Mind Over Magic: Species Traits Guide

Human
Human’s spells have a 20% chance to Mana Burst.
Mana Burst: Spells that Mana Burst will cost 0 Mana.

Vivified
Vivified have Stitched Stomachs.
Stitched Stomach: Vivified get no Conviction penalties or bonuses from eating, and prefer to eat the lowest quality food available.

Wolfkin
Wolfkin are Apex Predators.
Apex Predator: Wolfkin do not suffer Conviction penalties if they sleep outside or on the floor, and prefer to eat Dire Rat or Croa over meals that have Conviction penalties.

Raven Cult
Raven Cult start with a Scar Effect.
Scar Effect: Mages develop Scar Effects after undergoing Trauma, causing them to particularly hate performing various activities. Scar Effects will lower Conviction when the Mage does something they hate.

Shattered
Shattered gain Armor in battle and are Inorganic.
Inorganic: Shattered have low HP, but do not suffer from magical illnesses like poisons, and will not be attacked by a Trapdoor Vine.

Mages have 4 stats: Max HP, Max Mana, Power, and Speed. Max Mana is the only stat that has an effect outside of combat. HP has an effect when Mages are injured, but Max HP is irrelevant to that.

Max HP determines the maximum amount of health a Mage has, which generally determines how many hits they can take in combat. Note that healing is based on percentage, so Max HP does not affect the speed at which a Mage heals.
Max Mana determines the maximum amount of mana a Mage has, which generally determines how many spells they can cast – in and out of combat.
Speed determines what order combat takes place in – note that this is true for Mages and enemies alike.
Power is a modifier that is added to the damage a Mage’s spells do in combat.

Stats are ranked by letter, in order of worst to best as follows: F, D, C, B, A, S
When a Mage is “Dauntless” (has very high Conviction), all 4 stats turn into a + version (i.e. B becomes B+, C becomes C+, etc.), which is slightly better than the base letter.
Each species has a different potential range of stats, which is assigned randomly when they are summoned as a student or when randomizing your starting staff. Each species also gets a bonus to the numerical amount of their Max HP and Max Mana, as well as their Speed and/or Power.

Human
Max HP: C-B +100
Max Mana: A-S +120
Speed: B-A +10
Power: F-D

Vivified
Max HP: A-S +175
Max Mana: D-B +90
Speed: F-C
Power: D-B +5

Wolfkin
Max HP: F-C +80
Max Mana: F-C +80
Speed: A-S +20
Power: C-A +10

Raven Cult
Max HP: C-B +150
Max Mana: C-A +110
Speed: F-C +10
Power: A-S +20

Shattered
Max HP: F-D +30
Max Mana: C-B +100
Speed: C-B
Power: A-S +15

There are 7 wand types in Mind Over Magic, each with an important role to play in your school. Different species are better for different wands, mainly in regards to combat but also in the rest of the game. Even if a Mage is not particularly helpful in combat, they may be invaluable with certain terrain and environmental effects. The opposite is true as well, that strong Mages may be rendered weak by the circumstances of the battle.

When selecting your starting staff, I have found that the most important wands are nature, earth, lightning, and air – in that order. The other wands are equally unimportant for starting staff.

Nature is very important for repelling the fog, as the materials needed are gathered with nature skill. This is the absolute most important starting wand for relentless difficulty, but if you are playing on an easier setting it will be less vital.
Earth is very important for gathering resources (such as stone and iron), building your school, and combat. Earth is the only wand that has a combat ability to provide itself armor – though water has an ability to provide others armor and air has an ability to provide shield. This is vital regardless of difficulty.
Lightning is the research skill, which is very important for advancing in the game. This is very important on higher difficulties as you start with less research unlocked, however I do not start with it with only 2 starting staff as nature and earth are more important. Generally the first student I hire in relentless difficulty is a lightning wand Mage.
I prefer to start with Vivified nature, Human earth, and Human lightning – which is further explained below.
Air is the assembling skill, which serves a similar role to earth in building your school but without the skill in gathering resources. It is also the hauling skill, which is generally done by quilted, students, and the incorporeal founder but can be helpful in the very beginning stages of the game.

It is important to note that when selecting starting staff, Raven Cult and Shattered are not available. I have provided information for the best of the starting options for wands that are best for Raven Cult or Shattered.

Format
Out-Of-Combat Info
Best Species
Stats Importance

Fire
Fire affects cooking, destroying, and hunting. A fire skill of 3 is required for cooking honeyed gruel, bitter stir-fry, and better recipes. In combat, fire is good for dealing damage.

