Magic Tactics, your views on every spell, every lore that we

How to beat those cowardly High Elves?

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Lostshadow
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Magic Tactics, your views on every spell, every lore that we

Post by Lostshadow »

Ok, I wanted to find out what people think of our avaliable lores and what their uses are.
And then give it a rating out of ten

Dark, fire, shadow, death, metal

Im going to start with fire, but feel free to talk about any lore you like:


I prefer Dark and fire, but fire I find far more tactical than dark magic

Fireball
Easy for a level 1 to have, basic damaging spell really, with the level 3 fireball you can use the first turn to cause some damage before certain enemies come into range.

Cascading fire cloak

One of the best spells of the lore in my opinion. If your wizard has a good ward save, send him in with a unit and this can make the difference between an emeny declaring a charge and them standing there like riderless cold ones gawking at the dangerous spell that they cant afford to charge while active,

Flaming Sword
This is good for obvious reasons, +1 to wound can have many uses, it doesnt matter which unit this is used one, witch elves against a monster can cause them to wound on a 5+ regardless of strength of the attacks. Against t3, black guard can have a field day with this.

Burning head
I dont really like this spell, I cant see many uses for it except for pancking units. But unless the enemy reforms into a conger line, it doesnt do that much.

Piercing bolts of burning
This spell I find useful against horde armies, it can deal some nasty damage but its a very situational spell, so again not one of my favourties but I still like it.

Flame cage
My favourite spell of this lore, this spell has infinate uses. As its a HEX it can be cast into close combat.
Then comes the nastiness, if they move they all suffer a S4 hit......
If they reform from a flank charge......damage
If they charge you.......damage
If they move to look at you.....damage

Flank charging a unit then casting this spell is a brutal combination as if they try to negate the flank charge at the end of the combat, they take damage for facing your unit. Casting on a low armour save unit thats going to charge you, can make them scared to charge in some cases.

Flame storm
Quite a useless spell in my opinion, theres not much I can see it doing. I have never used it and never will



Overall
Rating: 7.5 / 10
It has a lot of uses, but two of the spells I dont like, so I wouldnt use them. But from a tactical point of view (as well as monster killing by negating regeration saves as standard) it is a good all round lore
Bad points would be that against high armour saves, it can be a problem to use
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Holt
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Post by Holt »

There is a good thread on this over on the Daemonic Legion forum. Here are the lore that would apply to us that have been written up:

First number tells how many kills would the spell do on avarage and if it is buff spell it tells how many more kills will the spell do or prevent for 10 Ws3 S3 attacks. Latter number tells how effective the spell is compared to its casting cost. Bigger number means more effective spell.


LORE OF FIRE

Destruction:****
Buffs:**
Debuffs:*

Firelore focuses on brutal destruction and damage spells. It has one of the most powerfull bolts and very strong and cheap massdestruction spells, which thanks to the lores special ability, are usually easier to cast. Lore doesnt provide anykind of protection or debuffs, but all of its spells focus just damage dealing.

Strenghts of the lore is its variability of destruction spells and how you can fit them according to winds of magic all the way from 5+ cast to 13+. Fire lore is best lore on killing basic rank and file troops and dropping their rank bounses, sniping out lone characters and ofcourse on killing regenerating beasts. It has really good counters against lore of life too. Fires weaknesses are definately its vulnerability to magic resistance and heavily armored foes as most of its spells work well only against low armor. Fire lore doesnt provide much tactical edge and cunning, but is quite straight with all its bolts and massdestruction spells.

Fire lores special ability Kindlefire adds repetitive spells against one foe and makes them hard to dispell. If even one spell gets through wizard basically gets +D3 to its level. This makes every spell dangerous as even level 1 fireball can cause next flamestorm to have maximum of +3 to its cast!


