I have a few questions for Wizard 101 players:

Can combat be compared to TCG (trading card games) like Magic the Gathering?
Can you summon creatures and control them like in TCGs?
Does it have the same depth? Are ranked games competitive and balanced?
How many cards are there? Is trading cards with others important? 


Sorry for so many questions ^^
I'm neither a kid nor a parent, but the mix of MMO and trading card game souds appealing.
But I'm not sure if Wizard 101 is really what I'm looking for. Will TCG-players enjoy this game?

I tried the game briefly, about an hours worth... and to say it is oriented at children would be putting it nicely. The game feels like candyland... and I didnt see much depth.

Hello potential young Wizard, I will attempt to answer your questions.

Each school has different strengths and weaknesses.

 Fire has medium health, low accuracy and high damage. 
 Ice has the highest health, medium accuracy and low damage.
 Storm has the lowest health, the lowest accuracy and the highest damage.
 Life has high health, the highest accuracy and the lowest damage
 Death has low health, high accuracy and low damage.
 Myth has medium health, medium accuracy and medium damage.
 Balance has medium health, high accuracy and medium damage.

Each school has at least one minion, here are the levels that the minions are available through a quest.

Fire - level 28
Ice - level 28
Death - level 28 (multi-level minion)
Storm - level 18
Life - level 18
Balance - levels 18 and 38
Myth - levels 2, 7, 18 and 38

There are hundreds of different cards, as well as versions of cards. Cards can be earned through quests, purchased individually or in booster packs, purchased at the Bazaar, Crafted and traded with other players as well as found as rewards from duels. 

Keep in mind, Wizard101 is free to try, and you will be able to finish most of Wizard City without paying a single penny. This will give you a hint at the potential depth that players who have spent more than an hour playing the game can experience.

If you have any further questions, you can learn a great deal about the game at http://www.Wizard101.com and specifically about the schools here: https://www.wizard101.com/game/schoolsofmagic

If you have any direct questions, feel free to contact us at community@wizard101.com

See you in Wizard City!

~Professor Greyrose

thx for the promt answer!

i guess I gotta play some more (currently lvl 4)

Looks like you've hit a sweet spot with marketing to kids + parents - but it may also make the twenty-somethings and TCG-fans like me feel as if they don't really belong to the target group. Which would be a pity, since W101 is kinda unique. ^^