Hello fellow Mages and welcome back! This is part 3 of my Academy review, the final part! In today's section we will talk about the final card type, creatures. And man are there quite a few of them.
After that, we're going to go on to my final thoughts and conclusion!
Creatures
Ankylodon
After that, we're going to go on to my final thoughts and conclusion!
Creatures
Ankylodon
First up we have the Ankylodon, another dinosaur! Hopefully this is the continuation of a trend and we continue to see more dinosaurs added to Mage Wars over time! It costs 8 mana and is a Nature level 2 spell. Ankylodon has 3 armor and 6 health which makes it pretty survivable in Academy because of all that armor. In Arena, he should be able to survive a few hits as well. It has a full action melee attack of 3 dice with sweeping. This attack is great in Academy but because it is a full action, he cannot use it to counterstrike. This guy is great for attacking multiple creatures that are guarding and removing their guard markers. |
In Arena, I don't think he'll ever get played. There are much better level 2 creatures. If the attack wasn't a full action, he might see some use. But it is, so he won't.
Atticaran Porcupine
Atticaran Porcupine
The Atticaran Porcupine is another 8 mana, Nature level 2 spell. It has 9 health and 1 armor, making it arguably less survivable than the Ankylodon. It has a quick action melee attack of 1 dice with Piercing +1 and the Counterstrike trait. That means that whenever he gets melee attacked, whether guarding or not, he always makes a counterstrike. In addition, his ability states that while he is making a counterstrike, he gains melee +2. So that 1 die attack goes up to 3 dice, which is pretty decent in Academy. I don't think this guy will get used much in Arena either. There are simply better level 2 options in the Nature school. |
Azurean Genie
Next we have yet an 8 mana creature, the Azurean Genie. He is level 1 Arcane and level 1 Air. It is nice to see another Air school creature. The Genie has no armor, 10 health, and a quick action melee attack of 3 dice. What is special about him is that he comes into play with 3 Wish tokens. He can remove a Wish token as his action to give a Living creature in the same zone Melee +2, heal it 2 damage, or give it a Stagger condition. Stagger conditions are a new condition introduced in Academy. It has a different effect depending if the creature it is on is a Minor or Major creature. If they are a Minor creature, they are incapacitated until their next activation. |
If they are a Major creature, they roll 2 less attack dice next time they attack. Either way, the Stagger gets removed at the end of the creature's next activation.
So this guy is pretty good. The only problem is that using a Wish token uses his action, but Staggering a Minor creature can often be worth it, as can healing something 2 damage. Giving a creature Melee +2 doesn't seem that worth it because his own attack rolls 3 dice. I could see it being used if another one of your creatures has some piercing and you're trying to kill something with armor.
This guy is great in Academy and will be pretty good in Arena as well. There are plenty of good Minor creatures in both games and his ability to Stagger them makes him very useful.
Darkfenne Asp
So this guy is pretty good. The only problem is that using a Wish token uses his action, but Staggering a Minor creature can often be worth it, as can healing something 2 damage. Giving a creature Melee +2 doesn't seem that worth it because his own attack rolls 3 dice. I could see it being used if another one of your creatures has some piercing and you're trying to kill something with armor.
This guy is great in Academy and will be pretty good in Arena as well. There are plenty of good Minor creatures in both games and his ability to Stagger them makes him very useful.
Darkfenne Asp
The Darkfenne Asp is a 4 mana, level 1 Nature spell. This little guy has wreaked havoc on me when I play as the Wizard. He has no armor and only 3 health. But he has a defense of 5+ which can be used as many times as he wants. Which makes him hard to kill without Unavoidable attacks, which there are hardly any of in this set. The Asp has a quick action melee attack of only 1 die. But on a 7+ of the effect die, he causes a Weak token. For those of you who do not remember, Weak is one of the best tokens in the game. For each Weak token on a creature, they roll 1 less attack die. In this set, there is no way to get rid of them, so they are devastating. |
The Asp is a Pest, which means he doesn't Hinder in Arena and also that it can be ignored if guarding. But it doesn't care about any of that. It just wants to inflict those Weak tokens over and over again.
This card can be brutal in Academy especially when paired with the Beastmaster's ability to pay an extra mana and bring it into play active. He is a great target for the Badger Frenzy enchantment card. I forsee it becoming less useful in the future due to the probability of more Unavoidable attacks being added. In Arena he could be useful in swarms but his low health makes me doubt he'll see play all too often.
