hard to rank our favorite mages, and we're also seeing a lot of varying opinions as to the order.
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1st Warlock:
I love all his abilities: The blood reaping Demon, The repeatable cursing, The relentless flame attacks both via a Wand and Lash. He is a force.
2nd Priestess
Setting up priests and temples for the divine Angels. Her cards are pretty to look at and fun to use. I find my set up forces aggression from my opponnent or feel holy wrath.
3rd Forcemaster
The scissors in a Rock paper scissors. I love the assasin style, fast and lethal with galvitar and defenses. Causing hysteria with Mind control and Charm along the way.
4th Wizard
The anti-mage mage, mana denial and metamagic can really mess up a less adaptable mage. Arcane school allows great toolbox options and utility
5th Beastmaster
Fun to play but I never feel comfortable playing a swarm plan, i feel they can be taken done quite easy with the right tools, but i do enjoy the enchantment and Pet buffs
6th Warlord
Mana and action intensive. Poor abilities; ive never got a Vet marker once in 5ish games with him. non-adjacency Outpost restriction plus triple cost Arcane is harsh.
I am so excited for the druid, It will likely take the nature school into a different root (pun)
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1 Warlock
Versatile, probably the most aggressive caster. And has a whip.
2 Wizard
Too flexible to ignore, can handlg any play style and can adjust to the enemy strategy.
3 Priestess
I love playing healers, only reason she is not in first is she can drag games out which makes it less fun for both players.
4 Force Mistress
Interesting but a bit too one dimensional at the moment.
5 Warlord
Least played with, just strikes me as a bit boring and does not appear to do anything particularly special.
6 Beastmaster
Weakest caster in my opinion, the swarm should not work if you have built a deck that can deal with it and any pther strategy other casters can do better.
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For those who do not want to know skip this post
[spoiler]1: FM / Wizard
2: Warlord
3: BM
4: Warlock
5: Priestess
[/spoiler]
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For those who do not want to know skip this post
[spoiler]1: FM / Wizard
2: Warlord
3: BM
4: Warlock
5: Priestess
[/spoiler]
So Shadow, how would you recommend playing the Warlord? What openings or strategies have the playtesters had the most success with competitively?
I don't think swarming is his go-to strategy against most mages; his Barracks, while a powerful channeling device, is highly vulnerable to the more aggressive mages. It seems a lot better against control books which do not put on early pressure, especially since it can straight up channel 3 mana with very few action-strings attached. Only the Priestess really competes for that kind of channeling on her spawnpoint.
I think the Warlord is best played if you open with Sir Corazin or Thorg plus a Butcher or Dwarf Kriegsbiel for an initial defense and THEN support those legends with a squad of smaller creatures. Those legends are beefy and powerful enough to pretty much guarantee getting veteran status and are probably the best defenders in the game.
Is this your experience too or do you think his go-to competitive opening is different?
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@ Red
That is for another thread ;)
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1. Warlord
2. Wizard
3. Forcemaster
4. Warlock
5. Beast Master
6. Priestess
I really LOVE the Warlord. I feel very adept at buying the time I need to get set up to the point where there's no stopping my freight train. Wizard is second simply because he's the anything mage, and I love the Voltaric Shield. FM is a beast, and while I might not always win I feel deadly the entire time and one slip on my opponent's part will result in defeat.
I've actually taken a shine to the Warlock. I'm not sure why. I guess I just do well with him and that's just about it =P
The Beast Master just seems to vulnerable to me to be fun. One AoE or some Sweep attacks devastate his creatures. As for the Priestess? I just don't find her fun, or the stategies I can think of for her to be exciting.
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With the # of people responding in this thread I love seeing that the numbers vary.
I've played FM, BM, Warlock and they're all pretty intoxicating. So much skill at play.
FM seems to top my enjoyment list so far as I feel it fits my playstyle but I look forward to trying more.
Enjoying this thread too =)
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1) warlock- love the theme and the imagery of having one mage out there alone. and his style is great- pester the enemy with dot until you're built up-then go for the kill. or, you can be hyper aggressive against a conjuration deck and keep them off balance.
2) priestess- i like the holy theme, healing etc. The temple build is straightforward and feels constraining at first but mid-game you have a lot of opportunities for flexibility. Also, her special ability of removing a condition is sooo goood.
3) Wizard- most spellbook flexibility, and he's all about reversals and turning the tide. Voltaric shield is pretty handy.
