Mage Wars at GenCon 2015 - Interviews with Players, Staff, and more!

[gdieckhaus]

Hey all a couple of thoughts...

As the priestess who made the finals, I do believe the wizard is slightly better than the other mages because of the reasons stated in the other thread.  However not so much as its OP.  I ended up playing 2 wizards in the tournament, both of which were in the finals... One I managed to win, and one I totally got whooped!  But that was my fault for not identifying the trap.
I took the priestess build because I felt it was a good Meta-choice.  I like others thought we would see a lot of beastmaster rush builds... and felt this was a good matchup for me.  Also while I never played for time, because I think my build is quite aggressive for a priestess, I felt the priestess would do well in the timed matches.  (because of healing and life gain)  In fact I think that a player exclusively using this and stalling / playing for time / could perhaps be most broken of all

Sadly I think the mage just got better because the academy cards are going to give it another boost.  While the other decks will not get that boost as easily.

Arcane duals interviewed me, and I was not asked about any overpowered mages and watched all the interviews and don't see that they asking everyone about it.

This reminds me of when Star Fleet Battles had a huge tournament scene - SFB is a Star Trek Ship to Ship combat game.  There are 12 or so races... and every year the one that won the national championship (128 players) would always be subject to cries for the ship to be changed.  Most of the time tactics would evolve and players would learn how to deal with the ship.  Eventually we found out that it was nearly always a core group of players that made the finals... why - because no matter what ship(s) those player had, they became the most powerful.
 
Gregg



 

[zot]

   Agreed on the delay for time win. I think that consideration should be given to scoring for tourneys. The tie should count for less than outright kills. maybe 1 or 2 points for each player, rather than 3 and 1. Perhaps to give the slower builds a chance, the rounds should be slightly longer 90 or more minutes. And maybe finals should be untimed single elimination. No tie win, play until one player is killed. That would force players to build for wins rather than ties. I had thought a priestess with tons of healing would be a real challenge in the timed game.

   I also agree that the wizard discussion was not in every interview, but it did stand out to me when I saw it. So thought I would address the so called elephant in the room. I do agree the wizard is very powerful. However, I believe same can be said for necro, and warlock. And put any of those in the hands of experienced players, and they become an even more difficult challenge. I know Steve who won a few years ago made it a goal to win with a different mage each year.  His builds are always a challenge.

[gdieckhaus]

3 of my 5 games went to time and I believe if I had lost one of them, I would not have made the finals. 
Also I think that there were three 4-1 players.  Someone to 5-0 all time wins would have 15 points while a 4-1 would have 16 points so the system in place seems like it works.

[SharkBait]

Agreed on the delay for time win. I think that consideration should be given to scoring for tourneys. The tie should count for less than outright kills. maybe 1 or 2 points for each player, rather than 3 and 1. Perhaps to give the slower builds a chance, the rounds should be slightly longer 90 or more minutes. And maybe finals should be untimed single elimination. No tie win, play until one player is killed. That would force players to build for wins rather than ties. I had thought a priestess with tons of healing would be a real challenge in the timed game.

I am of the opinion that any match that goes to time should only be worth 1, while extending the time given to 90-100 minutes for a match. That way, people will build for wins and not stalls (not saying anyone DID build that way, but I'm also of the opinion that the game isn't won unless one mage dies (fries?) ).

I agree about the top 4/playoff round being single elim with no time limit, but I'm not sure how feasible that actually is. I would love to see it though

[zot]

   I think that the no time limit would not be much of an issue. The finals did not last very long on day 2. And I just found your wizard thread, and will continue this discussion there. I felt the heat during our match indeed. I still have the sunburns.

[silverclawgrizzly]

I'm split here. I'm for lowering the value of a time win. I'm very anti-extending match times. We'll see how it goes next year.

[gdieckhaus]

I think the value for a time win is fine.  If you reduce it too much you will eliminate from play mages that take time to play.

[V10lentray]

I was 3-1-1 after a blown ruling and missed the finals. My loss and timed match players both made the finals.

I was playing a druid, one of the slowest mages, and i only went to time against house and his double angel build. house was also playing 65 healing spells, so while i was putting the hurting on him, he kept healing. if there was no time limit on that match, i honestly think we would still be playing. when time was called both of us were only down less than 8 points from our starting health.

[ArcaneDuels]

And last but not least, here's our final interview with Aaron Brosman that happened just after GenCon! - https://youtu.be/ohUdIEWCO0o

[gdieckhaus]

I was 3-1-1 after a blown ruling and missed the finals. My loss and timed match players both made the finals.

I was playing a druid, one of the slowest mages, and i only went to time against house and his double angel build. house was also playing 65 healing spells, so while i was putting the hurting on him, he kept healing. if there was no time limit on that match, i honestly think we would still be playing. when time was called both of us were only down less than 8 points from our starting health.

I wish I had 65 healing spells.

[Laddinfance]

I was 3-1-1 after a blown ruling and missed the finals. My loss and timed match players both made the finals.

I was playing a druid, one of the slowest mages, and i only went to time against house and his double angel build. house was also playing 65 healing spells, so while i was putting the hurting on him, he kept healing. if there was no time limit on that match, i honestly think we would still be playing. when time was called both of us were only down less than 8 points from our starting health.

I wish I had 65 healing spells.

So you're saying I should print more holy healing spells? ;-)

[iNano78]

I was 3-1-1 after a blown ruling and missed the finals. My loss and timed match players both made the finals.

I was playing a druid, one of the slowest mages, and i only went to time against house and his double angel build. house was also playing 65 healing spells, so while i was putting the hurting on him, he kept healing. if there was no time limit on that match, i honestly think we would still be playing. when time was called both of us were only down less than 8 points from our starting health.

I wish I had 65 healing spells.

So you're saying I should print more holy healing spells? ;-)

I think we're getting close.  A Priest(ess) could have something like:

6x Regrowth
6x Iguana Regrowth
6x Healing Charm
6x Divine Reversal
4x Vampirism
6x Vampiric Strike
6x Minor Heal
4x Heal
4x Group Heal
6x Mend
6x Group Mend
1x Lay Hands
6x V'tarrian Healing Song (Domination-oriented)
4x Renewing Spring
4x Raincloud
1x Mohktari, Great Tree of Live (you could include 4 in your book, but only 1 in play at a time)
1x Sunfire Amulet (ditto)
1x Regrowth Belt (similarly 6 in your book, only one equipped at a time)
1x Wychwood Ironvine (ditto, exclusive with above)
1x Wand of Healing (ditto)
4x Highland Unicorn
4x Guardian Angel
4x Gray Angel
4x Necropian Vampiress

That's ignoring more specific things like Mohktari's Branch, the Academy Beastmaster's new wand, all the plants that have Regenerate, Etherian Lifetree, Bull Endurance, etc. And I'm sure I'm missing some.

Of course, turn 1 your opponent says "Deathlock" and you lose.