I think you mean "in Academy you are not allowed to attack in the *first two rounds*." Attacking DOES in fact exist in Academy.

No roll to miss step? Whoops in that case there's no slam either. I wrote my unofficial
Mage Wars Academy theme song wrong then. I should have realized, a combination of stagger conditions and cards that restrain enemy creatures (like a weaker force hold) would work better for future academy forcemaster than slam. Slam would be too powerful, since it can both incapacitate a creature disabling its defenses, and remove its guard marker. On the other hand restrained merely gives pest trait and lowers defense rolls by 2 and stagger would remove guard markers from minor creatures and prevent them from attacking.

Then again I doubt restrained will be a thing in academy if tangleroot is any indication, too much room for abuse by other mages. Hmm. Maybe a weaker version of cripple that isn't poison and which goes away at start of creature's next activation or something.

Thanks for your remarks! Text changed.

Very nice write up. I am looking forward for reaction for more Rule wise members of this forum. Right now, i would like to point out, that point 23) About dissipate tokens sounds like Dissipate was introduced in Academy. Which is little bit misleading, because Dissipate was first spotted on card [mwcard=MWSTX2FFJ06]Rolling Fog[/mwcard].

For Point 14) I would liek to mentiond that Staggers stays until the end of creatures NEXT activation

Nice remarks! Updated the text.

Quote from: Donovan

For me the problem with Mage Wars language used in the codex is that both the attack and the strikes within the attack are called "attack". So when the rules say "attack" you are never sure if they mean the entire attack or a strike within an attack.

Anytime you see the word "attack" assume it is talking about a strike unless it is immediately followed by the word action, i.e. "attack action".

Normally an attack (strike) and an attack action are synonymous because most attack actions only make a single attack (strike). Whenever the distinction is important, the rules will specify "attack action" to differentiate it from individual attacks (strikes) that may be a part of an attack action. So, again, just assume that every time you see the word "attack" it means a strike within an attack action.

Yeah I know and I'm trying! =;-) But there are sometimes unclear passages in the rules.

I still think the rules would have been clearer if it would have used Attack Action, Attack and Strike everywhere.

Have a look at Arena page 26 - Step 7 additional strikes:

Some traits, such as Triplestrike, allow the attacker to make additional attacks against the same target. Once the first strike is finished, you get to make these additional strikes.
Each additional strike is resolved, one at a time, following these 4 steps: Roll to Miss, Avoid Attack, Roll Dice, Damage and Effects.
Note: All of these strikes are still part of the same attack action, and the defender will still only get one damage
barrier attack and one counterstrike!
After the final strike is resolved, proceed to Step 8.

This is just chaos to me.

Anyways, in Academy this is not as big a problem.

Still, the Academy rules say:

In order to attack, you must declare the attack, by stating which of your creatures are attacking and which one of your opponent’s creatures will be the target of that attack (also known as the “defender”). When a Mage attacks, they may be able to choose from several different attacks they can use, and they must announce which attack they are using.

This uses "attack" as the whole action of possibly multiple strikes.
Then in Avoid Attack:

During this step the defender has an opportunity to use a Defense to avoid the attack. Some creatures have a Defense, represented by a Defense icon on their card. The Defense can only be used against the first attack the defender receives each round, unless it has the “infinity” symbol on it, which means it can be used against every attack.

So what is meant here? Is the entire first attack meant here? So all strikes of the first attack are avoided? Or is this about the first strike of the first attack?

I noticed the following differences. Perhaps somebody spots one I forgot or perhaps I made a mistake?

RED means, I'm not entirely sure.

