Am I the only one who does not like playing with the Spellbook?

[lukard]

I find the spellbook (the binder) very nice and gives a cool theme to the game. However, I think that it takes much longer to put all cards back in the spellbook than simply making a regular deck and store it in a box.

Additionally, I also find quicker to find my cards from the deck than from the spellbook. Spellbooks also take more storage space (not a big concern though).

Therefore, I am playing with my friends without any spellbook. One of my friends is also following the trend.

What do you guys think about it? The spellbook does not add much for me.

By the way, does anybody know if I can make just a regular deck in tournaments?

Thanks

[baronzaltor]

Im way too used to decks.. Ive never been into the actual spellbinders. 

I find it easier to find cards I'm looking for by just sifting through them in a stack than flipping through pages.  plus I pick and pull a few times during planning, so its easier to put them back into the stack than to replace them in the book.

[Lord0fWinter]

I personally love playing with the spellbooks. I agree it takes longer to take the cards out and put them back in, but this isn't such a big deal to me. It doesn't really bother me.

On the other hand, the reason I love them is just because they are so thematic. They really help me get engrossed in the game and help me feel like a real mage

[silverclawgrizzly]

I'm with Lord of Winter on this one. I like having an actual spell book in my hand. But I can see where some folks, especially former MtG players would be more comfortable with a deck.

[lukard]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it is good to know the experience of other players.

I must say that opting by using the spellbinder or playing with a deck is just a personal preference. However, I truly believe that it is not necessary to include two spellbinders in the next expansions (following the trend of DvN, FvW). I would rather having more copies of cards, more tokens, or simply a price reduction.

Most of my friends and I have the expansions and we keep storing empty spellbinders. In my case, I have the core set and all expansions (including tomes), but I cannot have more than tree mages ready to go, otherwise I run out of cards. It turns out that I keep half of the spellbinders empty.

I really understand the reason for including the spellbinders in the expansions (thematic and business reasons). But it bugs me when I have these unnecessary spellbinders. It just gives the impression that it is a waist.

Does anybody agree/disagree?

[ACG]

After trying the spellbooks a few times, I ditched them and started playing with decks in boxes instead. I have never been tempted to try the spellbooks out again; they just take way too much time.

I really understand the reason for including the spellbinders in the expansions (thematic and business reasons). But it bugs me when I have these unnecessary spellbinders. It just gives the impression that it is a waist.

Does anybody agree/disagree?

I absolutely, 100% agree. Expansions should never have additional spellbooks; it is a waste of space and just adds the the price of the expansion. Particularly as more expansions come out, the price to new players will become much higher than it would if AW would just sell the new spellbooks separately for anybody who wants them. This would benefit everybody:

- People who aren't interested in the spellbooks wouldn't want to buy them, and might be willing to purchase multiples of the expansions.
- AW's production costs would be lower
- People who want new spellbooks could still get them.

If spellbooks are removed from expansions, this leaves more space for cards, or for reduction of cost.

[sIKE]

Not everyone comes from a MTG background or any other CCG/LCG variant. I happen to love my spellbooks, and they are an integral part of the game for me. I have never gotten (random draws determine fate) into the above games for the exact reason you guys love them (decks). So I do not necessarily agree with the removal of the spellbooks from the expansions. 

[ACG]

Not everyone comes from a MTG background or any other CCG/LCG variant. I happen to love my spellbooks, and they are an integral part of the game for me. I have never gotten (random draws determine fate) into the above games for the exact reason you guys love them (decks). So I do not necessarily agree with the removal of the spellbooks from the expansions. 

My preference to use decks above spellbooks does not stem from a CCG background; I actually dislike CCGs a lot. I prefer to use them because they are more convenient.

But the issue I have with including spellbooks in the expansions is not that I don't think people should have the option of using spellbooks, but rather that including them in the expansions is unnecessary (the core set already contains spellbooks) and wasteful. Simply put, we do not need new spellbooks in every single expansion; it makes more sense to sell them as accessories for those who want them. Including them in the expansions derives the price up and/or the potential number of cards down.

I understand that you might want to have multiple mages built at the same time, but that need can still be met with accessory spellbooks.

