Mastering Magic: Magical Protection

Good morning gamers,

Today we start our sixth post in our "masterclass" series on Magic in MESBG. We've looked at Sorcerous Blast, Immobilize (et al), auric spells, restoration spells, and area-of-effect spells. Today we turn our attention to some of the most useful spells a caster can have when facing an army with a spell-caster of its own (or multiple spell-casters - THE HORROR): Fortify Spirit, Protection of the Valar, and Shroud of Shadows. While we'll only be looking at five models today (three Forces of Good, two Forces of Evil), several of these heroes (Galadriel, Lady of Light from the White Council, Gandalf the Grey from several lists including the White Council, and Ashrak from Moria) can ally with all but four factions in the game either Conveniently or Historically (woe to Arnor, Numenor, Barad-Dur, and Sharkey's Rogues). This means that understanding what these heroes do - and why they might be slapped into a list - is good for any player to know.

Pre-warning: no pictures in this post, mostly because I only own the two Gandalf models and have photographed them a lot already in this series. Call me lazy.

What Do These Spells Do?

Two of these spells are quite straight-forward: Fortify Spirit gives a friendly model (which could be the caster himself) not one but TWO free dice when you make a Resist test against a magical power - and yes, this stacks with other free dice that might come from Heroic Resolve, Resistant to Magic, or a Staff of Power, and they don't require you to spend a Will point of your own to use them. They're just free. When channelled, the highest Resist die also gets +1 to its result (meaning you can automatically resist any spell that is cast against you on the roll of a 5 or 6 - wow-zahs). This spell is an Exhaustion spell, so once cast, you want to make sure the caster (not the person who is the target of the spell) retains 1 Will in their Will store to keep it up.

Protection of the Valar is also straight-forward in that the friendly model that is targeted by the spell is immune to both magical powers and weird special rules for the round (I'm looking at you Golden King of Abrakhan and Dead Marsh Spectres!). When channelled, this spell affects the target and all friendly models within 3" of the target, which can make A GROUP of heroes immune to any magical barrage. Unlike Fortify Spirit, however, this spell isn't an Exhaustion spell, so you need to cast it every round in order to make it work (the opportunity cost is certainly higher, but not being affected by magic for the round is guaranteed).

Shroud of Shadows is the most nuanced of the spells and also the most powerful. Based on the most recent Designer Commentaries, the friendly model that is targeted by the spell is not only immune to magical powers (except from Ringwraiths, maybe Sauron), but is also invisible (granting all kinds of movement benefits) and is immune to shooting attacks and requires a Courage test to charge the model with a reduction of Courage based on the distance the model is from the target. As clarified in the most recent FAQ, models that fail this Courage test get to move normally and aren't rooted in place. When channelled, any enemy models in base contact with the target halve their Fight Value (rounding up). While definitely useful at keeping models from being targeted by spells, this spell ALSO makes it hard to shoot or charge them - perfect for keeping a very important model safe.

Who's Got These Spells?

As I mentioned at the beginning, we're only looking at five models today, but several of them can ally with basically anybody:

• Gandalf the White (Minas Tirith) has access to Fortify Spirit - since Gandalf already receives a free Will point each turn thanks to his Staff of Power, this can make him incredibly good at resisting enemy magical barrages (fear me, Ringwraiths, wherever you be).
  
• Galadriel, Lady of Light (White Council) also has access to Fortify Spirit - and has a free Will point each turn that isn't tied to a Staff of Power.
  
• Gandalf the Grey (Fellowship, Shire, Thorin's Company, Survivors of Lake-town, White Council) is the only model in the game with access to Protection of the Valar - whether he's protecting heroes from the Fellowship, Thorin's Company, or the White Council (and to a lesser extent Shire and Lake-town heroes), Gandalf can make tackling important combat heroes with magic absolutely impossible. If supporting the Survivors of Lake-town or the Shire (and to a lesser extent the Fellowship and Thorin's Company), you can make targeting models that sit on objectives impossible too - which is also very useful.
  
