Wars mages mage wars clear rules of the game. Mage Wars

The spectators froze in anticipation, the air above the arena seemed to be so tense that it could be cut with a knife. The opponents came face to face. The battle of magic has begun...

These are not the first lines of the novel Nika Perumova and a board game Mage Wars! Forget wand-waving kids, in the cardboard arena Mage Wars players will have to face forces much more powerful. Ready to command forest animals and demons from the underworld? And what about the ability to crush the enemy with waves of fire until he is left with a handful of ash? Ready? Then let's start!

And who are the mages?

Mage Wars- tactical live card game, where two, or maybe three, or four participants take on the roles of various adherents of magical schools. Players are invited to choose a character from a list of classes, which is quite common for such games:

1. Beast Master. Commands various animals, of which there are plenty in the starting deck, and can strengthen them in various ways.
2. Priestess. As usual, a specialist in healing, to whose aid all kinds of holy knights, angels, archangels and great-great-archangels come into battle.
3. Witch, with a firm hand holding various demons of the underworld on a refractory leash and not shunning all kinds of vampire-ghoul help and curses.
4. Wizard. One of the most difficult classes to master, able to manipulate other people's creatures and mana. And with the right mana management, generally set up the entire opponent's game against him.

Endless battles in the fantasy world

Mage Wars- the game is not for beginners in the world of board games, which, although indirectly, can be judged by 52 pages of rules, but in the course of preparation for it, the game is mastered quite quickly. On top of that, the first lines of the rules read: "Spells work exactly the way you think they should work, and the effects they create make sense."

In general, understand the device Mage Wars It will be quite simple, the main thing is to be able to reason. Game mechanics will seem familiar to fans Magic: The Gathering or Card Game of Thrones: Summon and conquer, as well as shower your opponent with spells and set traps.

The number of living creatures and spells, even in the basic version of the game, is so large that its high replay value is not in doubt. The same can be said about the ability to combine spells belonging to different classes. For example, you can easily assemble a team of Demons and Archangels, bravo supporting each other. Such a mage will receive a certain penalty when building a deck, but the result may be worth it.

The gameplay from round to round noticeably accelerates, partly due to the fact that the possibilities and actions of the players are quite cyclical and are remembered from the second round, and partly due to the rapid consumption of spells (this is again about the combinatorial component of the game), then how to choose each subsequent one becomes easier.

Each round consists of two stages: preparation and action. At the first stage, players replenish their mana reserves, prepare spells for the next round, and resolve existing bonuses and penalties. Such penalties could include burning your creature, for example. Let's say your Tropical Fox can continue to burn for several rounds if the Imp Pyro was particularly cruel to it and rolled the appropriate effect die result when it attacked.

At the second stage of the round, the creatures fight and throw spells either at them or at each other. Of course, this is the most enjoyable part of the game :) Only the process of choosing the next spell, which is a special sacrament, is inferior to it.

What's in the box?!

Among distinguishing features Mage Wars, which give the game an extraordinary charm, I would like to separately note the two spell books that come with the kit. Players will have to fill them with suitable cards, and during the game, imposingly, and maybe furiously, leaf through their books in search of, say, Adramelech, Lord of Fire. It's a real treat, believe me :)

Game components are made quite high quality: thick cardboard near the field and tokens, engraving on dice, and spell books reliably protect cards from abrasion. The organizer inside the box is designed for additional cards, which in additions already abound. The fantasy design of the game is quite pleasant and is made at the level of cards from Magic: The Gathering, which cannot be said about the fonts on the cards and in the rules. They somewhat spoil the overall pleasant impression, which, however, does not affect in any way gameplay.

The action of the board game takes place in the world of magic, where several powerful magicians have come together for the right to possess the title of the strongest. The first control the forces of nature, the second command the demons from the underworld, the third are subject to all the elements, the fourth entered into an alliance with the holy priests and began to control the forces of light! Whose truth will end up on the podium is up to you!

The board game is essentially a two player game, although it has a two-on-two mode for four players, but there are only two albums and two status cards in the box, but the number game cards it completely allows you to make up your own deck for each character, and besides, it still remains.

Despite everything, Mage Warriors is a very strong dueling board game with interesting mechanics and unusual game elements. The gameplay in it is quite exciting and no less interesting to build and upgrade your own deck. The game is also very tournament-oriented and therefore will surely find its niche as a semi-sports tabletop discipline. Accumulate mana, magical war is on the doorstep!

Localization

A few words about localization. The star has done a great job here, translating over 50 pages of the rule book, plus the text on a huge number of cards - it's really not easy. In general, the translation is decent, but not without a couple of annoying errors. They have almost no effect on the gameplay, but they sometimes confuse them, especially at the time of compiling base decks. The fact that the Thunderhawk is actually the Thunderfalcon can be guessed. But the wizard is offered to cast a lightning bolt spell, and in the box there is only a lightning bolt and a thunder bolt. The correct one would be Lightning.

The age-old question, should I buy the Mage Wars game?