S. Fireball Kills Power
T3 2,33 0,47
T3/2+ 0,78 0,16
T4 1,75 0,35
T4/4+ 1,17 0,23
T6 0,58 0.12

S. Fireball lvl2 Kills Power
T3 4,67 0,47
T3/2+ 1,56 0,16
T4 3,50 0,35
T4/4+ 2,33 0,23
T6 1,17 0.12

S. Fireball lvl3 Kills Power
T3 7,00 0,39
T3/2+ 2,33 0,13
T4 5,25 0,29
T4/4+ 3,50 0,19
T6 1,75 0.10

Fireball, the signature spell adapts well to any situation and to winds of magic. It is great way to snipe single characters, removing rank bonuses and killing small units of skirmishers and light cavalry. Its great scalability makes it one of the best and cost effective spells there is. It also has massive range and thus it can be thrown even from long distances. Herald of Tzeentch can easily throw these spells from opposite corner where the rest of the army fights.


1. Cascading fire-cloak Kills Power
T3 4,67 0,93
T3/2+ 1,56 0,31
T4 3,50 0,70
T4/4+ 2,33 0,47
T6 1,17 0.23

Basically this is alot cheaper lvl2 fireball that hits unit that wizard or his unit is fighting at the end of each magic phase. With merely 5+ cast it is really easy to cast and its power doubles if opponent doesnt dispell it on his next magic phase. This spell is good choise for daemon princes.


2. Flaming sword of Rhuin Kills Power
S3 vs T3, 10 attacks +0,83 0,10
S3 vs T3/2+ +0,14 0,02
S3 vs T4 +0,83 0,10
S3 vs T4/4+ +0,42 0,05
S3 vs T6 +2,50 0,31

This spell reaches its best potential when thrown to a unit with lots of attacks and S4 like Fiends of Slaanesh as it usually makes them wound on 2+. Flaming attacks help against flammable foes and big monsters with high T as you get to wound on 5+ instead of 6+. It is also great counter against flesh to stone spell. Unfortunately this spell isnt much use to high strenght units like Khorne units.


3. Burning head Kills Power
T3, 4 hits 2,67 0,27
T3/2+, 4 hits 0,89 0,09
T4, 4 hits 2,00 0,20
T4/4+, 4 hits 1,33 0,13
T6, 1 hit 0,17 0.02

Burning head doesnt have massive killpower, but for its mainpurpose it is just enough. Burning head works best when thrown at units on opponents flanks where generals and bsb:s Ld bubble doesnt reach. For example against orcs and goblins one burning head can quickly remove whole unit of chariots and wolf riders from the flank. If wizard can fly or move fast burning head can be thrown through whole battleline and cause several panic tests as well as cause some serious damage.


4. Piercing bolts of burning Kills Power
T3, 5 ranks 6,67 0,67
T3/2+, 2 ranks 0,89 0,09
T4, 5 ranks 5,00 0,50
T4/4+, 3 ranks 2,00 0,20
T6, 1 rank 0,17 0.02

Piercing bolts is excellent counter against deep steadfast units that might have even 10 ranks or more. Even against 5 ranks this spell statistically deals 10 hits and as many steadfast anvils have low armor it means good deal of kills.


5. Fulminating flame cage Kills Power
T3, 25 models 19,00 1,72
T3/2+, 10 models 3,00 0,27
T4, 25 models 14,25 1,30
T4/4+, 15 models 6,17 0,56
T6, 1 model 0,75 0.07

In a way this spell is a debuff that prevents unit from moving but its effects are more like mass destruction spell. As a destruction spell this is one of the most powerfull and cheapest spells of the sort. Spell simply forces low armored units like marauders, skaven, orcs and goblins and empire to stay still or inflict them massive damage. Compared to spells like Dwellers this spell is ALOT cheaper and works better against T3 troops, but suffers against high armor.


6. Flame storm Kills Power
T3, 21 hits, 20mm 14,00 1,08
T3/2+, 10 hits, cavalry 2,22 0,17
T4, 9 hits, 25mm 4,50 0,35
T4/4+, 9 hits, 25mm 3,00 0,23
T6, 1 hit 0,17 0.01

6. Flame storm lvl2 Kills Power
T3, 40 hits, 20mm 26,67 1,67
T3/2+, 10 hits, cavalry 2,22 0,14
T4, 21 hits, 25mm 10,50 0,67
T4/4+, 15 hits, 25mm 6,17 0,31
T6, 1 hit 0,17 0.01

For startes there is small miscalculations with the number that storm can potentially hit, but you can add few more kills for it to see the real effect. Firestorms power decreases notably when opponent has bigger 25mm bases. Against small bases it has good potential of sweeping over half of the horde away with a single spell. Against small units this spell has weakness as it scatters at 1/3 away and deals less or no damage at all. As a mass destruction against low armored foes this is still really effective and cheap spell and kindle fire will likely help casting it.


