Because you asked here is a response. I usually don’t like to respond to these types of threads because they start on a premises that there is an imbalance, rather than exploring why there is a difference between similar mages. Just to note I don’t agree that the BMs, Warlords need to be changed or the holy mages. If I were to change the Priest I could see channeling 10 for a 2 mana burn ability. Honestly I don’t think that change would actually do anything to buff him in any significant way though.
Priest vs Priestess - Both of these mages IMO are meant to played for the long game. In general I consider the Priest to be a dual-action mage. While the Priestess mainly focuses on defense and survival. What I define as dual action here is the ability to make a move that is both defensive and offensive in it’s nature of the action.
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The most common mistake I see players make for the Priest is going Battle Forge, a KOW HA and maybe another creature, and I also see those players bang their head against a wall to try and make it work.
Ironically I actually think the Priestess is better with a few buddies and Battle Forge. This is probably why most people assume the Priestess is better. The ability to support creatures within a timing window is perfect for her condition removal ability.
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If we assume both mages are supposed to go for the long game here are my observations.
Typically late game my board is channeling 13 mana (14 if Priestess), and my goal is to have my mage survive with low armor and mass healing while my creatures do the damage. Just a note my maximum mana to use is up to 14 on my Priest, I don't rely that on happening though so I make my assumptions on lowering it. This is because of Meditating Monk
The Priest
Holy Punch - This is the most overlooked ability for the Priest. I’m not talking about the burn. It’s the chance to daze without any more investment than a quick action! If you get rushed, having an innate daze ability is amazing for shuting them down. Something I appreciate about the Priest is the dual nature of his melee attack. It’s a theme I hope to discuss in a number of ways. In this example you don’t have to spend spellbook points and mana to gain that daze chance you want. Granted Akiro’s Favor is usually what I use to guarantee that daze, but arguably I find it more useful than equipping the Staff of Asyra specifically because of the mana required. The Priestess spending mana on temporary spells like Luminous Blast vs the Priest’s fist is a justification of how she may have more channeling, but may not have more mana on the board.
Holy Avenger -To replicate HA you would have to spend a ton of extra actions and spellbook points. Bear Strength and Bulls Endurance are great to replicate the ability, but 1 action vs 3 and an extra 4 spellbook points is super costly. If we say that an action is worth roughly 2 mana (dissolve and dispel vs crumble and disperse) it would cost the Priestess 4 extra mana to replicate the effect and that is before spending the mana to cast the spell. Suddenly that extra channeling is being wasted (granted the effects are different, bulls is not as good and bear is contingently better). That is on top of the fact that I prefer HA for level 1 and rarely level 2 creatures which means it’s wrapped up in a nice mana saving present. My conclusion here is that the Priestess has more mana in total, but the Priest can come out ahead with total value on the field. Also you can see the buff theme here as consistent of the dual-action archetype. It is both offensive and defensive as opposed to the Pirestess purely defensive nature in her abilities.
Burning Heretics - Once you get to late game, the Priest’s burn/daze punch is one of my favorite tools. You can eliminate their way of dealing damage to you, while slowly cripping their strategy. I would say the Priest has the best melee or ranged attack potential because of the dual action effect (again a theme here like HA). It is actually correct in a lot of ways as Priest to get offensive to attempt to shut down their offensive capabilities. This is something no other mage can replicate and is purely unique to the Priest.
The Priestess has an innate mana advantage and can therefore afford to take some higher level pieces of equipment. Mainly I would take the Staff of Asyra since I would want that daze melee, or use attack spells to replicate the daze. I would like to note that in my experience you shouldn’t take different creatures necessarily based on channeling alone.
Tl:dr - Priest is better at getting to the long game, while Priestess is better for supporting her creatures at that point. They are not similar as the Priest is a dual-action type mage, while Priestess’s abilities are defensive.
Totally dissagree, I tell you if you bring up the channel that high with priest you go for a ultra long game. As said if you go HA for lvl 1 and lvl 2 creatures you are no better of than just casting a lvl 3 non HA as the priestess (as i said, cleric-> defender/Whitelcoak, defender-Kow,...).
You are really talking about a 1/3 daze change for a 1/2 miss on the daze roll, So for 1/6 chance to daze you use your valid full action to do it? I rather have luminous blast then, its very likely to kill after all, else I will have to use this melee always. Of course I grant that a general thought the normal melees shouldnt be underestimated.
" Honestly I don’t think that change would actually do anything to buff him in any significant way though."
Of course it does cause any round you don't use your burn ability (so minimum the first three rounds you have an extra mana. This changes a lot.
On the extra Spellpoints of bear strength and so on you are right (assuming lvl 3 above HA else just go for the higher lvl creature as priestess). But you need wand(s) of healing as a priest
As stated I don't feel that any of the mages are really too weak to be competetive, but Priestess-> priest
Lastly by having 10/2 for burn it wouldn't be such a disavatnage vs the adramalech warlock were you can't really use your ability.
I know i think the game much more theoretical and mathematical, but from a competetive point of view I am totally pursuaded by my point. And it doesnt mean I can't build good Priest books, but the Priestess would be better of.
But I don't think it is a must change, in such big card pools there will be some cards that are just the weaker option than another on a competetive level. I see many play the game much more causual. What I feel is the best is to avoid such weakness in further sets (card, mage,... basis), that's one goal for me as playtester. That is why i often poke on a single life or 1mana cost to make subpar cards closer to be playable at a competetive level.... Very mathmatical but necessary, lately with all my playtesting in board game ratings I reached a level where I intentionally try to find flaws in the games, or imbalances, and if it is only turnorder (classic 4 player table you are 3 times ahead of the other player and 1 time behind or otherway round, or have double "initiative"
if turnorder and start player token go clock and counterclockwise,...) or other such effects determined turn order by a weaker player not competing for victory anymore but having indirect king making.....