• The Necromancer of Dol Guldur (The Dark Powers of Dol Guldur) is the only model in the game who can cast Shroud of Shadows on any model he wishes (including himself). When cast on himself, the Necromancer is not only less likely to be charged by enemy models, but also immune to shooting and magical powers as well (and potentially halving the Fight Value of any model he charges on that turn if he channels it).
  
• Ashrak (Moria) has access to Shroud of Shadows, but can only cast it on Spider models. While Moria doesn't have any Spider models innately, Ashrak allows you to bring Giant Spiders in his warband (and Druzhag the Beastcaller can bring Giant Spiders in his warband as well). Moria can also ally with almost anyone - and two particularly good spiders can be found in the Mordor (Shelob) and Dark Denizens of Mirkwood (Spider Queen - who can bring Giant Spiders and Mirkwood Spiders) lists. You can also get Mirkwood Spiders in either the Dark Powers of Dol Guldur or Dark Denizens of Mirkwood lists.
  

How Do You Use These Spells Most Effectively?

Like the auric spells and restoration spells we covered already in this series, these spells all target friendly models, which makes casting them successfully much easier than the alternative. Here are some guidelines for casting these magical-protection spells:

• Spend enough Will to cast the spell with a 50% reliability;
• Know your opponent's list and the scenario; and
• Know when to channel these spells.

1) The 50% Success Guideline

By now in this series, you probably know that my general rule is a 70% probability of success for spells that target enemy models and a 50% probability of success for spells that target friendly models (including the caster himself). While casting these spells allows for a lower threshold of success (because there's no resisting roll made), you need to identify how important casting the spell is on any given turn. Protection of the Valar and Shroud of Shadows are an automatic-immunity to magical powers (some exceptions for Ringwraith opponents), while Fortify Spirit is a static defense boost against magical assaults, so while you can throw up Fortify Spirit early in the game, Protection of the Valar and Shroud of Shadows are more of a conditional resistance to magical attacks (determined by whether an enemy caster can target a model this turn or not).

When trying to cast with a 50% chance of success, you can cast each spell as follows:

• Gandalf the White - Fortify Spirit (3+): free Will point = 67%
• Galadriel, Lady of Light - Fortify Spirit (3+): free Will point = 67%
• Gandalf the Grey - Protection of the Valar (4+): free Will point = 50%
• The Necromancer of Dol Guldur - Shroud of Shadows (4+): 1 Will (plus the free die if you keep his army bonus) = 50-75%
• Ashrak - Shroud of Shadows (4+): 1 Will = 50%

Unlike all of the other posts we've viewed in this series on magic, all of these spells can be cast on a single point of Will - which is pretty good since you want your Will to be saved by casting these spells! Granted, most of these are a 50/50 pass/fail proposition, so you can throw an extra Will point at it to "make sure it goes off" without the use of Might OR just decide whether or not you're okay with failing the spell half the time (or a third of the time).

2) Know Thy Enemy (and Scenario Objectives)

Characters like Gandalf (either version) are often torn between what spell to cast: early in the game, Gandalf the White is torn between casting Fortify Spirit, Terrifying Aura, and Blinding Light, while Gandalf the Grey mid-to-late in the game is torn between casting Strengthen Will, Sorcerous Blast (maybe), Immobilize, and (against certain lists) Protection of the Valar. For both versions of Gandalf, understanding your opponent's main threat to your force will often dictate which of these spells takes the priority - let's consider a few factors:

• Does the scenario allow your opponent to deploy close to you? If so, you probably won't have enough time to cast all of your Exhaustion spells with Gandalf the White (and so you need to prioritize them);
• Does your opponent's list have a single caster (maybe an auxiliary caster who won't be active for very long) or does it have several casters (or a single Unlimited caster)?
• Does your opponent's list have dangerous long-range archery (like siege engines)? Does it matter against your army?
• Can your opponent target you (or an important friendly model) with magic this turn?
• Is there anything you NEED to cast this turn (besides this magical protection spell)?
• How do you win the scenario (will protecting one particular model enable you to have a greater chance of victory)?

3) When Do You Channel These Spells?

