Warhammer Dissected: Magic 8th Edition

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Saintofm
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Warhammer Dissected: Magic 8th Edition

Post by Saintofm »

Since I’ve been hearing a lot of questions about this on the forums, I think I’ll go over all the main 8 forms of magic, and since I have DE, Ogres, and Warriors of chaos, I’ll also go over them as well. After that, if people wish to add their knowledge of other lores to the mix, ninja away. Also, since this is here to help players, let me know if I need to make corrections.

I won’t be giving the exact casting difficulties for most of the spells, I’m not sure what legality is there in that, however I will tell you how difficult it is.

Casting Difficulty: How high is the number your trying to get to. Higher the harder, lower the easier.

Easy: 6 and less. Something you can cast on a single die.

Moderate: 7-10. Needs two, maybe 3 dice to get off.

Hard: 11-16: Hard, at last 3 dice. Increases the risk of losing concentration as you’ll be usjing a lot of dice.

Good Luck: anything over 16, and what it says on the tin.

I’ll do about two lores at a time with the common list, so here I go.

Lore Attribute: Things that only pertain to this lore.

Signature Spell: A basic spell from said lore that all wizards know. Because of this, no one will have to role for this spell.



Number of spells you can have per lore: In 8th edition, to keep people from spamming the hand of god uber powerful spells I guess, you can only have one of each spell for your army, with signature spells being the exception to this rule. That said, if you role on a spell that either the wizard your giving spells to already has, or another is using you simply pick one of your choice.

Spell Levels: Most of the new spells have multleple levels, with abasic one and at least one higher one. Think of it as Fire, Fira, and Firaga from the Final Fantasy games. However unlike the FF series, these spells and their levels are all considered the same spell. For example: The basic Fire Ball spell, and the more advanced versions of it may have some minor differences between each other but are technically the same spell so you can’t cast it again from the same wizard. Sorry.

Lore of Fire (Come on Baby, Light my Fire)


This is the easiest lore to get spells off on, and perfect for new players. It’s also the best to get a few things stated off on.

It’s attribute is called Kindle Flame. Not only are all the spells flaming, but as long as a unit was hit by a magic missile or direct damage spell from this lore that magic phase, it automatically becomes easier to cast spells from lore of fire on them. Why? Because now the lore of fire user can add D3 to their casting score when the dice and magic level is added up.

Signiture Spell: Fire Ball.
This is the definition of easy to get off. 24” range, D6 Strength 4 hits. Double to price you can get an extra 12 inches to your range, and another D6 worth of hits, while the third level (yes, it has a third level, and is one of the few spells to have this) for just under 20 on its casting difficulty for a 48” range and 3D6 hits.

Pretty much you are going to be using the first two levels a lot as they are not that hard to get off, and have good range. The last one seems a bit overkill as you now have the range of a bolt thrower, and you can probably spend those dice used on it elsewhere. Still, its pretty simple and works nicly. As a magic missle it cannot be used in close combat, or on a unit in close combat, but this is where the next few spells come into play.

Cascading flame cloak: Another easy spell to get off, and it only has one level. This remains in play spell does double dutty as an augmentation spell, one that can aid your troops. The spell effects the wizard and any unit he is in, and causes 2D6 strength 4 hits to any and all enemy units in base contact of the unit every magic phase.

SO lets say a group of savage orcs get my Empire Greatsword’s flank, while a nasty unit of Black Orcs has me in the front. During their turn, both units would each suffer 2d6 hits, which could kill between 2-12 orcs in each unit. Not bad, not bad at all.

While this spell can easily be dispelled latter on, it is defiantly a good thing to have as it weakens the enemy for you before you have to go into the nitty gritty of Close Combat. And as it’s every magic phase, that’s 4D6 worth of hits a turn.


Flaming Sword of Rhuin: The first moderate spell on the list that can be cast on a unit within 24 inches, or go with the hard to get off upgraded version and pick a friendly unit within 48”. That said, once a unit has been chosen, the unit now has flaming attacks and +1 to wound in both Shooting and Close Combat until the caster’s next magic phase. You’ll most likely be using the normal version, but the upgraded version won’t cost you an arm and a leg, so you could use it on a friendly unit, say harpies or a unit of Shadow Warriors, on the other side of the field with no worries.

Buring Head: What can I say, this spell is cool. This spell is borderline hard spell, however It goes through ranks like a bouncing cannon ball, and can be used in close combat. Basically everything within 18”directly infront of the caster get’s hit with a strength 4 attack. This hits like a canon ball, and goes through each ranks as such. Moreover any unit that takes an unsaved wound from this must check for panic. For a slightly harder version, you can double the range.

This is perfect for units that either have A. Units with Low leadership can start running, and units with lots of ranks or are very close to one another can rack up the wounds. Moreover, this can get through the meat shield units some armies use. The second version of this is not that much more expensive, so its not going to kill your Power Dice pool to get it off.

