Been out of the game for a couple of years...

[chiller087]

So what's big now?  Just came across all the Wizard errata stuff, glad that was finally dealt with.  Are there any Mages that stand out as being too unreliable to use? Which ones are viewed as being perhaps a little too powerful these days?  Are people looking forward to Paladin vs Siren?

Lastly, is it possible to get the most updated printing of the core Rulebook somewhere?  I'll settle for pdf.

[Kelanen]

So what's big now?  Just came across all the Wizard errata stuff, glad that was finally dealt with.  Are there any Mages that stand out as being too unreliable to use? Which ones are viewed as being perhaps a little too powerful these days?  Are people looking forward to Paladin vs Siren?

Lastly, is it possible to get the most updated printing of the core Rulebook somewhere?  I'll settle for pdf.

Bloodwave Warlord and Jokhtari BM are the weakest. Priest is down there, but got both a boost and competition from Paladin in PvS - he's weak but playable. Everything else is certainly playable with the 10 Channelling mages generally being the upper tier. Since the Wizard nerfing the field is remarkably wide open, and in a pretty good state for most mages balancewise.

PvS is long awaited and very good...

Current rulebook is here: http://www.arcanewonders.com/resources/Mage_Wars_Arena.pdf and codex, and FAQ's are in the same place.  Pay attention to the slight changes on steps on the back page summary, otherwise rules are just how you knew them. The changes are really only to when you can reveal Enchantments.

[silverclawgrizzly]

I've been playing with PvS since Gen Con and love it. I think it levels a lot of mages up. Both warlords do fine now. Priest gets some very nice Holy Avenger options.

It's really a good time to be getting back into Mage Wars. I still have trouble with Necromancers but wouldn't consider them OP.

[Halewijn]

Agreed on necromancer. I also think the druids vines are a bit too powerful.. It should hinder every non druid, non plant creature. Or at least every non nature creature.

All these things are minor and nothing compared to the wizard. I would rather see errata for the weakest mages now. Especially veterans and wounded prey need a boost/replacement. Priest getting channeling 10 would also be very nice, especially with the arrival of the paladin overshadowing him in almost every way now. There are multiple treads about these topics already.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Agreed on necromancer. I also think the druids vines are a bit too powerful.. It should hinder every non druid, non plant creature. Or at least every non nature creature.

All these things are minor and nothing compared to the wizard. I would rather see errata for the weakest mages now. Especially veterans and wounded prey need a boost/replacement. Priest getting channeling 10 would also be very nice, especially with the arrival of the paladin overshadowing him in almost every way now. There are multiple treads about these topics already.

In particular they should switch the two warlord's battle orders, and switch fast and quick summoning between the two beastmasters. This would make their abilities a lot more coherent, and the fact that their abilities are currently mixed up badly is probably the main reason they are so weak.

http://forum.arcanewonders.com/index.php?topic=17103

Could you elaborate on how the paladin overshadows the priest in almost every way?

[Halewijn]

Could you elaborate on how the paladin overshadows the priest in almost every way?

Well, I like the priest, but here is why:

Training

Priest: Holy, dark x3
Paladin: Holy creatures and level 3 Holy and level 2 war, dark x3

The difference between Holy and level 3 holy is almost nothing. The current spellpool only has [mwcard=MW1I22]Resurrection[/mwcard], which is to be honest, a horrible card. The priest however has war level 2 training, which is AWESOME. He has cheap access to TONS of good war spells.

Mage only cards

Priest: Staff of Asyra, Crown of protection, Ring of Asyra.
Paladin: Crusade banner, Dawn's bastion, Sword of Radiance, Paladin's cloak, smite, ...

I think the difference is pretty clear here.. Sword of Radiance > Staff of Asyra. Ring of Asyra is pretty basic and the crown is pretty bad. The paladin's set has many more good options.

Abilities

While I for sure don't dislike the Priest's abilities, they are very expensive. Especially for a 9 channeling mage. A second disadvantage is that they are very predictable.

