List Your Favorite Mages

[Apethemin]

1. Forcemaster (Love the board control)
2. Druid (same as above)
3. Warlord (I don't know why but he's awesome)
4. Wizard
5. Necromancer (I haven't played him yet but he seems pretty good)
6.Beastmaster Joktari (love the ranged game)
7. Priest (who doesn't love stacking burns)
8. Warlock (Same as above)
9. Beastmaster Straywood (little bit boring to me)
10. Priestess (yawn)

[Sailor Vulcan]

Playstyle

1. Forcemaster

I love the Forcemaster. I think she fits my playstyle the best of all the mages so far. That being said, I really wish she had more strategic options. Personally I would love her much more if she could also be played more defensively. If she could run around the board protecting herself from damage using armor, defenses, and position control, while gradually buffing her own melee attack before going for the enemy mage, then that would be perfect for me. She would probably need a card like Hand of Bim or crown of protection, except for melee attack and not armor or healing, and a bit more mana expensive.

Not sure about the rest of the list. They all tend to be pretty fun.

Theme:

1. Sort of a three way tie between Johktari Beastmaster, Wizard and Forcemaster. The beastmistress is just so bad***, I identify with the wizard because of his love for academics, and the forcemaster is so dang smart that she can move things with her mind!

2. Druid--the powerful and serene guardian of nature. Awesome.

3. Beastmaster--wild and free, yet also sort of realistic and down to earth in a way (especially when it comes to survival). Will kill to preserve life and its cycles. Strength to survive and eat or be eaten. It's classic green with its practicality, moral ambiguity and liveliness. So cool.

4. Priestess, priest and warlock

Interesting and definitely a must in this kind of fantasy setting, although I'm not much of a fan of organized religion, which makes it difficult for me to feel attached to them when I'm playing them.

5. Warlord: I didn't even know war was magical before playing mage wars. I suppose it makes sense, but it really isn't an intuitive idea IMO.

[DeckBuilder]

How can this thread have >2100 views when so many great threads have so few? It's like describing your "favourite" spell! Balderdash!

When I was a Research Manager, the phrase "what is your favourite X?" was banned in decent quantitative research because  "favourite" means different things to different people - so what's the point of capturing this when you don't know each respondent's interpretation?

"Favourite" =
Most efficient, appealing to the competitor in me (Wizard)
Most thematic, appealing to the roleplayer in me (Jokhtari)
Most tactical, appealing to the minis wargamer in me (Warlord)
Most focused, appealing to the LCG player in me (Forcemaster)
Most resource management, appealing to the boardgamer in me (Straywood)
Most fun, appealing to the "let's not think too much" in me (Warlock)

I'm shocked at the forum luminaries who have posted in this thread. Maybe it's part of the Christmas "silly season"?

At the risk of sounding like the irate Dude (who got angry from an innocuous question relating to deciding play order that I stupidly asked), can we please avoid totallly subjective unenlightening threads like "do you prefer blue or pink?" - which is what this thread is all about!

To necro this ancient thread - ugh! Maybe I'm in a bad mood coming back from the pub tonight but - what is the point?

Bah humbug

[Sailor Vulcan]

How can this thread have >2100 views when so many great threads have so few? It's like describing your "favourite" spell! Balderdash!

When I was a Research Manager, the phrase "what is your favourite X?" was banned in decent quantitative research because  "favourite" means different things to different people - so what's the point of capturing this when you don't know each respondent's interpretation?

"Favourite" =
Most efficient, appealing to the competitor in me (Wizard)
Most thematic, appealing to the roleplayer in me (Jokhtari)
Most tactical, appealing to the minis wargamer in me (Warlord)
Most focused, appealing to the LCG player in me (Forcemaster)
Most resource management, appealing to the boardgamer in me (Straywood)
Most fun, appealing to the "let's not think too much" in me (Warlock)

I'm shocked at the forum luminaries who have posted in this thread. Maybe it's part of the Christmas "silly season"?

At the risk of sounding like the irate Dude (who got angry from an innocuous question relating to deciding play order that I stupidly asked), can we please avoid totallly subjective unenlightening threads like "do you prefer blue or pink?" - which is what this thread is all about!

To necro this ancient thread - ugh! Maybe I'm in a bad mood coming back from the pub tonight but - what is the point?

Bah humbug

Bah humbug? This is fun. Everyone's going to probably want to discuss their favorite mages for a long time to come. This thread will probably be recreated every time we get new forum members. I hardly see the harm in posting here instead of making a new thread about the same exact thing.