LORE OF METAL

Destruction:***
Buffs: ***
Debuffs:**

Lore of metal is still great choise against highly armored opponents, but unlike prejudicises it is also great lore against many monsters and even against armies without much armor. The lote provides good buffs and debuffs and very potent mass destruction spell. Metal works best in armies with mainly S3-4 attacks that would otherwise struggle against heavy armour. Even though it has some spells against low armored troops armies without much (or any) armor are still the lores main weakness.

S. Searing doom Kills Power
Save 6+ 0,58 0,06
Save 4+ 1,75 0,18
Save 2+ 2,92 0,29

S. Searing doom lvl2 Kills Power
Save 6+ 1,17 0,06
Save 4+ 3,50 0,18
Save 2+ 5,83 0,29

Signature spell is quite expensive and starts gaining good effect only against heavier armors. Even though spell is expensive it is very potent against knights and especially against big monsters like hydras (or steam tanks) where it ignores T value and regeneration and wounds on 4+. At level 2 this spell can actually oneshot hydra or dragon.


1. Plague of rust Kills Power
10 hits +0,42 0,06

This debuff looks quite unimpressive on a first glance, but it has really cheap price and the effect that is permanent. Debuff balances whole lore against armies with only armor saves of 5+ for example, especially if most of your army consists of S3 and 4 troops. It can also help big time against big monsters, generals and warmachines that have big armorsave. It is good spell to throw with your last power dice as removing that one point of save can result to 2+ more kills when fighting in horde formation.


2. Enchanted blades of Aiban Kills Power
10 hits, no armor +0,83 0,09
10 hits, armor +0,97 0,10

Immensively powerfull buff for both high strenght and models with many attacks. This spell thrown at flamers or bloodletter horde can really massacre alot of stuff. For bloodletters +1 to hit translates mathematically almost to +1 attack and usually makes them hit and wound on 2+ and gives more chances on getting killing blows because of more hits. Flamers benefit alot from this spell as +1 to hit usually results to over 2 more kills and armor piercing also helps to get through 5+ armors. Another good target for this spell is big fiend units with their numerous attacks.


3. Glittering robe Kills Power
Vs 10 S3 attacks -0,83 0,09
Vs 10 S4 attacks -0,41 0,05

5+ armor doesnt seem all that powerfull, but since it can be thrown to all units within 12" it can become more effective than flesh to stone in overall protection. Against S3 units the spell reduces 1/3 of the wounds off. It can also help expensive units like Bloodcrushers alot by giving them 2+ save or Bloodletters by giving them 1+ save.


4. Gehanna’s golden hounds Kills Power
Save 6+ 0,58 0,06
Save 4+ 1,75 0,19
Save 2+ 2,92 0,32

Golden hounds work out like cheaper version of Searing doom that can only be cast on characters. It is unreliable as an character killer, but if you think it as cheaper signature spell that can with good luck deal some wounds to a character its an ok investment, especially against empire models with armor of meteoric iron for example.


5. Transmutation of lead Kills Power
10 hits, same WS, no armor +0,83 0,07
10 hits, same WS, armor +1,25 0,10
10 hits, higher WS, no armor +0,0 0,00
10 hits, higher WS, armor +0,42 0,04
vs higher WS / shooting -0,83 0,07

This is very situational spell that in the worst case does nothing to improve the combat (for exemple ws3 versus ws5 unarmored troop). Spell has some potential to give alot more kills if both fighters have same Ws and opponent has some armor. In that situation the spell actually becomes best buff spell in the game by raising your hit chance by +1 and lowering the armor at the same time. It can also play REALLY nasty tricks with fear. If opponent fails fear check with this spell on, he cannot attack back and you will autohit him, since he has WS of 0! If opponent has one point higher Ws and it is reduced to the same value the spell becomes protective spell instead and saves 0,83 wounds per 10 attacks, as opponent hits you on 4+ instead of 3+. Spell can be also thrown on big archer units, and especially against dark elves repeater crossbows it can really do some big harm. So in overall, it can either do nothing or be the best buff in the game =)