[Lord0fWinter]

I actually agree with ACG and lukard here. I love my spellbooks. They add so much thematically. But they don't need to be added with (almost) every expansion.

The idea of taking them out of the expansions and just making them available as spellbook packs is probably the best thing to do. I already have more spellbooks than mages I can make at once. There simply aren't enough of the most important cards to have multiple decent books at the same time.

As already mentioned, the benefits of doing this, in my opinion, outweigh the negatives in almost every regard. Less production cost for AW, less shipping cost, etc. This all translates to more profit for them, and should allow them to lower the prices of the expansions somewhat. Or this could also allow them to add more cards into each expansion.

I don't think there are really any drawbacks to doing this either. The spellbooks will still be available to people who want them, they would just be sold separately.

[silverclawgrizzly]

I'min favor of new expansions having spell books in them. Otherwise you can either go buy more books seperately which is about $15 or keep swapping your cards out of the ones you got which is annoying. But then I'm just a fan of spell books in general.

[lettucemode]

As already mentioned, the benefits of doing this, in my opinion, outweigh the negatives in almost every regard. Less production cost for AW, less shipping cost, etc. This all translates to more profit for them, and should allow them to lower the prices of the expansions somewhat. Or this could also allow them to add more cards into each expansion.

- AW's production costs would be lower

You guys have no way of knowing if that is true or not. I would argue the opposite. AW is still a pretty small company who is self-publishing their games, they do not have the clout of Fantasy Flight Games to negotiate for lower printing/boxing/manufacturing/stocking/shipping prices on their products. I think it is very likely that AW would lose money on every spellbook set sold.

Also I use the spellbooks very frequently. I find it awkward to paw through a stack of cards every 5 minutes.

[Sailor Vulcan]

I'min favor of new expansions having spell books in them. Otherwise you can either go buy more books seperately which is about $15 or keep swapping your cards out of the ones you got which is annoying. But then I'm just a fan of spell books in general.

I really don't see why it should be necessary to do that. If you don't have enough binders, keep the rest of your builds in deck form.

Thematically I HATE using the binders during a match. They don't make me feel like a real mage, they make me feel like an apprentice who can't remember even the most basic of their own spells.

When narrating a serious life and death duel between fully trained mages, there is absolutely NO effective way to suspend the readers' disbelief about this.

I mean, how would anyone take it seriously if someone wrote something like this:

The fog had cleared, allowing the Forest Shadow to see that he was only a few inches away from his prey, the nearly dead enemy Forcemaster.

As her impending demise neared, the forcemaster frantically flipped through the pages of her spellbook, desperately trying to find a way to stop the legendary panther from gouging her heart out with its terrifying claws.

"Aha!" she weakly whispered in triumph. She had found just the spell she needed. She quickly enchanted herself with a basic defensive enchantment, Block, just before the cat took a swipe at her.

Any intelligent person who read that would wonder why the cat didn't just attack her while she was reading her spellbook.

It's a shame that Arcane Wonders has made the spellbooks so integral to marketing the game. I think as soon as they have enough money to do so, they should just abandon the whole "reading while fighting for your life" thing, since that's just stupid.

[sIKE]

Thematically I HATE digging though a pile of cards while trying to plan a strategy and don't even start me on card counts. Bile just rose up in the back of my throat.

It is not called a spell deck, but a Spellbook, Thematically the game revolves around this. A deck is shuffled and random things happen, bile just rose up in the back of my throat again. A spellbook is order and planning.

[Zuberi]

I prefer the spellbooks myself. They are beautifully designed and really help to immerse me in the game. They make finding the spell I want a breeze. They do suffer a bit on clean up, but during the game they are amazing. I also don't find that they negatively impact the games portability at all. The main culprit there is the board.

I am also extremely glad that the expansions come with spellbooks. That is because I enjoy them however. I can see merit in marketing things separately. If they did this, it would most likely increase the cost we would have to pay if we want to get everything, but would probably decrease the cost for those who are satisfied with not having them. I do not know how this would affect Arcane Wonders profits.

[sIKE]

The minor expansions like CoK and FiF do not come with spellbooks,and the major ones like DvN and FvW do...so in reality the glass is half full for both sides of this conversation....