How to get started

[Puddnhead]

In my experience, destroying spawnpoints is a risky maneuver.  They are worth it if you can get a critical mass of dice and actions on the table before your opponent is able to perforate you beyond healing.

It generally comes down to what style of book you want to play.  If you're interested in level 1 and level 2 creatures and only a couple of level 3s then spawnpoint is something to consider.  If you are primarily interested in fielding an elite squad of level 3-4 creatures then you should replace the spawnpoint with some mana generation and hard cast your team and keep them supported.

[Obsidian Soul]

I agree.  With my books, I tend to run 8-12 level 3-4 creatures (the Necromancer and the Druid being the exceptions), so I just hardcast them.  With 13-14 Channeling, you can usually get a large creature out every other turn.

[DaveW]

Creature Spawnpoints are very helpful if you have another use for your full action. Things like meditating using the Meditation Amulet, attacking using the full action, or even moving will keep the Mage from hard-casting Creatures in most circumstances. Also, you can potentially cast a second Creature if you also use a Creature Spawnpoint (main candidates here include Straywood Beastmaster and Necromancer).

If your book uses any of these ideas as major parts of its strategy, and includes more than just a few Creatures, you should consider whether you will want to use a Creature Spawnpoint.

[Reddicediaries]

I agree.  With my books, I tend to run 8-12 level 3-4 creatures (the Necromancer and the Druid being the exceptions), so I just hardcast them.  With 13-14 Channeling, you can usually get a large creature out every other turn.

Well that's interesting.
I really am thinking that you will be at a big disadvantage vs books that have the same amount of creatures except they have a spawnpoint to cast their creatures for them.
Temple Priestess vs Hardcasting Priestess comes to mind, but Warlord, Johktari, Necro, Wizard, Siren, and Pally also come to mind.
It all comes down to personal playstyle and card choices though. Test your books out a lot and make play changes/change the book depending on how it is doing in testing.

[RomeoXero]

Honestly obsidian soul, when was your last mage wars match? Im not being mean or anything but I'm insanely curious as to what meta you were involved in. When exactly was the last time you played mage wars arena?

[silverclawgrizzly]

I've focused on the Straywood since I got into MW. My books good enough to win any fight against any mage, and can lose to any mage as well. That being said I'll do my best to answer the Lair question.

Short answer: I haven't cast it in over a year.

Longer explanation: It's incredibly useful if you can use it to bring in some mid to late game back up. You can cast it early, then do a turn of or two of enchanting yourself/level 1 creatures/cheap equipment while you build up your mana. The main issue is to make sure the enemy doesn't focus on it, if you can do that then it'll be a huge help to you. That in mind be prepared to cast a big hitter like a Pet Timber Wolf or even a grizzly yourself. The main thing with a Beast Master is you want to have enough "fires on the burner" so to speak that your opponent can't focus on just one.

Also to answer for Obsidian Soul: He fought me about a week or so ago.

[farkas1]

I love me some spwnpoints.  It just depends on playstyle and what you want to be doing during your match. My super swarmaster build requires a lair so I can cast three creature a turn.  The lair is by far my favorite spawnpoint, I may be a little biased but it's super strong can take a beating and if it saves you a few attacks and cast one or two creatures it is totally still worth it.  The vine tree is also really good.  Spawnpoints save your Mage actions and/or allow your Mage to do other things or cast a bonus action. 

[Obsidian Soul]

Honestly obsidian soul, when was your last mage wars match? Im not being mean or anything but I'm insanely curious as to what meta you were involved in. When exactly was the last time you played mage wars arena?

I went 2-1 with steelclawgrizzly using a zombie Necromancer I was experimenting with (though he was experimenting with three new books, so it was not representative of our usual matches), and 0-1 with a Forcemaster that I stripped apart after the game for deck sleeves for two academy mages because it did so badly.  Of course, I used the equipment spawnpoint in the Necromancer, what is there not to like, but I would never bother with the Graveyard.

[Puddnhead]

As a  counter point to the Carolina Crew, the winner of GenCon 2016 used Graveyard to great effect. I would say that,  as spawnpoints go,  you see battleforge all the time, Lair and Graveyard are very good, Temple of Asyra almost always costs your opponent more to destroy than they think it will and pentagram is almost never used.

[Jeffman]

Haha so many flavours and oppinions in book building. Thats why I love mage wars, everyone can have their completely personalised style with every mage.

