11-Book Strategy

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In the latest official version of Master of Magic, using all 11 starting "picks" to select Spellbooks from a single Realm grants the player access to a unique feat. It allows starting the game with 3 spells of a higher Rarity than what would otherwise be available at the beginning of a campaign. Combined with a major reduction in the Casting Costs of these spells, the ability to actually choose them opens up many different strategies based around either a single, or a combination of spells that, when used very early in the game, can create a significant advantage for the player. Some of these are in fact so powerful, that they can allow even a novice to beat the game on the highest possible Difficulty setting.

General Strategy

Starting the game with 11 spellbooks of a single color yields the following initial profile traits:

• The Fortress produces  11;
• All Common Spells of the selected Realm are already known;
• 2 Uncommon Spells of choice are already known;
• 1 Rare Spell spell of choice is already known;
• The Wizard has a Spell Casting Skill of 22;
• There is a 40% Casting Cost reduction on spells of the selected Realm (combined with the above, this means that any combat spell with a cost of up to  36 is immediately usable, provided that it can be financed with  Mana).

If the higher rarity spells are chosen wisely, this combination allows gaining an extremely large advantage in the early game -- neutral Cities can be captured far earlier than would otherwise be possible, along with some magical Nodes, Towers of Wizardry, and other Encounter Zones. Even enemy Fortresses can be conquered if they can be reached before their controlling Wizard has built up sufficient defenses. While winning outright is not always possible (the most common problem being finding all of the opposing Wizards fast enough), this yields a huge advantage nonetheless, and can make even the hardest Difficulty settings more or less trivial to beat.

Most 11-Book Strategies rely on creating a single potent unit, at the earliest possible opportunity, that cannot be defeated by early opponents. They need a means of crossing Oceans and, ideally, a means of changing Planes without breaking a Tower of Wizardry - as their guardians may be too strong to defeat. This puts Life and Death clearly above the other Realms, as they are the only two that can accomplish this feat with initial spells alone. While with six Towers on every map, there will nearly always be at least one that can be conquered with the other strategies, this may take some time to find, giving a Myrran opponent more time to grow in power.

High Elves are the typical Race of choice because of the extra  Power they generate; although other Races may work just as well, or even better, if the quickest victory is not the primary goal. Some of the strategies listed below also require specific other Races instead.

In most cases though, the initial focus is on generating as much  Mana as possible at the very beginning of the game, to be able to cast spells that are overly powerful at that stage. This typically requires all  Power to be invested into  Mana, in addition to using Alchemy and, in the official game, possibly early scouting for unguarded Encounter Zones. Even with High Elves, the initial  Mana income will be way below what can be spent in a turn - not to mention that many strategies rely at least partially on combat spells, which need an additional pool; while some of the signature spells have Upkeep Costs so high that they will eat up most of the starting income once they are in play.

Scouting is also important because the earlier the other Wizards' capitals can be found, the less likely they will be to be able to counter any of the strategies. In addition, because all Common Spells are already known by the player, even the weakest Encounter Zones will award Uncommon and better ones instead, possibly increasing versatility over the initial selection. In fact, since the majority of Treasure rewards can be converted into  Mana one way or another, any Encounter Zone that is easy enough to clear is generally worth the effort or delay. On the other hand, battles with the forces of the AI players should be avoided whenever possible, except for sieges of their capitals. Their spells can hurt or delay most of the units or armies that the strategies below rely on, meaning that confrontation should be restricted to when it is absolutely necessary.

The Surveyor (F1) tool can be used extensively to scout for Towns, both neutral- and Wizard-controlled. Since new Settlements can not be founded less than 3 tiles of an existing one, and because the Surveyor reports about this fact even when the offending City is not visible yet, the player can use it to check around the edges of the area they have already explored. This will give an idea about whether there are any nearby Towns in a given direction, sometimes even to the extent of being able to pinpoint their exact location without actually seeing them. This allows planning out strategic strikes much better, which increases efficiency, as most strategies can only afford a single competent unit or army early on, so choosing the right targets can be very important.

