Legions of Steel

[Kaljamaha]

I have real trouble using this spell. Actually, to be totally accurate, I cannot get my mages to properly use this spell at all. I searched around the forum, and found a couple of posts describing targeting weirdness with this spell. I however, have a different problem. My mages refuse to cast it when it would result in something useful happening.

Here's the setup. I'm playing Marverni, and I research Const 3 to get this spell (no other research done). My armies' battle deployment is as follows:

20 - 30 Carnute nobles, centerfield, as forward as possible
1 Druid (E3+) some ways behind the Carnutes
1 random commander to the side of the Druid

The Carnutes are set to Hold and Attack, the Druid has LoS x3, then some other spells. I figured this setup would guarantee that the Carnutes get their armor boosted.

As if! The bozo Druid first casts the spell on the lone commander (fine... whatever), the on himself (idiot!), and finally, when his only option left is to cast it on actual troops, he defaults. To Sermon of Courage, or something else. He absolutely refuses to cast the spell on a the Carnutes. Slingers (from, say, provicial def), yes, but some god seems to forbid him actually casting it on proper line infantry. I was able to get the spell cast on the troops by shuffling the commanders around, but it was rather unreliable. The most success I had was when I placed the Druid in the middle of the infantry, but in that position he is in real danger of dying of some random arrow or whatnot.

So, does anyone have any tips on how to use this spell, or is it totally bollocksed?

K.