You can use some other rather interesting skills with staves though, like the Warfare skills. I have two points in Warfare and can use things like whirlwind, battle stomp, and pheonix dive.. and all do fire damage, benefit from points in pyro, and scale from intelligence instead of strength. Just noticed this a little while ago and am still experimenting with it, but it's pretty sweet. Vastly expands the potential spellbook for any mage.
Wands don't let you use those skills, because they're not melee weapons.