In fact, such interesting and high-quality games of the magic series have not been released for a long time. If you are a fan of duel games, or dream of pairing with your friends, then this game is for you. made soundly and with high quality, the characters are perfectly drawn, so we advise you to buy it, it will definitely find a place in your desktop collection!

Forget everything you've been told before about board games having big boxes. Here in the War of Mages it is really big and just right next to the size of the box lies the playing field, which, in addition to everything else, also unfolds, becoming twice as large! The training games of the rules offer to play on half of the field, but it develops in the other direction, that is, it still has to be laid out on the table in its entirety and somehow the boundaries are marked. Now, according to the rules of the game, both players choose their magician. All of them in this game are unique, with their own abilities and style of play.

• The owner of the animals floods the opponent with crowds of small and remote animals;
• The priestess specializes in healing and enhancing her creatures;
• The sorcerer, on the contrary, casts curses and commands demons;
• And the wizard skillfully manipulates not only his own, but also other people's spells.

The key to success for any magician is a properly assembled spell book. The player chooses and assembles his own set of spells, subject to the cost cap. Schools known to the magician will do without fines, but for unknown or even opposing schools, you will have to pay extra. Mage Warriors do not limit the freedom of players in this regard. It is possible to collect at least a demonic priestess who throws fireballs and summons infernal creatures, but this will cost a lot and often will not be very beneficial to combine with abilities.

All selected cards are not shuffled into the deck, but are placed in special albums so that the player can have access to all his spells during the game. Each player, based on the rules of the game, receives a status card, on which he marks with cubes the levels of mana inflow and reserves, as well as general health and current damage. On it in the corner is short description round, which we will now consider.

Game phases

During the initiative phase, the corresponding token is passed, which determines the turn order. During the refresh phase, all creatures and abilities are put on alert by flipping the corresponding tokens. During the mana influx phase, an appropriate amount of mana is added to the pool. During the upkeep phase, the upkeep cost of some spells is paid, and some properties are triggered, such as regeneration or burning. Next comes the planning phase. Each mage chooses up to two spells from the spell book that he plans to cast and places them face down in front of him. However, it is not necessary to play them, which leaves little room for bluffing.

In a board game the player controls, spawn points can appear that allow you to cast additional spells for your own mana. In the deployment phase, such spells are just played. Finally, the game enters the action phase, which consists of three phases. To begin, players can cast one quick spell each in initiative order. To do this, the corresponding token is turned over, the player pays the cost of the spell and plays it. But not every card can be played this way. Globally, spells are divided into two types, quick and full. In addition to this, spells are also divided by type:

• Equipment is the summoned equipment of the mage.
• Creatures are the main combat units on the field.
• Sorcery - one-time magical effects.

Attacks are a magical way of dealing damage. Enchantments are of particular interest, because they are played on their target in a closed way and work when certain conditions are met. Among them there are curses, and amplifications, and magic traps, and ways to dispel spells. It is the spells that make the game more interesting and unpredictable.

Starting the Action Phase in the Mage War

So, at the beginning of the action phase, players can cast one quick spell at a time, or save this token for later. Then, in order of priority, any one of the player's creatures on the field, including the magician himself, can be activated. That creature chooses to either take a full action and then pass its turn to the next player, or move first and then take a swift action. As a quick action, you can make a quick attack if the creature has one, cast a quick spell if the creature can, take another step, or go on the defensive. As a full action, the creature can make a full attack or cast a full spell if it can do so.

Let's consider all these actions in more detail. Movement in a board game allows a creature to move exactly one cell vertically or horizontally. A list of available attacks is listed on each creature card. The target can be anything that has a life parameter. However, if a defending enemy creature is in the zone in which the attack is being made, the player must attack it. The defense token is then removed. Melee attacks have a sword symbol, and long-range arrows, on which the minimum and maximum allowable range are written. An elemental symbol is sometimes indicated next if the attack deals elemental damage. This is important for various resistances and vulnerabilities. Why does the number indicate the number of red dice used in the attack and the value of the property die, if it is used. This die is used to check various additional effects, such as stun, poison, and others. Immediately after declaring an attack, the defending creature can dodge if it has the dodge property. A yellow die is thrown, and if the number on it is equal to or more number on the dodge symbol, the attack did not take place at all. Otherwise, the attack continues. The attacker rolls the dice assigned to him and looks at the rolled values. All empty faces can be immediately postponed, they will not cause damage. Normal damage is added together and compared to the target's armor. If there is more armor, then the defender will not receive damage, and if less, he will receive the difference. All critical damage according to the rules of the board game completely bypasses the target's armor. Then, if the defender had a barrier of thorns, the melee attacker can take damage himself. If the defender can, he counterattacks. Finally the damage is calculated. If the damage is equal to or greater than the target's health, they leave the game. Damage received by magicians is marked with a special red die, and if it reaches the black - the limit of life, the magician dies and loses the game.

To be honest, the combat system in the War of Mages left us a little bewildered. It would seem that the game sets you up in a strategic way, no deck, all spells are available immediately, the playing field with the possibility of tactical movement and you have dice combat. That is, no matter how cool your creature is, no matter how reinforcing enchantments hang on it, there is a chance that you will get empty sides on all dice or your attack will be trivially dodged. Or the reverse situation, some weak creature will get critical deuces on all dice and your reinforced armor will give absolutely nothing. Nevertheless, the combat in the game is extremely dynamic and for sure many will like it.

