opening

[BrainJuggler]

Greetings Mage World! I just got into this game and I could use a hand. I'm playing a standard zone-heavy wizard book. My opening is:
1: QC gate on B1, cast crystal on B2
2: QC crystal on A1, move to B1, cast crystal on C1
3: summon gorgon, usually 3 from the gate, 13 from mage, leaving ~4 left for leather/enchants

At this point I want to get a wizards tower down on B2 but my opponents have had no trouble getting creatures inside the gorgon's range within a turn or so. On turn 4 I could either get out a hydra/gargoyle to defend her, or a teleport wand to keep them out. Neither option has been particularly successful. Should I get a pikewall down first? Should I skip the turn 2 crystals? Should I drop the gate and change all the creatures (arcane  creatures are kinda weak [I used to run whirling spirits but they're kinda the wrong philosophy])?

[spellbook]
[spellbookheader]
[spellbookname]ArcLight[/spellbookname]
[mage]A Wizard (Air) Spellbook[/mage]
[mage]built by the OCTGN SBB[/mage]
[/spellbookheader]
[spells]
[spellclass]Attack[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1A02]1 x Chain Lightning[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A13]1 x Thunderbolt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A07]3 x Lightning Bolt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01A04]2 x Piercing Thunderstrike[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWA01]1 x Arc Lightning[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1A09]1 x Jet Stream[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKA01]1 x Surging Wave[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNA01]2 x Acid Ball[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Conjuration[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]2 x Wizard's Tower[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J16]1 x Mordok's Obelisk[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J21]1 x Suppression Orb[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J07]1 x Gate to Voltari[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1J12]3 x Mana Crystal[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFW01]1 x Wall of Earth[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWW01]1 x Wall of Pikes[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Creature[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1C09]1 x Darkfenne Hydra[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1C18]2 x Gorgon Archer[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX1CKC08]2 x Gargoyle Sentry[/mwcard]
[mwcard=DNC03]1 x Devouring Jelly[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Enchantment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1E23]2 x Jinx[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01E09]1 x Hoodwink[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E15]1 x Essence Drain[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWSTX2FFE07]1 x Rust[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E35]1 x Reverse Magic[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1E29]4 x Nullify[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Equipment[/spellclass]
[mwcard=MW1Q19]2 x Mage Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q08]1 x Elemental Wand[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q17]1 x Lightning Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q01]1 x Arcane Ring[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q23]1 x Regrowth Belt[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q07]1 x Elemental Cloak[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWPROMO33]1 x Storm Drake Hide[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MWA01Q04]1 x Leather Chausses[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1Q15]1 x Leather Boots[/mwcard]
[spellclass]Incantation[/spellclass]
[mwcard=FWI16]2 x Dissolve[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I12]2 x Force Push[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I28]4 x Teleport[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I20]1 x Purify[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I06]4 x Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=FWI13]2 x Seeking Dispel[/mwcard]
[mwcard=MW1I21]1 x Purge Magic[/mwcard]
[/spells]
[cost]Total cost: 120 pts[/cost]
[/spellbook]

[Biblofilter]

Your spellbook seem pretty good to me.

Regarding the opening : I think your turn 2 should depend on what your opponent does.

2 crystals or arcane ring + crystal leaving a corner spot for Obelisk/Orb is fine if your opponent also increased channeling, but else you should do something else. Charmyna wrote about this a while ago. (lookup Watergate Wizard and Wizard Grizzly, maybe even watch few of his videos)

Arcane creatures are pretty good.

Gorgon Archers rocks vs. living and flying. Not so hot vs. non-living.
Gargoyle Sentry never dies and nobody wants to deal with them.

It might be enough with just one of each.

Devouring Jelly is really good - id take more - a lot more.

Hydra is to much work for my liking.

Other than that im missing a few spells
increase your damage output:
Hawkeye
Akiros Favor

curses like
Magebane
Agony
you could easily take more

edited to add
Tanglevines  easy way to keep creatures in place - good for Gorgon, Hydra, Jelly.

and finally
Enchantment Transfusion

[iNano78]

I'd question whether or not you really need 3x Crystals.  I'm not much of a Wizard player, but if going with a Gate, I tend to go Gate + Harmonize (on the Gate) on turn 1, then get a creature out on round 2.  This way, you don't lose so much momentum and have more mana to spend in the early game, although less in the late game.  And notice that Harmonize on a Gate costs 1 mana less than a Crystal, and helps your Gate to activate earlier and more frequently, which is especially useful if otherwise your opponent might opt to go melee or equip a bow or even Medition Ring to reduce their spell casting.

You can also Harmonize a Wizard's Tower, if that's another early game plan for you.  If you still plan on winning through mana economy, I could envision:

1 (20): [mwcard=MW1J07]Gate to Voltari[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1E20]Harmonize[/mwcard] (Gate)
2 (12): [mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]Wizard's Tower[/mwcard], [mwcard=MW1E20]Harmonize[/mwcard] (Tower)
3 (11): Deploy a creature ([mwcard=DNC03]Devouring Jelly[/mwcard] or [mwcard=MWSTX1CKC08]Gargoyle Sentry[/mwcard]) and get to work! Or, if your opponent isn't applying any pressure and you really want Channeling 12 on top of your turbo Gate and Tower, you might drop 2x [mwcard=MW1J12]Mana Crystal[/mwcard]s.

[BrainJuggler]

Thanks for the advice! I agree, the book is solid, maybe needs some tweaks but nothing major. I will try blue gremlins. The hydra is out, watergate used them but 1-2 armor completely shuts him down so I think jelly is superior and I may add more. The card I keep taking in and out is whirling spirit. At 12 mana its easy to cast, the push is incredible, and if my opponent doesn't have ethereal attacks he usually just ignores it. But the +1 upkeep hurts and it can't come from the gate. Thoughts?

I have 2 new openings in mind:

slow:
1: gate, harmonize
2: double crystal
3: gorgon

fast:
1: gate, harmonize
2: gorgon (if gate has 4), or jelly/whirler

Harmonizing a wizards tower is fascinating but makes it a huge target. If my opponent gets down a turn 2 Adramalech/grizzly/angel/etc then it would be nigh impossible to fend off.

[Biblofilter]

Keep 1 Whirling Spirit. Unless your opponents has ethereal counters, they don´t die. Upkeep should not be a problem, just wait casting it until you have some build up.

[wtcannonjr]

Keep 1 Whirling Spirit. Unless your opponents has ethereal counters, they don´t die. Upkeep should not be a problem, just wait casting it until you have some build up.

+1

The Whirling Spirit is great for pushing creatures into the Slow Devouring Jelly. Good combo.