Game length

[Facie]

So I just finished my first game with a buddy.  We both played wizards.   We were struck by how long a game seems to take.  Granted we were learning the rules, but it seems like it takes quite some time to kill a caster.   Was it that we both played wizards?   They seem a bit control deck oriented to me.   It made me wonder how you could play more than one game in a night at a local store event.   Add a player with analysis paralysis and you're in for a slow night.  

Are y'all finding some caster types play more slower than others?   How long is an average game takin people once you're fluid with the rules?  

Thanks,
Facie

[pixelgeek]

At our league nights we play two to three games in a three hour time period.

Once you understand the rules, the structure of the game and get more experience with the cards the game speeds up a lot.

Also, you'll probably figure out some ways to do 10 Dice attacks soon enough and a few of those will end the game really quickly :-)

[Drealin]

Also remember that your objective is to kill the other Mage.  While it can be helpful to destroy his creatures and conjurations, don't focus on them too much or your game will drag out much longer.

[Koy]

First games always seem to run long.  My first was wizard versus priestess... It took over five hours.  They got faster each time after that, though the priestess can really draw things out if the player chooses to.  The wizard isn't quite as turtle prone, but maintaining control can also slow things down.  If you haven't tried it yet, play a beastmaster vs warlock.  I'd be surprised if you break 90 minutes in your second ever duel.  That matchup here can end in 30-40 now for us.

As Drealin said, once you start to focus your play on killing the enemy Mage, the only way to win, your games will speed up considerably.  My first several duels both players got caught up in massive creature battles.  It is funny now, but when we were learning and playing with the basic starter books we'd get so caught up in the creature battles that we'd run out of spells!

[krj]

my games after about 12 games i've played usually last about 2h.

[Tacullu64]

my games after about 12 games i've played usually last about 2h.

My first game only lasted 1 1/2 hours. I played the priestess and my opponent was the beastmaster. Since then some have gone more but most have been less. The biggest factor seems to be our strategy for the game. We don't let the rules slow us down. We are playing for fun so we focus on playing not looking up rules. If a rules question pops up we make a quick decision and look up our answers after the game.

Things still feel new to us but I suspect we will eventually keep most games between 50 min. And 90 min.

[Locusshifter]

My first few games have averaged a couple of hours each, and they've involved new players, so I certainly expect 90 minutes; unless a pitched battle occurs then it will either be a bit longer or MUCH shorter lol

[Facie]

Thanks all.  

Makes me shudder to play a priestess.  

LOL

[Locusshifter]

I think playing with or against the priestess might be the biggest variable. I think her healing could stretch a game if she was allowed to.

[Tacullu64]

I think playing with or against the priestess might be the biggest variable. I think her healing could stretch a game if she was allowed to.

The key here being if she was allowed to. The way spellbooks are built any strategy can be stopped. The question is what strategies did you account for when you built your book? I would think at this point the healing of the attrition priestess builds would be a strategy every book would try to counter. Strangely it also appears that I am wrong about this because the priestess seems to cause more than her fair share of anxiety.

[Jon.Ambriz]

So I just finished my first game with a buddy.  We both played wizards.   We were struck by how long a game seems to take.  Granted we were learning the rules, but it seems like it takes quite some time to kill a caster.   Was it that we both played wizards?   They seem a bit control deck oriented to me.   It made me wonder how you could play more than one game in a night at a local store event.   Add a player with analysis paralysis and you're in for a slow night.  

Are y'all finding some caster types play more slower than others?   How long is an average game takin people once you're fluid with the rules?  

Thanks,
Facie

The longest game I have ever played lasted for 4 1/2 hours, roughly. By the time it was over both of us only thought that maybe two hours had passed. The set-up was Wizard vs Warlock, so we were both playing pretty cautiously. Needless to say, after that our games only lasted maybe an hour, if that. Like everyone has been saying, game length just takes some getting used to. Can't really stress that enough; once you've learned the mechanics and the the rules, get a few games in with different kinds of play styles and soon you'll be having games under an hour in no time at all.

Though personally I like having long, drawn out battles where spells are flying left and right and creatures are falling beneath my feet. However, on the flip side, there are some hyper aggressive strategies that I have been set against where I have lost by round 4, taking only 20 minutes if that.