Once all creatures have completed their actions, players are given one last opportunity to cast a quick spell if they haven't already done so. Then a new round of the game begins and everything repeats again.

"Wars of Mages" is a cult board game for those who like tactical planning, subtle analysis and thoughtful actions with the expectation of the upcoming consequences. The project combines strategic game mechanics and atmospheric interface designed by professional artists.

The storyline of the board game "Wars of Mages" takes place in an unusual arena, where magicians, sorcerers, priests and druids fight instead of the usual knights and gladiators.

A huge fairy-tale universe filled with many unknown mysteries and secrets!

Prestigious awards and nominations

• 2013 Golden Geek Award- category nominee Best game for two players and the best card game
• 2013International Gamers Award- category nominee Best Strategy for two players
• 2013 Origin Awards/U.S. Game of the Year - Nominee

Features of game mechanics

Despite the numerous choice of heroes, only two players can take part in the gameplay, which is somewhat unusual for this kind of game. Each character has its own magic scale, individual characteristics and combat strategy, which are controlled using a spell book. In one game, each player can collect up to 40 spell cards, which provides overly broad tactical options.

In addition to attacking spells, some of the magicians have the ability to summon creatures that can take a direct part in battles. Also in the game there are various curses, blessings and random spells that can bring both harm and benefit at the same time.

Video review of the board game Wars of Mages

A couple more facts

To make it easier for players to keep track of available spells, the developers have provided special game albums with slots for cards. Non-standard addition in a pleasant way simplifies the game and gives it a certain atmosphere of the seriousness of what is happening.

The studio-publisher of the unusual magical universe has not stopped supporting the board game to this day. Until now, presentations of various add-ons and extensions for the Mage Wars game are taking place on the official website, making each battle many times more difficult and interesting.

Who will like

Due to the abundance game content, role-playing game refers to the average level of difficulty, so in the process of passing even an experienced player will often need to peep into a brochure with game rules.

For the most part, the game was created for an adult audience, but children over the age of 14 will like it just as much.

Mage Wars is a board game about powerful mages fighting each other in a deadly battle in the arena.

Each mage uses their own deck - a fully customizable spellbook - to achieve complete victory over their opponent. Summon powerful creatures under your control; use powerful spells and charms to attack the enemy and thwart his plans; epic weapons, armor and secret artifacts - all this and much more awaits you in the Mage wars arena!

Mage Wars is tactical board game. The game is played on an arena board, the game is divided into square areas called "zones", which regulate the movement and placement of objects. Each magician (player) starts the game in the corner of the arena, opposite his enemy.

Each player is holding a spell book - it feels like you're a real Mage, turning the pages of your tome of magic, planning your strategy every turn. The points system allows you to choose the most powerful spells and spells outside of the training school that cost more points. You have full access to the casting of any spell, which opens up access to a rich strategy and tactics. Many of these spells - such as creatures, equipment, and enchantments - are placed on the board and become objects in the game. Creatures can move around the arena and attack each other and the enemy mage. Attacks deal damage as well as interesting special effects like Burn, Corrode, Stun, Bleed, Paralyze, etc. Creatures can be destroyed when they take too much damage, they can be controlled by powerful curses and spells, or other creatures.

Each mage belongs to a specific school of magic, each with their own unique spells and strategies:

• The druid will try to defeat enemies with his animal hordes using his nature charms.
• The sorcerer goes ahead, armed with fire spells. On the way to the enemy, he will use his curses and fire to contain and destroy enemy creatures.
• The thief uses stealing, redirecting and destroying enemy spells and mana. He is also a master of teleportation and portals/gates.
• The priestess protects knights and angels with powerful healing and protection spells. She exhausts the opponent and then overwhelms them.

The base game contains everything you need to get started: spellbooks, additional spells, arena playing field, bones, markers, etc.

Place the playing field on the table. Each player chooses a mage. I draws the appropriate mage card and ability card (the ability card does not need to be used in tutorial mode). He also chooses either red or blue and takes 10 tokens of the corresponding color. In addition, each player banked 3 black and 1 red status dice and 1 black quickcast token. Place your mage card in the corner zone closest to you (marked on the game board with a door). In tutorial mode, use only half of the field (see page 4). Place one of your action tokens and a quickcast token on your mage card - the white symbols should be at the top, as shown in the picture on the left.

Place the status card in front of you. Place the black dice on the starting values ​​for mana gain, mana pool (all mages start at 10 mana), and life (starting values ​​are shown on the mage card). In tutorial mode, all mages have the same starting values ​​(see page 4). Place the red die on the "O" value of the life bar. This die shows how much damage the mage has received.

Choose your spell book. If this is your first game, you will need to build yourself a book (see Spellbook on page 4). Place dice, condition tokens, and other game tokens within reach.

Both players roll the effects die. The one with the highest score gets the initiative token: he will act first during the first round of the game! Now your duel can begin!