Having read some of the discussions on the various threads I think it is helpful to broaden one's idea of what it means to be a mage.  When I think of wizards I conjure up images of old dudes in robes. Mage is generic enough for anyone who dabbles in magic. I look forward to possible alchemist or tinkerer classes that may come along in the game. I certainly don't think of them as wizards, but they dabble in magic in ways that commoners don't.

 I tend to agree with Br3akr's impression of the War school of magic. The magics of the war school is about gathering allies and prepping/and or assisting them for battle. The arena is probably not the most likely place to find a "Battle Mage", but I think of the arena as something next to the local pub. After the drinking has juiced up the mages, the arena is where the bragging is settled. In my mind the arena is where duels are fought and arguments ended. Just my two cents.

Greetings all,
        Just played two games of Mage Wars last night and I have to say the games were great fun.  We played through the walk through to get a feel for the game and then played an apprentice battle between a warlock and wizard. I really enjoyed playing the warlock and became more comfortable with the game concepts and flow of play as the game moved along. Some early mistakes were made in rule interpretation, but were corrected easily enough.
        My opponent (Eulrick) and I end up depleting our spell books and had mage brawl at the end. His wizard still had the gorgon in the game and that proved to be fatal for me. There was no discernible winner until the final round and it was one of the games I have had the most fun losing.  I know we are looking forward to another game night soon.  The forums have been a great help today as I have browsed various subjects to get a better grasp of some gaming concepts and rule clarifications.
                                                                                                                                   Padre