The beastmaster is intended to be played multiple ways, one of which is the hunting bow. It is not required but adds to her different styles of play.

I would argue that the Beastmaster is at a disadvantage due to her lack of a niche.  The concept of a flexible all-rounder runs into problems in every game that tries to include it.  This reminds me of when I tried playing as a Ranger in Guild Wars 2 (right after release).  Everyone shunned that class and refused to group with one (they still might; I don't play anymore).  The problem was that a Ranger was simply never the best class for any job, and groups (understandably) wanted to min-max. 

The same thing happens right now in Mage Wars.  If players want to play as a melee Mage, they will be more effective with a Mage that specializes purely in that (such as a Forcemaster).  If they want a ranged Mage, there are also better options. 

It would be one thing if the game actively supported switching roles mid-match.  But most of the time, it's just not a good idea.  Maybe if the Beastmaster had an ability that let her change weapons for free at the beginning of her action phase, things would be different.  But I don't see that happening. 

Hawkeye only gives Ranged +1 because otherwise it would be really strong with spammed attack spells, as you can get the bonus easily twice per round (particularly with the Wizard's extremely cheap Arcane Zap), and it's much harder to defend against ranged attacks, as most guards won't help.

That makes sense, but unfortunately it does leave regular (non-magical) ranged attacks a tad behind.  Hopefully more cards come out that boost ranged attacks.  The only ones I can think of at the moment are Hawkeye and Sniper Shot. 

Why would the Johktari be running away from those 2 creatures in isolation? The whole point is that her animals would be attacking things and providing hindering while she positioned against the enemy threats. That's a large part of why she's so dependent on the Lair. Elusive helps with that, but you can still drastically limit how many attacks your enemy gets against you with proper positioning and action sequencing even without it.

I agree that the Johktari Beastmaster could be better supported, and I'd like to see more flexible options for her, but she's still very playable.

Let's forget the scenario for a moment.  I just want you to answer one question:  What advantage does the innate fast trait give to the Johktari Beastmaster when she is being played as was intended by the developers (with her bow equipped)?  Besides the niche application of being unaffected by Enfeeble (a card which most Mages aren't going to run). 

Additionally, what would you personally change in regards to the Johktari Beastmaster and/or the Hunting Bow, if anything? 

I guess I'll try my hand at this topic.  Keep in mind, I'm relatively new, and don't know which strategies are considered normal. 

1. Walled In
This only works if you start with initiative, preferably as a Warlord.  First turn, walk to center close middle of the board.  Take absolutely no actions.  As long as the opponent did not move to the center far middle zone, you are good (if he/she did, you are screwed).  Second turn, walk to center far middle zone, and carefully cast 2 connecting Walls of Steel.  If the opponent was in a corner, you should have completely walled him/her in, and you should skip the next step.  Turn three, quick-cast a final wall to fully enclose your opponent.  If you have done this correctly, your opponent will not have had a chance to react. 

Next, either build some Archer's Watchtowers and summon some ranged units to pelt the mage from beyond the wall.  After that, start summoning Talos.  By the time your opponent gets out of his walled off area, you should be just about finished.  This is all assuming your opponent doesn't possess teleporting or flying creatures, of course.  It's a massive gamble, but it is also hilarious if you can manage to pull it off. 

2. Self-Inflicted Mana Siphon
I heard about this combo from someone else (sorry, can't remember who at the moment).  If only works if you are a priest(ess) and put Divine Intervention on yourself.  When your opponent casts Mana Siphon, reveal Divine Intervention and teleport yourself out of range.  Your opponent will be forced to choose himself/herself as the target, and then spend the next several turns trying to destroy his/her own conjuration. 

Sorry in advance for the long response. 

Why would my response be sarcastic?

Sorry if I misread your response; I wasn't entirely certain if it was sarcastic, or if you really didn't see any synergy between those examples.  Granted, I probably should have mentioned that I wasn't referring to direct interactions with the abilities, but how they help the Mage type as a whole. 

Curseweaving helps the Warlock avoid running out of curses (since they are his bread and butter), and Bloodreaper allows the Warlock to heal every turn, so long as he is being aggressive (and his pet stays alive).  Both abilities allow the Warlock to stay in the game for a moderate amount of time while his curses wear down the enemy mage. 

Arcane Zap and the Voltaric Shield both allow the Wizard to avoid damage at the expense of mana.  Arcane Zap gives him a default range advantage (making him less likely to be attacked), and Voltaric Shield lets him absorb one small hit every round (assuming that you've activated it).  These help give the Wizard enough time to disable enemy creatures, starve the opponent of mana, or set up a base. 