Honestly, I'm not sure any of these spells NEED to be channelled, but each of them certainly can be channelled to great effect. Here are some examples:

• Fortify Spirit innately gives you a 55% chance on just the two free dice you roll of getting a 5+ - that means if you spend 1 Might point, you can resist any spell that's cast against you roughly half the time (and that assumes that you need to get a 6). By channelling this spell, you have a 75% chance of getting a 5+ on just the two free dice and a 55% chance of getting a high roll of a 6 (which automatically resists). Your Will points (and likely your Might points as well) are safe to use for other things (except for 1 Will to keep the spell up).
• Protection of the Valar grants one friendly model within 3" of the caster (which can be the caster himself) immunity to hostile magical powers (and those weird special rules) for the turn, but channelling it affects all friendly models within 3" of the caster (which is AMAZING). If you're marching a hero beat-squad towards your opponent and fear magical assaults, this is a pretty great way to roll (trust me, I've fought this before with a group of Ringwraiths, and it was HORRIBLE).
• Shroud of Shadows innately gives you immunity to magical powers (some exceptions) and shooting attacks and pairs awesome maneuverability with a reduced ability for opposing models to charge you by forcing them to pass a Courage test with reduced Courage for each inch they are away from you (which stacks with rules like Harbinger of Evil). Channelled, you also reduce any model you're Engaged with in half (rounding up). If the Necromancer casts it on himself (or Azog or Bolg or . . . ) or if Ashrak casts it on Shelob or the Spider Queen (or a Giant Spider that's also had Enraged Beast cast on it), the target of this spell will be winning the fight and probably doing a host of damage.

While all of these are great spells when channelled, all of the heroes in our list today have the same problem: they all want their Might for other things:

• Gandalf the White has access to Strike and lots of spells that are great channelled (Blinding Light/Terrifying Aura and Banishment against certain models);
• Gandalf the Grey also has access to Strike and some spells that are great channelled (Blinding Light/Terrifying Aura);
• Galadriel, Lady of Light has access to Strike and two other spells that are conditionally worth channeling (Banishment and Instill Fear against certain units);
• Ashrak has a single Might point and could use it to channel Fury (or just make sure a spell goes off); and
• The Necromancer of Dol Guldur has one other spell that is great when channelled (Curse against heroes with 2+ Fate points - especially against those heroes with rerollable Fate points) - I see the Necromancer channelling Curse the most UNLESS you're facing heroes with a single Fate point only.

So when do you channel these spells? I think channeling is highly situational, but you as a general need to decide what the most important thing for your army is: is it being all-but-immune to enemy magic (and thus driving your opponent's magical barrages at other models)? Or is it calling other heroic actions or channeling other spells and letting yourself be a bit more exposed to magical attacks (or not be as high a Fight Value, in the case of Shroud of Shadows)?

When Do You Use It?

As mentioned above, these spells are HIGHLY situational in use. Fortify Spirit generally gets cast early, while Protection of the Valar and Shroud of Shadows will only come into play once your opponent is within 12" of you. The more important question, I think, is how these very niche spells play into the spell arrays of the heroes who have them. Let's look at some examples to see how this works (let's assume in each of these examples that your opponent has at least one caster in his army who can target your models with at least one spell).

Use Case Study: Gandalf the White and Fortify Spirit

Gandalf the White is an expensive hero - and protecting him from magical attacks (especially Sap Will, Curse, or Your Staff Is Broken) is a big part of your game plan. Gandalf should be casting Fortify Spirit on himself on the first turn of the game unless you are far from your opponent's starting position and he has a strong archery contingent. After Gandalf has Fortify Spirit up on himself (and possibly Blinding Light), Gandalf can cast Fortify Spirit on other heroes who might be targets of magical barrages (there are MANY Minas Tirith heroes who only have 1 Will point, but high-priority models include Boromir, King Aragorn, Denethor, Faramir, and Hurin - depending on who you have in your list).