Piercing Bolts: Another one that is borderline and who’s second level is not going to kill your power dice pool to get off. Level 1: 24 inch range, level 2: 48 inch range. In either case, this magic missle causes D3 hits per ranks with 5+ models in it on the targeted unit. This means units with lots of ranks can have the possibility to rack enough unsaved wounds to warrant a panic test. However units without set ranks such as fast cav. and skirmishers, and any self respecting knight unit of Brettonia are unaffected by this.

Fulminating Flame Cage: A hex spell, and a hard spell, but one that is achievable on 3 dice. Pretty much the target unit has to stay still, but if the unit has to move for whatever reason, then EVERY MODEL IN the unit takes a Strength 4 hit. This is perfect for hoard armies, and units with Frenzy or stupid, or is fleeing as chances are they are going to move. That said, if they do not move by the caster’s next magic phase it’s automatically dispelled. Still, this can keep an elite unit in one place a s the enemy player may not want to risk losing his heavy hitter.

The basic version has a 24” range, and the longer ranged version is double that for a slightly higher difficulty. While this has the potential of being a what I like to call a Unit Killer, a spell or unit that can wipe out a whole unit or at least take out a good chunk of it. That said you’ll need to have them take a panic test, break in combat, park a unit in front of those frothing Frenzied units, or hope they have stupidity otherwise they just loose D6 wounds.


Flame Storm: The first TEMPLATE SPELl. Pretty much you should guess the strength of hits here: every undeathneath the template is hit by Strength 4 hits. There are two versions of this.

Then basic one you need three dice to get off, which allows you to place a small template anywhere within 30 inches of the caster, and then role a scatter die and D6 to see how off cores it goes. However go with the Good luck level of difficulty (although still somewhat manageable) upgraded version of this spell its now a large template and 2D6 scatter. Either way this can take out a good chunk of a unit. Also, reremember that templet spells can’t touch friendly models, though they may scatter onto them.



Lore overview.

Perks: Perfect for new players as the spells are largly moderately priced, and even the hard ones are manageable. All the spells that do damage do so on strength 4, so against most units in the game you will be wounding on a 3 or 4. As flaming attacks, Regeneration is cancled and flammable units are at your mercy.

Down Sides: This lore is for all intensive purposes useless against flammable units. Moreover, as it’s strength 4, it will have some difficulty against high toughness foes like monsters, and such. Also, as Strength 4, this means that it will only get though one layer of armor, so high armored foes like Knights and Dwarf Iron Breakers will largely be unaffected by this.

Tune in next time as I talk about metal.
Last edited by Saintofm on Thu Apr 04, 2013 7:09 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by Blaznak »

Its fun to see a different take on the spells! Good luck with your project.
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Post by Saintofm »

Thanks.
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Post by Lord tsunami »

Thanks, fun to see a really serious post in this part of the forum (no offense to anyone, its just that the topics here arent as "hardcore" as in the druchii tactics/discussion ;))

i reacted to two things:
SO lets say a group of savage orcs get my Empire Greatsword’s flank, while a nasty unit of Black Orcs has me in the front. During their turn, both units would each suffer 2d6 hits, which could kill between 2-12 orcs in each unit. Not bad, not bad at all.

i think you will find that the actual number is 0-12, rather than 2-12. i would go with the wording "up to 12" :D

Flame Storm : The first Vortex or round template spells.

I wouldnt use the word "vortex" here if you aim for a crowd including inexperienced players, since its easy to confuse with the spell type "magical vortex" which flame storm is not. just to avoid any confusion ;)


Thanks for a good post. Are you planning on doing the other lores too? :)
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Post by Saintofm »

Yes. I have the other 7 main lores, the three warriors of chaos lores, ogres, and DE. The Rest I'll leave to the forum unless I get another army book.
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Post by Saintofm »

Time for the next lore folks.

Lore of Metal (Metal Militia).


This is mixed bag, but it’s a lore I like.

Lore Attribute: Metalshifting allows the lore two things: Instead of wounding normaly, it wounds based on what one needs to role on a armor save. So a Sorceress on a Dark Steed would be wounded on a 6+, a Beastmen Beastigor would be wounded on a 5+, a Warrior of Chaos gets wounded on a 4+, so on. Because this is using one’s armor against them, armor saves are ignored so heavy cavalry and infantry lose their greatest strength. Moreover, its flaming attacks so units with regeneration are also out of luck. That said, no armor no damage, so A dwarf slayer or a Manticore is not going to get so much as a burnt hair from this.

Signature Spell, Searing Doom: This is a hard spell to get off, but this magic missile has a standard range and causes D6 hits. Double that For 2D6. DO NOT USE THE 2D6 Version, its not worth it in my opinion, though that may be just my opinion. Its still has a 24 inch range, and all your getting is at least two dead knights, it that (we all know there are times when you want to role a 1 and do). Still, despite the price tag that’s D6 les Knights of Chaos you have to worry about.