• Spellbooks in Academy have fewer pages than the ones in Arena.
• The mages are lvl 4 instead of 6 in Arena.
• Academy does not count Life with a counter like Arena does - only damage. Despite that, Life can be increased. You just have to do the math in your head.
• There are no action markers in Academy. Instead of those, you turn the cards horizontally to indicate they are active or have been active already. The black quick cast marker has been replaced with a marker.
• In the first 2 rounds in Academy you are not allowed to attack your opponent or play spells on his objects, whereas in Arena you can attack right from round one. Having said that, in Arena you need time to get to your opponent.
• Academy plays in an arena with only 1 zone. Therefore, you cannot move in Academy like you can in Arena.
• In Academy the upkeep phase is not followed by a planning and deployment phase like in Arena. In the action phase, a mage can choose from any spell in his spellbook - in Arena you can only use the cards you prepared.
• In Academy there is no first and final quick cast phase. However, the mage does have an extra quick cast action, which he can use before or after the action of a friendly creature.
• In Academy the rules do not state clearly when you have to pay for an attack (for example when you have a curse on you that makes you pay mana when attacking). I assume this happens like in Arena directly after the step "Declare Attack".
• The step "Roll to miss" (for example when dazed) is not there in Academy (dazed isn't there as well btw).
• From a discussion in the German form it became clear: In Academy the attacked creature cannot decide if he uses his defense or not - like you can do in Arena. If the defense is allowed, it HAS TO be used.
  A single defense HAS TO be used for the first strike of the first attack (no matter if direct attack or counterstrike). After that the defense cannot be used anymore in the current round. The remaining strikes of a multiple strike will not be influenced by the success of a single defense - they happen normally.
  An infinite defense HAS TO be applied for every attack/strike - it is not optional like in Arena.
• Double and Tripple strike is not mentioned in the rules. The cards mention that the attacks follow each other directly - before a counter strike. This is also what the definition of Doublestrike mentions in the codex.
• Damage barriers do not exist in Academy.
• Academy has the condition STAGGER. Stagger is a condition that disorients or knocks a creature off balance. Minor creatures cannot attack or guard while staggered. If they have a guard marker they lose it, and they cannot choose the guard action. Staggers stays until the end of creatures NEXT activation.
• In Academy guards can ignore pests if they like to. The pest can attack, but there will be no counter strike and the status guard remains. Attackers can ignore pests that guard like in Arena.
• In Academy it is not 100% clear that attack spells are both spells and attacks. But it is like in Arena: First follow the spell rules and then the attack rules.
• Spellbooks can only have 40 points in Academy instead of 120 in Arena.
• In Academy you can only have 3 copies of a level 1 spell instead of 6 in Arena.
• In Academy you can only have 2 copies of a level 2 and higher spell instead of 4 in Arena.
• Academy sometimes makes differences between effects on major or minor creatures. Stagger for example works differently for minor creatures compared to major creatures. Sometimes also reveal cost are different. Minor means level 1&2 - major is level 3 and up.
• From a discussion in the German form it became clear: In Academy melee +X only influences the first strike of the first attack where this bones can be applied - so only once every round. A counterstrike is an attack as well. Therefore it is possible that a creature has to use melee +X during a counterstrike and cannot use melee +X during its own action. Melee +X is not optional - you HAVE TO use it if it applies. For multiple strikes, only the first strike can profit from the bonus.
• As already said: Pests cannot attack guards in Academy and be 100% sure the guard status goes away. In Arena guard always goes away when a pest attacks.
• Academy heavily uses Dissipate. Far more often than Arena, although Arena has at least one card too: Rolling Fog. When a spell is played, it gets X Dissipate markers. Every round 1 marker is removed. When all markers are gone, the object is destroyed. So these are minor spells that fade over time.
• There are no walls in Academy, because there is only 1 zone and no movement.
• There are no conjurations in Academy.
• Academy just knows 1 mode, Arena contains two modes: Apprentice (to learn the game) and Advanced (normal game mode).
• The Codex of Academy and the Codex of Arena should not be used for the other game. As this list shows, there are some substantial differences. If you use the Academy cards in Arena (allowed) then the Arena rules apply first. If there is no rule (Staggering for example), the Academy rules should be followed.

Still not 100% clear to me.

