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× Talk about the latest and greatest AT, and the Classics.

Let's talk about... Wiz-War

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23 Oct 2014 12:36 #189178 by Colorcrayons

Cambyses wrote: Do you see this proposed deck as being your standard? As in, unless you specifically decide to change things up for a game, this is the deck you leave in its own baggie in the box, ready to play?


More less this. If I were a part of a dedicated and regular wiz-war group I wouldn't have bothered with this. But since I don't, I've found this to be an easier, and better representative of the possibilities within the game for newer, less experienced players than the big book of spells or FFG's suggested deck for the first game. I do regularly add and subtract the 9 relevant creature cards though, and prefer to play with them in it.
But I've only been at this particular deck for the past month, since bestial forces is so new. When this was just base + malefic curses, the deck was a bit more redundant.

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23 Oct 2014 17:50 #189209 by evilgit
Awesome thread. All the deck building nerdery of Magic the Gathering. I need to get the new expansion and try it out.
Does anyone actually cast those stupid morphing spells? I always want to because it's cool and you have the nice figure. But they are all really a waste of time. Should be easy enough to boost them somehow, right? Cause I really want to transform into a werewolf and rip some wizard's face off! But it would take 4 turns to kill someone with the werewolf.....

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23 Oct 2014 19:11 #189213 by drewcula

Attachment photo-55.JPG not found


I just wrapped up my Bestial critters.
Attachments:
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23 Oct 2014 19:57 #189215 by Colorcrayons
You look mahvelous, dahling.

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26 Oct 2014 20:29 - 26 Oct 2014 20:31 #189344 by Colorcrayons
I just saw this pic on a review of the base game at spielkult. I have no such card in my game.

Is this just alternate art in the german version? My deutsche sucks so I can't tell. Anyone know anything about this?



(The card in question being the split wizard/wolf? pic.)
Last edit: 26 Oct 2014 20:31 by Colorcrayons.

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26 Oct 2014 20:39 #189346 by drewcula

Colorcrayons wrote: I just saw this pic on a review of the base game at spielkult. I have no such card in my game.

Is this just alternate art in the german version? My deutsche sucks so I can't tell. Anyone know anything about this?



(The card in question being the split wizard/wolf? pic.)


I too have never seen this card. Looks cool.

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27 Oct 2014 00:38 - 27 Oct 2014 00:38 #189351 by Disgustipater
It has to be Werewolf Form. It's the only permanent Mutation school card, plus the targeting and text formatting seems to fit.

I wonder if they changed the art when they released the new box art version? The werewolf art didn't really match too well anyway.
Last edit: 27 Oct 2014 00:38 by Disgustipater.
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27 Oct 2014 01:30 - 01 Nov 2014 14:00 #189353 by Colorcrayons
Looking at my own werewolf form card, it seems to match the structure, that and I can vaguely make out the word werewolf on the german version. I think disgustipator is right.

I own the first print with the less stylized cover that later prints have. I wonder if that alternate art was done on the later english versions as well. Anyone here own the 2nd printing?

[Edit] I found confirmation of the transformation spells being completely overhauled with more consistent alternate art from a recent unboxing/review video that used the 2nd printing.

Last edit: 01 Nov 2014 14:00 by Colorcrayons. Reason: visual proof

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22 Feb 2018 17:43 - 22 Feb 2018 17:46 #263857 by Colorcrayons
Well, since 4 days worth of data on this site was lost, all of the updates here are gone as well.

Circumstances dictate that I now build my Wiz-War set anew. Some feedback by Not Sure was given.

Using Ilya's cardback, I have made some modifications so that they resemble scroll parchment with sepia tones to imitate rotting lead ink, look like the old weathered business card stock as a nod to by gone era, and pay Ilya a bit of honor by using his design with a tweak.

Here's two examples of tweaks I have so far, along with Ilya's original for comparison:
Any opinions? The topmost is the latest one I am inclined towards.


Last edit: 22 Feb 2018 17:46 by Colorcrayons.

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24 Feb 2018 12:00 - 24 Feb 2018 12:02 #263945 by Colorcrayons
In order to not derail another thread, I decided to attempt to answer Erik's question here.

Erik Twice wrote: I have always had two questions about Wiz-War since I haven't played it.