Chaos

Warped Chimeras

Spells to select: Chimeras (Uncommon), Warp Reality (Rare)

Cost / Upkeep:  210 initial /  10 per turn (per unit);  30 per battle

Warp Reality will render Chimeras fairly invincible, while also leaving an Uncommon Spell slot open. However, this spell can not be cast with the initial Spell Casting Skill. As such, even though Chimeras may be summoned in only 10 turns, the player must make a choice whether to do so right away, or train their Skill up to 30 beforehand. The first option allows for some limited, but earlier conquests, mainly of neutral Towns and weak Encounter Zones, and possibly even a nearby rival Fortress. However, the Upkeep Cost of the Chimeras makes it much more difficult to develop Spell Casting Skill once the unit is in play, and will likely delay the full potential of this strategy unless alternative sources of  Mana can be secured.

Both Immolation and Chaos Channels are excellent choices for the remaining Uncommon Spell slot - the former can increase the  damage output of the Chimeras even further, while the latter can help with capital defense or creating flying scouts that require no  Mana Upkeep. Alternatively, Fireball or Lightning Bolt may be somewhat useful before Warp Reality can be cast, as they are both stronger than the similar Common Spells. Gargoyles, while typically not a good investment, may actually be a worthy addition here depending on the circumstances, as they can cover for one of the Chimeras' weaknesses: their susceptibility to poison and petrification.

Hell Hound Flood

Spells to select: Any (Hell Hounds are a Common Spell)

Cost / Upkeep:  216 initial /  9 per turn (per full stack of Hounds)

Hell Hounds can take out most Cities at the start of the game, along with many weaker Encounter Zones - especially when summoned in great numbers. However, they lack an easy way to cross Oceans, and may not be able to clear a Tower of Wizardry without significant sacrifice. As such, this strategy will typically not work very well on smaller Land Size settings, despite the fact that it allows free choice of the higher rarity spells.

Death

Wraiths

Spells to select: Wraiths (Rare), Black Prayer (Uncommon)

Cost / Upkeep:  300 initial /  5 per turn (per unit),  21 per battle

This is the second fastest way to win the game. Wraiths can defeat almost all Normal Units without any assistance. The  Resistance penalty of Black Prayer eliminates much of the remainder, while at the same time making it easier for the Wraiths to recover lost  Hit Points through their Life Steal, and increasing the likelihood of Undead being created from any defeated units. This saves resources from having to be spent on garrisoning captured Towns. Although most Fantastic Units are actually not worth keeping for more than a few turns due to their increased Upkeep Costs, they may still be useful if there is another, tougher battle nearby, in which they can assist.

Unfortunately, Wraiths may not always be able reliably crack a Tower of Wizardry without help. Because of this, choosing Shadow Demons as the second Uncommon Spell is highly recommended, as they have a native ability to Plane Shift, and can thus cross the Planar boundary without clearing a Tower. While they are slower and have a higher Upkeep Cost than Wraiths, they are also able to overcome almost all early game opposition, and can at the very least secure a foothold on Myrror, if not outright destroy any AI that started there.

Lairs containing the following creatures can be attacked with a single Wraiths unit:

• War Bears
• Giant Spiders
• Nagas
• Fire Elemental
• Hell Hounds
• Gargoyles

With Black Prayer lairs containing the following creatures can be attacked with a single Wraiths unit:

• Unicorns
• Basilisk
• Chimeras
• Sprites (except in Nodes)

With Black Prayer and Darkness lairs containing the following creatures can be attacked with a single Wraiths unit:

• Angel
• Guardian Spirit
• Cockatrices
• Behemoth

Some considerations when attacking with Wraiths:

