yes basically there are arena walls there. as to balance it seems to work pretty well. We have had turtles win and rushes win and most all combinations of mages win at one point or another now.  the restricted space does indeed cut down on the number of conjurations your team has available, but not too badly. The choke point also makes the use of walls a little more viable. On a completely open map there is just always too much space to effectively make use of them. especially since two mages can take them down in a hurry! This way they still wont last long but they can make a huge difference if used at the right moment.

I live in a small town and had a little trouble finding people to play with to start with. mf flgs options were prty sad. i used meet up and craigs list to find people most of whom had never heard of the game. but i showed it to around a dozen and about half of them went out and bought it! now i have at least a game a week often more like 3-4.

some of the people that responded i didn't even pull mage wars out for as it was clearly not a good fit, it does take some time to learn and some commitment to play well.

that said I got better at demos as i played too. i usually set up a few what if examples that show off some of the trickery and nuances. if possible i teach two people at once, and i just sit nearby and walk em both through it. that way im not clearly holding back, and two people get to split up the silly mistakes and questions, i think it makes em more comfortable for sure. depending on the players general game exp, i often re-make the spellbook with only 40 or so spell points for the first game too, gives them less options to get stuck on. and lastly My first few games against a new player are all about giving examples of plays and not about winning at all.

Hope this helps! the main thing is just keep trying! and have some other games for back ups just in caseyou meet a new gamer! that way you can ease them into the hobby!

Btw, why is the Druid Drunk? I keep feeling like there should be some sort of erratic, drunken quality to the way your drunken mages play, as opposed to the mages that aren't labeled as drunk.

well that's just because you haven't actually seen me play! there is almost always a bottle of wine or a growler on the table, and during the second game of the night, you may well see some erratic play coming from my druid.

Just got another game in with this build. It went quite well!

Game 1  (win Vs Warlord)
Samara Tree/Tataree. My opponent looked like they were setting up lots of outposts to make use of their Spawnpoint. so I took my time, grabbed my meditation amulet and let my vines spread, they put an archer tower in far center, i took a turn off channeling my amulet and spawned a vine snapper under it to keep him busy, Got out Krathalor fairly quickly and started buffing it, sent it out to gobble up his archers and had the game fairly quickly.

Standard rigamarole:

For anyone who missed it I have just decided to start uploading my current spellbooks! Ill try to upload 1-2 a day and give a rundown of how any games I play with them go, as well as any tweaks I make to them along the way.

I'm fairly new to the game/ have only recently found a group of players to compete with. as I have only been playing new players for the most part my games are often undeserving victories!
I am trying to keep 6 functional decks so that I can have some variety and so that any new players I introduce can have their pick of interesting mages (I currently have the Kumanjaro and DvN expansions) and while I have purchased a few extra cards, some of my card choices are based on a lack of availability. I know teleport is awesome!

Anyways onto my:

Warlock
(Arraxian Crown)

---  Attack  ---  ( 8 )
2 Ring of Fire
2 Fireball
---  Conjuration  ---  (7)
1 Battle Forge
2 Enchanter's Wardstone
---  Creature  ---    (15)
1 Adramelech, Lord of Fire
1 Firebrand Imp
1 Goran, Werewolf Pet
1 Necropian Vampiress
---  Enchantment  ---  (53)
2 Vampirism
2 Bear Strength
2 Regrowth
2 Rhino Hide
1 Bull Endurance
1 Cheetah Speed
1 Mongoose Agility
1 Armor Ward
2 Nullify
1 Decoy
1 Reverse Magic
1 Jinx
1 Harmonize
1 Enchantment Transfusion
1 Chains of Agony
1 Agony
2 Poisoned Blood
1 Magebane
1 Ghoul Rot
1 Death Link
1 Plagued

---  Equipment  ---  (23)
1 Moloch's Torment
1 Eagleclaw Boots
1 Veterans Belt
1 Helm of Fear
1 Demonhide Armor
1 Elemental Cloak
1 Ring of Curses
1 Enchanter's Ring
1 Fireshaper Ring
2 Lash of Hellfire
1 Elemental Wand
1 Gauntlets of Strength

---  Incantation  ---  (14)
1 Dissolve
2 Explode
1 Dispel
1 Seeking Dispel
1 Teleport


 I imagine the available strategies for my warlock are fairly clear. I can run up and punch things in the face, or I can curse and run away. I have a few creatures to support these efforts. I tend to grab the vamp for an all out rush. I grab the imp for a slightly more subtle game, enchanting him with curses/buffs/counters and using transfusion to either; massive insta-buff my guy for a shift in strategy (I had been running and cursing),
massive curse the enemy, or occasionally I just turn him into a surprisingly powerful little ally. Adramelech and Goran or in there for more situational plays, most games they see little to no play, I will likely remove ore replace one or both soon.