Plauge of Rust: Moderately it has a range of 24”, and on the higher end of the moderately difficult casting range, 48”. Pretty much this hex spell permanently reduces its target unit’s armor save by one for the rest of the game. There is no dispelling, it just takes it away.

At one end this makes wounding the enemy easier with shooting and close combat as there is less armor to worry about, but at the other end half the spells in this list wound based on armor save and that would take away this lore’s main strength offensively. That said, it’s cheaper then searing doom.

Enchanted Blades of Alban: Higher end of the moderately difficult to cast spectrum, but is well worth it. Choose a target friendly unit for this augmentation spell and all of their shooting and close combat attacks are now +1 to hit and armor piercing. Team this up with lore of fire’s Flaming sword, and you have a devastating combo. Like flaming sword, this lasts until the caster’s next magic phase. The second version of this spell does the same thing except instead of a 24” range its double and now in the hard to casting range.

All around, this is a good spell, and one you should try to get as this makes hitting, especially if you've been in a round or two in close combat, all the more easier. Add the armor piercing rule, and you can worry less about the armor.

Glittering Roabe: Higher end of the moderate range as well, and thee spell to try and role for in this lore. Why? Because this spell gives you +2 scaly skin. Cast this on Witch Elves and they now have a 5+ armor save. Cast this on Executioners, they now have a 3+. They now have some staying power. The other version is just in the “Good luck, it’s that difficult to cast” range of casting values, but where the normal version tatgets one friendly unit within 12” of the caster, the more advanced version casts it on all friendly units within 12” of the caster. Again, this lasts until the caster’s next magic phase, but it well worth it.

Seriously, you will want this spell!

Gehenna’s Golden Houdns: Pick a single model 12” away for yet another borderline moderate difficulty value, or go 24” for the somewhat hard version, and cause D6 hits on it. Perfect for characters and unit champions, and as it’s a direct damage spell, it can be used in close combat. The Victim get’s a “look out sir” role as long as there are five or more models in the unit, but that still allows you to kill something.

It’s not too difficult all around, and both versions area cheivable on three dice, maybe 2 if the caster has a high enough level.

Transmutation of Lead: Hard spell with a 24” range, and even harder to cast version for double the range. Until the caster’s next turn, the victim unit takes a beating with this hex as all of their Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, and Armor Save values are reduced by 1. It is now harder for them to hit something, and easier to be hit.

Its not a bad hex, and still manageable Its only a little harder to get off than harder then black horror.

Final Transmutation: I love this spell. Why? Because it has a normal rather hard to cast value with an 18” range, or you can double the range for almost needing a 20 to get it off. In eather situation, this direct damage spell hits every model in a unit (champions and characters as well). Moreover, if a role of 5 or 6 is rolled to wound them, they are removed from play without any kind of save at all, even if they have no armor. Against foes with multiple wounds like heroes and monstrous units, this requires a 6+ to one hit kill it, but this can be very devastating on the regular troops, and as it auto wounds on a 5 and 6 even without armor even units like Witch Elves and 95% of the beastman army can be affected by it. To make matters worse for the caster's enemies the victim unit, and any other enemy unit within 12 inches of them must test for stupididty during their following turn. This can be devastating even if it doesn’t wound as it can keep wizards and heros from doing their thing, while heavy hitting units won’t be going as fast as they should

Overall it’s a high risk/high reward spell, and one that can count as a unit killer in the right situation.




As a general rule, Lore of Metal has a large number of moderate to difficult spells to get off, with at least one of the best augmentation spells in the game, and a number of spells that work well against heavily armored foes.


Strengths:
-Nearly all of the Spells work well against heavily armored armies and units as three spells have a greater chance of wounding the higher the armor save, and the two can severly hamper a armored foe’s armor save value.
-Two really decent augmentation spells.

Weakness:
-This is not an easy lore to get off, period. Most of the spells are borderline hard to get off or are hard to get off with just two power dice.
-Almost completely useless against lightly armored enemies as this lore doesn't do much against troops with little to no armor save, with the minor exception of Final transmutation on a role of 5+.
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Post by Saintofm »

I almost Forgot about this thread, and I still got a few more lores to follow.


Lore of Death (Got Friends on the other Side).

Death is the lorel you take if you want to have a magic heavy army. Why? Because its attribute, Life Leaching, has a chance to turn every unsaved wound caused by the damaging spells of this lore into a extra power dice on the role of a 5 or 6 per wound. Meaning you can cast a spell, get dice, cast again, and get more.

Signature Spell Spirit Leach: Not a bad spell, especial against low LD foes/ Why? Because both the sorceress and her target model, which can be characters, each role a D6 then add their model’s LD to what was rolled If the Sorceress scores higher, the loosing model takes an wound, no armor save allowed, by how much he lost by. So If a Level 4 Sorcerer Lord of Chaos cast this on a Night Goblin Shaman and won by 5, the goblin takes 5 hits.