4) beastmaster- straight forward but really shows the skill needed to properly execute an action economy advantage against competitive players.
5) forcemaster- haven't played with her much but i like her control style. i don't think she's imbalanced, i just think she requires a high learning curve for BOTH players in a game to figure out.
6) warlord- have only played as him once. i like the theme but don't like the lack of arcane spells.
admittedly, i've only played a decent amount of games with 1-3. right now I am just loving that warlock curse deck, though sectarus isn't doing much for me so far.
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1. Warlock
2.Priestess
3.Wizard
4.BeastMaster
i have not played forcemaster or warlord yet :) but as i see them they might go somewhere in the top 3.
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6) Warlord- I just don't like the design- +1 melee why? Battle Orders should have been a free quick cast
5) Forcemaster- limited play options-
4) Priestess - Temple build- getting old fast
3) Beastmaster- fun to play lots of options
2) Warlock - Love the style- needs more card support
1) Wizard- Versatility- lots of options!
Jusy my opinion
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1) Warlock: He is the master of early game aggression. (yes, even better than the BM) I feel like early fights require a lot more tactical skill than lategame fights. When you have very few creatures, enchants and conjurations, every move and every action becomes far more important, and the order in which you activate creatures becomes amazingly important.
2) Wizard: The most versatile of the Mages, the Wizard is whatever you make of him. You can play aggressively, defensively, creature-based, attack-based, etc. Any way you want it, that's the way you need it... there's a reason he seems to be the most popular Mage.
On the downside, the old Wiz feels like the most fragile of the Mages. Not because 32 health is that low (it isn't, and Voltaric Shield is great) but because he pays 2x spellbook cost for every healing ability in the game. At least in my experience, even the warlock heals for more with Vampiric and Deathlink.
3) Priestess: I like her because she can choose to play very aggressively or very defensively, and her Daze/Stun abilities can really shut down other players. Healing is very strong, and as long as the Priestess can keep a core army of level 3-4 units alive she is likely to win. The downside is that she is vulnerable to Finite Life and Nullifies, and since there is no Holy familiar she can find herself at an action disadvantage against multiple curses.
4) Beastmaster: In my opinion, the BM is like a weaker version of the Warlock. If you just read his character-card abilities, they seem stronger than the Warlock's. Yet after dozens of games I just feel outright stronger as a Warlock. I suspect that Ring of Fire and Fire Immunity has a lot to do with it. The Warlock is the only Mage that can freely blast away with zone attacks while also swarming with creatures.
5) Warlord: The Warlord is incredibly crappy in the early game but becomes exponentially more powerful as you let him build up an army. The problem is, there are so many early game aggression strats out there that Warlord players are often forced into playing the Round 2 Sniper Tower just to defend himself. The sniper tower is a strong play but it is a bit of a one-trick pony.
6) Forcemaster: I have no idea how to play a Forcemaster. With the exception of the very first Forcemaster vs Warlord game I ever played, I really haven't seen FM win any games. I'm not sure why she feels so weak, because her ability card seems extremely strong and forcefield seems extremely strong. I think it has to do with the combination of paying 3x cost for most creatures, and paying 2x cost for non-mind incantations and attack spells. If you only play in-school, you simply don't have any heavy-hitters other than Galvitar+Scimitar melee, which is easily avoided by Guards, teleports, tanglevines etc. As soon as you start taking many out-of-school spells, your spellbook gets so thin that you run out of options early in the game.
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1) Warlock: He is the master of early game aggression. (yes, even better than the BM) I feel like early fights require a lot more tactical skill than lategame fights. When you have very few creatures, enchants and conjurations, every move and every action becomes far more important, and the order in which you activate creatures becomes amazingly important.
I think you and I are always going to disagree on this one, lol, not that there's anything wrong with that. I think the BM's ability to quickcast level 1 creatures is huge when it comes to early game aggression. A BM can move twice on his first activation (either by just double moving, or through Cheeta's Speed) and quickcast a Fox or Falcon. If the opponent moved at all on the first turn, then the Fox/Falcon is getting in an attack, which is faster than the Warlock can manage. Just seems like the BM gets those attacks rolling one turn faster than the Warlock, although I agree that, punch for punch, the Warlock hits a little harder.