The games thus far:

Game 1  (win vs Beastmaster)
move, Battle Forge/Decoy, I didn't want to commit too much mana 'till I had an idea what I was up against. He Opened with a Mana Flower and a Lair. I equipped an enchanter's ring from the forge, summoned my Vampiress, and proceeded to enchant/equip/advance as fast as I could. It was a pretty straightforward mauling from there. He obviously intended to make a group of canines and get Redclaw, my vamp dealt with the creatures I focused on the mage.

Game 2 (win vs druid)
Sprint/Nullify, My first play against a druid! can't really ask for a more favorable match-up. Sprint and an enchantment set me up to bring in Adremelech. The Druid was a  fairly new player but put up a surprisingly good fight, effective use of walls and thornlashers, kept me out of the fight, and a plethora of the Nightshade Lotus kept Adremelech out of action for a while. I eventually got a deathlink on him which kept him awake and my mage healthy.

Game 3 (win vs Forcemaster)
Battle Forge/Harmonize(on the forge), My first game even seeing a forcemaster, I decided it would likely be more or less a 1v1, and decided to harmonize and let her come to me! Forge gave me an enchanter's ring, I got out and imp the next turn and planned to store curses on it though I started with a nullify and never got the chance to build up anything. She wound up summoning the flying caster's (I don't have forcemaster and cant remember the names) and the stealthy thing and coming at me with them while she equipped herself, I had initiative when the first caster got in range, my forge gave me a lash, I moved and killed in in one hit, and cursed the other one. it died quickly thereafter without any further help from me. I saved my quick-cast and the stealth guy died to a curse as well a few turns later. At this point the mage was to me and had a significant health advantage, we traded a few blows, I cursed her a few times, then jinxed her and teleported away, leaving my imp to slow her. I healed up a round or two, she slowly died and failed to catch me, conceded pretty quick after that.

Anyways I like the Warlock, though most of the games so far feel fairly similar. A match up against a necromancer seems like it might be tough as it would really cut my options down to just the go in and hit things method. Hes good at that and might be fine, but a lack of plan B might hurt. all in all I like the spellbook well enough but the lack of variety Makes me not want to play him often. I would get bored, and he would be fairly simple learn to counter. When you see it all coming as soon as you see my warlock hit the table... hes not likely to last long. Time will tell though! maybe He's just that good at what he does!

they already outline at least the basic moves/ideas, at least in the DvN instruction book I have in front of me. It is not all spelled out, but beyond an opening move you cant really spell things out too well. It is all so situational and is what makes the game so good.

wow just lost my post, I blame my laptop mouse pad!

In short though, I love the effort and thought put into your errata! I have no problem with it in general. I am sure due diligence was put in before making these decisions. I do think that this was a bit extreme however. it seems like a HUGE balance change. one  or two more up front mana, one or two more spell points, a weaker effect die; or even better, other viable options, all seem like they might have the desired effect. The holy spell-book is already one of the most restricted out there, there just aren't a ton of good combos. I dont mind that mind you. it is stable and dependable, In my mind it is sort of the steady middle ground in mage wars. and this was one of its reliable pillars. I feel like this kinda nerfs not just the card, but the whole spell-book. It was already, essentially a 9 cost non-mobile archer with a base attack of 1 and an admittedly useful effect die. It was an investment already. I guess all of this boils down to the fact that I am fine with errata. This seems overly large for an adjustment, but all in all I am fine with that too, I guess I would just rather nerfs be small. I think that if it was still too stong after a small errata change, you could find ways of indirectly impacting it.  For instance add cards that make the beasmaster swarm a little more viable, one light attack in a sea of many is going to do much less than it does in the current few big trend. This effectively nerfs the Temple, and brings back creatures that I would LOVE to love. We expand gameplay rather than patching it, and get some more use out of some interesting cards we already have.

Anyways My intent is to be constructive, not negative! I always appreciate the effort, and love the game no matter what!

goes best with each. :-D

That's easy, Communion Wine....

Lol I love you both! And while I am generally a red wine fan I was in fact enjoying a bottle of Oregon Vally pino gris while writing my Priestess Post.

I tend to enjoy a gin and tonic whilst playing my Drunken Wizard.

I am as of yet a druidic novice, my pallet may not have adjusted yet. Currently however, I find that in it's manic state it balances well when paired with scotch on the rocks. That simple peaty flavor really brings it back to earth.