Use Case Study: Galadriel, Lady of Light and Fortify Spirit

Galadriel, Lady of Light has the anti-archery part of Blinding Light already integrated into her profile (which is good, since she doesn't have to channel the spell). She also innately causes Terror (with a -1 penalty to enemy models within 6"), so she doesn't have to worry about casting Terrifying Aura either. As such, Fortify Spirit should be cast on herself on the first turn to protect her from damage (Curse is nasty, but so is anything that does a hit of any Strength against her). If you're with any other heroes from the White Council, you'll want to prioritize casting Fortify Spirit on them (protecting heroes like Saruman the White, Radagast the Brown, and Gandalf the Grey because of their lack of Attacks, but also the combat heroes who will be drawing aggro - like Elrond or Celeborn).

Once you get close to your opponent, your focus changes to Instill Fear and Banishment (depending on the forces you're fighting, of course). Ideally you have time to cast Fortify Spirit on yourself and others before the clash begins, but you might find yourself locked in quickly and not have more than a turn to prepare. When this happens, make sure you cast Fortify Spirit on yourself on the first turn.

"Use" Case Study: Gandalf the Grey and Protection of the Valar

Protection of the Valar is an interesting spell, as it makes the target of the spell unable to be the target of hostile magical powers for the turn. While you might think this is better than Fortify Spirit (which gives you a good chance at resisting spells), it's actually not for two reason. First and foremost, Protection of the Valar doesn't last - if Gandalf casts this spell on any given round, he has to re-cast that spell on the following round to keep himself (or an ally) from being attacked by magic. Sometimes this is all you need, but by choosing to cast this spell, you're foregoing casting other spells as long as you cast it. Sure, keeping one particular unit alive might be really important for the scenario, but Gandalf is an expensive piece - you can't have him tied up for most of the game keeping someone safe!

As such, this is one of those spells that I think you only cast if you're in a REALLY bad pinch - if your opponent has only one caster, you'll get more mileage out of an Immobilize instead. If your opponent has several casters, Immobilizing one of them could be enough, but you might be better off finding the most important piece on the board and protecting that guy with Protection of the Valar.

But this leads us to our second point: by casting this spell on a friendly model (and possibly affecting other friendly models near that model), you remove those pieces from the list of viable targets for your opponent's magic. This MIGHT mean that really important pieces are safe, but it could also make other units more vulnerable, as they rise on the list of important pieces to be targeted by magic. Perhaps you choose to cast Protection of the Valar on Thorin Oakenshield and affect all of his kin within 3" of him, but in doing so forget about poor Gloin who is off on his own killing stuff - guess who the Ringwraiths or Barrow-Wights will be targeting then?

This post concludes the list of spells for Gandalf the Grey, so let's take a look at the prioritized game-plan for him:

• If your opponent has lots of archery, channel Blinding Light on your first turn (except in Clash by Moonlight) with your free Will point and 1 Will from your store;
• If you aren't deployed close to your opponent, cast Terrifying Aura on yourself with just your free Will point (channel it if you didn't have to channel Blinding Light - throw an extra Will point if you do);
• If you're not within 12" of your opponent by the time you've cast either or both of these spells (assuming you need Blinding Light), cast Strengthen Will on yourself (or another friendly model that can benefit from the Will - such as Arwen/Boromir in the Fellowship, Oin/Balin in Thorin's Company, Lotho Sackville-Baggins/Will Whitfoot from the Shire, Bard the Bowman/Alfrid the Councilor from the Survivors of Lake-town, and Elrond/Celeborn in the White Council);
• When you're within 12" of your opponent's forces and you aren't in a good position for a Sorcerous Blast, cast Command on an enemy model that hasn't moved yet on your free Will point and 1 Will (a spell-caster if there's only one that poses any threat, otherwise pick a combat model);
• If you can knock over an important enemy figure with a Sorcerous Blast (by targeting a warrior model nearby), cast Sorcerous Blast on your free Will point + 2 Will from your store;
• If you're running low on Will, cast Immobilize on just your free Will point on an important enemy model (see the Command section above) - if no such model is nearby, cast Strengthen Will on yourself so you can cast Sorcerous Blast more;
• ONLY cast Collapse Rocks (channelled) using your free Will point + 2 Will from your store if your opponent has a group of models near a rocky area - and only cast it channelled - rely on Sorcerous Blast otherwise;
• ONLY cast Protection of the Valar if it's vitally important that one specific model not be encumbered by magic this turn (naturally this will only happen if you're acting before the enemy casters act this turn).