• Against opponents with high attack strength and/or high resistance Wraiths are susceptible to random chance bad rolls. If a powerful opponent lands a lot of damage with a good roll and the Wraiths regain no hit points due to a bad roll the Wraiths can lose a figure or two.
• The Life Steal attack and hit point benefit is calculated on a per-figure basis so understrength Wraiths have a lot fewer hit points flowing back in and may lose a fight that a four figure Wraiths would win.
• Due to the above factors, even though a full strength Wraiths will usually defeat one or two Guardian Spirits with just Black Prayer the Wraiths require both Black Prayer and Darkness to defeat a group of eight Guardian Spirits.
• Ranged stone and magical attacks are a challenge for Wraiths which receive damage during several battle rounds before the Wraiths can cross the field and engage melee. Consequently with Black Prayer a Wraiths may defeat a single Stone Giant but will be defeated by three Stone Giants.
• Wraiths cannot safely attack Death realm creatures, including minor ones like Zombies, Skeletons and Ghouls, because all Death creatures have Death Immunity which prevents Wraiths' Life Steal from regaining any lost hit points.

Shadow Demons

Spells to select: Shadow Demons (Uncommon)

Cost / Upkeep:  195 initial /  7 per turn (per unit),  15 per battle (Darkness)

A single unit of Shadow Demons can safely defeat almost any neutral Town, along with most weaker Encounter Zones, including some Sorcery Nodes, and the occasional Towers of Wizardry. Possessing Regeneration means that as long as they are victorious, these creatures can continue from battle to battle without having to stop and heal. More often than not, they will be able to conquer an enemy Fortress at the point that Fortress is discovered.

The greatest shortcoming of Shadow Demons is their low Movement Allowance of only 1. However, this can be offset by pairing them up with a Magic Spirit, which reverts the stack's Movement Type to Non-Corporeal, allowing the units to move two tiles per turn. This can also be combined with Plane Shift to explore both Planes faster, by moving the two units together once, and then shifting the Shadow Demons to the other Plane to use their remaining 0.5 for another move there. If the Spirit is then sent to the corresponding tile on its own Plane, this process can be repeated every turn by shifting the Demons back into the stack before moving.

Since Shadow Demons only take up an Uncommon Spell slot, this strategy is quite open to variations. For the Rare choice, Black Wind, Wrack, and Wraiths are more viable than the other options in terms of being useful for assaulting enemy capitals that grew too strong for the Shadow Demons by the time they are found. Similarly, the Uncommon Black Prayer can also weaken an opposing army, but it should be noted that casting both it and Darkness in the same battle takes quite a bit of prior investment into Spell Casting Skill to be possible, and the latter spell is generally more helpful for Shadow Demons.

Alternatively, Drain Power can take the edge out of a rival Fortress' defense, although it may take multiple casts for this to work, as the AIs tend to accumulate  Mana progressively more rapidly as the game's Difficulty is increased. Finally, Night Stalkers make decent scouts and excellent Node guardians if the game is expected to drag out for some time. They may be somewhat costly to summon, but their Upkeep Cost is minimal - only  1 per turn.

Lairs containing the following creatures can be attacked with a single Shadow Demons unit:

• War Bears
• Sprites (except in Nodes)
• Giant Spiders
• Earth Elemental
• Nagas
• Phantom Warriors
• Phantom Beast
• Fire Elemental
• Hell Hounds (except in Nodes)
• Guardian Spirit
• Unicorns
• Angel
• Skeletons
• Zombies
• Ghouls
• Demon
• Night Stalker
• Werewolves

Life

IGS - Invulnerable Guardian Spirits

Spells to select: Invulnerability (Rare), Plane Shift (Uncommon), Prayer (Uncommon)

Cost / Upkeep:  201 initial /  8 per turn (per unit),  18 per battle

This is the fastest known way to win the game. Guardian Spirits are the second cheapest native Ocean-faring Fantastic Units after Magic Spirits. They also move twice as fast as low-tier Lizardmen Normal Units, the only other real contenders that could be used in this strategy. Since the same unit can be used for both scouting and conquest, and its power comes from another spell, not the unit itself, the game can be started much more quickly than if an expensive creature was summoned instead. In fact, multiple Spirits (typically two) may be summoned and sent out before the first major cast. As a result, by the time the Invulnerability spell is cast, the player will not only have an idea of their surroundings, but will likely already know which Spirit to target, and have it in position and ready for battle immediately afterwards.

