So most of my games do stretch well over an hour, and I frequenly run my opponent out of creatures and dispells/disolves. I usually try to win the wand war. I take the two spellbindable wands and attach Teleport and (pick your favorite damaging spell), on the other. Additionally I attempt to get on a regenerating item or enchantment, and load up on protection (Aegis, Armor, Defense, circle of Lightning+Lightning ring). I try to set up a solid defenive position early with a couple Gorgons and Hydras. The Gorgons weaken incoming creatures (which can be a pain for anyone but the Priestess to deal with. I can play super defensive, being able to teleport away from creatures if I'm suffering damage, and still being able to plink away at them at the same time.) If I'm not playing the priestess, then my opponent has big problems from the Gorgons. If I'm able to disolve my opponent's healing wand, then they usually have no way to remove "Weaken", and the Gorgons turn any creatures they send forward into useless dead weight.
I'm definitely the one who's attempting to drag the game out. I've played aggressive players and they tend to get overextended trying too hard to push into my defenses and get blasted. If they can't push forward and sustain their attack they will find I've put a Mana Siphon on them and they will be losing the mana war, if they don't push forward to deal with it. And when I get ahead on mana production or face someone using swarm deck I will drop Mordock's Obelisk to further slow the game and keep swarm teams in check. I play with 6 Nullifies to keep my wands safe. And will try to destroy opposing wands to keep opponents from wanding up a disolve.
Playing with wands allows me to be very diverse in my strategies. With one of each of the following spells I can:
1) Ressurection - I will never run out of creatures, on several occations I've run my opponent completely out of creatures, then resurrected all of mine. (Game over)
2) Teleport - I can play bounce away and pick things off at range. Taking minimal damage that I regenerate back.
3) Steal Enchantment - I can steal every useful enchantment my opponent casts. Then they waste their own disenchants, disenchanting their own enchantments....but they run out of the disenchants, were as I never run out of the ability to steal their enchantments.
4) a diversity of direct damage - Chain lightning is great for small creature swarm teams. Other spells are more efficient against larger creatures. And a variety of damage Fire, Lightning...etc in case an opponent is using a creaure that is vunerable to a particular type.
5) Heal - If regenerate isn't enough I can want up the heal and use it to get back to full, then back to teleport.
6) Force Push - Pushing things through walls of Fire can be entertaining and efficient.
7) Explode - I can detonate every piece of equipment my opponent has. Since I have an unlimited supply...no piece of equpiment is too small to overlook detonating or disolving.
By just having one of each of the above spells, and two wands, I can cast those spells an unlimited number of times.
Win the wand war and you can play defensively to drag the game out and consume opponent's resources and eliminate is ability to deal with things.
As I said, maybe I haven't played anyone who's agressive and efficient. I have managed to stave off death and drag out games. I don't alwasy win, but I do win more than I lose. And the Winning the Wand War is key.
Since I only put one copy of important spells in my spell book, it allows me to be very diverse. If you win the wand war, now your opponent will run out of more and more ways to deal with things as the game goes on.