Personally on spawnpoints:
I love the graveyard in my zombie necre
Never use the lair in my straywood
Bloodwave has the forge, baracks and even a builder (not truly a spawnpoint but still)
Warlock has the forge
And priestess has the temple

Those are my most used books currently.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Hehehe the winner of Gen Con 2016 didn't use Graveyard in his finals match much lol. Friggin Littlenog killed it on Turn 3 with the bear of doom.

[drmambo23]

Mace 2016 winner used graveyard in every match! 

[Jock McFistpunch]

Okay, so I tried out my first book and got schooled by Romeoxero as Reddicediaries looked on.  It was still fun.  They gave me a lot of good tips when it came to building, but I'm still having trouble narrowing my focus.  I have a few ideas for books, but I don't know which mages would work best for the strategies I want to try since I only have the core Arena set ( I have all of the Academy ones though) and I don't know if these would even be possible.

Here are some of the ideas I would like to try:

Kill the enemy by poison and creature swarm

Weaken enemy creatures and and beat them up with my buff mage

Try to control the enemy's movement through spells like Push and then sling attack spells like I have a fireball throwing machine gun


Oh, and winning.  That sounds like fun. 


Any tips are appreciated.

[Arkdeniz]

Here are some of the ideas I would like to try:

Kill the enemy by poison and creature swarm

Weaken enemy creatures and and beat them up with my buff mage

Try to control the enemy's movement through spells like Push and then sling attack spells like I have a fireball throwing machine gun


Oh, and winning.  That sounds like fun. 


Any tips are appreciated.

I can recommend winning. It's really good!

Also, the best tip for this entire game, which I always try to adhere to myself (not always successfully):

ROLL WELL

Seriously, the best designed book in the world, handled perfectly, can still lose to a piece of rubbish if it rolls badly and the rubbish rolls well. Getting 3 damage from your 13-dice attack? Lose the game. Opponent gets 15 damage back from an 8-dice Heal? It happens.

(This comment may sound trite and may be a bitter reaction to what happened to me in a game recently)

Seriously, though:

Step one for designing any book: Consider how you are going to get those attack dice onto your opponent (lots of little creatures? a few big creatures? attack spells? pushing them through walls? buff your mage and charge?)
Step two: Consider how you are usually going to avoid having your opponent's attack dice getting to you (armour? defences? enchantments like Block? using creatures to guard? hiding behind walls?)
Step three: Consider whether there are any types of Mage that your choices in Steps one and two will be weak against, and what options you may need to include for those situations.
Step four: The metamagic game. How are you going to get rid of the opponent's enchantments and equipment. How are you going to ensure they don't get rid of yours? (nullifys, dispels, dissolves and so on)
Step five: Are you going to assert any board control and have freedom of movement (pushes, teleports, walls, tanglevines)

Now just try to stuff all that into 120sbp in a way that your expected mana supply can maintain turn on turn.

Oh, and practice, practice, practice...
 

[Puddnhead]

Okay, so I tried out my first book and got schooled by Romeoxero as Reddicediaries looked on.  It was still fun.  They gave me a lot of good tips when it came to building, but I'm still having trouble narrowing my focus.  I have a few ideas for books, but I don't know which mages would work best for the strategies I want to try since I only have the core Arena set ( I have all of the Academy ones though) and I don't know if these would even be possible.

Here are some of the ideas I would like to try:

Kill the enemy by poison and creature swarm

Weaken enemy creatures and and beat them up with my buff mage

Try to control the enemy's movement through spells like Push and then sling attack spells like I have a fireball throwing machine gun


Oh, and winning.  That sounds like fun. 


Any tips are appreciated.

There's an old Go proverb that applies to Mage Wars quite well: "Lose your first 50 games as fast as you can."

It pretty much boils down to the more you encounter the more you learn.  The more mistakes you make the more you can correct them.

I would try for ONE thing in your book.  For instance, I have a Straywood book that's only goal is to grapple the enemy mage (or their biggest threat) with a Colossal Crab.  I've built that entire book around having a crab that survives crushing things to death.  Is it the best book in the world?  Absolutely not.  Is it fun and can it win?  Absolutely yes!  More importantly, I have a clear goal in mind at the beginning of the game and I can evaluate how well I achieved that goal at the end of the game which results in adding or removing cards and trying again.

Another example is an Adramelech Warlock book where I wanted to summon a bunch of little imps and buff them all with Etherian Life Tree, Marked for Death and Bloodfire Helmet.  Has it ever won a game?  I don't think so.  So maybe that idea doesn't work

Like a few people have said, the best thing you can do is practice.  Lose your first 50 games as fast as you can.