The reveres does nothing, so don’t worry if the enemy beat’s your score. This is also an easy way of getting extra power dice.

The main down side of this direct damage spell is its range. 12” for the moderately priced version, and 24 for the higher end moderately priced version. Still, great spell for monsters and wizards.


Aspect of the Dread Knight: The normal version is very easy to get off on one die. Pick a friendly within 24” and they now cause fear until the caster’s next magic phase. You can up the anti, and the casting difficulty to a more moderate range, and make the unit cause terror.

Caress of Laniph: This is a very devastating direct damage spell. Pretty much if this gets off, this easy spell can spell the doom to a single enemy model within 12.” Role 2 D6, and subtract the score by the target’s strength. Now you cause a number of wounds that ignore armor based on the earlier dice role you did. However they wound on a 4+, so it is not as devastating as it could be, but even against monsters this can mean their death as these are auto wounds.

But if 12” is too close for your taste, have another 12” to the range for a hard to get off difficulty.

Soul Blight: A moderately difficult hex spell that reduces a unit’s strength and toughness by 1. The range is a decent 24”, so charging knights and repeater crossbowmen can make short work of this unit. Heck, Dwarves and ogres can now be wounded on a 4+ by spearmen with this thing.

However you can double the difficulty and put this hex on every enemy unit within 24” of the caster. This is one of those high risk/high reward spells as this means until the caster’s next magic phase, your enemy just became easier to kill.

Doom and Darkness: Borderline moderate/hard spell. It’s a remains in play and an enemy unit within 24” of the caster now has -3 to their Leadership value. Double the range for a slightly more difficult but still manageable casting score to do this to an enemy unit at double the range. Perfect for Dreadknight, or maybe the lore of fire’s flame cage and burning head spells.
In either case, you can still get it off on 3 dice.

The Fate of Bjuna: Think a more reliable version of Caress of Laniph. This spell only has one varation, and it is has a 12” range, but works exactly like Carress with the following exceptions: youy minus the 2D6 hits by the target’s toughness, and the remaining hits wound on a 2+. This means high toughness foes will not suffer as much, but auto wounds on a 2+ is murder to anyone.
There is another thing as well. Besides the no armor saves as usual, if the victim of this spell just happens chance to survive he has stupidity for the rest of the turn. So even if you only deal one wound on that Beastman Cygor, it’s still going to suffer.

Purple Sun: This spell is evil, and oh how I love it. It’s a vortex spell so little template hard, large template practically begging to get a double six to get off its difficulty is so high.

However casting this spell, even on the small scale is a double edge sword. Place the template where ever you want then nominate where it will go. Take an artillery die and multiply its score by 3. If you role a misfire, put the center of the template over the caster, then use a D6 and a scatter die to see where it goes. Regardless, whatever touches it must pass an initiative test or be killed off instantly, regardless of unit type or how many wounds they have, and without any saves possible. While this spell takes a large chunk out of your power dice pool, it also gives back, and against foes with multiple wound their remaining wounds get used to see if you get to role for more power dice.

So say large template version of this goes over a unit of 2 rat ogres and a their pack master. Lets also say it kills them all. You get to roll 7 dice to see if you get more power dice back to your pool (3 for each of the rat ogres, one for the one poking them in the tail).

In any case, in all subsequent turns, as a vortex spell it goes a random direction based on a scatter die and a Artillery die. If a misfire is rolled it collapses on itself.

It’s a double edge sword, but its one that can be an army killer, much less a unit killer.



Overal, the this lore specializes on three things: Dealing massive amounts of damage against a single target, making it perfect for taking out chariots, champions, characters, and monsters; messing withh the enemy by reducing their stat or making your forces more terrifying; and getting powerdce out of the pile of dead you’ll be piling up. The star of this lore is Purple sun, and is as deadly as it’s name is silly.

Perks: Perfect for killing individuals
Gets power dice on a roll of 5+ per unsaved wound caused by this lore
Purple sun can raze the enemy army to the ground.
At least one very nasty hex, and one decent hex.

Down sides: most of the spells are generally going to be in the moderate to hard casting difficult range, with the advanced version of Purple Sun taking the cake in the latter.

Purple sun can just as easily raze your own troops as well as the intended target.

Most of the offensive spells require you to be in charge range to hit something.
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Post by Lord tsunami »

Purple Sun: This spell is evil, and oh how I love it. It’s a vortex spell so little template hard, large template practically begging to get a double six to get off its difficulty is so high.

It technically isnt ;)

EDIT: oh wait, maybe it is. i gotta check my book, lol.

EDIT 2: i suck. it IS a vortex ofc. never mind me :D
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Post by Saintofm »

Lore of Shadows (Abra Kadabra.)

