[Ironhawk]

Another thing to consider is that new players frequently overlook the Path Buffing spells. These are spells which boost your power in a particular magic path (Summon Earthpower, Summon Storm Power, Power of the Spheres, Communion Master/Slave, etc). With these spells in hand you can turn a relatively weak battle mage into a powerhouse.

Examples:
Generic 2E mage, what can he cast? Legions of Steel maybe? blah. But cast Earthpower to take him to 3E and suddenly he can cast Bladewind, which will just slaughter all the lightly armored enemy.

Generic 2F mage can cast fireball. Pretty good. But buff him to 3F with phoenix power and he can cast Falling Fires. Then you can just watch your enemies burn in the huge AoE