In contrast, the Paladin has many possibilities  with his aura's, especially in combination with his "paladin only" spells. So, not very predictible. I'm not sure how strong his abilities are yet because I haven't used him, but I'm pretty sure they are strong.

All in all, I think the paladin is simply the better priest now. Giving the priest channeling +1 would help and it would help him pay for his abilities.

[Kelanen]

All in all, I think the paladin is simply the better priest now. Giving the priest channeling +1 would help and it would help him pay for his abilities.

Absolutely agreed. Paladin is what Priest always should have been.

[Super Sorcerer]

ב"ה
I didn't play with PvS yet, so I have nothing to say about that expansion. The cards from that expansion seen to benefit mostly the holy and war mages, but it is only a guess before I actually try them.
The mages you probably wouldn't see in tournaments are the warlords and the priest. Unlike others, I think the priest main problem is his weakness against Adramelech warlocks (which kind of make his best ability useless), but he is quite decent against other mages. 

Unlike some others, I believe that currently no errata is needed, but giving new good spells to the bad mages and counter against the best mages is enough (even though I absolutely agree that the wizard tower needed that errata, and removing the "spellbind" was a house rule we used long before the official errata came).

[Halewijn]

I don't think the priest is bad. He became much stronger with academy and pvs. I just believe the paladin will replace the priest at this moment.


Errata would be nice, but I dont think it is "necessary".

[Kelanen]

I don't think the priest is bad. He became much stronger with academy and pvs. I just believe the paladin will replace the priest at this moment.

Surely that's bad then? anything that's not the best at doing a function is bad, and if Paladin is better (as we all agree) then Priest is bad. Whether he's a little bit worse or a lot worse doesn't really matter...

[Halewijn]

That just depends on how you define it. Without the existence of the paladin, the priest still had an agressive holy niche. I consider the priest lower tier, but not weak/horrible. Anyway, we agree, just a matter of phrasing I think. 

[Puddnhead]

Just curious.  Have you guys played with the Paladin at all or is this all theory?

From my limited experience with each mage I think the Paladin is indeed the "hit you in the face" playstyle, but I also believe that the Priest is actually better suited to supporting several tough creatures...and occasionally that "support" involves hitting something for the daze/burn.

My hunch is that building a Priest around Resplendent Bow might be a solid book.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Getting back to new fun stuff to do, the Johktari is a blast to play with her new boomerang weapon in Academy. In fact the Academy sets have added so much fun to Arena play I seriously recommend them.

[Kelanen]

Just curious.  Have you guys played with the Paladin at all or is this all theory?

I've built books, but not yet played them (I have a ton of PvS proxies printed).

That said, I've a very theoretical mind, and 95% of book building and refinement comes from outside of games.

From my limited experience with each mage I think the Paladin is indeed the "hit you in the face" playstyle, but I also believe that the Priest is actually better suited to supporting several tough creatures...and occasionally that "support" involves hitting something for the daze/burn.

Do you know what would do that even better? A Priestess...

Priest's niche is with a single Avenger buddy. As soon as you start playing multiple creatures, Priestess supports them so much better.

Getting back to new fun stuff to do, the Johktari is a blast to play with her new boomerang weapon in Academy. In fact the Academy sets have added so much fun to Arena play I seriously recommend them.

I think teh boomerang is pretty weak to be honest (and yes I have played with that). If you are playing a Jokhtari, then yes, you may as well throw one in the book, but the vast majority of the time you don't want to cast it, and when you do, you don't want to use it - Fast with a range 0 weapon is almost as big a nonbo as Fast and full round ranged weapons. It's all a bit irrelevant though because if you are laying Jokhtari 95% of the time you'd be much better with a Straywood, even if that means putting a few L1 creatures in.

[Halewijn]

Just curious.  Have you guys played with the Paladin at all or is this all theory?

Haven't played the paladin, but most of what I say is just stating the obvious and not an opinion. (Training, mage specific cards, priest mana problems, ..)

I have no experience with the paladin's abilities apart from the reviews, the OCTGN video and thinking about possible builds, but everything points towards awesome abilities.