Caster of Magic For Windows School Evaluations: Sorcery

 Some of you might remember that I had started evaluating the magic schools in this game to figure out their strengths and weaknesses. I picked Nature as that was a fairly straightforward school. The rest...aren't quite so clear cut, but they still have themes they try to convey via their design. Anyway, it's now time for....

SORCERY

Sorcery loosely represents the forces of wind, water and most importantly, magic itself. Its summons have great control over water, and it manipulates wind to make units fly and even become swift transports themselves, but by far their most impactful spells are magical tricks that undermine the "rules" of battle. As such, Sorcery very much is the realm of trickery...and it kind of has to be, as it has little power backing it up. When they work, they work very well, netting it amazing rewards and letting it crush its foes with ease. But when they don't, it is in deep trouble. Now, it does have some nifty logistical spells too, and those do help, especially on the defensive. But it often finds itself in need of a good unit worth supporting - usually a hero, but there are a few other options too.

                                                                     Common Tier

1. Resist Magic:

Cost: 8 MP(in combat)/40 MP

Effect: Adds 5 to a unit's effective resistance. This works against all resistance checking effects except Poison.

Analysis: Sorcery already demonstrates its non standard nature here, by buffing a niche yet important stat. An extra five resistance is huge against most curses, even the strongest ones don't get enough of a save modifier to overcome it. However, this does nothing to protect the unit against blows dealing regular old damage, making it a fairly niche buff...that still goes well on armies fighting a curse happy enemy.

2. AEther Sparks:

Cost: 12 MP

Effect: Deals 20 damage to the target. Also cuts their magical ranged ammunition and mana in half.

Analysis: 20 damage isn't very strong, but halving magic dealing and casting ability is huge, given how most of the worst threats in the game specialize in one of the two. That said, this spell has to be cast carefully to be effective, it only affects one target and has huge diminishing returns. As such, while this does provide the realm with an additional direct damage spell(yes, it gets two of them), it is unlikely to see much use.

3. Floating Island:

Cost: 45 MP

Effect: Summons a giant floating cloud on the overworld that can't fight, but can transport units across seas. When attacked, the units on it are visible in combat and can fight back, unlike being attacked while on a boat.

Analysis: A very key Sorcery spell, this makes boats effectively irrelevant for transport purposes, and solidifies its control over the oceans. Armies that could happily snipe transports carrying big armies will simply avoid similarly packed islands. Not only does it massively improve logistics, it opens up some aggressive maneuvering on the overworld. That said, its non-combative nature makes it dependant on its transported units, and it can't fully replace a navy. But Sorcery has another spell for that.

4. Guardian Wind:

Cost: 6 MP(in combat)/30 MP

Effect: Makes the enchanted unit immune to small physical projectiles, specifically arrows and slingshots.

Analysis: This is an extremely niche buff. Complete immunity towards damage sources is nice, but the projectiles it defends against are often too weak to warrant it. Now, it does have some moments where it really shines, like when facing down a garrison of Longbowmen or fighting a strong archer hero. It's just a shame that small physical projectiles aren't common or relevant enough to really warrant using it.

5. Phantom Warriors:

Cost: 14 MP

Effect: Summons a unit of phantom warriors in combat that fight to the death.

Analysis: Another one of Sorcery's key spells. At first glance, they don't seem that impressive - 3x7 damage at 30% to hit? 1 HP and no defense whatsoever?! But their abilities easily make up for it - they hit with Illusion based attacks, completely negating the defense of any unit not immune to it! They also block stoning, death and poison, and are noncorporeal, making them extremely difficult to debuff despite their lackluster resistance. Now, they are not so good at defending a location, as they are fairly brittle. But they deal considerable, consistent damage in melee combat. When buffed with anything, even just a Sorcery node aura, they absolutely shred their victims. They are particularly excellent at clearing lairs - ignoring defense is huge against most lair monsters. Their only weakness is Illusion immune units, mostly Death creatures.

6. Confusion:

Cost: 18 MP

Effect: Attempts to confuse the target with a -2 resistance penalty. When confused, the target will randomly act on its own, and even switch sides sometimes. It permanently dies after combat. Illusion immune units ignore it entirely.

Analysis: This is probably Sorcery's best Common spell. It may not sound like much, but in the early game, a -2 resistance penalty on something that permanently kills is quite nasty. Not only that, but permanently killing things also bypasses strong effects that normally help units out attrition fights, like Regeneration. As such, this is great for clearing lairs, especially when combined with additional resistance debuffs. 

However, notice that this is ineffectual against Illusion immune units, which are mostly Death creatures. Sorcery being extremely weak to Death is kind of a theme; Death largely sees through whatever Sorcery can do and laughs mockingly at it. And now you perhaps see why I mentioned its tricks potentially not working. Few things trouble a pure Sorcery wizard more than a wizard heavy on Death spells.

7. Focus Magic:

Cost: 80 MP

Effect: Either grants the enchanted unit a 3 damage magic ranged attack, or converts its thrown and ranged attacks into magic ranged attacks, or buffs its gaze and breath attacks by 3, and adds 15 MP if they have any mana.