6) Forcemaster: I have no idea how to play a Forcemaster. With the exception of the very first Forcemaster vs Warlord game I ever played, I really haven't seen FM win any games. I'm not sure why she feels so weak, because her ability card seems extremely strong and forcefield seems extremely strong. I think it has to do with the combination of paying 3x cost for most creatures, and paying 2x cost for non-mind incantations and attack spells. If you only play in-school, you simply don't have any heavy-hitters other than Galvitar+Scimitar melee, which is easily avoided by Guards, teleports, tanglevines etc. As soon as you start taking many out-of-school spells, your spellbook gets so thin that you run out of options early in the game.
I think one of her biggest problems is that she is so predictable. Being one dimensional and predictable is a huge liability in this game. I've said before that I hope they don't make any more mages that are so one dimensional in how they can be played. The limitations you mentioned on her are crippling IMO, but maybe if they release some more creatures from the Mind school she'll fare a bit better on the battlefield.
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I think one of her biggest problems is that she is so predictable. Being one dimensional and predictable is a huge liability in this game. I've said before that I hope they don't make any more mages that are so one dimensional in how they can be played. The limitations you mentioned on her are crippling IMO, but maybe if they release some more creatures from the Mind school she'll fare a bit better on the battlefield.
With all of that said, in a tourney situation, I would not be surprised if she were to win it all. There are very few mages that can be beating the living bejezures out of you by round 2. Foxes, Falcons or not. Might be one dimensional in more relaxed games but in a tournament the Forcemaster or Warlock have very very strong advantages.
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FM is my go to tourney mage. (From the current mages that are out*) :whistle:
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So my thoughts on the mages have changed quite a bit since I started this thread...
From favorite to least favorite:
#1) Wizard
#2) Forcemaster
#3) Tie between Beastmaster and Warlock
#4) Priestess
#5) Warlord
Wizard is #1 just because he is so versatile and unpredictable.
Forcemaster is #2. I realize now that my early failures with the Forcemaster were my fault; I just wasn't playing her correctly! In fact, the only keeping her from #1 is the fact that she can be very difficult to play right.
Beastmaster and Warlock are tons of fun.
Priestess is good, I just find her play-style a little boring. And no... I do not use the turtle strategy with her.
I'm sorry Warlord. I tried. I just can't help feeling that the Beastmaster is better than you in every single way. I gave the Warlord plenty of time to shine but I never felt like his abilities or creatures were as powerful as they were supposed to be.
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My thinking on the mages has changed a bit as well. I still dislike the Warlord, and the BM is still my favorite mage, but I like the FM a lot more, and the Priestess doesn't fit my play style as well as I'd like. I really like the Beastmaster, Forcemaster, Wizard, and Warlock. I think the Priestess is strong, but doesn't quite fit my play style. I'm looking forward to trying the new Priest, since he seems more my style. The Warlord just seems a touch worse than the other mages.
1. Beastmaster
2. Forcemaster
3. Wizard
4. Warlock
5. Priestess
6. Warlord
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I'm looking forward to trying the new Priest, since he seems more my style. The Warlord just seems a touch worse than the other mages.
Speaking of mage variations, I can't wait to see what the variation of the FM is going to be. The current FM
's abilities/attributes focus on defense and positional control (i.e. force pull). Maybe the next FM will have a psychic focus? I can only hope!
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I dont have so much games under my belt but still, this is my list. If Warlord was somewhat different or his "second skill card" was a Dwarf Lord... he would be in my top 3 but he had so many cards which i cannot use properly (yup, i blaming me, not creators ;) - Akiros Hammer, Goblin Builder, his main weapon, Goblin Bomber... his command mechanics)
1. Beastmaster (his game options are in symbiosis of my play style)
2. Priestess (her game options are also in symbiosis of my play style but thematicly is less)
3. Wizard (versatility!!!)
4. Warlock (every one loved him and played him so i dont :) )
5. Forcemaster (i am not a solo mage player)
6. Warlord (stated above)
I deeply believe, that upcoming expansion will shufle this order of mages :)
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I dont have so much games under my belt but still, this is my list. If Warlord was somewhat different or his "second skill card" was a Dwarf Lord... he would be in my top 3 but he had so many cards which i cannot use properly (yup, i blaming me, not creators ;) - Akiros Hammer, Goblin Builder, his main weapon, Goblin Bomber... his command mechanics)
1. Beastmaster (his game options are in symbiosis of my play style)
2. Priestess (her game options are also in symbiosis of my play style but thematicly is less)
3. Wizard (versatility!!!)
4. Warlock (every one loved him and played him so i dont :) )
5. Forcemaster (i am not a solo mage player)
6. Warlord (stated above)
I deeply believe, that upcoming expansion will shufle this order of mages :)
As somebody who used to play Warlord, Goblin Bomber, Goblin Builder, and Akiro's Hammer are awful. Goblin Builders especially.
