| Death Spell | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Realm |
 Death | |
| Spell Rarity | Very Rare | |
| Spell Type | Combat Instant | |
| Casting Cost |
 50 | |
| Research Cost |
 2,500 | |
| ||
Each  figure in each enemy unit on the battlefield must make a Resistance roll at a penalty of  -2. Any figure that fails this roll is instantly destroyed. | ||
Death Spell is a Very Rare Combat Instant belonging to the Death Magic realm. It may only be cast during combat, and requires no target. For 50 the spell forces each individual figure inside each enemy unit to make a Resistance roll, while under a temporary penalty of -2. Any figure that fails this roll is immediately destroyed.
Effects[]
Death Spell sends a vile wind of Death energy through the enemy army. Any individual figure that fails a Resistance roll at a substantial penalty is instantly destroyed by it.
Instant Death[]
Death Spell's effect is pretty simple and straight-forward, but is nonetheless quite deadly.
When Death Spell is cast during combat, each individual figure inside each and every enemy unit on the battlefield must make a separate Resistance roll. Death Spell applies a temporary penalty of -2 on the unit for this purpose, making the roll even harder to succeed.
Each and every figure that fails the roll is killed instantly - regardless of how many 
Hit Points it had, or any of its other combat properties.
The penalty of -2 means that any unit with a Resistance score of 2 or less is completely wiped out by this spell. There is no way that any of the figures in this unit will succeed their rolls.
Conversely, a unit would need 12 or higher to become immune to this spell. Even a unit with 11, which is somewhat rare, has at least some chance of losing part or all of its figures.
Naturally, 
Multi-Figure units are more susceptible to this spell. For one, having more figures means that there is more chance of losing at least one of them - whereas a 
Single-Figure unit only has to make one roll and completely avoids the spell's effect if that roll succeeds. Secondly, most Multi-Figure units have lower Resistance scores, making each figure less likely to survive its roll in the first place.
Units with Death Immunity are completely immune to this spell. They do not have to make any Resistance rolls - they automatically survive this spell under any circumstances.
Usage[]
Death Spell may only be cast during combat, for a basic Casting Cost of 50. There is no need to target this spell, as it will automatically affect each and every enemy unit.
Death Spell is shown on screen as an expanding dark cloud, in the vague shape of a skull, enveloping each enemy unit on the battlefield. If any figures are killed by the spell, they will only disappear after the animation has completed. If any unit has lost all of its remaining figures, it is completely destroyed and will disappear from the battlefield.
Acquisition[]
As a Very Rare Death spell, Death Spell may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least 3 Spellbooks. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard acquires at least 10 Spellbooks.
Death Spell may not be acquired at the start of the campaign regardless of how many Spellbooks the wizard possesses. It must either be Researched during the game, or acquired through other means.
Wizards with 3 to 9 Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research Death Spell during the game. The chance for this spell to appear for research increases with the number of Death Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. With 10 or 11 Spellbooks, the spell is guaranteed to appear for Research at some point, if it is not already available for casting.
Death Spell has a base Research Cost of 2,500.
With at least 3 Spellbooks, the Death Spell spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell.
Strategy[]
Death Spell is an effective way of instantly reducing the strength of an entire enemy army - though the result is based on randomness and is more favourable when the enemy army contains plenty of low-Resistance units.
Armies comprised primarily of Normal Units will usually be decimated by Death Spell. If the first casting produces good results, you may wish to cast the spell a second time to kill off more enemies, though by this point it's usually better to engage the remnants of the enemy army with your units in order to conserve Mana.
Death Spell's cost-efficiency is better the more enemy units there are - and especially the more Multi-Figure enemy units there are. Multi-Figure units tend to lose at least one figure to this spell, weakening them at least slightly, while a Single-Figure unit only needs to succeed one Resistance roll to survive without any adverse effects.
There is no point in casting this spell when there are only a few enemy units - especially if most or all of them have very high Resistance scores. Consider casting Word of Death, if available, in such situations; it has a better chance of success and costs a little less Mana too.