In short (since Gandalf the Grey spawned most of the questions that led to this series), most of the time you'll be casting Immobilize or Strengthen Will once things get rough - two spells that are pretty easily cast. Sorcerous Blast is useful for messing your opponent up early (and potentially killing models), but since it drains your Will fast, you probably won't get more than 1-2 casts off in a game, unless you cast Strengthen Will on yourself with the express purpose of casting Sorcerous Blast more often (don't depend on it). Or, you could cast it more often if you are okay with a high risk of failure and choose to throw a single die at the spell.

Use Case Study: The Necromancer of Dol Guldur and Shroud of Shadows

The Necromancer has a nasty array of spells, but Shroud of Shadows is probably the nastiest of them. Don't believe me? As nasty as Curse (cast on a 4+) and Chill Soul (cast on a 5+) and Transfix (cast on a 2+) are, the ability to channel Shroud of Shadows on yourself or a friendly model (Dol Guldur has access to some nasty Nazgul and the Keeper of the Dungeons, but you're also historical allies with Azog and Bolg) will cause the target hero to be beating whatever Fight Value they're fighting (OR be a nice counter to a wretched Ringbearer). If your opponent has a big hero nearby, any of these big heroes can reliably win any duel they have and deal a horrific amount of damage.

When cast channelled on himself, the Necromancer pairs his lack-luster 1 Attack with Fight 7 (auto-win on a tie) AND has Drain Soul (any Wounds suffered remove all Wounds on the model) with Strength 6 when it's time to Wound. If you can pair this with Mirkwood Spiders (available in the same list) who can Paralyze a target with a throwing-weapon-style attack so long as the target doesn't spend a Fate point (which Curse handles quite nicely), you can avoid having to win the fight against the model and instead just focus on killing them (with S6 and 2 dice to do it, that's not hard).

If cast on another model, this spell can help a model that's carrying the Heirloom or the Prize in Heirlooms of Ages Past or Seize the Prize from being pounced on by enemy models (even weaving through enemy ranks if required). A Mirkwood Spider that's racing for an enemy objective can also be protected from enemy archery or being charged by models guarding the objective. There are SO many uses for this ability - but the heart of it is protection of an important asset (identifying who that is will be the problem most of the time).

"Use" Case Study: Ashrak and Shroud of Shadows

Ashrak can attempt to cast Shroud of Shadows on Spider models three times during the game. Make no mistake: this can be DEVASTATING to an opponent's force, especially if you're augmenting one of the two spider heroes in the game (Shelob and the Spider Queen). Any Giant Spider that's targeted by this spell will also get the benefits of not being sniped by enemy shooting attacks or getting nerfed in combat with a cheeky Immobilize. The thing is that Ashrak also has Fury (Spider) as a spell - and Spiders have pretty low Courage. Sure, Druzhag in the same army can boost their Courage pretty well, but on the whole, they're really lacking. I get the feeling that Ashrak's Fury boost in some games (maybe even most games) is a better bargain than Shroud of Shadows. If you do choose to cast Shroud of Shadows with Ashrak, I wouldn't channel it (save the Might to boost a roll).

Fortify Spirit, Protection of the Valar, and Shroud of Shadows

This post has been shorter and more straight-forward than our other posts in this series - and it's probably because the spells are pretty direct in what they do and how to use them. Nuances are present and you do have to consider whether or when to cast these spells, but you know exactly what you're getting from them.

In our next post, we will look at spells that deal precision damage - spells like Banishment, Flameburst, Black Dart, Paralyze (everyone's least favorite spell to fight), and (everyone's actual least favorite spell to fight) Chill Soul. 

While neutralizing enemy heroes is fun and auric spells can be really cool, damage spells will always have an entertaining place for new players and veteran players alike. Don't want to deal with that nasty Elven lord? Why not take his horse out from under him (or just blast him to death)! Want to get a cheeky victory point by plucking a Wound off the enemy army leader? We've got spells for that! Want to clear out an enemy model holding an objective? Got you covered! Are these spells that straight-forward though? Not at all - tune in next time for more. Until then, happy hobbying!