[MaxWilson]

Hmmm. So you want spells for killing SCs and elite troops that are still low-research and don't give an unfair advantage? The only thing I can think of is to make sure these spells cost a lot, so that you won't use them unless you ARE being bless-rushed. Shadow Blast is a good standard I think. It's a good spell, but it involves gem micro and requires multiple mages to get a saturation effect, which in the early game means pretty much only near your capital/main forts.

Thus, you could consider lowering the research level on:

* Shadow Blast (works vs. all kinds of troops, not so much SCs)
* Summon Air Elemental
* Iron Bane (GREAT for killing powerful sacreds)
* Fire Arrows (may be too powerful)
* Swarm
* Dessication

And possibly provide gemcosting, low-research versions of Frozen Heart, Incinerate, Stellar Cascades, Charm, Soul Slay, etc.

-Max