Cassient reels from the gnoll's blast, his vision slowly refocusing as his head clears. He's not at all sure that continuing to trade blows in this way is to his advantage, and it would deplete the wand's magic quite swiftly too. As such he resolves to close the distance, focusing all his efforts on getting close enough to the gnolls to use his own magicks, and specifically to lash out with the power of frost, intensified by his draconic ancestry that ties him to that element. In doing so he potentially gives the enemy another chance to attack before he can respond, but Cassient judges that the gnoll won't have time to blast him if it wishes to retreat far enough avoid a reprisal from Cassient's most powerful magic.
OOC:
[sblock]So in case you didn't get it, that's a double move or run, whichever is appropriate, to get within about 20' of the gnolls.[/sblock]