Or give them a cheap bow (xbows work best, isn't Piercer one shot every 3 rounds?).
I think Piercer is a crossbow, so 2 rounds. Vision's Foe is an arbalest and fires every 3 rounds.
The masters shouldn't care about that, though, because if they're scripted to "fire" they won't cast on the in-between turns.
In other words, GENIUS! Why didn't I think of that!
Ah right, I always get Piercer and Vision's Foe mixed up. And they do care about that, because with a regular crossbow, you are getting 24 rounds of missile fire before your buffing mage races into melee, but with an arbalest, you gain 36 rounds for your melee to win the fight, and avoid that fate. The extra 12 rounds is a huge buffer.
Very neat idea. Have you actually used it in MP or just in SP?
Personally, I'm not altogether fond of reverse or linebacker communions..... Though I do have a strategy for someone that I really should try one of these times.
But, when I want a mage to deliver a couple of spells, and then stay out of trouble, a crossbow or arbalest is what I look for.