And this isn't a research forum, this a game forum. What matters on this particular thread is insula reactions, not cingulate gyrus processing. Everyone has different reasons for liking some mages over others. That subjectivity isn't a problem since were not trying to objectively and definitively evaluate which mage is best.

Gubmuh Hab!

[DeckBuilder]

Yeah, I discussed this with my housemate - who called me an "intellectual snob" for ranting against populism!
(It's not the subject per se, it's the 2200+ views when there are so many hidden gems in this forum worthy of more attention.)

My housemate is also trained in psychology and insightfully explained that the popularity of Film Reviews, read even after you have seen the film (and this a similar Review thread), is because people want endorsement that their views are held by others. They want to belong to that club of peers who all believe Citizen Kane is over-rated. Or that the Warlord is an exciting concept, sadly not competitively executed.

To someone as opinionated as me, canvassing other people's opinions on personal taste seems utterly unnecessary; I know what I think and I'm sure that others have good personal taste reasons to think different - c'est la vie! Do I care? On this subjective issue, not really...

However, I can't refute that Reviews are popular. So I was wrong to rant against the popularity of this thread. I was taken by the Christmas Spirit (all this forced happiness turns me into a misanthrope, I can't wait for this temporary "season of goodwill" to end so that we humans can revert to being our normal selves). This thread's views is an irrefutable testament to its entertainment value. People want brainless Hollywood blockbusters so that's what people get. People want conniving corrupt politicians so that's what people get. People want trashy tabloid newspapers so that's what people get.

This thread is undoubtedly entertaining for many. So apologies for my misanthropic rant.

However, for anyone contributing here in future, can you please define "favourite" as it is such a subjective adjective? Everyone measures this on a different dimension, weighting factors unique to themselves. It's a nonsense criteria without describing own taste preferences in this "contest".

2200+ views! I weep for this world...

[sdougla2]

Citizen Cane is overrated. It was a thoroughly uninteresting movie, whatever my film studies teacher says about cinematography.

As for how I rate the mages, I rate them based on play style.

[MrSaucy]

How can this thread have >2100 views when so many great threads have so few? It's like describing your "favourite" spell! Balderdash!

You must be fun at parties...

[ringkichard]

You must be fun at parties...

If you'll hold that question a few moments, I have a powerpoint slide that shows a chart that will cover your answer in more depth, but I don't want to do these out of order.

[Sailor Vulcan]

Yeah, I discussed this with my housemate - who called me an "intellectual snob" for ranting against populism!
(It's not the subject per se, it's the 2200+ views when there are so many hidden gems in this forum worthy of more attention.)

My housemate is also trained in psychology and insightfully explained that the popularity of Film Reviews, read even after you have seen the film (and this a similar Review thread), is because people want endorsement that their views are held by others. They want to belong to that club of peers who all believe Citizen Kane is over-rated. Or that the Warlord is an exciting concept, sadly not competitively executed.

To someone as opinionated as me, canvassing other people's opinions on personal taste seems utterly unnecessary; I know what I think and I'm sure that others have good personal taste reasons to think different - c'est la vie! Do I care? On this subjective issue, not really...

However, I can't refute that Reviews are popular. So I was wrong to rant against the popularity of this thread. I was taken by the Christmas Spirit (all this forced happiness turns me into a misanthrope, I can't wait for this temporary "season of goodwill" to end so that we humans can revert to being our normal selves). This thread's views is an irrefutable testament to its entertainment value. People want brainless Hollywood blockbusters so that's what people get. People want conniving corrupt politicians so that's what people get. People want trashy tabloid newspapers so that's what people get.

This thread is undoubtedly entertaining for many. So apologies for my misanthropic rant.

However, for anyone contributing here in future, can you please define "favourite" as it is such a subjective adjective? Everyone measures this on a different dimension, weighting factors unique to themselves. It's a nonsense criteria without describing own taste preferences in this "contest".

2200+ views! I weep for this world...

I think you need to talk to your psychologist friend again. Seeking approval and belonging are major reasons for people to talk about what they like, but those reasons are good reasons and don't always give rise to mob mentality. On top of that, they aren't necessarily the only reasons.

I understand where you're coming from--I also feel rather similarly about Christmas, and Football as well. People like what they like, regardless of whether I think it's stupid, superficial, or unoriginal and often rather scripted. That's probably never going to change. The proper response to that isn't "Bah humbug." The proper response is "Who cares!?"