Jade Gremlin
This card can be brutal in Academy especially when paired with the Beastmaster's ability to pay an extra mana and bring it into play active. He is a great target for the Badger Frenzy enchantment card. I forsee it becoming less useful in the future due to the probability of more Unavoidable attacks being added. In Arena he could be useful in swarms but his low health makes me doubt he'll see play all too often.
Jade Gremlin
Jade Gremlin is one of my favorite creatures from this set. It only costs 4 mana and is a level 1 Arcane spell. JG has a quick action melee attack of 2 dice. He has no armor and only 5 life, so pretty fragile huh? Not so fast. His ability lets his controlling Mage pay a mana whenever he is melee attacked to have him avoid the attack. So he basically has a infinite, always-effective defense against melee attacks, unless they are Unavoidable. So, shoot him with something. An attack spell, ranged attack, doesn't matter. You can't hit him up close, so you will almost always have to shoot him. |
He does have the Pest trait, which we already talked about. To reiterate, it makes it so he doesn't hinder in Arena and can be ignored when guarding. If he didn't have the Pest trait, he would be the greatest guard in the game, so it's good that he does.
This guy is great in Academy and will likely see plenty of use in Arena as well.
Lightning Raptor
This guy is great in Academy and will likely see plenty of use in Arena as well.
Lightning Raptor
Lightning Raptor is easily my favorite creature from Academy. It costs 8 mana and is a level 1 Arcane and level 1 Air spell. This bird has 1 armor and 9 life. It has a quick action, lightning melee attack of X dice, where X is the number of Charge tokens on it. In addition, the attack is Ethereal and on a roll of 7+, inflicts the Stagger condition. Lightning Raptor is Unique, meaning that only one can be in play under your control at a time. This bird gets Charge tokens during the Upkeep phase, one token per turn. The maximum number it can have is 5. When it gets to 5, the attack gains the Counterstrike trait. |
Playing the Wizard, this is my favorite creature to bring out on the first turn. Since the first two rounds are "setup" phases, by the time anybody can attack, he'll have two charge tokens on him and you'll have had plenty of time to boost it with enchantments to prolong its life.
His only downside is his frailty. But if he gets up to those 5 tokens, he is amazing. If your opponent brings one of these out, kill it. As quickly as you can.
This is an amazing creature in Academy. It should be good in Arena too. It just needs to be supported with enchantments that boost its survivability.
Mana Worm
His only downside is his frailty. But if he gets up to those 5 tokens, he is amazing. If your opponent brings one of these out, kill it. As quickly as you can.
This is an amazing creature in Academy. It should be good in Arena too. It just needs to be supported with enchantments that boost its survivability.
Mana Worm
Mana Worm is like the infant version of the Mana Leech from Arena. It is a 5 cost creature and it is Arcane level 1. It has 1 armor and 6 life so it will likely survive an attack in Academy. The worm has a quick action melee attack of 2 dice. When it attacks and damages a creature, the controller of that creature loses a mana. This is a pretty simple card but can be very important to the Wizard's strategy. This is another tool that pairs nicely with the Wizard's other mana denial spells. |
It is a good card for Academy where mana is even more important. Mana denial Wizards in Arena will likely use it as well due to its low cost.
Paralyzing Basilisk
Paralyzing Basilisk
Paralyzing Basilisk is yet another 8 mana creature. He's a really good one. He's Arcane Level 2 and has 2 armor and 7 health. So he'll last through a few hits on average. He has a full action ranged attack of 0-1 zones. The zone distance doesn't matter in Academy but does in Arena. It rolls 2 dice and has a chance for a Stagger if it rolls 7+ on the effect die. This guy is really good in Academy. His attack is ranged which lets him ignore guards. It also has a chance to Stagger which is awesome. He isn't a great guard because he doesn't have a quick melee attack to counterstrike with. |
In Arena, only having one attack and it being a full action attack really hurts his usability. With there being zones in Arena, he can't move and attack, which is unfortunate. I suppose he could be used to protect conjurations but the Arcane school has better creatures to do that with.
Pellian Lynx
Pellian Lynx
Pellian Lynx pretty simple. It is a 4 cost Nature level 1 spell. It has no armor and only 5 life so it will die quickly. It has a quick action melee attack of 2 dice with 1 piercing. It is an Animal spell, meaning that the Beastmaster can use his ability with this card, which I would almost always recommend doing. The 5 life puts it just above the threshold of being likely to be killed in one hit, but it is possible. That is why I recommend bringing him out active so he can get at least 1 hit off. |
The Lynx is an okay creature in Academy but will never ever be used in Arena. For 1 mana more in Arena, you could get a Bitterwood Fox with the Fast trait and 1 more die or damage, or the Feral Bobcat with a defense and the Charge +2 trait.
