New player in South Florida saying hi (Heroclix Convert)

[ozmo]

Hi.

Just wanted to say hi and introduce myself to the community.

I live in South Florida and just started playing Mage Wars. You might have deduced this from the title.

I've been playing HeroClix quite a bit the past few years. I'm not thrilled with the current direction and I'm taking a bit of break. I was getting into (Generic Magic User) Wars and somebody suggested I give Mage Wars a look. I was instantly hooked on the concept.

A couple of weeks ago both of my (Insert Magic User Here) Wars came in. I've given both a try and enjoy them both. But Mage Wars really has me hooked. I've only been able to get a couple of games in but I can see the potential.

My friend and I have run two apprentice games and feel we have a decent handle on the game. So I broke down some MTG decks, sleeved up the Mage Wars cards and built up the starter spellbooks. I've already picked up the magnetic status boards from one of the threads in the creative section. And I'm trying decide in what order I want to get the expansions. Kumanjaro will have to be first as my daughter wants the giant spiders.

I play in Broward (pomano beach area) if anybody's in the region. If not, I'm working on building up my local FLGS (a big Magic venue in the area) to gain interest in Mage Wars.

Looking forward to participating!

[Sailor Vulcan]

Welcome to the forums ozmo! Don't be too surprised if you end up liking Mage Wars more than Heroclix!
The game is so exciting that it's almost as fun talking about it as playing it! (I still feel that way even though I've lost almost every game I've ever played, if that tells you how awesome it is, lol)

[isel]

welcome mage brother!!!

This its better than heroclix, i told you!!!

[Zuberi]

I never played heroclix, so I won't make such claims as those above, but Mage Wars is a very rewarding experience that I am sure you will love. Welcome to the Arena!

[ozmo]

Thanks everybody. The previews for FIF look great (to my n00b eyes).

The problem with this game is I want to play them all. Now.

I'm having a hard time pacing myself.

I can tell it' bad because I'm reading strategy thread, tournament reports, etc etc. I'm on a business trip in California at the moment. If I hit one of the comic/game shops I frequent when I'm out here, and they have expansions, well I just can't make any promises there won't be acquisitions!

[silverclawgrizzly]

Welcome to Mage Wars! Always ecstatic to see another Clixer int he crowd! I've been playing clix 12 years and Mage Wars since last December. I like them both honestly though I get in more casual Mage Wars games in a week.

You will find that many of the skills you've developed as a clix player will serve you very well in Mage Wars.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Thanks everybody. The previews for FIF look great (to my n00b eyes).

The problem with this game is I want to play them all. Now.

I'm having a hard time pacing myself.

I can tell it' bad because I'm reading strategy thread, tournament reports, etc etc. I'm on a business trip in California at the moment. If I hit one of the comic/game shops I frequent when I'm out here, and they have expansions, well I just can't make any promises there won't be acquisitions!

(Don't read this if you don't want to hear any advice)

If you're worried about your love of Mage Wars overriding your common sense when it comes to purchases, I think you should form a real life playgroup and start playing Mage Wars online using OCTGN before buying anything other than the core set. Playing online allows you to test custom spellbooks before you buy the expansions you need to build them. With Mage Wars you get the most bang for your buck if you have a playgroup to share your collection with. Without a playgroup in real life, expansions might not be worth their price, particularly if you're getting more than one.

Aside from that, don't overwork yourself with trying to learn the rules. Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing wrong with a beginner accidentally cheating as long as they learn from their mistakes. While the gist of the rules are pretty simple as you probably already know, the devil is in the details. It has a pretty high learning curve, and the best way to deal with high learning curves is to break them into smaller ones.

If you're really worried about Mage Wars taking up too much time, I would say it's probably a good idea to schedule particular days to play each month. You can also try teaching the game to people to increase the player base and possibly add them to your playgroup.

[Sailor Vulcan]

I would like for everyone to have a better understanding regarding my last post on this thread for recommending that a new player use OCTGN as a means to determine what expansions they want to buy. I did not and I still do not recommend OCTGN as a replacement for the real life game. That is not what I was saying at all. I also was not criticizing the pricing of Mage Wars expansions. I was saying, as I have before, that the pricing model of expansions seems to be designed with playgroups in mind, and that has both pros and cons. In my opinion the pros of this model outweigh the cons. I was merely advising a new player to wait until he had a better idea of his playstyle and what mages other people he plays with will want to use, so that he could make an informed decision about what expansions he should buy first. I apologize if I have been misunderstood in such a way as to be detrimental to Arcane Wonders. This was not my intention AT ALL.

[silverclawgrizzly]

If you are looking for an expansion Ozmo I recommend Battle for Kumanjaro for getting the most bargain for your book. Reason I say this is there are A LOT of really good cards in that expansion you're just going to want overall. I'm a huge fan of all mages having Eagle Claw Boots, almost no Wizard is complete without a Wizards Tower, Priestess loves her Guardian Angels, and of course the extra animals added to the Beast Master are insane.

[ozmo]

Thanks everybody.

I should probably clarify my earlier posts - they were slightly tongue in cheek. I'm just really excited about this game. I do want to buy it all. I'm also patient (to a point). But eventually I'll have it.

Here's my playgroup as it stands - one of my clix friends, my wife and my daughter (11). There are also quite a few people in our weekly gaming group that are interested. So we're at the beginning stage of our "meta".

Our current product mix is my core set which I've broken into the apprentice/starter decks. My clix friend is on tap to get a core set and I'm talking to my FLGS about picking up the product line. I'm working out a schedule to do some demos/learning days.

For me, here's my current expansion plan:

- play what I have for a few more weeks
- kumanjaro - my daughter loves giant spiders. this set has them. non-optional.
- druid vs necromancer - two classes I've always enjoyed
- open... depends on where things are when i'm at this point. it all looks appealing.

Regarding OCTGN, I need to download the latest version. I have no issue with online tools but I buy the physical stuff if i'm into the game. They're useful tools to learn & study a game. I've used VASSAL a fair bit in my gaming. Monsterpocalypse being one of the primary games on there. But OCTGN won't replace they physical stuff. I like playing with the cards too much.

Thanks again for the insight and suggestions.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Your daughter is already awesome in my book.