MAGIC – SERAPHON LORE
Seraphon lore is divided into 2 cathegories:
we have Slann spells and Skinks spells, plus the “unique” spells
Unique spells
Celestial Deliverance
(Lord Kroak)
casting value 7+
Can be cast up to 3 times, with increasing casting value: 7+, 8+, 9+.
Pick 3 units within 10”, each one on a 2+ suffers d3 MWs (3 MWs if chaos daemon).
Kroak got the rule Arcane Vassal, so stuck an astrolith bearer near him, use the Sage’s staff constellation, and you’ll cast the spell with a +3, in a 16” range from a vassal (or Kroak himself).
Comet’s call
(Lord Kroak, Slann, Oracle on Troglodon)
Casting value 7+.
Pick d3 units on the whole battlefield; each one suffers d3 MWs. on a casting roll 10+, pick d6 units. Pretty potent, as you don’t even need LoS and you can target heroes.
It’s not a unmodified roll, so grab as many bonuses to cast you can, and drop d6 comets
Control Fate
(Skink Stearseer)
Casting value 7+.
Pick an enemy unit within 18”, subtract 1 from its save rolls.
OR
Pick a friendly enemy unit within 18”, add 1 to its save rolls.
Pretty potent. Useful when you wanna see dead a tough target, Vital when you wanna increase the resistance of a key unit (a horde of 40 saurus warriors, a Bastiladon, a Dread Saurian)
Blazing Starlight
(Skink Starpriest)
Casting value 6+.
Pick a enemy unit within 18”, subtract 1 from its To hit rolls.
It stacks nicely with buffs and debuffs available to our army. Use in combo with Geminids and control fate for maximum power.
Slann spells
Each Slann (Kroak included) knows one of these. Thanks to the rule “Contemplations of the Ancient One”, 1 Slann can swap a Lore spell with another one, but only at the end of your hero phase
Celestial Apotheosis
casting value 5+,
Pick a friendly unit within 18”, heal 1 wound. on a 10+ heal d3. (secondary effect: give -1 to bravery to nearby enemy).
It’s another spell that can be triggered in its empowered version by modified rolls, so it’s not bad at all and can be played in combo with other healing effects to ensure your dinos will stay alive.
I would rank this as second best Slann spell.
Walk between Realms
casting value 6+,
Pick a friendly unit within 18”, that unit can fly.
If only the command ability of the Slann wouldn’t be very similar… never take this one at the beginning of the battle.
Mystical Unforging
casting value 7+
pick a enemy hero with an artefact within 12”. d3 MW and a 1/3 chance to break the carried artefact by said hero.
it helps you in killing a weak hero in a key position, but alas it works only on heroes that actually carry an artefact.
Situational at best, never take it at the beginning of the battle.
Celestial equilibrium
casting value 7+
add +1 to cast, dispel and unbind for all friendly wizards (but not the caster).
Kinda meh, the Slann loses a spell without even enjoying the bonus.
I would consider it only if you’re planning a magical bombardment, with a list that includes also Kroak and another wizard.
Stellar Tempest
casting value 7+
Pick an enemy unit within 24”; roll a die for each model in the target unit, 1 MW for each 5+.
finally a serious anti horde, with some nice MW spam, that can easily target the opponent since turn one even if you go first. One of the best spell we have, there’s really no contest.
This should always be included in your list.
Drain magic
casting value 9+
Dispel all unbound endless spells within 24”. Pick it when you face a heavy magic army that uses them (possibly more than 2).
Skinks spells
No “Contemplations of the Ancient One” for skinks, so be careful with your choices
Celestial Harmony
casting value 5+
Pick a friendly unit within 18”, that unit is immune to battleshock tests. On a roll of 10+, it affects all friendly units within 18”
If you run Coalesced, you know you want this one. BUT skinks spells are good, and you could always use a CP to avoid losses due to low bravery.
Hand of Glory
casting value 6+
Pick a friendly unit within 18”, that unit can re-roll all 1s to hit until your next hero phase.
It’s almost the only way we have to re-roll 1s.
It’s a must have for any kind of army (Starborne or Coalesced).
Extend Astromatrix
casting value 6+
Pick a basic terrain element (damned, arcane, inspiring…) within 18; “good” effects apply only to Seraphon, while “bad” ones affects only enemies. Of course, if you know you are facing an army that uses magic, it could be good to negate a +1 to cast… but it’s situational at best.
Fiery convocation
casting value 7+
Pick a enemy unit within 18”; up til your next hero phase, roll a dice at the end of each phase: on a 6+, inflict d3 MWs.
Weird spell: basically (not counting double turns) you are going to roll 12 dices (6 in your turn and 6 in the opponent’s), hoping to score as many 6s you can. it’s 2d3 on average, but I wouldn’t count too much on statistic on this. Excellent for lucky players.
Bind Endless Spell
casting value 7+
Pick a Endless Spell within 1”; up til your next hero phase, it’s a bound spell.
Basically, it lets you mess with opponent’s endless spells, which could be truly nice, but it’s another situational spell.
Tide of Serpents
casting value 8+
Pick an enemy unit within 12”; roll a die for each model in the target unit, 1 MW for each 5+.
it’s basically as “stellar tempest”, but with higher casting value and lower range. its additional value is that you can cast TWO anti-horde spell (leaving aside endless spells).
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As you can see, our spells covers basically 2 different aspects: direct damage OR buff / debuffs, plus some weird situational utility.
Keep in mind that, especially with skinks, you will always find yourself in some difficulty: being them able to cast just one spell, you will need to take hard decisions.
It’s up to you to decide what kind of power you want to develope: Slanns are better equipped with damage and healing spells, while skinks excel in buffs / debuffs.
An army with Slann and Kroak could push for a magical barrage, while a Thunder Lizard could immensely enjoy a “protective” magical phase.
It’s always good, anyway, to have something for everything.
