Playing With Fire (Mages, Pt. II)

Last time, I talked about the arcane abilities that mage's have available to them. While those abilities are impressive, they aren't really a problem as far as damage dealing goes. When it comes to doing damage, the mage's fire abilities are the way to go.

While Litori Frostburn can still use most of the fire abilities, Ta'zo is designed to dish out fire damage. His flip ability and his access to Pyroblast mean that he can dish out significantly more damage in a game than Litori Frostburn. So let's take a look at what Ta'zo would have in his arsenal.

Mages are the only class that can deal damage with an ability during the first turn. In fact, aside from Kagra of the Crossroads Fire Blast is the only way to deal damage on the first turn. While being the first to play may be considered a handicap, mages can use it to their advantage to get in a quick hit that is guaranteed to land. The mage's power also translates into the late game, when your opponent three or four allies on the field. Flamestrike is the perfect response to a field full of opposing allies. Granted, it costs seven resources, so you have to devote a high number of resources to the assault, but when a large number of enemy allies have three health or less, it's a guaranteed sweep. Unless you're playing against another mage with Counterspell or a warrior with Shield Bash, Flamestrike will force your opponent to discard a few allies, tilting the field advantage in your favor.

Fireball and Pyroblast are very similar cards. Both deal a decent amount of damage and add a long-term effect which can quickly accumulate to wipe out even the most heavily armored opponent. The only problem with these cards is their high cost. However, so long as you hold a few Counterspells to keep your opponent from interrupting or destroying them later on, the investment is definitely worthwhile. Especially when you add in the next and final card that every hot-headed mage should count on.

This card needs no explanation. As with Pyroblast, the cost is a little prohibitive, but the long-term results are very effective. More importantly, you can have up to four World in Flames in play at a time. This means that your hero's abilities that deal fire damage will do two, four, eight, or even sixteen times their regular amount of damage. Of course, that top-end result requires an investment of 32 resources, but after you've played it, a single Fire Blast deals the same amount of damage. Fireballs would initially deal 64 damage, and if that weren't enough to knock out a hero in a single blow, stop and congratulate your opponent on doing the impossible, then remind them that you'll be adding another sixteen damage to them at the start of each of your turns.

If the offensive capabilities of mages and their arcane manipulations aren't enough to worry you, keep an eye open for the next post, where I'll cover the icy disposition of mages and some of their field-freezing tricks.