How to boil down what Magic Lores you use.

[Polycotton]

I wrote this for myself; purely to get a clear picture of the best Magic Lore choices. I thought I would share it in case any of you folks find yourself being indecisive about what Magic Lore to go for.

I always find myself umming and arring about which Magic Lores to go for in relation to my all comers list and my regular opponents (Ogres, Orcsees, and High Elves). Being the obsessive chap I am, I decided to put all the pros and cons of potential Magic Lores on paper. The strength of the bonus ability and spells are ranked in relation to their interaction with my current army build and then given a number from 0-3 relating to how many of my opponents it is realistically useful against. This is a crude way to figure out how useful any particular lore is and can stop you making poor decisions with your gutty works due to a one off bad or favourable dice role.

The other main considerations are what does this lore offer that I can't achieve through regular troop or character options?
Secondly; I assess what the major threats are that I face from each of my regular opponents. Against my Orc mate the main hurdle I face is getting rid of his 1+/4++ Crown of Command wearing general and his 2+/5++ BSB associate. Against my High Elf opponent I worry most about his Magicians, shooting, and his Phoenix. My main challenge vs my regular Ogre opponent is Firebellys and the Ogres general high damage output in HtH.
Lastly, I look at the casting cost of spells and how likely I am to be miscasting because I need so many dice to cast spells. There is also the issue of whether I have useful spells to cast from turn one through to the late game.

I have put my current all comers list at the bottom of this post.


Death - Life Leeching: Excellent 3

Spirit Leech: Average 3

Aspect of the Dreadknight: Poor 2

Caress of Laniph: Good 3

Soulblight: Excellent 3

Doom & Darkness: Excellent 3

Fate of Bjuna: Good 3

Purple Sun: Excellent 2
_____

Excellent 4, Good 2, Average 1, Poor 1
Opponents: 22

Summary

This Lore offers me the ability to snipe Magicians and leadership bolstering characters from turn 1 to turn 6 due to my speedy Mage. This is something I cannot do outside of the magic phase. This potentially nullifies one of the main threats to my own army; which is magic damage and lone flying heroes and monsters with scary breath weapons. It also gives free power dice when I do wounds, this is once again something Wood Elves can't do. I rate this as one of the best passive abilities alongside High and Life.
I can reduce enemy leadership with Doom & Darkness; making panic and break tests more effective. Soulblight allows my S3 elves to actually get some wounds in and reduce damage back.
As you can see from the numbers; the spells are all above average and applicable against all of my opponents with the exception being Purple Sun, which isn't much chop vs Elves.


Shadow - Smoke and Mirrors: Poor 0

Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma: Excellent 3

Steed of Shadows: Poor 3

Enfeebling Foe: Good 3

Withering: Excellent 3

Penumbral Pendulum: Poor 1

Pit of Shades: Excellent 2

Okkam's Mindrazor: Excellent 3
_____

Excellent 4, Good 1, Average 0, Poor 3
Opponents: 18

Summary

This lore has two dud spells and a worthless passive ability. It makes up for it by giving me fantastic spells that allow me to wound tough enemies due to my army wide prevalence of Strength 3. The signature spell is the best in the game for my money. It is cheap and effective from turn 1 and extremely versatile. Having two remains in play spells also means you can take some of the wind out of your opponents sails as they waste power dice on their own turn; dispelling The Withering or Enfeebling. The only downside is the high cost of casting spells which increases miscast chances and makes the magic phase easier to plan for my opponent. It can also result in some unimpressive magic phases when the winds aren't blowing. This is a great Lore for a Level 2 Mage as you are guaranteed Mystifying Miasma.
Shadow is particularly awesome vs low initiative Ogres and Orcs.


High - Ancient's Protection: Excellent 3

Drain Magic: Average 1

Soul Quench: Good 3

Apotheosis: Poor 0

Hand of Glory: Good 3

Walk Between Worlds: Good 3

Tempest: Average 3

Arcane Unforging: Excellent 3

Fiery Convocation: Excellent 3
_____

Excellent 3, Good 3, Average 1, Poor 1
Opponents: 22

Summary

This is a good all round lore. The only real spell that offers anything super unique is Arcane Unforging. Being able to snipe enemy generals and BSBs for an easy wound with the bonus of a destroyed magic item is really handy, especially vs my Orc opponent with his Crown of Command. Fiery Convocation takes the sting out of your opponents next magic phase but you are looking at a 20%-25% miscast chance every time you cast it. Outside of these spells there isn't much on offer that I can't achieve with troops. The passive ability is excellent though.