6. Final transmutation Kills Power
10 models 3,33 0,22
20 models 6,67 0,44
40 models 13,33 0,89

Transmutation is one of the most powerfull massdestruction spells when you look at its price. Where Dwellers and purple sun suffer from high cost and opponents high stats, transmutation is cheap spell with good range and always hits at same strenght. This is both good and bad thing, as spell can kill alot more elites than dwellers for example, but alot less basic statline hordes. Transmutation has also wonderfull effect to cause stupidity to all units within 12" of the unit. This effect can be insane against gunlines and low Ld units. For example gunline might have 8 warmachines and 3 other units around the unit turned to gold, so that would be 11 Ld checks to make them ineffective for one turn. Also it has good range, and at 18+ casting cost you can throw it as far as 36" away, where dwellers for example has range of 12" at the same casting value.


LORE OF SHADOW

Destruction:**
Buffs: ***
Debuffs:****

Lore of shadows have very strong debuffs and one extremely potent offensive melee buff. With special attribute of the lore you can play tricks and get powerfull characters like skulltaker in combat or save your wizard from the pinch. Lores weakness is that most of its spells are quite expensive and its destruction spells dont work well against high I units, though this weakness can be negated by using its signature spell. Lore of shadow has good synergies with armes that have many attacks, like daemonettes and fiends as plenty of low S units benefit its buffs and debuffs alot.


S. Melkoth’s mystifying miasmaKills Power
10 hitsWS>opponent +0,83 0,17
10 hitsWSx2+1 -0,83 0,17
10 hitsWSx2+1 from lower WS-1,66 0,33

Just by looking the price of the spell tells that this is very good spell to protect you both in melee and against shooting. It can really turn the fight if your opponent has higher Ws than you as it can make you hit him on 3+ and opponent to hit you on 5+. More often the spell works as an offensive buff though by lowering ws and thus giving you +1 to hit. You can also make opponent lose his ASF rerolls by lowering his I under your I stat. Against big shooting units like ~20 crossbow men the spell works wonders and makes them pretty much useless by dropping their skill by D3, which is quite nice for a 5+ spell. Miasma also works as a buff for lores destruction spells as all of them rely on initiative.


1. Steed of shadows Kills Power

Compared to its price this can be a nice spell. You can move your wizard to better positions to use Pendulum or move the greater daemon behind the enemy lines on the first turn. You can do nasty tricks with this spell thanks to the lore attribute and move your wizard towards the opponent and then switch it with another character.


2. The enfeebling foe Kills Power
Vs 10 hits -1S -0,83 0,08
Vs 10 hits -2S -1,67 0,17

Enfeeblings power rises even further if your units have some armor on them, as when opponents strenght drops also their armor penetration goes down. In game terms this spell can have pretty similar effect to flesh to stone, but has higher casting cost. You could also combine it with spells like dwellers or net of amyntok.


3. The withering Kills Power
-1T +0,83 0,06
-2T +1,67 0,13
-3T +2,50 0,19

This spells potential uses are not quite as good as for raising strenght, but it can easily drop rank and file troops toughness to 1, which results that pretty much anything can easily kill them. Wither can be used well to drop high T monsters stats lower so you can chop them down easier. Wither is also excellent counter against lore of lifes flesh to stone.


4. The penumbral pendulum Kills Power
10 I2 5,56 0,43
10 I3 4,17 0,32
10 I4 2,78 0,21
10 I5 1,67 0,13

Spell is great to kill some expensive elite monsters and units that have low I or have been debuffed with miasma. Shadow lore also provides good opportunity for wizard to move himself to whole armys flank and throw pendulum through whole opponents battleline. When pendulum cuts through 20-40 models its power really jumps through the roof! Combined to miasma, pendulum provides quite reliable way on killing tough foes.