The Priestess' cleanse and life-gain abilities create an advantage for her the longer the game goes on.  Cleansing a single condition (such as rot) is enough to save even the biggest creature's life, given enough time.  The life-gain, when combined with the holy school's numerous healing options, allows the priestess to become the hardest mage to kill (again, given enough time). 

You can't use both her Ranged +1 and Fast at the same time, but you can build your strategy so that you will get to benefit from one or the other turn to turn depending on what your opponent is doing. If your opponent fights your creatures, you can remain at range 2 and attack with your bow repeatedly. If they chase you, you can use Mongoose Agility, Tanglevine, and Teleport to stay away from your opponent while your animals maul them, and use other ranged options to harass them. Acid Ball, Surging Wave, Hurl Boulder, and curses come to mind.

While the Johktari Beastmaster doesn't start with Elusive, having innate Fast makes Mongoose Agility a much stronger card for her than for a Straywood Beastmaster doing essentially the same thing.

While the Straywood Beastmaster can try to kite,  Enfeeble is much more crippling if you don't play Cheetah Speed, you're more vulnerable to Destroy Magic, Purge Magic, Dispel, and Arcane Corruption if you rely on Cheetah Speed, it requires more setup (this is the real reason I don't think it works as well), and you're not able to punish your opponent for fighting your creatures as well.

The thing is, any mage (or regular creature) can move 2 spaces by default.  The only benefit of being fast (other than being more resistant to enfeeble, as you mentioned) is that you can attack after moving those 2 spaces.  Since (as we've established) no bow will allow you to attack after moving at all, the only 2 ways the Johktari can possibly take advantage of both her fast and ranged +1 traits in the same game are to keep switching weapons (which wastes mana and actions), or to deliberately move into an enemy's zone at the end of her turn and use her basic melee attack (which is counter-productive in almost every situation). 

In addition, although I'm sure this varies by playing community, none of the opponents I have ever faced have focused on my creatures instead of my mage.  There might be occasional threats that they divert their attention towards temporarily (Shaggoth-Zora, Iron Golem, Hydra, etc.), but they will still almost always keep pressure on my mage as well. 

Let's say that the enemy does decide to chase you with 2 fairly threatening, melee only, non-slow creatures.  For the sake of simplicity, let's also say that neither player can play any movement spells (teleport, tanglevine, etc.).  How can the Beastmaster respond (with the bow, not out-of-school attack spells)?  She can run away without firing her bow until the 2 creatures inevitably corner her.  She can stand still, fire her bow once, and then stand her ground (which won't allow her to use her bow anymore) while allowing the enemy creatures to take full-action attacks against her.  Or she can fire her bow once, and then futilely attempt to outrun the creatures while not being able to attack them, while she in turn suffers quick-attacks from them every turn. 

It might seem like I'm being overly harsh against the Johktari Beastmaster, but she simply isn't well put-together.  She absolutely needs elusive in order to function properly, and even that won't allow her to make good use of her bow.  No other mage needs a single card as badly as she does.  A Forcemaster can function just fine without her Forcefield, and a Warlock doesn't necessarily need Lash of Hellfire or Sectarus to win. 

And bows do have an offsetting advantage over one handed weapons. They let you kill things without getting killed back, and let you exert force on a larger section of the board. Without spending additional mana. Wands cost you mana repeatedly to use. I don't particularly relish getting in a slugging match with Iron Golems, and a bow allows me to pressure my opponent without doing that. Whether that's enough of an advantage is up for debate, but you shouldn't discount it.

Besides, you should consider playing Hawkeye on the Johktari Beastmaster anyway, so you're still ahead on damage with a bow playing Johktari over Straywood.

I might have been a bit hasty in saying that bows don't have any advantages.  What I should have said was that they most definitely are not worth it in the vast majority of circumstances.  They are simply too limited.  Wands are infinitely more flexible, can target things within the same zone as you (usually), and allow for both positioning and an attack on the same turn.  Attack spells usually also deal more damage or have better effects than bows.  From personal experience, wands are my biggest dissolve targets.  But I have never, not even once, bothered to dissolve a bow. 

Hawkeye will give the Johktari Beastmaster an advantage over the Straywood one.  However, for reasons that have yet to be explained to me, Hawkeye only gives +1 die while Bear Strength gives +2 (for 2 more mana).  So once again, melee weapons beat out bows. 

I dont see the 2 abilities (fast and ranged+1) synergize with each other.
Just like i dont see curse weaving synergizing with blood reaper. Or arcane zap with voltaric shield. Or Priestess cleanse with ability to gain life when casting holy incantations/enchantments, etc etc.

