You wrestle with cosmic powers and command the elements themselves every day. So it’s not asking too much that the rest of the team make you a priority. Right? But there’s likely a lot of talk around the table as to why you can’t be more of a team player when it comes to buying off-color assists.

Some talk. A few whispers, anyway.

After all, you still have a Fireball handy if the Rogue gets too mouthy.

Racial Variation

The brotherhood of Wizards rarely plays games of racial politics, because all Wizards are created more equal than any other Class. Arcane stats are strong enough that it’s hard for racial bias to do any lasting damage, and more often than not creates powerful advantages. Sun Elves wield impressive starting power. Shield Dwarves begin on the cusp of acquiring Lightning. And Half-Orc Wizards may be called many things, but “fragile” isn’t among them.

General Play

Then there are the spells. Powerful enough to humble the strongest of encounters, summon fantastic elemental power, and rend the fabric of reality. It’s easy to understand how other Classes in Dragonfire might feel some jealousy. Clerics are most susceptible to this, because they’re spellcasters too! (Okay. They really are. So long as they ask someone first before every battle.) But the devils are in the details, and Wizards contend with some fairly powerful devils.

By a decent margin, the most expensive cards in the Market deck are the Arcane. Also, the Arcane set has fewer assists than any other color, which can lead to a game-ending bottleneck. Furthermore, there are several Arcane spells that become somewhat (or totally) useless depending on the type of Arcane character in play, or the type of Encounter Deck you are facing.

In order to preserve some of their advantage, Wizards must be rigidly careful when purchasing off-color. Cheap color-fixing (Bless) can work all right. Wizards who manage a gold reserve also get great value out of Opportunity. Nothing feels better than buying and casting a Lightning Bolt in the same round. Still, these should be exceptions. Only the Arcane player can wield Arcane spells with real effectiveness, so stay on target and don’t get caught up in the rush for power. The strength of the Arcane deck is not in the “power cards” of Lightning and Fireball, but the mid-tier cards. Confusion, Cloud of Daggers, and especially Misty Step. A Wizard can purchase any of these cards fairly early, and if lucky enough to have a pair of Misty Step by mid-game, can almost always search out a card to solve any current crisis.

With their Market cards so strong, Arcane players are limited in the strength of their Features. Features remain helpful, but aren’t as wildly opportunistic as in other Classes. Instead, Arcane players receive a great deal more variety in magical treasure. Manipulation of the draw deck is key to most Arcane strategies. That, and cascading card play to deal “large number” damage. So the ability to draw and discard, to reload specific cards—or anything with Repack—are all great powers. Additionally, an item that provides Arcane assists rarely, if ever, goes wrong.

And if it does go wrong, do what every self-respecting Wizard does.

Blame it on the Fighter.