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Mine is a toss up between the Wizard or Preistess.
So far I have won every single game I have played and I would say the Wizard is just the easiest to win with (almost too easy, as in there isn't a challenge).
Mana suppression is SO powerful. When I'm channelling 14 mana per round and my opponent is channeling 6 + upkeep + suppression effects, really it is just a matter of time before they are overwhelmed. By the time you get to that point they can't do anything but try to react and even then it isn't enough to make a difference, you can summon a big creature every other turn OR what I like to do is just chain cast Chain Lightning and work them down until dead.
The other reason I like the Wizard is because the Gorgon + Basilisk double ranged attack is almost too overpowered. By the time a creature or enemy mage can even get to you the gorgon is doing nice damage + weakening them and the basilisk (and/or combo of lightning stuns) is keeping them from getting in range to do damage.
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The Preistess I like because you just can't kill her, if she gets low or in danger you just heal back to full and eventually your opponent runs out of steam. She's not super powered offensively (although she has options) she has long term play options.
Also with the preistess I LOVE a pile of temples and just stun lock my opponents until they die while not being able to barely touch you.
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In any deck I'm a HUGE fan of ranged, and not into big melee heavy hitters. I like to kill them from afar and if I need to finish them off with melee when they get close. It is about controling your environment and I feel ranged is best for that. Although there is a counter strategy for everything, which makes the game cool.
Even though I have won with every mage I've played I think the hardest challenge was the Warlock because as much as I love curseweaving, I'm not impressed with the creature base and I feel DoT tactics are too slow for me.
The Beastmaster is fun but almost feels a bit too straightforward and simple to play. Summon a horde, send em out, overwhelm your opponent, win the game. Sure you can win but it isn't a big challenge, maybe I like the more subtle tactics to win.
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I tend to agree that warlord is struggling at the moment. But there are a few cards in the new expansion which I think will help and also the dice tower promo ones look good for him as well. I'm sure he will have his day in the sun soon!
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Woah. Haven't posted in this thread for quite some time. Fav mages as of now:
1. Necromancer: awesome!
2. Warlord: even with all of his flaws I can't help but like 'em.
3. Wizard: does anybody hate the Wizard? that would be a first in my book.
4. Warlock: very close to topping Wizard for me. Wizard gets the edge for being versatile though.
5/6. Priestess/Beastmaster: effective but too straightforward in my opinion.
7. Druid: i want to like her! i really really do! i would have to win with her first ;D
8. Forcemaster: i like creatures too much to enjoy playing as the FM.
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My current list would go something like this:
1. Beastmaster (both)
2. Warlock
3. Wizard
4. Necromancer
5. Forcemaster
6. Druid
7. Priest/Priestess
8. Warlord
I'm a fan of 1-5, and they are all very close. I'm not a big fan of 6-8.
The Straywood and Johktari Beastmasters are my favorites largely due to how much I like the nature school.
I've only played 1 game with the Druid, and my opinion on her is the least firm. I won the game, but I kept seeing vulnerabilities to cards like Ring of Fire, Deathlock, and Eagleclaw Boots. So far I'm much more interested in the Beastmasters, and they are my nature mages of choice. I'm sure that a strong Druid build could be put together based on the strength of the nature school, one that wouldn't be nearly as vulnerable to fire, Deathlock, and position control, I'm just concerned that it will involve many of the same cards and be too similar to one of my Beastmaster builds for my tastes.
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1 - Druid (I'm weird, I know)
2 - Warlock (Works well with a battleforge build, which I seem to prefer)
3 - Forcemaster (If I got to play her more often she'd probably be higher - I've been banned from playing her in my meta)
4 - Priestess (Still trying to work out my strategy with her...)
5 - Priest (Battleforge!)
6 - Necromancer (Kinda neutral here...not really attracted to undead)
7 - J. Beastmaster (Fun, but I can't help but feeling that her innate abilities don't mesh well...and issues with golems/zombies)
8 - S. Beastmaster (I'm just not into animals I suppose)
9 - Wizard (Feels too gamey for me at the moment, especially with Wizard's Tower - will reevaluate after seeing if Acid Ball is an actual threat)
10 - Warlord (Needs massive work before this one even counts as a mage tbh...)