Rajah, Jungle's Talon
Rajah, Jungle's Talon
Now this is one of the Beastmaster's best creatures in Academy. Rajah is an 11 mana, Nature level 3 creature and man is he awesome. He has 1 armor and 11 health. He won't go down easily. He has a quick action melee attack of 4 dice with Piercing +1. He is Legendary, which means that only one of him can be in play at a time and he is also Elusive, which means he doesn't get hindered in Arena and that he can ignore guards when attacking. This guy is amazing in Academy and will be amazing in Arena as well. |
He is almost like a lesser version of Cervere, the Forest Shadow from Arena. He costs less, has one less armor, doesn't have a defense, and isn't fast. He does have Piercing +1 though. Cervere costs 4 more mana, 15, but that extra mana gives him a defense and the fast ability, which I think are worth it.
I think they are both viable options in Arena play.
Razortusk
I think they are both viable options in Arena play.
Razortusk
This is the 6th creature that costs 8 mana and there are still more to come. The Razortusk is a Nature level 2 spell. It has 2 armor and 7 health. It has a quick action melee attack of 4 dice. Pound for pound, this is one of the best creatures in Academy. It will survive a few hits and has a significant attack all for 8 mana. In Arena, it won't see as much play. For one more mana, you can get a Timber Wolf with the same attack and armor, but with 3 more life. |
Redcrested Cockatrice
This is the 2nd to last creature that costs 8 mana, I promise! The Redcrested Cockatrice is an Arcane Level 2 spell. It has 1 armor and 9 health. Its attack is a quick action melee of 2 dice that inflicts the Weak condition on a 7+ effect die roll. Its ability gives it Melee +1 and Piercing +1 whenever making a counterstrike. That makes this bird a great choice to guard with. In Academy, as I already discussed with the Darkfenne Asp, Weak tokens are devastating. Any card that can inflict them is very useful. |
It's hard for me to judge how they'll be used in Arena. For 3 more mana, the Wizard can get a better guard, the Gargoyle Sentry. However, this card has the chance to inflict weak tokens, which might make it see play. Only time will tell.
Ridgeback Skunk
Ridgeback Skunk
Ridgeback Skunk is a 7 cost Nature level 2 creature. It has 1 armor and 7 health. It has a quick action melee attack of 2 dice. What makes this creature unique is it's ability; one that is very thematic. When a living creature hits this guy with a melee attack, they get a Stagger marker put on them at the end of the attack, during the Counterstrike Step. This ability makes Ridgeback Skunk an excellent guard in Academy. However, if he attacks a guarding creature and that creature then counterstrikes him, that creature does not receive a Stagger marker. |
That is because counterstrikes do not trigger additional Counterstrike steps. In Arena, I do not predict he will be used too often.
Sailfin Hydra
Sailfin Hydra
Time for the Wizard's big bad creature! The little cousin of the Darkfenne Hydra, this is the Sailfin Hydra! It costs 12 mana and is an Arcane level 3 spell. It has one armor and 13 life. In addition, it has the Regenerate 1 trait, so it won't be dying easily. Its attack is a full action melee attack of 3 dice. What's nice about the attack is that it has the doublestrike trait, meaning that it makes that attack twice in a row. The issue with it being a full action attack means that he cannot use it to counterstrike while guarding. |
Also, in Arena play, he would not be able to move and attack, so I don't think he'll get used much. In Academy, it is a great creature, but not so much in Arena.
Satyr Gruff
Satyr Gruff
Here is the final 8 mana creature, the Satyr Gruff. It is a level 2 Arcane spell. It has 1 armor and 10 health with a quick action melee attack of 3 dice. In addition, when he does 4+ damage to an opposing creature, they get a Stagger marker. With his base attack of 3 dice, that will sometimes happen. However, if he gets buffed up, that could happen all the time. He is a good creature in Academy. But I think he might be even better in Arena, simply because there are more buffs to give him, such as Bear Strength and Lion Savagery. Interestingly, he is a soldier, so there are plenty of war cards that can help him out. |
Slavorg, Fang of the First Moon
This is the most expensive card in this set at 15 mana. Slavorg is a level 4 Nature creature with a quick action melee attack of 4 dice with Piercing +2. He has 2 armor and 13 health. He is Legendary, meaning only one of him can be in play at a time, Epic, meaning that you can only have one in your spellbook, and Beastmaster only. He seems expensive, but that isn't really true. He actually costs 2 less mana for every animal creature in your discard pile. This makes him a potent mid or late-game creature after some of your beasts have been destroyed. On top of all that, at the end of Slavorg's action, the Beastmaster can pay 2 mana to place a Guard marker on him. This doesn't require an action by the Mage, which is great. |
This guy is pretty good in Academy but I just wish he had Elusive like Rajah or a defense like Cervere. I suppose his ability sets him apart and it is really good. He just has to be a late game creature or he's too expensive to bring out in Academy.