When my creature performs a counterstrike, because it was attacked, it has to use its melee attack. So does that count as "the first time this round"?

Does that mean only the 1st counterstrike profits from melee +X? Or do counterstrikes not profit from melee +x at all?

Does that mean when I used melee +x during a counterstrike I cannot use it again during the creature's own action?

For me the problem with Mage Wars language used in the codex is that both the attack and the strikes within the attack are called "attack". So when the rules say "attack" you are never sure if they mean the entire attack or a strike within an attack.

Well, playing the same Mage all the time will make you predictable to a certain degree. It allows your opponents to tailor their spellbooks to have answers to your most likely threats. So, unless you create spellbooks that are very unusual for the type of Mage you're playing, you're basically playing with a handicap.

That alone would be sufficient reason for me to regularly switch to a different Mage. (In the past, the Wizard was a possible exception due to its flexibility, but now that they're only trained in the Air Elemental school, they've become just as predictable as the other mages.)

Totally agree with that. While learning the game, we used to play the same mage over and over again, while changing cards. In the first game I was blown to pieces by the other mage. In the second game we had the same cards, but I changed my game play and it became a longer game - but I still lost. So in the 3rd and 4th game I changed some cards I felt I needed. I won both of these more and more convincing.

Then my partner changed his mage and I lost again with that winning deck.

So what you need to do when building a deck is make a decision:

a) Do I go full risk and go for a play style that is very powerful, but if the wrong mage is on the other end, I might lose?
b) Do I imagine all kinds of mages and come up with an allround mage that is able to counter an aggressive opening, a creature spammer, a hex spammer, etc.

I haven't figured out the right strategy yet. Following a) can lead to spectacular wins, but also spectacular losses. Following b) leads to longer games, but not always a win.

I guess the trick is to find something effective in b) (a base set of cards) to allow you to survive any mage for the first rounds and then try to still implement something like a).

Deck building is an exciting part of the game I think.

I liked that equipment could only be revealed by targeting the mage - and thus effects like Obscure on the mage could prevent equipment removal.  But Crumble (and Corrosive Orchid) changed things; now equipment is more like another type of enchantment, minus the instant reveal that makes enchantments really good.

I liked your reasoning here. What is the difference between equipment and enchantments? Which one should be easier to remove? The answers to these questions should drive what is being targeted and what the spell costs are.

If you imagine how a "real" battle would go, I would however argue the other way around. You should be able to target equipment directly without targeting the mage. After all these are things he has on himself or holds in his hands.

On the other hand, enchantments are supposed to be magical alterations that mages produce. It would be "logical" to me if enchantments would require targeting the mage. This would be even more obvious if all enchantments had something like upkeep cost or disperse on them, which would underline that the mage's attention is needed to keep them active.

Enchantments that do not require upkeep/disperse would then be in fact conjurations. These would be objects that are created from magic and then become independent from the mage who conjured them.

But looking at the way Mage Wars has evolved enchantments, equipment and conjurations, in a relentless effort to offer us something excitingly new, everything has started to get attributes of everything. Now we have equipment with their own action or that act as enchantment. We have conjurations that act like creatures or display incantation-like behavior, we have enchantments that act like equipment and incantations that cannot be stopped by enchantments that were probably originally designed to stop those incantations and enchantments.

So everything is already blurred and the desire to keep things "pure" is probably already a lost case.

So I guess the best option we have is to go with the flow and take things as they are and as they are being offered to us and accept the fact that even despite the fact that the differences between equipment, enchantments and conjurations have started to blur, our imagination can still play along.

Maybe in a new future game the scope and restrictions of equipment, creatures, enchantments, incantations and attack spells can be thought out in advance and can be kept pure while evolving. But note, that this is much easier now based on the experience with Mage Wars then it was before Mage Wars saw the light. On the other hand, do we really want conjurations that cannot attack? Do we really want to add armor through equipment and not through enchantments? Do we really want upkeep cost or disperse on every enchantment?