On another note, I do have some concerns for the AW team:
1. I really think the game would be better served if you guys provided a cheaper starter product, like "Duel" packs with the Warlock vs Beastmaster and one with Priestess vs Wizard. Currently, MW requires a near miniatures-level monetary commitment, and I'm worried that by not providing a cheaper, leaner product, you're setting the barrier to entry too high for card-gamers who are not used to that kind of product model. To clarify, I'm hardly well-versed in the logistics of what it takes to successfully market a product (I'm a writing major), but while I can easily convince players of MW's merits, the price is literally a harder sell. This is becoming a problem with my college gaming community, who I know would love the game if there was only less costly entry fee.
2. The demo model of exposing the game also reinforces assumptions that MW is a "flash in the pan" kind of game, if unintentionally. Obviously, players like myself know MW to be a deep and rewarding game, but the combination of my above statement and the fact that demos aren't exactly a weekly affair at most LGS doesn't allow MW the kind of regular exposure it needs and deserves. While I understand that demos drum up hype, I'm worried that it doesn't have a more grassroots system of OP in place to support that well-deserved hype.
3. Casual organized play appears to depend too heavily on the actual interest store employees have in the game (i.e., event organizers). I'm honestly skeptical that MW is at a point of exposure wherein most LGS are willing to set aside a night just for MW. And what exactly is the method of participation at these events? Do you expect the retailer to provide boards, tokens, dice, etc for its players? If not, does that mean that the players brings their entire box of product to the event? And given that OP is currently only in "casual" form, what is your method of introducing newcomers during these events? I'm not a retailer or distributor, so maybe there a cog in the works that isn't obvious to me, but I don't really get exactly how these events function properly.
4. I do not know AW's plans for competitive play, but I honestly do not think that the end goal of a match should be killing the opposing mage in this setting, as it is simply too time-consuming to go through that process every game and expect rounds to take under 90 minutes, assuming players of roughly equal skill. The OP implies a system of "calling time" in which a judge would end the match after a certain amount of time and the winner would be the mage with "the least amount of damage." Is this what we should expect in competitive play?
As a note, it is not my intention to somehow patronize AW with all these questions. However, these four points are areas of concern for me in terms of sustaining the game's longevity and perhaps if we as the more enthusiastic players were provided with a clearer picture of what AW has in store, we would be able to better help spread the word about this awesome game.