This is a lore specifically designed to mess with people. If done right, it can be like a blue deck from magic, and just as irritating to play against. To ensure Ben and Teller mess with you more, I bring you the Lore Attribute of Smoke and Mirrors which allows the wizard to switch places with another wizard of their troop type. So a mounted wizard can switch with a mounted character, and an infantry character can switch with an infantry character. If you can’t or do not want to do this, you do not have to but this allows you to have more options when it comes to casting spells.

Signature Spell Melkorth Mystifying Misasma: An easy spell that has a 48” rang. That said it doesn’t suck. Pick an enemy unit, and reduce its Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Initiative, and Movement by D3. Put it on the hard level of getting stuff of, and have all of the above. This is great because we all want to make it harder for the enemy, especially the heavy hitting ones, to hit or get to you. You will use this spell…a lot.

Steed of Shadows: This is also easy to get off and has no other varint then this. Pick a character within 12 inches of the caster or the casting wizard I you want, and it now makes a fly move like it was the end the movement phase (so it can march).
Not much can be said about that.

Enfeebling Foe: Borderline hard to hard, with a 18” and 36” range respectively. Either way, the target’s strength is reduced by D3 to a minimum of 1. This is perfect for high strength foes such as those armed with great weapons and lances as this makes their greatest asset just a compensation. However this only lasts until the caster’s next magic phase, so kill the enemy with everything you have while you can. Bonus points for being a remains in play spell which as two things: one you can keep casing spells so long as it's not this spell, and you as long as you choose not to cancle or the enemy dosn't dispell it latter on (casting your score, after that base dificulty).

The Withering: Ok, it works exactly like Enfeebling foe, down to the range and how much the stat is reduced. The only difference is it goes from hard to harder, and it’s with one’s toughness. That’s right, get this spell off on a monstrous infantry unit and your crossbows can be wounding on 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s! While it’s a little harder to get off, it makes the enemy more killable. It's also a remains in play.


The Penumbral Pendulum: This one is a little tricky. This spell is in the hard rang of needing 3 dice to get off on a regular basis, but it’s a nice direct damage spell. The spell hits everything 4 D6 inches (or if you want the good luck getting this off level of difficulty, you can double the score rolled). Anything hit in that strait line must pass an imitative test or take a D3 STRENGTH 10 WOUNDS!! Let me repeat that: D3 S 10 wounds…That’s enough to give a great unclean one a run for its money!” While I see no need for the longer version, this is a nice spell to cause some wounds and take care of some pesky monsterous and large rank and file troops.

Pit of Shades: Another Unit Killer Spell, and vortex so get out the templates. It works like flame storm from the Lore of fire except it auto kills anything that loses an imitative test. It’s not as dangerous to the caster’s health as Purple sun, and while still in the hard and good luck range, both variants are very manageable to get off on 3 dice (maybe 4 or need a level 3 or 4 wizard to get the large template version, but not still cheaper then purple sun).

Orkam’s Mind Razor: While not a unit killer per say, it might as well be. It makes a target unit use their LD instead of their strength to determine wounds. While they cannot use weapon bonuses (I think just strenght bonuses, need to look at the book again) with this spell cast on them, but considering most of the armies that can field this spell, until the caster’s next magic phase this is going to be murder. Imagine a unit of 40 empire spearmen using their leadership 7, or 30 witch elves with a BSB armed with a hydra banner and using the horde rule with their LD 8 getting this off. This is nothing short of beautiful what it is capable of.

It’s downside is a 18” range and a 36” range variant, and both are in the good luck getting this off range of difficulty. That said, many a gamer see’s the risk well worth it.



Overall it’s a lore that spends half it’s time messing with the enemy, the other half sending it to its grave, while making the caster very mobile.

Perks: Mobile Wizzard
Great hexes
Mind Razor
Pit of Shades

Down sides: Most of the spells are in the difficult range, some of which go into the good luck very difficult range.
Nothing else, really.
Last edited by Saintofm on Thu Apr 04, 2013 7:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Saintofm »

Lore of life: (What a Wonderful World)

This is a beautiful lore, and one that makes me wish I had it. Its major down side is only two spells have a second level, however this is the best defensive lore I know of at the moments as all but two of its spells are augmentations that help keep the caster’s army in one piece. And to ensure this, we have Lifebloom which whenever the caster successfully casts a spell, he or any other friendly character within 12” gets to regain a lost wound.

As for the rest of the lore?

Signiture spell: Earth Blood.
This is a moderately priced augmentation spell that is cast upon the caster and his or her unit, granting them a 5+ regeneration until the caster’s next phase. While a 4+ is the preferred one, this is still a decent enough save when all else fails.

1. Awakening of the wood: A easy spell that does D6 strength 4 direct damage hits on ana enemy unit up to 18” away. If the target unit is partially or wholly in a wooded area, it’s now 2D6 hits. Strength 4 is a decent. This is not a bad spel all things considered, and my only complaint, as with much of this lore, is it doesn’t have a more advanced version you can do right off the bat like every other lore out there in 8th edition.