Invulnerability's fixed Conventional Damage reduction of  2 is immensely powerful in the early game. Most Normal Units have to get lucky just to do this much, without even considering the  10 granted through the Weapon Immunity effect, which can block another  3 on average when it applies. Because of this, generally only Fantastic Creatures and spells are able to harm an Invulnerable Guardian Spirit. As such, the above  Mana calculations include a running Bless Unit Enchantment, which provides a worthwhile Defense bonus against many of these.

Further included is Endurance, which effectively doubles the Movement Allowance of the Guardian Spirit. This is also a cornerstone of this strategy, and one of the reasons why it is the fastest method to win the game. Moving 4 tiles per turn, the Spirits have the absolute highest potential to reach every opposing Fortress before the AI Wizards could muster any significant force to defend them. An example order of casting would be Guardian Spirit, Endurance, Guardian Spirit, Endurance, Invulnerability, and Bless, followed by either a Plane Shift, more Spirits, or the second Invulnerability, based on the circumstances - mainly the availability of more  Mana.

It may be worth noting though, that if the Spirits do take  damage, the initial Spell Casting Skill is not enough for a Healing spell after a Prayer has been cast. However, it does still allow for a combination of True Light and Healing, making weak Encounter Zones featuring low-level Death creatures a viable alternative to neutral Towns if the Guardian Spirit needs to be topped up before a major battle. Otherwise, Prayer will be necessary in most battles against Fantastic Creatures, as well as the forces of AI opponents.

Encounter Zones, with the exception of Nodes, can be attacked with a single IGS unit, taking into account that the Weapon Immunity effect of Invulnerability does not trigger against Fantastic Units, if they contain only these guardians:

• War Bears
• Sprites
• Giant Spiders
• Phantom Warriors
• Nagas
• Hell Hounds
• Fire Elemental (Bless required)
• Gargoyles (Bless required)
• Guardian Spirit
• Skeletons (can use True Light instead of Prayer)
• Zombies (can use True Light instead of Prayer)
• Ghouls (can use True Light instead of Prayer)
• Night Stalker (Bless required)
• Werewolves (Bless required, use True Light instead of Prayer)

If the amount of them is known, a single, Blessed IGS is also capable of defeating the following, more powerful adversaries:

• Air Elemental (1 only, not 100% reliable)
• Fire Giant (up to ~3)
• Doom Bat (up to ~3)
• Chimeras (up to ~2)
• Efreet (1 only, not 100% reliable)
• Demon (up to ~2)
• Shadow Demons (up to ~5)
• Wraiths (up to ~2)
• Unicorns (up to ~2)

However, it needs to be noted here that much of this is only possible as a result of Prayer reducing the chance to hit the units it affects with Melee Attacks by  10%. As such, many of the above are either no longer beatable in the unofficial patches, which remove this effect, or can only be safely engaged in smaller numbers. Even then, positioning is very important, as the Counter Attack "suppression" penalty of  -10% inflicted on the IGS after every two attacks it responds to means that if it is ever surrounded, the later enemies essentially get free swings at it, and it will often be destroyed before it could defeat them all. Ideally, no more than two enemies should be able to attack the IGS in any given turn, but if at all possible, it should move such that only one can.

In the case of magical Nodes, both of their auras present issues, with the bigger one arguably being the dispel aura, which will counter Prayer 3 out of 4 times in v1.31, and with 62.5% chance even in v1.51+, where the Casting Cost issue is fixed. Without this buff, the IGS may still be able to take on Giant Spiders and Nagas, but anything else gaining  +2 from a Node will be too much for it. On the other hand, if the Prayer is pushed through, then with careful positioning, War Bears, Hell Hounds, Gargoyles, and Fire Elementals can also be defeated in greater numbers despite the Node bonus, as well as a few Sprites or Phantom Warriors, for whom said bonus is much more beneficial than for the units of the previous groups.

