Ah, I see it: FAQ. I was looking in the rulebook.

What it says in the subject header - I'd like to use Redclaw to buff my canines, but am not sure when to summon him. Conventional wisdom says to summon Big Bads during the early turns, but Redclaw's Alpha Male trait doesn't help on turn 1, and he'll have a bullseye painted on his chest as your opponent tries to deal with him before the Bitterwood swarm or Timberwolves make their appearance. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'll have the mana available in the mid- to late-game for a big summon.

New to Mage Wars and trying to figure out the early game sequence. There's a lot of helpful advice on economy of actions and of mana, but it seems like there's an economy of conjurations, too. Most conjurations seem to be zone exclusives, so you're only going to put so many down before you either run out of space or your opponent starts torching them. In addition, every time you cast a conjuration you're using mana and actions up without summoning creatures or attacking your opponent. So is there a sweet spot for number of conjurations or for the ratio between mana conjurations like flower/crystal, spawnpoint conjurations, or buffing conjurations like Tooth and Claw? And when and how often should conjurations be cast?