2. Flesh of Stone: An augmentation spell. Moderately difficult with a +2 toughness bonus to the unit that gets this lucky spell off on them anywhere within 24”. Lasts until the caster’s next magic phase. It’s perfect for making your unit last longer as it can withstand most attackers now.

Wall of Thorns: This is a good augmentation spell as it gives the unit another level of protection. At the end of the magic phase, any and all enemy units in base contact with the unit each take 2D6 strength 3 hits. This remains in play spell can help whittle down enemy numbers, even by just alittle bit, and works well if a lore of fire wizard is also using Flame cloak in that unit.

Regrowth: This is pretty much one of two spells with a second level to it, and its in the hard range for 24” range and a little harder for the double that range. In either case, the spell brings back 1D3+1 models in a unit, starting with the command choices, and ending with the rest of the unit.

The main problem is when your dealing with none infantry models as regrowth brings back the lost wounds for a unit. Normal cavalry models count as two infantry models, so you only get one or two riders back. This may not seem like a bad thing as cavalry is probably y not going to be invoking the horde ule most of the time, but sometimes you need that extra help.

Against monstrous units, first it heals the wounds the surviving models have, then it beguins healing the dead ones. Unfortunately as they tend to have multiple wounds each, unless you rolled high enough for a full model you’re not getting anyone back (your bringing Lazerous back from the dead, not making a zombie horde here).


Thrown of Vines: A moderately priced spell is one that targets the caster itself and is the spell you WILL BE TRYING TO GET! Why? Because of two things.
1. This remains in play spell allows the wizard to ignore miscasts on a role of 2+. While there still is a risk, you still have a 5 in 6 chance of getting off irresistible forces without having to worry about nuking for army.

2. All of the augmentation spells and the Awakening of the Wood spell get even stronger.

Earth blood gives you a 4+regen; Flesh of stone gives you a +4 toughness bonus; Wild Wood strikes at Strength 6; Veil of Thorns does Strength 4 hits; and regrowth heals D6+1 wounds.

This spell allows you to cast most of the spells in the lore will allow you to cast most of the other spells in the lore at higher potency with their normal casting value.


Dwellers below: This is a direct damage spell, and a unit killer. The target unit (12” for hard, and 24” for the good luck range) makes EVERY models in a target unit take a strength test or be removed from play, despite how many wounds they have. While this won’t do much on high strength foes, the fact that a few ogres will be instant killed is enough of a draw for some players. However the fact that wizards, most warmachine crews, and a good 60%, if not more, or the units in the game are strength 3, you have a half/half chance of killing a unit outright

This is one of those high risk, high reward spells, as it is in the difficult casting range, and the second version needs a score in the low 20’s. So I wouldn’t do the second variant unless you have the Thrown of Vines spell. Moreover it requires you to be in charge range for the most part, and unless that unit gets crap charge roles, or panics prepare to get your hands dirty.



Overall this is a nice defensive lore that while it lacks variation in its spells, more then makes up for it with a healthy supply of augmentation spells that keep your units around, as well as some nive offencive magic to whittle down the enemy.

Perks:
Largely moderately priced spells, its not hard to get most of them off on 2 dice.
Great augmentation spells.
Thrown of Vines.

Down sides
Most of the spells only have on version, and require Thrown of Vines to get anything variation.
Regrowth only heals D3+1 wounds normally, so you won’t be getting any full ranks back any time soon.
I’m mostly nitpicking at this point.



Perks: Can strengthen and toughen characters greatly
Transformation rocks.
Amber Spear has the capability to slay a monster in one hit.

Downsides: High end moderate to hard difficulties to get off for the most part
the transformation is useless if the caster is mounted.
Last edited by Saintofm on Tue May 10, 2011 1:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Lord tsunami »

Nice post. lore of life is my favourite lore in the rulebook (i use dark magic for my DE, but i always use life for my slann)


1. Awakening of the wood: A easy spell that does D6 strength 4 direct damage hits on ana enemy unit up to 18” away. This means they can be in close combat and still have ents beat them silly. If the target unit is partially or wholly in a wooded area, it’s now 2D6 hits. Strength 4 is a decent. This is not a bad spel all things considered, and my only complaint, as with much of this lore, is it doesn’t have a more advanced version you can do right off the bat like every other lore out there in 8th edition.

Im not sure i understand you there, but you certainly can not cast any direct damage spell IN to close combat. you could cast it OUT of close combat though :D
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Post by Saintofm »

My mistake. I'll change that now.
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Post by Bounce »

I think you have understated Flesh to Stone a bit.
+4 Toughness makes models relatively unkillable.
When you cast this on elite units it is terrifying.
Think T7 Realm Knights, Swordmasters, Imperial Knights, T9 Treekin.
This would be ok if you didn't have to also chuck all your dispel dice at Dwellers Below first as well as Throne of Vines as well as Regrowth. Hell even Earth blood makes enemy models twice as hard to kill! :O
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Post by Zenith »

This topic makes me wondering, its a good one for sure!