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1. Forcemaster (Love the board control)
2. Druid (same as above)
3. Warlord (I don't know why but he's awesome)
4. Wizard
5. Necromancer (I haven't played him yet but he seems pretty good)
6.Beastmaster Joktari (love the ranged game)
7. Priest (who doesn't love stacking burns)
8. Warlock (Same as above)
9. Beastmaster Straywood (little bit boring to me)
10. Priestess (yawn)
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Playstyle
1. Forcemaster
I love the Forcemaster. I think she fits my playstyle the best of all the mages so far. That being said, I really wish she had more strategic options. Personally I would love her much more if she could also be played more defensively. If she could run around the board protecting herself from damage using armor, defenses, and position control, while gradually buffing her own melee attack before going for the enemy mage, then that would be perfect for me. She would probably need a card like Hand of Bim or crown of protection, except for melee attack and not armor or healing, and a bit more mana expensive.
Not sure about the rest of the list. They all tend to be pretty fun.
Theme:
1. Sort of a three way tie between Johktari Beastmaster, Wizard and Forcemaster. The beastmistress is just so bad***, I identify with the wizard because of his love for academics, and the forcemaster is so dang smart that she can move things with her mind!
2. Druid--the powerful and serene guardian of nature. Awesome.
3. Beastmaster--wild and free, yet also sort of realistic and down to earth in a way (especially when it comes to survival). Will kill to preserve life and its cycles. Strength to survive and eat or be eaten. It's classic green with its practicality, moral ambiguity and liveliness. So cool.
4. Priestess, priest and warlock
Interesting and definitely a must in this kind of fantasy setting, although I'm not much of a fan of organized religion, which makes it difficult for me to feel attached to them when I'm playing them.
5. Warlord: I didn't even know war was magical before playing mage wars. I suppose it makes sense, but it really isn't an intuitive idea IMO.
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How can this thread have >2100 views when so many great threads have so few? It's like describing your "favourite" spell! Balderdash!
When I was a Research Manager, the phrase "what is your favourite X?" was banned in decent quantitative research because "favourite" means different things to different people - so what's the point of capturing this when you don't know each respondent's interpretation?
"Favourite" =
Most efficient, appealing to the competitor in me (Wizard)
Most thematic, appealing to the roleplayer in me (Jokhtari)
Most tactical, appealing to the minis wargamer in me (Warlord)
Most focused, appealing to the LCG player in me (Forcemaster)
Most resource management, appealing to the boardgamer in me (Straywood)
Most fun, appealing to the "let's not think too much" in me (Warlock)
I'm shocked at the forum luminaries who have posted in this thread. Maybe it's part of the Christmas "silly season"?
At the risk of sounding like the irate Dude (who got angry from an innocuous question relating to deciding play order that I stupidly asked), can we please avoid totallly subjective unenlightening threads like "do you prefer blue or pink?" - which is what this thread is all about!
To necro this ancient thread - ugh! Maybe I'm in a bad mood coming back from the pub tonight but - what is the point?
Bah humbug
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How can this thread have >2100 views when so many great threads have so few? It's like describing your "favourite" spell! Balderdash!
When I was a Research Manager, the phrase "what is your favourite X?" was banned in decent quantitative research because "favourite" means different things to different people - so what's the point of capturing this when you don't know each respondent's interpretation?
"Favourite" =
Most efficient, appealing to the competitor in me (Wizard)
Most thematic, appealing to the roleplayer in me (Jokhtari)
Most tactical, appealing to the minis wargamer in me (Warlord)
Most focused, appealing to the LCG player in me (Forcemaster)
Most resource management, appealing to the boardgamer in me (Straywood)
Most fun, appealing to the "let's not think too much" in me (Warlock)
I'm shocked at the forum luminaries who have posted in this thread. Maybe it's part of the Christmas "silly season"?
At the risk of sounding like the irate Dude (who got angry from an innocuous question relating to deciding play order that I stupidly asked), can we please avoid totallly subjective unenlightening threads like "do you prefer blue or pink?" - which is what this thread is all about!
To necro this ancient thread - ugh! Maybe I'm in a bad mood coming back from the pub tonight but - what is the point?
Bah humbug
Bah humbug? This is fun. Everyone's going to probably want to discuss their favorite mages for a long time to come. This thread will probably be recreated every time we get new forum members. I hardly see the harm in posting here instead of making a new thread about the same exact thing.