Assuming that response is sarcastic, I have some questions for you.  What does the Johktari Beastmaster do better than the Straywood one?  Especially if the Straywood Beastmaster has a Cheetah Speed and Hawkeye in his spellbook.  What does the Johktari Beastmaster uniquely bring to the game? Every other mage has an ability which twists established game rules and provides a different playing experience.  Instead, the Johktari Beastmaster basically gets a free Marked for Death (except worse).  Oh joy. 

I've had some thoughts on this topic for awhile.  In my opinion, being fast doesn't really help ranged creatures, and it should.  Mobile archers exist(ed) both in real life and in many popular forms of media. 

Instead of changing the Johktari Beastmaster or her bow, I think it would be more beneficial to add a few new rules.   Here are the possibilities I've thought up:

1. Biggest Buff to Ranged Units:
Instead of taking a full-action ranged attack, a creature may instead move one space and perform the listed full-action ranged attack as a quick-action.  The attack loses 1 maximum range, 2 dice, and 4 from the effect die roll (if any).  If the creature possesses the fast trait, it may make one free movement without incurring this attack penalty, and may move up to 2 spaces in total before declaring an attack. 

2. Medium Buff:
If a creature possesses the fast trait, instead of taking a full-action ranged attack, a creature may instead move one space and perform the listed full-action ranged attack as a quick-action.   

3. Minor Buff:
If a creature possesses the fast trait, instead of taking a full-action ranged attack, a creature may instead move one space and perform the listed full-action ranged attack as a quick-action.  The attack loses 1 maximum range, 2 dice, and 4 from the effect die. 

Option 1 (which is probably overpowered) makes ranged units just as mobile as melee ones.  Option 2 allows the fast trait to benefit ranged troops just as much as melee ones.  Option 3 basically just allows for occasionally better positioning and mobility at the cost of effectiveness.  Regardless of what happens, the Johktari Beastmaster really needs more synergy between her traits and abilities. 

For those wondering, I came up with the attack penalties by picturing half-drawn bows (less distance, less impact, but faster). 

Shadow, are you able to give more detail on what the third card was yet?

I'm quite curious about that card as well (although I doubt Shadow will be allowed to spoil the card early).  I just went through all the cards added in Warlord vs Forcemaster to try to pinpoint the other 2 cards he was talking about.  I think one of them is Dancing Scimitar: it gives a free, relatively small attack every turn (perfect for depleting a forcefield).  It also isn't mage or school specific, and doesn't even take up an equipment slot. 

I still don't know what the second card could be.  At first I thought it might be Battle Fury, but that wouldn't really speed things up since you'd have to give up an action to play it. 

Double/Triple Strike and Battle Fury are... more complicated. In those cases, the second attack occurs within the first attack. The FAQ says that a token will be removed for each attack, so that's the black-letter rule, but I couldn't tell you why. Canceling the first attack should cancel all its steps, including step 5 (Doublestrike) and step 8 (Battle Fury). But the FAQ says to make those attacks anyway.

If I had to guess, that ruling is probably to keep the rules logically consistent without having to revise the attack sequence.  It makes sense (especially to newer players) that having a hydra hit a forcefield three times would deplete it, so the rules bend to accommodate it.  That is probably a good thing; I have seen a lot of reviewers compliment Mage Wars on its common-sense friendly set of rules.   

It needs to have eight arms that can pull stuff. And it's arms get cut off when it gets damaged by an attack... That would be cool

Or wait, it could have a ranged attack similar to chain lightning and attack with a 2-3 dice tentacle that has a chance of pulling. And it can use it as many times as it has tentacles-- max 8. Probably would have very little armor though, otherwise it would too easily be able to attack eight times since none of its tentacles were severed.

So, something like this?

Name: The Kraken
Level: 8
Mana Cost: 28
Armor: 2
Health: 16
Attacks: 1) Maw - full action, melee attack, 6 dice, piercing +3, devour
2) Tentacles - full action, melee attack, 3 dice, reach, 8+ pull
Traits: Epic, Siren Only, Psychic Immunity, Unstoppable, Obscured, Waterbreathing (is not hindered by water; cannot move into a zone without water; cannot gain flying)
Effects: When The Kraken uses its Tentacles attack, it may choose up to 8 different targets within (or bordering) its zone or any zone bordering it.  For every 2 damage on The Kraken (calculated when the targets are declared), it loses one potential target for the Tentacles attack.  The Kraken may only be brought into play through the _______.  It costs no spell-points to include The Kraken in your spellbook. 


That reminds me: if we don't get giant seahorse mounts/creatures in PvS, I am going to be sooo disappointed.  I need to create an army of seahorses, do you understand?  I NEED IT.....