But is it possible to make an look out sir, for charackters, against spells like black horror?
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Post by Flash29 »

you get look out sirs against templates so yes, but not against soul stealer nor bladewind
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Post by Saintofm »

Lore of Beasts (Born To Be Wild)

Ok, this is going to be one of the lores I’m sure many of you have been wanting to hear about, so here it is.

The Lore Attribute is called Wildheart. If the spalls are cast on a beast, swarm, monster, monstrous beast, monstrous cavalry, or anything from the Beastmen army book will get a to cast on that unit. Believe me when I say you’ll need it.

Signature Spell Wysern’s Wild Form: Target unit gets +1 Strength and Toughness to target unit within12” for the hard level and good lord this is hard for one within 24”. While I like the stat boost, it seems underpowered for its price for what it does, especially the 24” range one. Use the normal version of this spell.

Flock of Doom: A under powered magic missile with a 24” range for a easy difficulty, or double that range for a moderate one. Either way, it’s 2D6 S2 attacks. While it gets a good number of hits in, against most units, namely the Toughness 3 variety, you are going to need 5’s to wound at best so you need that 2D6. Use if you’re out of all other spells and you want to waste the last of your power dice on something.

Pann’s Impenatrable Pelt: A moderate spell with a 12” range that can target any friendly character, including the caster, and give them +3 toughness until the end of turn. Make it the higher end of the hard spectrum and you’ll get at every friendly character within 12.” While I like what it does, it does so only on characters. Lasts until caster’s next magic phase.

Amber Spear: Moderate difficulty, 24” range magic missile that works like a bolt thrower (S6, D3 wounds, goes through multiple ranks, ignores armor). Up the difficulty by 6 and the anti also goes up as now you have one that’s strength 10, and does D6 wounds. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a monster killer. If you have to try and get a spell, this is one of the ones you want to try and get from this lore.

Curse of Anraheir: Hard difficulty for 36” range, and double that for a slightly higher, but stillmagagable difficulty. Either way this hex reduces all to hit rolles (shooting and close combat) by 1, and the unit treats all terrain as dangerous terrain, which will be failed on a 1 or 2 instead of the normal 1. This lasts until the casters next magic phase, and is one of the spells you want to get in this lore.


The Savage Beast of Horros: Think Pan’s impentarable belt but not only does the difficulty go from hard to good luck, it adds +3 to the target character(s) strength and attacks. This, in short, makes them a close combat monster. Sadly this only effects charecters, and you’ll mostly be using the normal version of this to save powerdice and not invoke a miscast.

Transformation of Kadon: This spell is cast on the wizard themselves, and goes from very hard to the good luck range, it it is understandable. This remains in play spell turns the wizzrd into a monster, with the weaker version turning the character into a hydra, Manticror, or a Sun Dragon esk dragon, while the stronger version turns you into a Chimera (A close combat monster if their ever was one, considering it has 4D6 strenght 7 attacks) and Godzilla (there is no better way to describe the fire dragon). If the wizard is in a unit, simpy move the models around until it fits inside it. The only tru e problem with the spell is the fact that it only works in infantry models, and if a cavalry model gets it it’s a waste of spell.



Overall, it’s a lore that relies on boosting up characters, with spells firmly in the hard range for the most part. This is not going to be easy for players that do not use Beastmen, or cavalry heavy armies, and even then there is some difficulty.

Perks: Can strengthen and toughen characters greatly
Transformation rocks.
Amber Spear has the capability to slay a monster in one hit.

Downsides: High end moderate to hard difficulties to get off for the most part
the transformation is useless if the caster is mounted.
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Re: Warhammer Disected: Magic 8th Edition

Post by Saintofm »

With Rork's blessing, I am bringing this back to life!

Lore of Light (Holy Diver)
This is pretty much one of those lore you take when you want to kill daemons and undead, and the occasional flammable unit. The Lore attribute is called Exorcism, and any undead or daemon unit hit by this get’s an extra D6 worth of damage. This is only limited to those armies, and to damaging spells, but that is a good 2D6 number of hits with the signature spell.

Signature Spell, Shem’s Burning Gaze: Magic missile, 24” range with D6 strength 4 flaming attacks. Up the anti with a definite hard range for strength 6. There isn’t much to say. The hard range makes since, as you can now wound dragons on rolls of 4.

Pha’s Protection: An easy spell that targets a friendly unit within 24” of the caster, or a hard spell that target’s all friendly units within 12” of the caster. Either way, the augmentation spell makes all attacks, shooting and close combat, hit with a -1. Any shooting attacks that do not require Ballistic skill such as cannons and templates hit on a 4+. It lasts until the caster’s next magic phase. Pretty good defensive spell, especially against warmachine heavy opponents, but seems a little underpowered for it’s price tag.

