Dairyn stepped up to the rustic wooden door which bore the sign “final exam”. Until now, he and his fellow students had been barred from entering this room. He drew a deep breath and slowly opened the door on its ancient creaking hinges. Upon opening the door, he was astonished—it was just like the great arena in Westlock…only smaller. He stood at one end of the room and watched as his fellow student—and now opponent—entered the room in the same manner, and with the same awe as he had. They both had prepared for this, they both had studied, and they both knew that this was to be their biggest test at the Academy. Instinct immediately told him that his master would not call “halt” should things go badly for him…
Welcome to Mage Wars® Academy! You have reached the climax of you studies as a “Mage in training” and now stand ready to face off against other students, those of an entirely different school and ideology! How will your battles turn out? Your actions will determine who is the victor… and who tastes bitter defeat!
Mage Wars® Academy introduces an entirely new, stand lone game to the exciting Mage Wars® universe of Etheria. Similar to Mage Wars® Arena, players will take on the role of dueling Mages, attempting to use their cunning, wit, and tactics to defeat their opponent by reducing their life to zero. Completely different from Arena though, Academy is played without a board, in a much faster time (matches range from 20-30 minutes) and yet still offers strategic choices, tactical combat, and exciting game play! Setting up a game of Mage Wars® Academy is very quick and simple. Players will find a place to play that allows them to sit across from each other, take their Mages out of their spellbooks, along with their ability cards, then use the provided spindown status tracker to set their starting life and mana. Players roll for innitiative, and the match begins. While many Mage Wars® fans will be familiar with playing over a grand arena, Academy takes place in a single zone, with no movement and no escape!
Academy also includes the use of the popular Spellbook mechanic that has made Mage Wars® Arena so popular world wide. Craft you own spellbook that you have access to throughout the game, removing the “luck of the draw” from the mix. Focus on strategy to defeat your opponent while ensuring your tactics keep them at bay! As with all our Mage Wars® products, Academy will have suggested starting spellbooks for players to use in the Core Set, but we always encourage you to make your Mage your own through customizing your book with additional spells, also included in the Academy Core Set.
The Academy Core Set comes with two new Mages, who may look very familiar to our experienced players. The Wizard and the Beastmaster! The Wizard, at this point in time, is aligned to the Sistarra faction, which is the name of the Academy in Sortilege. Meanwhile the Beastmaster, still sporting his trusty woodland friends, is connected to the Kelsar Grove. What will come of their battles in the Academy? Only you can tell that story!
One of the best parts of Mage Wars® Academy is that we designed it with “upgrading” in mind. While we will continue to develop new expansions for Mage Wars® Academy, we know many players will want to play both Academy and Arena, and for that, we designed the Academy cards to be “forward compatible” with Mage Wars® Arena. Icons, terminology, keywords, they all are aligned to Arena, so when you are ready to make a move, your cards, and your investment, come with you! It’s good to note that Arena cards are not compatible with Academy play, as some would be just simply too powerful in a single zone environment. And, since we know you love spoilers, let’s take a look at some of the cards you can expect to get in the Academy Core Set!
As you can see, there is sure to be plenty of options just inside the Core Set for Mage Wars® Academy! The design team at Arcane Wonders®, along with our superb playtest community, has worked very hard to make Mage Wars® Academy a unique experience that both stands on it’s own and compliments Mage Wars Arena at the same time. We’re confident you, and many others, will enjoy this new, exciting way to duel in the world of Etheria. Train in your school, craft you spellbook, and test your skills at the Academy!