Lore of Heavens - Roiling Skies: Poor 1

Iceshard Blizzard: Good 3

Harmonic Convergence: Good 3

Windblast: Poor 3

Curse of the Midnight Wind: Good 3

Urannon's Thunderbolt: Average 3

Comet of Casandora: Excellent 3

Chain Lightning: Average 3
_____

Excellent 1, Good 3, Average 2, Poor 2
Opponents: 22

Summary

I dig Lore of Heavens due to the low casting cost of the spells that are useful vs any opponent. The Lore has some good all round buffs and hexes but doesn't specifically address any problems I can't manage with mundane solutions. The Comet is the best spell and can be used to force gunlines to move or delay an enemy advance with the potential for massive damage. However, I can overcome these issues with the troops in my army. This is another solid choice for a Level 2 support mage. Iceshard Blizzard is an excellent spell that is easily cast and most other spells you roll up shouldn't be too much trouble for a Level 2.


Metal - Metalshifting: Good 1

Searing Doom: Good 1

Plague of Rust: Excellent 3

Enchanted Blades of Aiban: Good 3

Glittering Robe: Good 3

Gehenna's Golden Hounds: Good 1

Transmutation of Lead: Poor 3

Final Transmutation: Good 2
_____

Excellent 1, Good 5, Average 0, Poor 1
Opponents: 17

Summary

I don't really see myself ever taking this on a Level 4 Mage unless playing Chaos Warriors. The signature is one of the main draw cards if you are fearful of 2+ armour saves. The buffs to your own units are great but the signature is really only useful vs my High Elf opponent at the moment and occasionally vs Ogres when Mournfangs make an appearance. I tried this Lore as I didn't want to leave all the anti armour work up to one small unit of Waywatchers and unless you get super unlucky like I did in the past two games, you should get a solid buff or hex spell. Gehenna's Golden Hounds is normally pretty lousy, but against my Orc opponent who likes putting his general and BSB on boars in a regular unit of boys; it is quite effective as he can't get any look out sir rolls.


Life - Lifebloom: Good 3

Earthblood: Average 3

Awakening of the Wood: Average 3

Flesh to Stone: Average 3

Throne of Vines: Excellent 3

Shield of Thorns: Average 1

Regrowth: Good 3

The Dwellers Below: Excellent 3
_____

Excellent 2, Good 2, Average 4, Poor 0
Opponents: 22

Summary

On Paper Life seems pretty solid, it makes my army tough which is definitely something I can't really do otherwise. The main issue is that you have to get Vine of Thrones cranking to really get value out of the Lore and you opponent will always focus on dispelling it. Outside of Dwellers there is no real threatening spells for the early game. One of the main draw cards is the passive ability which I can get from a unit of Sisters of the Thorn which is another mark against Life. This lore absolutely sucks on a support caster.


Dark - Wrath of the Wood: Good 3

Power of Darkness: Poor 0

Doombolt: Excellent 3

Chillwind: Poor 2

Word of Pain: Good 3

Bladewind: Good 3

Shroud of Despair: Excellent 3

Soul Stealer: Good 3

Arnzipal's Black Horror: Good 3
_____

Excellent 2, Good 4, Average 0, Poor 2
Opponents: 23

Summary

Time and again I've wanted to use Dark Magic as it seems like there is a lot going for it. The problem is that I can achieve a considerable amount of direct damage with shooting, especially if I combine that shooting with the Lore of Shadow. The only spell that is truly unique is Shroud of Despair and I can get similar results using Doom and Darkness from The Lore of Death. If I could pick this Lore on a Level 2 Mage I might take it.


Beasts - Wildheart: Good 3

Wyssan's Wildform: Excellent 3

Flock of Doom: Poor 2

Pann's Impenetrable Pelt: Poor 3

The Amber Spear: Good 3

Curse of Anraheir: Average 3

Savage Beast of Horrors: Poor 3

Transformation of Kadon: Poor 3
_____

Excellent 1, Good 2, Average 1, Poor 4
Opponents: 22

Summary

I don't take any characters I want to see fighting which pretty much makes this lore worthless. I can get Curse of Anraheir (which is an excellent spell) from The Sisters of the Thorn. The signature spell is great and about the only time I consider this lore is if I am running a Level 1 Dispel Scroll caddy. My opponents have stopped bringing monsters due to all my poison archery so the Amber Spear isn't particularly useful.


