Mage Wars Arena Championship at Gen con

[Toxziq]

I wanted to take a moment and ensure everyone that yes, we are planning a Gen Con Tournament for Mage Wars Arena!  Gen Con Events kicked our request for a championship tournament back at the last minute with questions, but haven't made clear why the two days of tournament requests were not approved.  We are waiting to hear back from them, but in short, we are planning to have the event still.

Any questions, please let me know.

[V10lentray]

Is the format going to be straight up Arena or Battlegrounds format?

[Toxziq]

Straight up Arena, but the Battlegrounds cards will be legal to play.

[DaveW]

OK, I can't follow all the names now. (I'm probably getting senile in my old age.)

I have figured out that "Arena" is the old Mage Wars. What is Battlegrounds? Is that the one zone thing that someone showed me recently? (Maybe that was Academy?) What other names do I need to know in order to figure out what I'm playing?

I have to say that the new names, and the strange board configurations I seen have really upset my sense of stability... I'd hate to sign up for an event and find out later that it is something else entirely.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[iNano78]

Arena = the game released in 2012, formerly known as simply "Mage Wars." All the expansions released so far require an Arena (or simply "Mage Wars") core set.

Academy = 2-zone streamlined game that plays quicker, is more portable, etc. Academy cards are legal in Arena, but not the other way around (probably because many keywords and rules from Arena don't apply in Academy). It's being released in 2-Mage packs that represent a stand-alone game, rather than an expansion to Arena, making it an accessible jumping-in point for new players.

Battlegrounds = special expansions that include new ways to play Arena. Follows Arena rules, is completely compatible with arena base set and expansions. That is, Battlegrounds cards are legal in regular Arena matches and vice versa (as I understand it).

Battlegrounds - Domination = the first of these, coming soon (Origins), featuring modular puzzle-like board, objectives, alternate win conditions, various board setups for different scenarios, environmental effects, etc. See here for more info:
http://www.arcanewonders.com/products/battlegrounds-domination

[V10lentray]

Arena = the game released in 2012, formerly known as simply "Mage Wars." All the expansions released so far

Academy = 2-zone streamlined game that plays quicker, is more portable, etc. Academy cards are legal in Arena, but not the other way around (probably because many keywords and rules from Arena don't apply in Academy). It's being released in 2-Mage packs that represent a stand-alone game, rather than an expansion to Arena, making it an accessible jumping-in point for new players.

Partially but not entirely.

Academy is being designed as a stand alone game, as well as it being an expansion for Arena. The way it is being designed is that you can play Arena, and never play Academy. And you can play Academy and never play Arena. In the future if/when there are Arena and Academy tournaments, we dont want the Arena players to not be able to compete because players are using Arena Cards. And we want fill Arena players to have access to more cards, so the Academy cards will be legel in Arena.

[DaveW]

So... we Arena players will have to buy Academy even if we don't want the game, just so we can get the cards?

[ringkichard]

Have to? If you want the cards and markers you have to buy them, yes. Same as any other expansion.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Sigh. Where did people get the idea that they have to buy ALL the expansions in order to be competitive at mage wars? This isn't MtG. I've commented about this at least several times, and people continue to ignore what I say and blame the expansion prices for every time that someone outplays them. No, you don't have to buy  academy, and not buying it won't put you at any sort of significant disadvantage.

[V10lentray]

It just depends if you think any of the cards in Academy are playable for you in Arena.  I can say there are some really neat cards in Academy.

[DaveW]

Sigh. Where did people get the idea that they have to buy ALL the expansions in order to be competitive at mage wars? This isn't MtG. I've commented about this at least several times, and people continue to ignore what I say and blame the expansion prices for every time that someone outplays them. No, you don't have to buy  academy, and not buying it won't put you at any sort of significant disadvantage.

I care much more about not having access to the cards than I go whether or not they make me more competitive. Can the cards be sold separately, like the cards from the Core set are?

[Boocheck]

They are sokd separetly?

[Laddinfance]

This conversation has gotten a bit off track. This was originally about Mage Wars Arena Championship at Gen Con. If we have other questions, it's better to make a separate thread.

As for the question about Academy, I guess I don't understand. Academy is going to be a bunch of cards, some tokens and such (that is not an exact component list, so don't quote me on it). I guess for an arena player I didn't think of it as much different than buying a regular expansion. You're getting cards and the things you need to play them.

I guess I'm a little lost. I'm happy to try and answer your questions though.

[ringkichard]

Maybe the important question is, "How much more will Academy cost than a normal Arena Expansion?"

[silverclawgrizzly]

I will be at the Gen Con Championship judging! This is my first time at the convention, this is my first time judging at an event anywhere near this level. I'm hoping to help run a good competitive event and see what sorts of books people bring. Hoping for a repeat win for the Straywood Beast Master.