Re: Blood Magic as Combat Magic?
 

Speaking of blood magic:

Does anyone have anything positive to say about illwinter or the looming hell in MP play?

Re: Blood Magic as Combat Magic?
 

looming hell isn't the best thing ever, just puts you on everyones hitlist just for a few assassination attempts.

I find an infernal disease spam is usually better because you can direct it where needed, you don't gain unecesary attention from everyone and failed attemps will usually end in the opponents commander being diseased anyway.

Re: Blood Magic as Combat Magic?
 

What about astral corruption? There was this one game in which I used it (again, SP), and I found that even for a mostly blood-casting nation, it can be painful, for the one time you need to cast some other ritual spell...

Re: Blood Magic as Combat Magic?
 

One nice thing about Looming Hell is that it works well with Disease Demons. If the enemy does not put guards on their commanders, then Disease Demons can take care of them. If the enemy puts guards on their commanders, then Looming Hell gets them. This makes it very difficult to protect any non-thug commanders.

Also, many blood nations can sacrifice for dominion, which gives them a lot of control over who is affected by Looming Hell. You can sacrifice to push your dominion into enemy lands, while holding back along your peaceful borders.

Re: Blood Magic as Combat Magic?
 

As far as I can tell, Looming Hell is the "poor man's Dispel" for blood nations. You can put so many Blood Slaves into it that it'll dispel any other non-blood Global that it goes up against and it doesn't have a downside for you like Astral Corruption.

Illwinter is the same. The fact that the upsides aren't that good and it has no downside for you means that it is ideal for knocking down globals.

Re: Blood Magic as Combat Magic?
 

The funny thing is that nations that can cast AC also tend to have some good way of avoiding or killing Horrors. For example, Neifleheim has Frozen Heart, all Abysia's have Returning, and Lanka has Lightning.