Good Matchups for Demo Game?

[Hoarfrost]

Hi everybody?
What does everyone think would be a good Wizard matchup for a demo game? I'm trying to get a few people interested in Frostgrave, and would need to provide two warbands for people to dip their toes into the game.

I was thinking Summoner vs. Sigilist. They're opposed schools, with no overlap in the aligned schools and good diversity in the neutral schools that there'll be no overlaps in spell selection. Both aren't too agressive, but each seems to have a decent punch (mind you, I've not played either school yet), and each has a number of unique gimmicks to show for.

As for the rest of the warbands, I was thinking of having identical lineups so that the focus really is on the wizard + apprentice.

What does everybody think? Decent setup, or would you prefer other schools for a demo game?

[Calmdown]

I think you can match up *almost* anything in terms of school - whatever you have the best models for would be my advice. As to specific spells, though, I would avoid giving either caster any of the following:

Anything that kills people (Elemental Bolt, Bone Dart, other nuke type spells)
Mind Control

Those kind of things can feel pretty overpowered when you're starting out.

[Hoarfrost]

So, after some reading of the rules, crunching numbers and scratching my head, I abandoned the plan of having identical parties and came up with the following:

Summoner Warband:
- Wizard
- Apprentice
- Tracker
- Tracker
- Treasure Hunter
- Thief
- Thug
- Thug

Spells:
- Leap
- Plague of Insects
- Summon Demon
- Bone Dart
- Animal Companion
- Elemental Shield
- Wizard Eye
- Enchant Weapon

The Idea is to focus on ranged combat, using Leap spell to get into good sniping positions and Plague of Insects to soften up the targets. I know I was advised against Bone Dart, but all in all, the Summoner is facing rather high Spell TNs, so giving him a (comparatively) easy attack spell seemed fair. Unsure about the neutral spells, but those three seem solid. The warband is a little light in melee power, but if the summon demon spell goes off halfway decently, the demon should be able to hold its own in CC.

Sigilist Warband:
- Wizard
- Apprentice
- Treasure Hunter
- Treasure Hunter
- Infantryman
- Infantryman
- Thief
- Thief

Spells:
- Absorb Knowledge
- Furious Quill
- Push
- Telekinesis
- Fool's Gold
- Shield
- Familiar
- Awareness

The idea is to go for the treasures as fast as can be, with the Sigilist in the second row supporting the melee fighters with Push and Furious Quill, and the Looters with Telekinesis. The Treasure Hunters and Thieves would form into pairs and take the flanks, while the Infantrymen and Wizards would hold the center. Again, unsure about the neutral spells, but those seemed to play well into the theme.

Looking forward to your comments!

[robh]

I think potential players are going to want to see Elementalists, they are the iconic "magic user" for most fantasy gamers.
Got to be able to blast things!

Then take the Summoner as a different approach.