The Speed of Light: A moderate spell that targets a single friendly within 24” or every friendly unit within 12” for the hard casting value. The unit now has Weapon Skill 10, and Initiative 10. Unlike the last spell, this one seems worth it’s casting value as it makes the target unit(s) able to not only get a hit in on a regular basis, you can now get the first hit in against most units and take away the rerolls of units with ASF.

Light of Battle: For a moderate casting Value, you can cast it on a single model, or up the difficulty to the hard range for every friendly within 12” of the caster. In either cass, the target(s) auto rally if fleeing, despite how many guys they have left, and pass all psychology tests until the caster’s next magic phase. This allows you to keep your army in check by having them stick around, and fits the price tage.

Net of Amyntok: A hex spell, with a 24” range. Every time the target unit casts spells, moves, shoots, or chews bubblegum, it must pass a strength test or be denied their desired move and take D6 Strength 4 hits that spread out like shooting. This is important as most units will have a 50/50 chance of failing, and will also have 3 opportunities to get hit by this. This means a unit, says a unit of bowmen with a wizard in it, could suffer 3D6 S4 hits a turn.

This is understandably in the hard casting range, and for a little harder you can double the range but still be able to get both off reliably on 3 dice. It’s a nice spell, and one for messing with the enemy.

Banishment: Magic missile with a 24” range for a hard casting difficulty, and a 48” range for a harder one. Either way, the target gets hit 2D6 times with strength 4+ the number of lore of light user within 12 inches of the wizard. So you can easily cause 2D6 S6 attacks on some units, or even 3D6 S6 attacks, if not higher against daemons.

Like the last spells, this is not hard to get off on 2 or 3 dice, and has the potential to be a unit killer, however to achieve that it requires a little tweaking and a few more points to spend on wizards then you may want to have.

Birona’s Time warp: You can either have the hard version which targets a unit within 12” or every friendly unit within 12” for a good luck, you need it difficulty. The target(s) now have double movement, +1 weapon skill, and ASF. While you probably won’t use that for the charge, you can certainly use it the next turn, after you wipe the floor with your opponent.


Overall it’s a lore with moderately priced spells, and most of the difficult spells are manageable. However the lore attribute is a one trick pony against undead, and is only good against 3 armies so far in the game. While this is similar to lore of beasts’ wild heart, this is more limited as you can expect to find a swarm, cavalry, chariot, or monster somewhere out there.

*Perks: lays on the hurt on undead and daemonic units
*Nice augments
*Either moderately difficult or understandably hard

Downsides:
*Banishment needs a few other lore life wizards to be within a foot of the caster, and that's a little over a horde formation in width, to make the spell worth it
*2 of the boosted versions are still rather insane even with a level 4 wizard casting.
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Re: Warhammer Disected: Magic 8th Edition

Post by Red... »

Excellent post, many thanks for the thoughts.

I think you have underestimated some of the spells though. I don't have total familiarity with spells outside of the ones I use most regularly, but the 2d6 version of searing doom is an excellent spell - well worth investing a level 4 with sacrificial dagger and a fistful of dice on: 2d6 wounds on a 2+ with no armour save allowed against enemy heavy cavalry is game winning on a lot of occasions. The signature spell of the lore of beasts (wysern's wildform) is incredible when used on a horde of bestigors - suddenly you have a unit that is not only hitting at S7 but is also T5. T5 models don't care much about hitting last because they're T5! and at only 12 points a model, they become very very hard hitting indeed and very hard to manage in a straight fight.

I think you overestimate how hard it is to get quite a few of the spells off successfully. Particularly for dark elves, the use of a level 4, power of darkness, a sacrificial dagger and/or other buffs such as the darkstar cloak, along with the fact we can throw as many dice at a spell as we want, means that we can usually get most of the spells we want to cast off successfully. Other races have good buffs for this end too.
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Re: Warhammer Disected: Magic 8th Edition

Post by Saintofm »

When I put things as hard or difficult, it was for something like a level 1 or 2, though I will admit this is largely just my opinion so if someone has a better idea on how it works, discuss away.
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Re: Warhammer Disected: Magic 8th Edition

Post by Dalamar »

Transformation of Kadon is a terrible spell.
If you get your wizard into combat before casting the spell (so he can be a monster in the following close combat phase), your opponent will throw all dispel dice they can at it and get an easy kill on your wizard.

If you cast it first, in hopes of getting into combat the following turn... your opponent can charge you with some small and fast unit, and dispel the remains in play spell, reverting the wizard to his weakling self and killing him.
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Re: Warhammer Disected: Magic 8th Edition

Post by Drek »

I'm loving the names in parentheses. Makes me wish my hair hadn't fallen out so I could head bang with my mullet again.

:-)
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Re: Warhammer Dissected: Magic 8th Edition

Post by Dalamar »

Very nice guide, just a few things I would like to point out:

Flame Storm doesn't stick around for following turns, it hits once and goes away, it's not a vortex spell.

Enfeebling Foe is a Remains in Play spell, so is The Withering

Pit of Shades is not a Vortex
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