I just picked up Academy today and coordinated a few matches between a friend and my brother, both having never played any mage wars before. Suffice it to say, they loved it and I can see my brother especially really getting into Academy and perhaps Arena in the future. From watching the games and the skill of the players grow significantly each game. This was a lot easier for the players, whom I know are more prone to frustration if they don't understand a game. The pace of each game allowed them to learn and try again without dwelling too long on their mistakes. I think it'll be easier to teach Arena through Apprentice mode after they have mastered Academy, but I also think Academy is great as a standalone and something I'll constantly return to because of the pace and unique set of strategies.
This has probably all been said by others, so I want dwell on it. Instead I wanted to give my feedback on Stagger as a condition. I really like the differentiation it makes between minor and major creatures. I think the inclusion of having conditional effects carries with it the threat that the texts become too wordy and unnecessarily confusing, but I think the need to balance the thematically sensible way it is described is very well thought out. This makes the text much easier to remember and not a nuisance like some more obscure codex effects could seem to some.
I haven't seen any standout problems while playing with the starter books, and I really love the game!
