Stats:
No. of players: 2
Amount of time to play: 60-120 min
Age requirements: 8+
Set-up time: 5 minutes (if your spellbook is already made)

Mage Wars is a game of dueling wizards. Core Spell Tomes 1 & 2 add more copies of the spells found in the base game. This enables you to customize your mage even more.

Core Spell Tomes 1 & 2 Description:

Each Core Spell Tome adds 110 cards to the 322 that come in the base game. Note that none of the cards in the Core Spell Tomes are new. They are additional copies of the spells in the base Mage Wars game.

If you have not played the base game, read my Mage Wars review here. It gives a description of the game play and mechanics. This post is going to focus on the Core Spell Tomes.

For a complete list of the cards included in Core Spell Tome 1, you can download this file from BGG. The majority of the spells found in this set are lower than those found in Core Spell Tome 2. This is not to say they are less useful or desirable. After all you only have so many spell points to spend and having some extra utility and low-level spells in your book can be helpful.

To see the full list of cards in the Core Spell Tome 2, check out this file. Like I said these spells tend to be a higher level than those in the first tome. But not all 110 of these spells are unique to this tome. 40 of the 110 are also found in the first tome too.

Quick Review of Core Spell Tomes 1 & 2:

While not necessary the Core Spell Tomes add more options to Mage Wars. When customizing your mage you will have access to a lot more cards. If you like to tweak your spell book and really want to dive deep into this game these might be for you.

I am not sure I can recommend one tome over the other as both bring good and useful copies of spells to the table. I have heard of some people who just buy a second core set. That way they get even more cards and have two extra spell books. If you are planning to get both tomes and want to have all four mages ready to roll, this might be the best option for you.

If you only plan to play this game every so often then you might not need the tomes at all. I really like the base game and like that it includes so much in one box. You can keep things at that level, be happy and have a great gaming experience.

That said if you really like the spell book building side of Mage Wars and want to really dive into the customization, you just might want to pick these up.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6