Humans make the best fire wand Mages as they have the best Max Mana, which is important for affording the Mana cost of Vengeance as well as for making Flame Lash as strong as possible. Raven Cult are second best as they have the second best Max Mana and the best Power.

Max HP: No Impact
Max Mana: Most Important
Speed: Has an Impact
Power: Important

Water
Water affects aid, alchemy, and cleaning. Aid is not actually listed as being a water skill, but refilling medical beds does scale on water skill. A water skill of 4 is required for brewing powerful potions. Cleaning can easily be done by quilted helpers, so it is not important.

Vivified make the best water wand Mages as they have the best Max HP, which determines the effectiveness of Consecrating Drops. Humans or Raven Cult are second best as they can both have good Max HP and Max Mana.

Max HP: Most Important
Max Mana: Important
Speed: Has an Impact
Power: Has an Impact

Dark
Dark affects quilting and warding. Quilted helpers, other than carriers and sweeps, require a dark skill of 4 to create. Warding is generally easiest to just have the incorporeal founder do, so it is not important.

Raven Cult or Shattered make the best dark wand Mages. If you decide to start with a dark wand Mage, a Wolfkin is the best option. Mana has no impact in combat as the only spell that requires it is Shadow Cloak, which only needs to be used every few rounds. Other spells cost HP instead, but it uses a percentage so Max HP has no impact. Max HP (or Armor) should still be decent as the Mage will be at low HP in battle due to their abilities so they are at risk to AOE attacks. Max Mana does have an effect outside of combat, but the Mage will almost always be quilting or teaching which can both be done near a Mana Lantern. Shattered are slightly better as their speed becomes higher than Raven Cult at high levels.

Max HP: Has an Impact
Max Mana: No Impact
Speed: Important
Power: Most Important

Nature
Nature affects wandcrafting, harvesting, tending, and chopping. All of these tasks are vital to the success of your school and best done by a specialized Mage.

Finding the best nature wand Mage is complicated. Shattered make the best nature Mage outside of combat, as they are unaffected by things like Trapdoor Vines and Sporeshrooms and have good Max Mana for the long journeys. In combat, though, their Surge Strength ability is best done targeting the back row from the front row – which means they should have good HP, like a Vivified. I generally start with a Vivified nature wand staff and later apprentice and hire a Shattered to replace them. Shattered are very effective in combat, but may need a relic that increases Max HP to be in the front row (you can also use a water or air wand Mage in the back row for defensive support).

Max HP: Has an Impact
Max Mana: Important
Speed: Has an Impact
Power: Important

Earth
Earth affects constructing, mining, carving, and repairing. Other than carving which is very late-game, these are all vital tasks best done by a specialized Mage.

Raven Cult make the best earth wand Mages, though a Human will do for starting staff. Their primary ability in combat is Earth Armor, which grants Armor based on Max HP. Their offensive abilities are good as well, though I find it best to use Earth Armor every round and only attack through Counterattack, granted by a fire wand Mage. It is important for earth wand Mages to go before enemies in combat to gain Armor before being attacked, so I often give them a relic that increases Speed. You can also use a lightning wand Mage to Inspire them when it will help avoid damage.

Max HP: Most Important
Max Mana: Has an Impact
Speed: Important
Power: Important

Lightning
Lightning affects charging, augury, and research. Charging is generally easiest to just have the incorporeal founder do and augury is late-game, but research is vital from the start to the very end of the game.

Shattered make the best lightning wand Mages in general, though a Wolfkin with a relic that increases Max Mana can be more effective. Lightning wand Mages are good for support and damage in combat. Their Recharge ability, which restores Mana to another Mage, is invaluable in long battles. Their Inspiration ability can be very helpful for avoiding damage (by letting a Mage create Armor or Shield or take out an enemy before the enemies’ turns), which is important for limiting healing time after combat. Their regular attack, Bolt, is also very good for taking out enemies, especially if they are paired with an air wand Mage providing Haste in the back row as Bolt requires little Mana and can target any enemy.

Max HP: No Impact
Max Mana: Important
Speed: Important
Power: Important

Air
Air affects assembling, painting, and hauling. Assembling is very important, especially later in the game.

Raven Cult make the best air wand Mages. If you decide to start with an air wand Mage, a Wolfkin is the best option. Air wand Mages have an ability called Multistrike, which attacks 2-3 times (depending on air skill). This means that it is affected by Power 2-3 times, so it can provide a very high amount of damage with a good Mage. The Shield of Wind and Haste abilities are also very powerful, though they require a Mage with 4 or 5 air skill (respectively) to be really effective.

Max HP: No Impact
Max Mana: Important
Speed: Has an Impact
Power: Most Important