Sofeea Icecall — The Mage

The life of a mage revolves around hand size and mana potions. A mage should always try to keep a full hand, as this is going to provide the options needed to overcome encounters. Don't forget to use the Ice Block ability found on the back of the mage's card. This disrupts opponent's strategies and gives the mage control of the game. The mage's ability cards can be broken into three categories; cards that help, cards that disrupt enemy characters, and cards that help in combat.

The first set contains cards like Arcane Intellect, which reduces the price of any ability by one, and Evocation, which cycles faster through the ability deck. The real key ability in this category though, is Teleport. This card lets a mage move 3.5 inches in any direction. This sounds pretty weak, but when looking at the board, 3.5 inches can get from one branch to the next, or can be used to get out of a space with an Aggro encounter.

The second set is smaller and earns the mage a bad reputation. These cards include such spells as Counterspell, which cancels an enemy ability card just played. These cards have limited range so use them sparingly.

The last category makes up most of the ability deck. These are the cards that need to be in the mage's hand. Blink is a spell that cancels a battle, letting the mage decide when to fight. Blizzard is a ranged attack with a strength of 4, giving the mage an edge early in the game. The real powerhouse is Summon Water Elemental. This card is a ranged attack with a strength of 4, but if the opponent fails to hit, the card goes back into hand. To further compound the ability, a mana potion can be consumed to fuel the spell Frost Armor. Frost Armor increases a mage's base defense by one, making it that much harder for an opponent to hit, making Summon Water Elemental that much stronger.

The final thing to remember is mana. Without it, abilities are useless cards. Mana can be acquired through encounters, but the easier way to get it is to win a couple encounters, then use the Auction House Icon. This icon lets you swap out any item for a new one of the same level, effectively letting you swap out items until you get a mana potion.

Lesson two this afternoon is taught by Mr. Fang and his… um… associate?

Burbonn Fang — The Hunter

The most important thing to a hunter is his pet. My pet is Samson. As you can see Samson is a bear. Your pet is the one thing that can stay a constant, and will help you out immensely throughout Azeroth. The next thing are your abilities. The ability to keep your eye out for is Mend Pet. If you haven't been able to get Samson, this card lets you get him for free. On to the other abilities, the first set I'm going to talk about are the traps.

Traps give you control of the battlefield. You can use them to prevent an enemy from leaving a spot with a Freezing Trap, or you can do a fair amount of damage with a Snake Trap. One of my favorites uses Samson, it is called Intimidation. First you set up a trap, Snake Trap for preference. Then you move into a space with an enemy character, and attach Intimidation to him. Now on his turn you get to choose where he goes, and guess what, he goes right into the Snake Trap!

The next thing of note is your aspect. Depending on your aspect, you gain powers no other adventurer can obtain. Sure they can get the ability maybe once or twice a game, but you can have it until you change it. The aspects of the Cheetah and Monkey are the best for new Hunters. The Cheetah will let you move through those pesky Aggro encounters, while the Monkey will let you reroll if you rolled a 1 on your combat die. Both of these powers get better once you are green level. The other two aspects are a bit more powerful, and require a bit of know how. Aspect of the Hawk allows you to convert unspent energy into attack strength right before combat. The key here is knowing when you need that energy to fuel your other abilities, and when you can use it to power your Hawk. The last aspect is my personal favorite, Aspect of the Viper. The downside is a maximum hand of only 5 cards. To make up for that, every time you play a card, you get to draw a card. Drawing cards is a very powerful ability, and when something grants you the ability to draw potentially 5 or more cards a turn you best take notice.

The last thing is your combat cards. Half of them are used instead of a weapon, these are good at the very start, since your weapon isn't very powerful, and again towards the end as the improved green and red abilities become more powerful. The other half are abilities that add to combat, and most of these require Samson to take part. Claw makes your attack a melee attack and gives it +1 to hit. Growl is near identical to Claw, but adds to your defense. The trump card to use is Bestial Wrath. This card makes your combat die a 6, and if you are red level, prevents your opponent from rerolling! For those of you who did your homework, you know that on a combat roll of a 6 Samson provides a boost to your defense.

So to sum up, the bear is your best friend, use combinations of cards to accomplish your mission, and use the Aspect best suited to get you where you need to go.

All right bells are ringing, which brings school to a close for today. Next session begins soon and classes will cover two new subjects.