I kinda wish it was more established like game rules where we, the reader, know exactly what traps he is able to make, mana costs, cast points, cooldowns, etc. Cuz as it stands, for all we know there could be a medusa trap that turns you to stone when you look at it, or maybe he can conjure an invisible banana peel.
It's hard to really grasp the stakes of a scene when we don't know how far the protag is being pushed to his limits. Take Death Note for instance. We know exactly what Light can do, we know exactly what L can do. So when they clash, the viewer can start theory-crafting plans as the scene is unfolding. And when the big twist happens, it's all the more rewarding. Here, nice bait and switch at the end, but it's not clever cuz the reader never knew this antlion trap existed in the first place. Makes it feel kinda cheap.