[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Tier two research for water magic?

I second the Ice Pebble Staff if you have a gem surplus.
It costs a lot less fatigue than the spell, so you can have a commander cast it around 20 times, if the battle lasts that long.

Shambler Skin armor is a big letdown, but if you have a high defense supercombatant pretender, it can do you a lot of good. Plus, you can now boost your mage with waterpower if you go underwater.

The Ice Sword is a great tool if you've got a commander you want gaining experience and heroic abilities. It is a pretty damaging weapon, and that def boost will help your commanders go around killing so you can pick and choose heroic abilities to develop.

If you've got a lot of low damage troops and are facing heavy infantry/cavalry, Dessication is a decent choice. First off, it has precision 100, though MR is a factor, so it whiffs a lot less than cold bolts. In theory, it could deal 16 fatigue a turn, though averages less. You can check out page 76 for the details on fatigue, but suffice to say, it'll give you more chances at critical hits. There are lot of situations where it is a waste, however, so I don't have this scripted by default.

If you've forged that Ice Pebble Staff, it makes a decent combination with a spellcaster casting dessication. Numbness will slow down and fatigue those troops, giving Dessication a bit longer to work.

There's a few interesting spells just a bit further down the line, but of tier 2, I think this and what others mentioned above just about covers it.

I'm interested whether anyone has ever used Ice Drakes to any affect. I tried four or five against R'lyeh once, and didn't see any return for my investment, but perhaps thats due to MR.