5. Pit of shades Kills Power
I2, ~21 hits, 20mm 14,00 1,00
I3, ~21 hits, 20mm 10,5 0,75
I4, ~21 hits, 20mm 7,00 0,5
I5, ~21 hits, 20mm 3,50 0,25
I2/2+, ~10 hits, cavalry 6,67 0,48
I3/2+, ~10 hits, cavalry 5,00 0,36
I4/2+, ~10 hits, cavalry 3,33 0,24
I5/2+, ~10 hits, cavalry 1,67 0,12
I2, ~10 hits, 25mm 6,00 0,43
I3, ~10 hits, 25mm 4,50 0,32
I4, ~10 hits, 25mm 3,00 0,21
I5, ~10 hits, 25mm 1,50 0,11

5. Pit of shades lvl2 Kills Power
I2, ~40 hits, 20mm 26,67 1,57
I3, ~40 hits, 20mm 20,00 1,18
I4, ~40 hits, 20mm 13,33 0,78
I5, ~40 hits, 20mm 6,67 0,39
I2 ~10 hits, cavalry 6,67 0,39
I3 ~10 hits, cavalry 5,00 0,29
I4 ~10 hits, cavalry 3,33 0,20
I5 ~10 hits, cavalry 1,67 0,10
I2, ~21 osumaa, 25mm 14,00 0,82
I3, ~21 osumaa, 25mm 10,5 0,62
I4, ~21 osumaa, 25mm 7,00 0,41
I5, 21 osumaa, 25mm 3,50 0,21

Again I have some miscalculations on how many models are under the template, but just add something to the result and you get the idea. Pit is really expensive spell, but it has good potential on killing whole big units at one shot. Combined to miasma, the spell kills almost all models under the template even if opponent got superb toughness or armor. Spells big weakness is that on 2/3 chance it can scatter away from the target and deal less or no damage at all. Against big hordes you dont have to worry much about scattering though.


6. Okkam’s mindrazor Kills Power
Strenght only +1,67 0,09
Strenght & Armor 2+, Ld8 +3,75 0,21

Mindaror can do some serious massacre when given to models with lots of attacks. Spell usually results you to wound on 2+ and totally smashes opponents armor. It is very expensive buff to cast, but if it gets through it will likely modify your combat result atleast at 2 even with 10 models attacking. For daemonette horde for exmple it will add over 10 kills thanks to the usual asf rerolls. Against chaos warriors and knights this spell is incredibly deadly.


LORE OF DEATH

Destruction:****
Buffs: *
Debuffs:***

This lore is specialized on killing characters and big monsters and it really works well in it. Lores weaknes is that only spell it has to offer against basic rank and file models is expensive purple sun, which works poorly against models with high I. Lores special attribute life leeching is massive boost and you with purple sun you can get tons of dice more and continue sweeping characters with assasination spells which leads to more dice etc etc. All of the character assasination spells are very dangerous and opponent is likely going to spend his dispells on them. This lore gets EXTREMELY dangerous if you give it to the LoC with will of Tzeentch, as he can reroll some dice to make any spell able to kill characters reliably.


S. Spirit leech Kills Power

Depending on opponents Ld and your character casting it this can even snipe the opponent on one hit. Especially against low Ld armies this spell kills easily especially other wizards. Unfortunately the spell has really short range and it is usually required to throw on second level. If you have LoC or herald with disc / wings they can easily get to the range though.


1. Aspect of the dreadknight Kills Power

Spells effect is useless for daemons, but at second level you can cause some terror which can be helpful. This is the cheapest spell in the basic rulebook.


2. The caress of Laniph Kills Power
S3 2,25 0,38
S4 1,75 0,29
S5 1,25 0,21
S6 0,75 0,13

This is quite reliable spell to kill many low level wizards and heroes like BSB, as they usually have just 2 wounds. Thanks to the low 6+ cast you can build some pressure on opponent by throwing this spell and in the end cast your big spells. On the higher casting value you can even assasinate opponents characters from the deployement zone.


3. Soulblight Kills Power
Vs 10 hits -1S -0,83 0,10
Vs 10 hits -1S & armor +1,11 0,12
Vs 10 hits -1T +0,83 0,10

Soulblight usually raises your combat resolution by 2. Spell is kina like negative beast lores signature spell, but cheaper. Spell has some minor combo potential with caress and fate of bjuna. On level 2 you can affect all enemies, which can help to turn all fights to victory.