He could be good for swarm books in Arena as well. Not really sure honestly. Cervere costs the same amount and has Fast, Elusive and a defense. Slavorg has piercing +2 and 2 more health, but the defense of Cervere actually makes him more likely to survive. My estimated guess is that Cervere is better in Arena but Slavorg could end up being much cheaper. If you can get him for 9 or less mana, then he's easily worth it.
Steelclaw Cub
He could be good for swarm books in Arena as well. Not really sure honestly. Cervere costs the same amount and has Fast, Elusive and a defense. Slavorg has piercing +2 and 2 more health, but the defense of Cervere actually makes him more likely to survive. My estimated guess is that Cervere is better in Arena but Slavorg could end up being much cheaper. If you can get him for 9 or less mana, then he's easily worth it.
Steelclaw Cub
This guy is amazing. The Steelclaw Cub is a 4 mana creature from the Nature school. It is level 1. It has 2 armor and 5 health, so it won't likely die in one hit by a creature in Arena. The armor makes it pretty survivable unless it is getting hit by a Piercing attack. It has a melee attack of 2 dice which is a quick action, and it's a pest. Again, this creature is pretty awesome. For 4 mana, it is extraordinarily worth it. But it gets even better with the next card. |
Steelclaw Matriarch
Behold the final member (maybe?) of the Steelclaw family, the Steelclaw Matriarch! This mother bear is very protective of her children, which we'll see in just a second. She costs 11 mana and is a Level 3 Nature spell. She has 3 armor and 11 health so she has amazing livability in Academy. It'll take alot to bring her down. Her attack is a quick melee strike for 3 dice. But what makes her great is that she gains Melee +1 for each Steelclaw Cub you control in her zone. In Academy, you can have up to 3 level 1 spells in your book, meaning that her attack can get up to 6 dice. |
In Arena, she could get up to 9 dice. Without any other buffs. Which is crazy. That will likely never happen though. And if it does, one zone attack might destroy the Cubs. I foresee both of these bears being tried out in Arena though. Whether they're viable or not is a different story.
Tarraki, Thousand Bites
Tarraki, Thousand Bites
Tarraki reminds me of Sosruko, the ferret from Arena. They're quite similar stat wise except for one big thing which I'll get to. This little guy costs 5 mana and is a level 1 Nature spell. He has no armor and 4 health but like the Darkfenne Asp, has an infinite use defense of 5+. This makes him hard to kill without Unavoidable attacks. His attack is a quick action melee strike of 2 dice. It is also Unavoidable, which is great in Academy. He also happens to be Elusive which is great because like Rajah, he can ignore guards. The other traits have been covered multiple times already so I won't repeat them. |
So comparing him to Sosruko, there are a couple of differences. Sosruko costs 7 mana. He also has 1 more health, with 5. But the biggest different is his ability for his attack to Taunt, which Tarraki does not have. Tarraki's attack is Unavoidable instead.
Guarding with creatures is arguably more important in Academy. This makes Elusive arguably more important as well. Any creature with the Elusive trait is very valuable in this format. In Arena, I don't see him being used.
Wychwood Faerie
Guarding with creatures is arguably more important in Academy. This makes Elusive arguably more important as well. Any creature with the Elusive trait is very valuable in this format. In Arena, I don't see him being used.
Wychwood Faerie
Wychwood Faerie is a creature every Beastmaster should bring out during one of their setup rounds. She costs 4 mana and is level 1. Like Tarraki, she has that same defense. She only has 3 mana so if she does get hit, she's likely to die. Her attack is one 1 die but that's not really why she's important. Once per round, if in the same zone as her controlling Beastmaster, the Beastmaster pays 1 less mana when casting an animal creature spell or enchantment. So this is basically an investment card. She breaks even in 4 turns but that doesn't take into account her attacking things. |
In a way, she is like a lesser version of Fellella, the Beastmaster's familiar. She costs much less, is weaker, and doesn't actually cast the spells for the Mage. If paired with enchantments to boost her life, however, she can last a while.
She is cheap enough to where I see her being experimented with in Arena too. I don't know how effective she will be. It's possible that she dies very quickly in matches.