Analysis: This is probably the most convoluted buff that exists. The intention seems to have been to provide a way to buff spellcasting and ranged magic damage units, but in practice such units generally come quite late, or are summons and thus very costly to buff up. You're certainly not going to make shamen super tough by applying this!

Good thing, then, that this buff has more applications than advertised. For one, it allows any touch attacks to apply at range. This involves everything from poisoning to life stealing! For two, it also lets arrow attacks bypass Missile Immunity. This is admittedly a fairly niche application for it, but it does help keep them relevant, although note that their ranged To Hit drops to 30% when enchanted this way. Honestly though, its main use, aside from making spellcasting heroes and summons even stronger, is applying deadly touch attacks at range. This is what makes nagas terrifying in an anti regular unit role, and completely breaks cockatrices(and wraiths and death knights, albeit to a somewhat lesser extent). For Sorcery itself, the spell is actually of limited use, especially for its cost, but in the right combinations this is worth a Rare tier spell all by itself.

8. Blur:

Cost: 25 MP

Effect: Makes all damage dealt by the enemy to all of the casting wizard's units have a 20% chance to be negated, per point. Does not affect damage dealt by Illusion immune units.

Analysis: This buff sounds a lot better than it is in practice. The 20% applies per point of damage dealt, not per attack, and so often has a fairly minimal impact unless your units are taking lots of damage, which largely defeats the point of having damage reduction at all. That it's yet another spell that doesn't work against Death creatures just seals its fate. Just don't bother casting it at all - if it ever shifts a battle, it will only do so by the slimmest of margins. You can definitely do better for the cost.

9. Nagas:

Cost: 73 MP

Effect: Summons a naga unit to the overworld.

Analysis: Nagas are an attempt at amphibious cavalry. 5x3 attack at 40% To Hit isn't that impressive, even with First Strike, but 3x3 Poison is quite potent, and makes them kill most low tier regular units pretty easily. They also tie war bears fairly comfortably, and absolutely destroy hell hounds.

So what's the problem then? Well, they are horribly weak against Death creatures, struggling against even their most rudimentary summon, and just don't scale up very well. Anything from the Fighter's Guild can tie them without much buffing, and most uncommon summons easily wipe the floor with them. Giving them focus magic helps somewhat, but only by so much - most of the killing power of its shots come from the poison, and that gets increasingly resisted by all units. They are basically a stop gap, not a solid core for an army. They clearly highlight Sorcery's most pressing weak point - it has no solid core units to fall back on by default.

10. Psionic Blast:

Cost: 20 MP

Effect: Deals 18 Illusion damage to the target. Units with Illusion Immunity ignore the armor bypassing effect.

Analysis: Sorcery's tool for dealing Illusion damage at range. It's quite overpriced, and even with the Illusion effect, doesn't deal too much damage, but it's fairly effective against heavily armored foes. Generally though, Sorcery relies upon its Phantom Warriors more for Illusionary damage, only really using it when they are unfeasible. It trades effectiveness for convenience, and such trades rarely fare well.

Uncommon Tier

1. Counter Magic:

Cost: 50 MP

Effect: Creates a spell countering field that counters enemy spells at a 70-mana cost/70% chance. The chance goes down considerably with each spell countered, and it doesn't work against wizards who have researched the Spell of Mastery.

Analysis: Sorcery's signature rule bending spell. This effectively shuts down most common and uncommon spells, making fights against enemy wizards and spellcaster a lot safer. That said, it doesn't get rid of any existing city defense enchantments, can't remove any effects of globals, and, most notably, doesn't buff any of the Sorcery wizard's units. This spell, among all the spells in this tier and this realm, highlights the necessity for Sorcery to have solid units to base their strategies around - even one such unit can solidly turn the tides of battle with this casted. Whereas, without them, this spell just burns a lot of MP for not much tangible benefit.

2. Dispelling Wave:

Cost: 25-125 MP

Effect: Attempts to dispel every buff cast on the enemy stack and every debuff cast on the casting wizard's stack. Has half the strength of Dispel Magic. Usable both in and out of combat.

Analysis: Effectively an actually viable version of Dispel Magic, as it targets all units on both sides with the appropriate clearing effects. This is yet another way Sorcery bends the rules, making buffs and debuffs hard to use, and almost removing them from consideration entirely. However, much like Counter Magic, it can't clear existing city defense enchantments, can't remove any globals in play, and doesn't buff any of Sorcery's own units. Once again, there's a clear tendency for Sorcery to rely on tricks in lieu of making reliable units, and once again, this doubles down on Sorcery's need to source them from elsewhere. Further, aside from Life wizards, not many opponents employ buffs too extensively, relying instead on stacks upon stacks of disposable units to grind you down. It's still useful in the right situations, but it's subject to considerable caveats.

3. Vertigo:

Cost: 10 MP

Effect: Attempts to lower the target's To Hit by 25% and To Defend by 7%, with a -4 resistance penalty. Illusion immune units ignore it entirely.