Torin

Spells to select: Incarnation (Rare)

Cost / Upkeep:  414 initial /  14 per turn

With Heroism and Holy Armor, Torin the Chosen is fairly invincible when he enters the game early. However, this strategy has several flaws, the most notable one being the lack of Ocean-faring capability. Without a Magical Item granting him Flight, Water Walking, or Wraithform, Torin has to rely on Transport ships, which may or may not be possible to build in a starting Town. Granted, if the capital is by the seaside, the total  Production cost of  160 to create a Trireme is probably manageable in the time it takes to summon the Chosen. However, founding a new Outpost for this purpose will typically take much longer.

Alternatively, it may be possible to utilize the Plane Shift spell to go from Arcanus land to Myrror land to another continent on Arcanus, but this not only takes luck and requires scouting beforehand, it also ties in with another problem: the amount of Uncommon Spells required. Normally, choosing Prayer is highly recommended, as it greatly increases Torin's survivability, and thus the difficulty of the encounters he can safely take on. However, his greatest overall weakness is against Illusion Damage, which requires yet another Uncommon Spell, True Sight, to counter. Only two of these three can actually be selected at the start, the third one has to be acquired from Treasure, conquest, or Spell Research.

Finally, unlike nearly all of the other strategies listed here, this one is not scalable. Since the Chosen is unique, another one may not be summoned even if resources do become available. This can quickly become a limiting factor in progress, ultimately resulting in a much slower victory.

Lairs containing the following creatures can be attacked with Torin the Chosen after he has been enchanted with Heroism (or achieved the rank of Commander), and supported by Prayer which Torin can cast himself:

• War Bears
• Sprites
• Giant Spiders
• Nagas
• Phantom Warriors (if enchanted with True Sight)
• Fire Elemental
• Hell Hounds (except in Nodes)
• Guardian Spirit
• Skeletons
• Zombies
• Ghouls
• Demon
• Shadow Demons (have Torin cast Prayer and True Light)

Torin is able to prevail over more powerful opponents when he gains rank or magical items. Also if he is enchanted with Bless, Holy Armor, Holy Weapon, etc. - but those add mana upkeep.

Lionheart Elites

Spells to select: Lionheart (Rare)

Cost / Upkeep:  180 initial /  5 per turn (per unit)

Lionheart is arguably the strongest stat-boosting Unit Enchantment in the game. Combined with the Common Heroism, it can turn even a basic Normal Unit into a powerful combat force. In addition, the also Common Holy Armor, Holy Weapon, Bless, and Endurance spells may further enhance this, albeit at a cost of quite a bit of extra  Mana, both in Casting- and Upkeep Costs. However, most of these spells share the common trait of being increasingly more beneficial the more  figures the target unit has, making them ideal for use on low-tier Normal Units.

Originally conceived with Halfling Slingers in mind, this strategy is, of course, not necessary limited to them. However, they probably are the best targets, due to the combination of having the maximum possible  figure count of  8, being a Ranged Attack unit, and possessing the very strong Lucky ability, that amplifies the effects of any bonus they receive to Attack Strength or Defense. On the other hand, Slingers are fairly expensive early on, requiring a total of  180 to create the first one in the starting Town, which typically takes at least twice as long as casting the two main spells. As such, it may be worth considering enhancing and using the initial Swordsmen in the interim.

Other good alternatives include Longbowmen, which allow keeping the High Elves as the capital Race; Gnoll melee units, that can be mass-produced cheaply and will have incredibly powerful Melee Attacks with these enchantments; Barbarians, who receive a double benefit to their Attack Strength because of their  Thrown Attacks, and may be able to eliminate enemy units without being hit as a result; or Lizardmen, who can overcome one of the most significant shortcomings of this strategy - the lack of innate Ocean-faring capability.

