To siege or besiege?

[Arryn]

Originally posted by Taqwus:
Another note -- while assassins can't get inside the castle during the siege, assorted assasination spells can like Seeking Arrow and Earth Attack.

Earth Attack (Conjuration-8, E4, 10E gems) and Wind Ride (Conjuration-5, A5, 10A gems) are both great for killing castle commanders (non-pretenders). Wind Ride needs to be used only on the same turn your attackers will enter the province to lay siege (else you will suck one of your own leaders away if they are already in the target province). Earth Attack can be used both before and during the siege. It's wonderful to see how fast the battle is resolved after you breach the walls when the enemy has no leaders inside!

You can get extra Wind Ride-capable casters by summoning Harbingers (Conjuration-6, S4, 25S gems) or Faerie Court (Conjuration-8, N5, 40N gems). Give them a Winged Helm and a Bag of Winds to boost them from Air-3 to the needed Air-5. A Gale Gate (Thaumaturgy-8, A5, 60A gems) is very useful for giving you 20 air gems per turn (aka 2 Wind Rides).

I don't have enough experience with Earth, yet, to recommend effective techniques for creating lots of Earth-4 casters (for Earth Attacks).

[Peter Ebbesen]

Originally posted by Arryn:

I don't have enough experience with Earth, yet, to recommend effective techniques for creating lots of Earth-4 casters (for Earth Attacks).

Troll Kings (Conjuration 6, 45 Earth Gems) + Earth Boots (Construction 4, 10 Earth Gems) will do the trick, plus, you get 15 Trolls with each king. Probably the cheapest way to get a guaranteed E4 mage.