4. Doom and darkness Kills Power

When whole lore is focused on killing characters, it is easy to kill opponents general and bsb. After those two are killed any unit will seriously start fearing that -3 to Ld. This spell can be thrown to generals unit and make whole armys ld go down. Even with general and bsb alive, -3 to ld is quite massive, especially if combined with something like -2ld banner and masque. Spell offers minor defensive boost to daemons too, since if opponent fails its fear tests he hits you on 5+.


5. The fate of Bjuna Kills Power
T3 3,75 0,29
T4 2,92 0,23
T5 2,01 0,16
T6 1,25 0,10

This spell is very reliable way to kill even lord characters and as an added bonyus it also gives stupidity to those who survive, making it really nasty spell for mages.

6. The purple sun of Xereus Kills Power
I1, 10 hits 8,33 0,59
I2, 10 hits 6,67 0,45
I3, 10 hits 5,00 0,33
I4, 10 hits 3,33 0,22
I5, 10 hits 1,67 0,11

This spell usually deals more than just 10 hits, but you can easily multiply that result to see the result it usually gets. With wizards that can fly this spells potential can be quite insane, as you can fly to the flank and throw the spell even over hundred models! Against slow armies like dwarves and orcs it can even result on first turn victory, but even against faster units this spell is very likely to give you all the dice back that you used on it. Second level spell is so hard to cast that it usually is better to throw normal version instead unless you got powerscroll or some other way to buff the casting.



And for the end I got some combos~

Lore of fire
5. Fulminating flame cage + 2. Wind blast (lore of heavens)

Lore of metal
2. Enchanted blades + 5. transmutation of lead
5. Transmutation of lead + Fear

Lore of Light
1. Phas protection + 2. Speed of light
2. Speed of light + 6. Birona’s timewarp
4. Net of amyntok + 2. Enfeebling foe (lore of shadows)

Lore of shadow
S. Mystifiying miasma + 4. Pendulum / 5. pit of shades
1. steed of shadows + 4. Pendulum


Lore of death
3. Soulblight/shadow debuffit + 2. Caress of laniph / 5. Fate of Bjuna
(not for daemons) Sijeri's Hex scroll + S. Spirit leech / 2. Caress of Laniph / 5. Fate of Bjuna


The thread can be found here (along with the rest of the Lores in the BRB and the Daemon Lores: http://z7.invisionfree.com/wyrmling_x/i ... topic=7761

Sorry if that takes over your thread a bit much (its is quite long and attention seeking) I mean for it to be adding to it, not taking away from your original post.[/quote]
Want some tips on controlling those frenzied units? http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=71791&highlight=
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Red...
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Post by Red... »

Lore of Metal: 8/10

Searing Doom: 7/10 (9/10 versus heavily armoured foes)
This is an an excellent go to spell for destroying anything (and I mean anything) with high levels of armour. Empire Knights, Chaos Knights and even our own Cold One Knights are all killed automatically on 2+. Very nice.

The downsides of the spell are that it is quite expensive to cast (10+ for the small version, 20+ for the big one) and it can be a bit fickle. 1D6 on the small version can end up being a one, and similarly 2D6 on the big version can end up being just a two or three. Investing in the larger one chews up a lot of dice (need between 4 or 5 dice as a minimum to get it off successfully with a level 4), which means you won't have those dice available for other spells (it also dramatically increases your chances of miscasting).

It's worth noting that this can be a fairly decent spell against foes you might not expect, including monsters with decent armour saves.

Plague of Rust: 5/10
This an okay spell - useful for knocking the resilience of enemy units down a bit. By reducing enemy armour saves, they become less able to survive against your attacks, which is always good. Note, this does not interact negatively with Searing Doom and other direct damage metal spells because they use the unmodified armour save, and Plague of Rust represents a modifier.

Enchanted Blades of Aiban 8/10
This is an excellent spell for three reasons: It gives +1 to hit to both ranged and close combat attacks, which dramatically increases the number of hits you'll get (particularly useful in turns where you don't have re-rolls from hatred during combat), armour piercing (really handy) and makes weapons magical (ideal for taking on ethereal foes). It is also relatively cheap to cast.