And this isn't a research forum, this a game forum. What matters on this particular thread is insula reactions, not cingulate gyrus processing. Everyone has different reasons for liking some mages over others. That subjectivity isn't a problem since were not trying to objectively and definitively evaluate which mage is best.
Gubmuh Hab!
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Yeah, I discussed this with my housemate - who called me an "intellectual snob" for ranting against populism!
(It's not the subject per se, it's the 2200+ views when there are so many hidden gems in this forum worthy of more attention.)
My housemate is also trained in psychology and insightfully explained that the popularity of Film Reviews, read even after you have seen the film (and this a similar Review thread), is because people want endorsement that their views are held by others. They want to belong to that club of peers who all believe Citizen Kane is over-rated. Or that the Warlord is an exciting concept, sadly not competitively executed.
To someone as opinionated as me, canvassing other people's opinions on personal taste seems utterly unnecessary; I know what I think and I'm sure that others have good personal taste reasons to think different - c'est la vie! Do I care? On this subjective issue, not really...
However, I can't refute that Reviews are popular. So I was wrong to rant against the popularity of this thread. I was taken by the Christmas Spirit (all this forced happiness turns me into a misanthrope, I can't wait for this temporary "season of goodwill" to end so that we humans can revert to being our normal selves). This thread's views is an irrefutable testament to its entertainment value. People want brainless Hollywood blockbusters so that's what people get. People want conniving corrupt politicians so that's what people get. People want trashy tabloid newspapers so that's what people get.
This thread is undoubtedly entertaining for many. So apologies for my misanthropic rant.
However, for anyone contributing here in future, can you please define "favourite" as it is such a subjective adjective? Everyone measures this on a different dimension, weighting factors unique to themselves. It's a nonsense criteria without describing own taste preferences in this "contest".
2200+ views! I weep for this world... :)
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Citizen Cane is overrated. It was a thoroughly uninteresting movie, whatever my film studies teacher says about cinematography.
As for how I rate the mages, I rate them based on play style.
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How can this thread have >2100 views when so many great threads have so few? It's like describing your "favourite" spell! Balderdash!
You must be fun at parties...
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You must be fun at parties...
If you'll hold that question a few moments, I have a powerpoint slide that shows a chart that will cover your answer in more depth, but I don't want to do these out of order.
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Yeah, I discussed this with my housemate - who called me an "intellectual snob" for ranting against populism!
(It's not the subject per se, it's the 2200+ views when there are so many hidden gems in this forum worthy of more attention.)
My housemate is also trained in psychology and insightfully explained that the popularity of Film Reviews, read even after you have seen the film (and this a similar Review thread), is because people want endorsement that their views are held by others. They want to belong to that club of peers who all believe Citizen Kane is over-rated. Or that the Warlord is an exciting concept, sadly not competitively executed.
To someone as opinionated as me, canvassing other people's opinions on personal taste seems utterly unnecessary; I know what I think and I'm sure that others have good personal taste reasons to think different - c'est la vie! Do I care? On this subjective issue, not really...
However, I can't refute that Reviews are popular. So I was wrong to rant against the popularity of this thread. I was taken by the Christmas Spirit (all this forced happiness turns me into a misanthrope, I can't wait for this temporary "season of goodwill" to end so that we humans can revert to being our normal selves). This thread's views is an irrefutable testament to its entertainment value. People want brainless Hollywood blockbusters so that's what people get. People want conniving corrupt politicians so that's what people get. People want trashy tabloid newspapers so that's what people get.
This thread is undoubtedly entertaining for many. So apologies for my misanthropic rant.
However, for anyone contributing here in future, can you please define "favourite" as it is such a subjective adjective? Everyone measures this on a different dimension, weighting factors unique to themselves. It's a nonsense criteria without describing own taste preferences in this "contest".
2200+ views! I weep for this world... :)
I think you need to talk to your psychologist friend again. Seeking approval and belonging are major reasons for people to talk about what they like, but those reasons are good reasons and don't always give rise to mob mentality. On top of that, they aren't necessarily the only reasons.
I understand where you're coming from--I also feel rather similarly about Christmas, and Football as well. People like what they like, regardless of whether I think it's stupid, superficial, or unoriginal and often rather scripted. That's probably never going to change. The proper response to that isn't "Bah humbug." The proper response is "Who cares!?"