Test your Skills... That's not a Knife...

[Laddinfance]

Check out our first equipment preview for Mage Wars Academy, the Johktari Hunting Knife! You can find the Article >>HERE<<. What do you think of this new Beastmaster blade?

[Coshade]

Awesome preview! That really is a knife

What I really like about this weapon in arena is the cost. Weapons you usually have to budget a lot of mana for, while this guy gives a solid attack for cheap mana.

This also combos really well with the guard dog spoiler from domination.
--->http://www.arcanewonders.com/arcane-wonders/dominate-the-arena-mans-best-friend

[silverclawgrizzly]

It's always been a concern of mine that Academy cards wouldn't play well with Arena spell books. Either they'd be too strong for a low cost or they'd be utterly useless outside Academy. This however is a perfect balance in my view. The knife isn't game breaking but it is a nice choice for a Beast Master book. I like it.

[Mystery]

the mage level text, perfect

[exid]

I like the idea of low level junior mages!

[Halewijn]

Cool knife, I do think it will overshadow the staff of beasts though. Much less mana needed and, more importantly, no qc needed for the +1 melee.

[Schwenkgott]

Staff of Beasts was never good in the first place. Wasting a qc action for only 2 more attack dice and paying 2 mana for it is not very effective...

[Bluebaron]

The knife is quite solid. However, it has one big minus. You have to activate your mage before your friendly animal. There are quite a few occassions, where you want to activate your mage at last.

[silverclawgrizzly]

I agree with you Bluebaron that it is a draw back. You're going to have to pick and choose your moments carefully with the knife.

[Boocheck]

Very nice situation is when you attack your enemy and give +1 to your guarding creature, which is still waiting to be activated

[DaveW]

Agreed, Boocheck... also you only need to leave one animal available after the Mage, so perhaps it isn't all that much of a detriment.

[Intangible0]

Agreed, Boocheck... also you only need to leave one animal available after the Mage, so perhaps it isn't all that much of a detriment.

That's a very good point DaveW!

I can't wait for this to come out. I've already got a deck in mind for Arena that I'm going to try vigorously.

[RomeoXero]

Wow! For 4 mana I see all kinds of possibilities for almost any mage. Mana wise this thing is a beast and if all you care about is the extra attack dice, for those fond of a rush but want 12 mana handy to dispel that forcefield perhaps then this knife might be your pal.
I know it's not ideal for the mages, but a priest or AD Warlock with low die melee attacks could drop this and Gauntlets of strength to be swinging 5 dice turn 2 (say with divine intervention) and switch it out later if needs be. Or not.
I've always thought the staff of beasts was a bit underpowered anyway so in school it works nicely too! I hate to say it but I'm not even thinking about what good it will be in Academy yet, I'm too swamped with uses for Arena! I'm excited. Fact.

[sdougla2]

I've tried a few times to use Staff of Beasts, but ultimately came to the conclusion that it was just not a good option. The Johktari Hunting Knife looks like a much better deal. It's more action efficient, it costs less, and while it puts some constraints on activation order, it's an efficient means of boosting damage output, whether with a swarm or with a few bigger creatures. It works well with creatures that are guarding, and combos particularly well with Defend. I'll probably be switching my Straywood Beastmaster's weapon out for this when I get my hands on Academy.