As far as the Uncommon Spell picks go, Prayer and Plane Shift are fairly obvious choices, although True Sight also has merit if melee units are being used. It should be noted though, that this strategy has another weakness: its heavy reliance on Enchantments. Going up against a rival Wizard late enough for them to be able to dispel the Lionheart can result in some serious setbacks.

Altar of Battle

Spells to select: Altar of Battle (Rare)

Cost / Upkeep:  180 initial /  5 per turn (per Town)

This strategy relies on pumping out cheap, cost-efficient Elite units by exploiting rushed Altars of Battle. There are two Races that match the criteria of having a racial combat advantage without an increased cost for their Normal Units: Gnolls and Lizardmen. Although the tactic may also be attempted with other Races, it will likely be less effective, as units take longer to create.

Gnoll Spearmen can quickly swarm across the land in the early game, overwhelming superior classes of units, Wizards, and Fantastic Creatures by just themselves thanks to their innate Attack Strength bonus. The player can also choose to divert their attentions to Myrror instead (whilst fortifying the Fortress on Arcanus) using Plane Shift to easily conquer the more lucrative Races and Encounter Zones. Indeed, even if the player encounters Sss'ra, he can quickly fall alone to these Gnoll armies early enough in the game. However, this Race does not have an easy way to cross to other continents, and may thus have problems on maps with smaller Land Size settings.

Alternatively, Lizardmen may also be a good choice as they can swim across Oceans. Lizardmen Spearmen are much sturdier for the same cost, having a higher  Defense ( 4 vs  3 at Elite level) and more  Hit Points ( 3 vs  2 per  figure). However, their lower Attack Strength can quickly become an issue ( 3 vs  5), especially considering that this attribute can not be enhanced by low-level Life spells, although the chance  To Hit may be improved. For both Races though, Prayer and Plane Shift are arguably the best Uncommon Spells to pick.

Nature

Iron Skinned Basilisks

Spells to select: Iron Skin (Rare), Basilisk (Uncommon), Path Finding (Uncommon)

Cost / Upkeep:  375 initial /  14 per turn (per unit)

Basilisks are sturdy creatures to begin with, and Iron Skin raises their Defense to a level that is only surpassed by top-tier units. The combination of Path Finding and Water Walking (a Common Spell) allows them to move over any terrain at a rate of 4 tiles per turn, a figure matched only by two of the other strategies listed here - with one of those requiring a heavy delay before being able to produce even a single unit. The main drawback is that this combination has a fairly high Upkeep Cost total, making subsequent creatures more difficult to get into play.

Basilisks are by no means invincible either. While they have plenty of  Hit Points, and their Gaze Attack will prevent a lot of Melee Damage, they are vulnerable to Special Damage, Illusion Damage, and units with Stoning Immunity in general. They will often still be able to find a Tower of Wizardry that they can clear to get to Myrror, but taking  damage can cause significant delays until a healing spell is acquired.

Gorgons

Spells to select: Gorgons (Rare), Nature's Cures (Uncommon)

Cost / Upkeep:  360 initial /  15 per turn (per unit)

Gorgons are the strongest Rare creatures overall. They can easily destroy low- and mid-tier units, fly anywhere on the map, and have fairly good survivability, which can be further enhanced with Stone Skin and Resist Elements to help against  Ranged Magical Attacks. However, Gorgons are quite expensive to maintain even without any Unit Enchantments, so finding additional sources of  Mana is particularly important for this strategy.

Ice Bolt may be a good choice for the last Uncommon Spell slot, as it can help eliminate creatures that would otherwise pose a threat to the Gorgons. Alternatively, their overland speed can be doubled by a fast ground unit, such as Cavalry, enchanted with Path Finding (and the Common Water Walking spell to cross Oceans and accompany the Gorgons to other continents).