Wychwood Hound
She is cheap enough to where I see her being experimented with in Arena too. I don't know how effective she will be. It's possible that she dies very quickly in matches.
Wychwood Hound
The last creature in Academy is the Wychwood Hound. It is a level 1 creature that costs 5 mana. It has 0 armor and 7 health. Its attack is a quick action melee of 2 dice, which isn't that great. However, when in the same zone as another Wychwood Hound, it gains Armor +1 and Melee +1. So they get better when two or more are in the same zone. It's important to not that these effects are not for EACH other Hound in the zone. But still, 2 of them together in the same zone can be dangerous for their enemies. |
These guys could be amazing in Arena when combined with Redclaw, Alpha Male, who gives all other canine creatures in his zone Melee +1 and Armor +1 as well. So a pack of them could get pretty potent!
So those are all of the cards from Academy. As you can see, we have all new cards and many of them will really change how Arena is played. Arcane Duels has done a video of the creatures as well as their awards from Academy, which I will post below! I highly recommend watching it and letting them know if you agreed with the awards they handed out or what cards you think should have gotten them instead!
So those are all of the cards from Academy. As you can see, we have all new cards and many of them will really change how Arena is played. Arcane Duels has done a video of the creatures as well as their awards from Academy, which I will post below! I highly recommend watching it and letting them know if you agreed with the awards they handed out or what cards you think should have gotten them instead!
Conclusion
When I first heard about the idea of Academy, I really wasn't excited at all. I didn't think I would like it and didn't really think that Mage Wars needed this simpler way to play.
Man, was I wrong.
Everything about Academy has blown me away. I didn't think that the epic feeling of Mage Wars could be taken and made into a 30 minute game. But it has been. Academy is easier to teach, MUCH easier to learn, and possibly most importantly, MUCH faster.
As always, the first couple of matches tend to run long because of all this new information. But once we got it down, it really took like 20-30 minutes to play each game. There is no bad card in Academy for Academy. There are cards that wouldn't be good in Arena but every card works well in Academy. It is incredibly well balanced, just like Arena.
I don't like Academy MORE than Arena, but I will honestly probably play it more often. I can get more people to play this. If anybody reading this knows somebody who looked at Mage Wars and thought it was too complex, buy Academy and teach them that instead. I'm sure they'll have a different reaction. & after a while, if they want to try Arena, that's great. But if not, Academy is a fantastic game in its own right.
Pros
Cons
Man, was I wrong.
Everything about Academy has blown me away. I didn't think that the epic feeling of Mage Wars could be taken and made into a 30 minute game. But it has been. Academy is easier to teach, MUCH easier to learn, and possibly most importantly, MUCH faster.
As always, the first couple of matches tend to run long because of all this new information. But once we got it down, it really took like 20-30 minutes to play each game. There is no bad card in Academy for Academy. There are cards that wouldn't be good in Arena but every card works well in Academy. It is incredibly well balanced, just like Arena.
I don't like Academy MORE than Arena, but I will honestly probably play it more often. I can get more people to play this. If anybody reading this knows somebody who looked at Mage Wars and thought it was too complex, buy Academy and teach them that instead. I'm sure they'll have a different reaction. & after a while, if they want to try Arena, that's great. But if not, Academy is a fantastic game in its own right.
Pros
- 56 new cards, all of which are brand new.
- Simpler way to play
- Faster way to play
- More portable
- Well balanced
- Lower cost
Cons
- Card distribution. It is fine for spellbook building in Academy but there aren't enough copies of some cards for Arena. For example, there is only 1 Lightning Raptor, which is disappointing.
- New players will still have to check the codex in the back. There are still plenty of keywords like Elusive, Guard, Counterstrike, etc. The easiest way for someone to learn this will still be to have somebody who already knows how to play teach it to them.
Final Thoughts
Academy is fantastic.
It has accomplished everything is was designed and intended to do. It is a simpler and faster way to play Mage Wars. Every card in here is good and they are all usable in Arena as well. If you heard of Academy and thought you wouldn't like it, I implore you, reconsider! It really is great and I look forward to future expansions.
So I hope you all enjoyed this review! Let me know what you think of Academy in the comments below and until next time, I'll see you in the Arena! (Or is it the Academy this time?)
It has accomplished everything is was designed and intended to do. It is a simpler and faster way to play Mage Wars. Every card in here is good and they are all usable in Arena as well. If you heard of Academy and thought you wouldn't like it, I implore you, reconsider! It really is great and I look forward to future expansions.
So I hope you all enjoyed this review! Let me know what you think of Academy in the comments below and until next time, I'll see you in the Arena! (Or is it the Academy this time?)