1) Doesn't it compete heavily against Cosmic Encounter? I keep thinking that, from what I know of the two, I would rather play Cosmic because it's less silly and more strategic.

2) Does it play well with 3?


I don't know if they compete heavily with each other, but they do share significant similarities even if they handle those similarities differently.

They are both simple games at their core. Almost laughably simple. Their strength is in the specific overriding the general. The devil being in the details, so to speak.

In Cosmic Encounter, each player has one enormous element of exception for each alien that breaks the general rules of the game. Flares bring even more exceptions.

In Wiz-War, there is a constant flow of new elements breaking the general core rules. A stream of back and forth in card plays. Wiz-War has more complication in keeping track of what is going on and how to tweak them to your advantage.

So even with their overall similarities, I think there is room in a collection and in how you spend your time for both. I will say if you're a fan of cosmic, I very much believe you could just as likely enjoy Wiz-War as well.

As for player count, some people firmly believe that 3 people is the games sweet spot (perhaps 4 if they all play fast). I like 4 better, but I do think that 3 makes for a really really good game. 2 players is rubbish, unless they are the last 2 in a multiplayer game since it is a matter of minutes before the victor is revealed.
Last edit: 24 Feb 2018 12:02 by Colorcrayons.

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24 Feb 2018 14:08 #263951 by Colorcrayons
This weekend is full of messy resin casting to get my set back to it's former glory.



We will rebuild.



Ok. I'll shut about all this now. :P
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24 Feb 2018 14:20 #263952 by Not Sure
Balls. I don't think anything I said was groundbreaking, but I did spend a while writing those posts.

Despite the Wiz-War avatar, if pressed I'll name Cosmic as my favorite game.

In fact, one of the blank Wiz-War cards in our college set got scribbled on to mention me by name. It was funny, as I'd never played Wiz-War until then, but the assumption was that I already won Cosmic too much.

There's a lot of genetic similarity there. Hand of cards, very loose rules, inventive combos.

Wiz-War plays very well with 3. I prefer 4, but actually I like 5 with quick players the best. The cross layout where everyone is adjacent to everyone else, and the flexibility to shift allegiances is really good.

Wiz-War with 4 can often become 2 1v1 games on different sides of the map. With 3 it's almost always 2v1, and the good games are the one where the "1" who is clearly winning changes a lot. With 5, you can get 3v2, 2v2 + 1 sneaky outlier, weird scenarios where the groups crash into each other, etc. I like the shifting aspect of that.

But, to play at higher counts you have to know the game well enough to play fast and not bog down. It can be pretty boring if everyone treats every turn like their life depends on it.
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24 Feb 2018 15:06 #263954 by hotseatgames
Is resin casting a giant pain? How much money does it cost to produce something like that?

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24 Feb 2018 15:32 #263955 by Colorcrayons
Short version:
Yes, an expensive pain in the butt.

Long version:
Daunting at first, although you get into a rhythm. Patience is key here. Also key is a strong dedication to the game to bother with the effort. Resin is expensive, but you can always use cheaper option of dental plaster and tough as nails. It's a matter of choice and what material you think is best.

I'd be less inclined to do this again if I I didn't already have a mold I made years ago for the board section itself. Assembling that is not a pleasant experience to make everything square and consistent. Solved that problem by making a mold of a meticulously assembled board. Now I pour and out pops a plate that can be immediately played with.

The walls and other bits are a breeze by comparison.

I always wanted to sell a couple 4 player sets to help recuperate my initial investment, but nobody wants to spend the cash for the cost of raw materials, let alone labor and other costs involved. So I never bothered to try.

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24 Feb 2018 16:32 #263957 by san il defanso
The key difference between Cosmic Encounter and Wiz-War is that Cosmic more openly embraces negotiation as an integral mechanic. There's plenty of room for that kind of thing in Wiz-War, but it's not really required to make the game go. I also think that Wiz-War requires a bit more of the players, even though the design itself is a little more straightforward than Cosmic. This is largely because it requires the players to digest a lot of card text. It's not accident that the best games of Wiz-War I've ever played were with frequent CCG players.

Both games are Top 5 for me. The zeigeist has caught on to Cosmic being terrific (Tom Vasel, SUSD, and lots of other people enjoy it tons), but Wiz-War remains perpetually underrated.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Gary Sax, Colorcrayons, drewcula, Erik Twice

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