by Saan
pomomojo wrote:
ghbell wrote:
I find that talking about it is more fun than playing it. :what:
I find that to be true of most "deck-building" games where the fun is in creatively imagining ideal card combos. Mage Wars, though, I find enjoyable to play because I think that positioning and reading your opponent are as important as a good spellbook.
This is partly why I'm a little nervous about how expansions will be implemented. If it is a never ending stream of new cards, like in a CCG or LCG, then I think gameplay will soon become more focused on combos. If the expansions are more spread out then there will, hopefully, be time to digest each new set of cards and use that info to predict your opponent's moves.
To some extent this very conversation is already straying toward a greater focus on card combos. If the miniatures aspect of this game is as important as the spellbook aspect then the Warlock being a bit weaker doesn't matter much.
It is a very thin line that needs to be tread regarding card combinations.
On one hand, card synergy and 'combos' are a big part of gameplay and especially the customizable aspect of the game.
On the other hand, card combos have destroyed many a format (just look at the history of legacy M:TG).
That said, I feel that this game will be much more forgiving, since you pick your cards instead of drawing. In Magic, it was feasible to build your deck around 1 or 2 combos, since you tended to only have 9-12 unique cards in a given deck, excluding lands.
Mage wars mixes things up because you dont need to get 'lucky' to pull off a combo. Conversely, you can build decks that are much more successful at 'spoiling' combos. Essentially, your sideboard is IN your spellbook.
As an example say there is a combo that is fairly powerful, but is countered by a specific card X, but X card is of little use outside of countering this combo.
Now, in magic, you wouldn't include card X, unless this combo was everywhere in the metagame.
In mage wars, there is little downside to including this card - you dont use most of your spellbook in a game, and since draws arent random, you can include many cards that have specific uses.
So, in a nutshell, the lack of random draw will probably do much to keep combo-creep out of the game.