Sorcery

Flying Invisible Warships

Spells to select: Invisibility (Rare), Flight (Uncommon)

Cost / Upkeep:  180 initial /  13 per turn (per unit)

This is a very slow strategy compared to the others, as it requires building a Sawmill, Shipwrights' Guild, Ship Yard, Armory, and Maritime Guild before the first Warship can be constructed - at a hefty cost of  880, with an additional  160 to build each ship. Worse yet, the first two of these Town Buildings also have terrain requirements, which means that there is a chance that they can not both be built in the starting Town. And as if that was not enough, only three Races can actually produce Warships: Barbarians, High Men, and Orcs. As such, the game must be started with one of these, since this is the only way of ensuring that any of them will be available on a map.

The reason this strategy is included here despite all of these issues is that if the hurdles can be overcome, and the player survives to see the first ship, this combination is incredibly powerful. Unlike any other ranged unit, Warships do not run out of ammunition, and can keep firing their Ranged Attacks from the beginning to the end of every battle, even if it takes the maximum amount of 50 turns. In addition, no immunity in the official game works against their  Ranged Boulder Attacks, and with 4 and Invisibility, they can completely avoid all opposition apart from two of the highest tier Fantastic Units. They also have Long Range, and will thus never suffer more than a  -10% penalty regardless of how far away they are from their target.

There are two more Uncommon Spells that can significantly aid this strategy, although only one of them can be selected at the beginning. Wind Mastery affects Warships even if they are flying, allowing them to move an outstanding 6 tiles per turn, both overland and in battle. However, Spell Lock may actually be the better initial choice, as the ships can become completely stranded should an opponent manage to dispel their Flight. It's worth remembering though, that because of its bugs, this spell must always be cast on the overland map to have any effect in the official game.

Alternatively, taking Phantom Beast instead allows for a steadier early game, as any unit enchanted with Flight can move 3 tiles per turn and potentially summon these in combat. This greatly increases combat versatility as opposed to having only the Common Spell repertoire, and should ensure continuous conquest even before the Warships arrive. Since all Common Spells found in Treasure are automatically raised to the next available Spell Rarity anyway, an early start provides a fairly good chance of finding one or both of the above spells by the time they become useful.

Flying Storm Giants

Spells to select: Storm Giant (Rare), Flight (Uncommon), Phantom Beast (Uncommon)

Cost / Upkeep:  375 initial /  13 per turn (per unit)

While Storm Giants are not as durable as some of the other Realms' contenders here, they are still quite powerful, and can both capture neutral Towns and clear weaker Encounter Zones. Flight allows them to cross Oceans, and prevents most Normal Units from voluntarily engaging them. However, since it can only make 4 Ranged Attacks per battle, no matter how powerful those are, some enemies will often remain, forcing the Giant to enter melee instead. At that point, a Phantom Beast can work wonders to either further weaken, or outright destroy the opposition, possibly saving the Storm Giant from the inevitable Counter Attack  damage it will take from anything stronger than the lowest tier units. Alternatively, Phantom Warriors might also fill this role, although they deal less  damage and have fewer  Hit Points than a Beast.

Flying Invisible Mithril Slingers

Spells to select: Invisibility (Rare), Flight (Uncommon), Phantom Beast (Uncommon)

Cost / Upkeep:  180 initial /  13 per turn (per unit)

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Elite Mithril Slingers with the Lucky attribute and 8 figures deliver a devastating 24 units of average damage. The combination of Invisibility and Flying make them untouchable by many fantastic creatures and nearly all regular units. With Flight they easily cross water and move 3 per turn over any terrain.

However this strategy is not a fast or easy path to victory. It is an interesting strategic challenge.

Some of the strategic challenges and how they could be addressed are listed below.

Mithril is crtical to this strategy. Normal recruit Slingers (without Mithril) deliver only 6.4 average damage. Opponent shields are applied against each figure's damage so even a couple of shields can stop most of it. By contrast, recruit Slingers with Mithril and Alchemy deliver 12 average damage - nearly twice as much, and much better able to punch through shields. How to get Mithril? Simply start over until you get a starting city with Mithril Ore. 20 or more attempts may be required.