Analysis: The To Hit debuff is fairly powerful actually, but the problem is, by Uncommon tier most units have 40% or more To Hit, blunting its impact. Furthermore, it doesn't debuff their attack, meaning the affected unit can still get in strong hits from time to time. It's kind of bizarre how weak this debuff is, following Confusion in the Common tier. It really feels like the two should've swapped positions.

4. Spell Lock:

Cost: 100 MP

Effect: Blocks dispelling the enchanted unit's buffs until it is dispelled. Also blocks instantly killing a summon. Has a dispel strength of 150.

Analysis: Yet another rule bending spell, this one is great if you are relying heavily on buffed units. Naturally, this makes it amazing for Life-Sorcery wizards, but it's useful to Sorcery itself, as it has no shortage of neat buffs. The problem, again, is needing a solid basis to work with - in this case, either a unit worth buffing with Sorcery spells, or buffs worth protecting with this. Blocking instant death for summons is nice, but a very very niche effect - to wit, I actually forgot it did that while originally writing this.

5. Water Elemental:

Cost: 150 MP

Effect: Summons a water elemental unit to the overworld.

Analysis: Water Elementals are thoroughly mediocre. Their attacks hit decently hard, at 14 attack with 50% To Hit, and getting four magical ranged attacks definitely helps. But 15 HP with 7 defense isn't very impressive. They do get immunities to fire and poison, which are decently common damage sources, but that's not enough to truly make them durable. They make for decent point defense and are fine as a stop gap unit, but not much else. They do make for good "navies" though, as they naturally swim in water, but whether you want to spend so much mana solely on ocean defense is another matter entirely.

6. Flight:

Cost: 22MP(in combat)/110 MP

Effect: Makes the enchanted unit fly, and raises their minimum speed to 3.

Analysis: Flying is a powerful effect, making the unit immune to most melee attacks. However, it doesn't do anything about ranged attacks, nor does it block breath or thrown attacks. Once again, Sorcery requires a solidly good unit to make any real use of it, though it does notably significantly improve the survivability and usability of ranged units. Especially naval ranged units. Indeed, the second most reliable way for Sorcery to get solid core units, besides heroes or a second school of magic, is picking a race that can make Warships, and enchanting them with this. Not only does it get a formidable general purpose ranged attacker, but an attacker that costs nearly nothing to field and amass!

7. AEther Binding:

Cost: 400 MP

Effect: Generates SP equivalent to the number of turns elapsed in game, and buffs all dispelling effects to be twice as effective while doubling the dispel resistance of the casting wizard's own spells.

Analysis: The cost alone should tell volumes about how effective this spell is. Free SP is very hard to turn down, and this gives absolute globs of it, with its benefit only becoming bigger as the game goes on. And if that wasn't enough, this also buffs Dispelling Wave to be roughly twice as effective and makes your own buffs(and spells in general) twice as hard to dispel. Wow! Easily Sorcery's best spell in this tier. Note once again though that this doesn't improve any of Sorcery's actual units. Yep, it still needs to source those from elsewhere.

8. Aura of Majesty:

Cost: 200 MP

Effect: Gradually improves the relationship of all wizards with the casting wizard.

Analysis: This spell is understatedly quite effective. It won't stop wizards from attacking, but it does noticeably lower their odds of randomly battling your units, and makes them more receptive to pacts and alliances. That aside, most wizard relationships are largely determined by them comparing their army strength to yours, and while it can buy time when you are behind, it won't really deter them. It's cheap enough that casting it isn't too difficult, but one still needs to be careful about considering it over more potentially useful spells.

9. Phantom Beast:

Cost: 35 mana

Effect: Summon a phantom beast unit in combat that fights to the death.

Analysis: It's an upgrade of Phantom Warriors. It deals a stronger raw blow than them, is more durable than them, ignores defense like them, etc etc etc. Its one meaningful distinction is that, unlike the warriors, it's a single figure unit. Thus, it responds less well to buffing, but is harder to wear down. Otherwise, it's used in all of the situations Phantom Warriors are deployed in.

10. Philosopher's Stone:

Cost: 100 MP

Effect: Buffs the enchanted city by automatically casting Counter Magic in any battles occurring within. Also grants all of its created units magic weapons and buffs Monuments and Linking Towers by 50%.

Analysis: Counter Magic is extremely potent as a point defense spell, and having it cast automatically frees up a lot of casting skill for other spells. The other effects are nice, but honestly a bit excessive, considering that it grants free Counter Magic. Though the magic weapons are worthwhile on Barbarians, as it helps them to deal with Weapon Immunity, which is otherwise quite troublesome on them.

I think the analysis makes Sorcery's deal pretty clear. It deals a lot of tricks and effectively frustrates its opponents, but all of them are in lieu of it having any actual power. Sorcery desperately needs a solid core to build around. And, when its moves stop working, like against Death creatures, it is rendered completely hopeless.

It's pretty clear then how this synergizes incredibly well with most other schools of magic. But which combinations are the best? Once again, that is a question that's best answered after looking at all the schools.