Mostly useless without good cards, I'd imagine.
Honestly as a sage, I'd think your best bet is to use magic. Even without IC, you can level very well spamming soul strike in prison up to level 80 or so (that's what I did with my wizard, long before I ever had IC). Dry levelling, but it can be done. You could actually hit 80 or higher in a few days at most, if you work hard.