Slingers have only 6 ranged attacks and will not survive much melee. Address this by:

• Don't build your conquest slingers until you've built an Alchemists' Guild - to get the Damage and To Hit bonus.
• Initially build a pair of slingers and enchanting them with Flight.
• As soon as your pair can fly start to conquer neutral cities and lightly defended lairs to build experience up to the Regular rank where average damage increases to 16.
• Casting Invisibility (Spell) twice will take 10 turns - do this in parallel with the initial experience building conquest.
• Fly right up to opponents to avoid the range To Hit penalty.
• Fly inside city walls to circumvent the shield bonus walls provide to defenders.
• If you run out of ranged attacks finish the battle with a Phantom Beast.

• If all else fails, destroy as many defenders as possible, back off and press done until the 50 round limit ends combat, then attack again next turn.

Building up to an Alchemists' Guild and a pair of Slingers takes time. This can be addressed by:

• Keep taxes as high as possible without losing production to rebels and build a reserve of gold and mana. You will need that reserve when casting and maintaining Flight and Invisibility (Spell) on two slinger units.
• With the ability to cast a Phantom Beast for defense you may be able to defer walls and garrison troops.
• Create two Magic Spirits, and use the time to explore, find enemy capitals and loot unguarded lairs.
• Early on you may find lightly defended neutral cities with just a few spearmen or swordsmen and be able to conquer them with just the Magic Spirit and a combat summoned Phantom Beast. This will grow your tax base.
• Avoid war with enemy wizards as long as possible. Carefully avoid accidental combat with your Magic Spirits. Once you find their capital move your Magic Spirit out of the area to avoid aggravating the enemy wizard.

Mana upkeep on two units of Flying Invisible Slingers is 26 mana per turn yet mana production of your starter city is 12 mana per turn. This can be addressed by:

• Keeping taxes as high as possible without losing (a lot of) production to rebels.
• Accumulate a big gold and mana reserve while building the Alchemists' Guild and first pair of Slingers.
• Alchemy gold into mana as needed.
• Conquer cities and add them to your tax base.
• Conquer lightly defended lairs for gold, mana and magic items that can be destroyed for mana.
• Defeat the first enemy wizard as quickly as possible so you can add their cities to your tax base.

Flying Invisible Slingers are highly vulnerable to Disenchant Area and Dispel Magic. This can be addressed by:

• Minimize your exposure to Disenchant Area by going straight to the enemy wizard's capital and defeating or banishing them. Then you can conquer their remaining cities without fear of Disenchant Area.
• If the enemy wizard has an injured defensive unit they may decide to cast Healing Spell rather than Disenchant Area. So it may be helpful to injure strong defenders before destroying weak defenders.
• Keep a mana reserve and be prepared to recast Flight and Invisibility (Spell) after attacking an enemy wizard.
• Defeat or banish enemy wizards as early as possible when they are less likely to have acquired Disenchant Area and / or have less mana and spell skill to add power to the spell.

Additional thoughts about strategy:

• Early in the game a pair of Flying Invisible Mithril Slingers of rank Regular or better can usually defeat an enemy wizard capital, although it may require running out the 50 round combat limit and attacking again on the next turn. Later in the game it will take more fire power so build additional Slingers as soon as possible (but you probably need walls and some city defenders first).
• Pairing new slinger units with experienced units is a good way to build experience.
• Building a Fighters' Guild is helpful because your slingers will start at Regular rank. It's just one rank, but it is the one that adds +1 to each figure's attack.
• Your slingers can safely fly right next to units that cannot engage flyers and attack from point-blank range. Examples include: Spearmen, Swordsmen, Halberds, War Bears, Ghouls, Zombies.
• Your slingers should stay one square away from units that can engage flyers. Examples include: Archers, shaman and any other unit with a ranged attack, Barbarians (with Thrown), and Basilisks (with Stoning Gaze).
• Skeletons have Missile Immunity and should be avoided.