Glittering robe 9/10
This is another first rate spell. It is cheap to cast and the ability to give one or multiple units an extra +2 to their armour saves is incredible. It makes our units all but immune to bows and even quite resilient against crossbows, and also makes them quite resistant in combat to S3 and S4 weapons. Chariots affected by the spell are particularly sick: T5, 4 wounds and a 1+ armour save is not to be sniffed at!

Ghenna's Golden Hounds: 6/10
This spell is like Searing Doom, but minutely cheaper and without the upgrade option. Theoretically it can be used to pick out enemy characters, but because they get a look out sir roll for each hit, don't expect to it to really act as a sniping spell. Again, it can be quite useful against high armour monsters and D6 inverse armour rolls against enemy cavalry is still quite nice, even if their character rolls all of their look out sir rolls successfully.

Transmutation of Lead: 4/10
Possibly the worst spell in lore of metal, this aberration reduces the WS, BS and Armour save of an enemy unit by 1 for a turn. This is useful to some extent, but less powerful or game changing than the other spells and is just a bit of a flop generally to be honest. It is particularly irksome that there are very few situations where a target will be negatively affected by the loss of both WS and BS - usually it's one or the other, making the non-harmful reduction redundant and pointless. It is also expensive to cast: 12+ is way too much for what it does.

Final Transmutation: 9/10
This is an outstanding spell. It should, on average, kill a third of any enemy unit it is used against (except for multi wound enemies, where this is just a sixth). This is incredibly handy for cutting big enemy units down to size. The fact that it doesn't allow saves of any kind also makes it good against elite enemies: Phoenix Guard and Chaos Chosen of Tzeentch are particularly good targets. Don't expect it to kill enemy characters: there's only a 16.666% chance of that happening - but every now and then it does, and that's a nice bonus.

Adding further flavour to an already delicious tasting spell, any enemy unit that is within 12" of the affected unit (including the unit itself) must make a stupidity test the next turn. This can cripple low leadership armies and even slow down high leadership ones if they get a couple of unlucky rolls.

Its downside is that it will only ever kill roughly 33%. That's a big chunk, but is never going to cripple the enemy in the same way that spells such as Dwellers Below or a lucky Infernal Gateway roll might do.

Summary
As a lore overall, metal is great for buffing your own forces, reducing the potential of the enemy and for doing some really nasty damage against some of the scariest foes (heavily armoured troops and mammoth sized horde units). I'd highly recommend it and take it as my default lore on both my level 4 and on my level 1 (we usually play 2.5k or 3k games).

It is worth noting that this is not a lore that will games in itself, but it does synergise incredibly well with the Dark Elf army list and, played right, will give you a significant advantage over your opponent. It's biggest strength is its reliability: each spell is quite good (even transmutation of lead can be handy) and can work by itself. This compares favourably to Shadow where you a) might not get the spells you want and b) have to coordinate in detail between spells against some foes (in order to make Pendulum effective against Elves, for example, you first need to cast Mystifying Miasma onto the target unit and reduce their initiative. Your opponent can intercept either spell, making the other redundant).

It also has the added advantage that it is not very commonly used (shadow, life and light seem to be the most common generic lores), so opponents won't necessarily know what they are up against. This allows you the element of surprise.

Finally, the fact so few people use it means that if - like me - you don't have a pack of magic cards, odds are you'll be able to borrow the necessary spells from a fellow gamer who does, because they won't be using the lore themselves.
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Gastronauticon
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Post by Gastronauticon »

Two quick notes on Death:

For the snipe-spells, focus familiar is incredible. Often a better choice than the dagger as it is pretty much equivalent with an extra dice on ranges 12-18" and increased max range as well.

Fate of Bjuna and Doom and Darkness combines really well. Forcing opponent to roll stupidity with -3ld is an excellent way to handle non-low-initiative deathstars, especially after having sniped their BSB. This is say since the contemporary prevalence of magic resistance tend to leave bjuna-victims alive.
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The warchief
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Post by The warchief »

One quick point that is missing from the Lore of Shadow Miasma review - it also reduces movement by D3 and (if we've been playing it right) this is off their base movement so has a 'double' effect if they are marching towards you... I've found this to be a massive bonus and can often result in an extra 2 turns of shooting before the enemy unit has closed to within a sensible charge range.

Even better if you can couple this with Wither...
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