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)

In Mage Wars you play dueling wizards. The Forcemaster vs Warlord expansion invites two new types of wizards to the party.

Forcemaster vs Warlord Description:

Forcemaster vs Warlord is the first expansion for Mage Wars. Included in the box are 216 spell cards, 2 spellbook binders, cards with the new mage types abilities and a bunch of tokens.

If you have not played the Mage Wars, read my review here. It includes a description of the game and its basic mechanics. The rest of this post will assume you are somewhat familiar with the game and focus on the new mages.

The Forcemaster is certainly a force to be reckoned with. This mind mage is a one-woman army and doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty. She has a few creatures she can summon but the majority of her spells help her survive and finish the fight. Once per round she can use her Deflect ability to get a defense of 7. She can also use Force Pull to move a creature one zone towards her. She also manipulates the arena by charming or mind controlling her opponent’s creatures.

The Warlord, well-versed in the schools of war and earth, has a more hands-off approach to fighting. He is a capable warrior but his strength lies in the command he has over his army of creatures. The Warlord’s minions can gain veteran status by striking down an enemy. This status gives the creature +1 Melee and Armor. He can also enchant all his creatures in his zone to gain either Charge +1, Ranged +1, or Melee and Armor +1 while guarding. A lot of the spells he uses buff his army. He can even conjure a war machine that can rain boulders into the arena every other round.

The new spells included in this expansion can still be used by the mages from the base game. They will still need to adhere to the same cost and other restrictions as before.

Quick Review of Forcemaster vs Warlord:

There is a lot to like in the Forcemaster vs Warlord expansion. The new mages and their different play styles is enough. Add on top of that the spellbook binders and additional options you now have for any mages and you might be in love.

The components in this expansion match the high quality of those in the original game. The rules are straightforward with very few additions. They do include a sample spellbook for each mage and enough cards to build them. The card distribution in this expansion is excellent and better than the base game.

There are no new rules to learn and players already familiar with the game can add this expansion and jump right in. It might seem like more of the same but it is more of the same good stuff.

I was worried the new mages would be unbalanced and outshine the four from the base set. This is not the case though. The new mages balance and blend well with the mages and spells that already exist.

If you are looking for new mechanics in Mage Wars you might not like this expansion. But if you really like Mage Wars and want to add to your spellbook tweaking options and choice of mages pick this up. As I said before, there is a lot of depth to this system and the Forcemaster vs Warlord expansion adds even more.

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