Fire - Kindleflame: Good 3

Fireball: Good 3

Cascading Fire Cloak: Poor 0

Flaming Sword of Ruin: Good 3

Burning Head: Average 3

Piercing Bolts of Burning: Poor 1

Fulminating Flame Cage: Excellent 3

Flame Storm: Good 3
_____
Excellent 1, Good 4, Average 1, Poor 2
Opponents: 19

Summary

The Lore of Fire offers a lot of cheap ways to put out damage, especially when you consider the bonus D3 to cast when targeting a unit that has been hit already, this is a massive buff. Fireball is a solid spell, a Level 4 Mage in woods can cast the 10+ version on 2 dice reliably and can 1 dice the basic level. Comboing off these spells for even less is also possible with another character running around with a Ruby Ring who can gamble on losing concentration at the start of the magic phase.
Fulminating Flame Cage is the pick of the spells here. It completely locks a unit in place even better than Curse of Anraheir and has the potential to combo off in big ways if you force the affected unit to panic.
The Flaming Sword of Ruin can turn a unit of six Hagbane Scouts into a Bolt Thrower killer with one round of shooting and is generally an excellent spell for Wood Elves.
Having said all that, this lore doesn't offer my army anything it can't do with troops.


Light - Exorcism: Poor 0

Shem's Burning Gaze: Average 3

Pha's Protection: Good 3

Speed of Light: Poor 1

Light of Battle: Poor 3

Net of Amyntok: Excellent 3

Banishment: Average 3

Birona's Timewarp: Good 3
_____
Excellent 1, Good 2, Average 2, Poor 3
Opponents: 19

Summary

This Lore's buffs have too many overlaps with Wood Elves already. We already have high initiative and our combat troops generally have high WS to begin with along with always strikes first. A lot of the spells are situational, especially Banishment; which is otherwise just an average magic missile. The only spell I would be happy with picking up would be Net of Amyntok. Unless I was list tailoring to an Undead or Daemon opponent and building an army specifically to take advantage of this lore; I can't see any situation where I would pick it.

_____

If you got this far, I hope you got something out of this and you can fine tune what lores are best for your build and your regular opponents.




Spellweaver (340pts)
Dispel Scroll, Ruby Ring of Ruin, Talisman of Preservation, Asrai Longbow, Elven Steed, Level 4, Lore of Death

Glade Captain (156pts)
Hail of Doom Arrow, Charmed Shield, Obsidian Trinket, Asrai Longbow, Asrai Spear, Battle Standard, Light Armor, Starfire Shafts

Spellsinger (170pts)
Moonstone of the Hidden Ways, Shrieking Blade, Asrai Longbow, Level 2, Lore of Metal

15x Eternal Guard (210pts)
Champion, Musician, Standard Bearer, Shields

17x Glade Guard (290pts)
Hagbane Tips, Musician, Lichebone Pennant

6x Deepwood Scouts (96pts)
Hagbane Tips

5x Sisters of the Thorn (155pts)
Standard of Discipline

3x Warhawk Riders (135pts)

5x Wild Riders (140pts)
Shields

5x Wild Riders (140pts)
Shields

Great Eagle (50pts)

6x Waywatchers (120pts)

[NonnoSte]

Thanks Polycotton, very useful and a nice "technical" way to analyse magic lores.
I believe that a bit buried in the dust there should be a topic about magic lore selection from when the new book hit the shelves. It did a similar work to yours, altough yours is more detailed and calculated.

If I may ask, why did you skip Lore of Fire and Lore of Light?

[Polycotton]

I remember reading a similar thread when the book first came out. I would be interested to see what people think now we have all had a year to play with the new Wood Elves.

I skipped the Lore of Light and Fire as they don't really offer my current build anything I don't already have. I guess I should add them in for a sense of completeness. I'm sure there are builds people use with fighty characters who face monsters a lot and the Lore of Beasts suddenly becomes very useful. My current list may not be as heavy on avoidance and shooting as other Wood Elf players, but it is balanced for fun casual games without using units that frustrate me; such as Treekin and Wildwood Rangers.