communion mechanics

[Immaculate]

Don't forget the value of combinations like 'resist fire', 'flame storm', or 'resist poison', 'foul vapors'. Suddenly all your casters share the elemental immunity that their troops presumably possess (summon lots of firesnakes for example) THEN drop the big thunderstrikes or whatever.

[Stagger Lee]

Originally Posted by Legendary League

You're forgetting the most important spell for communion, Reinvigoration. Removes all fatigue from a communion, all fatigue, which is absolutely awesome. It's a blood spell, however, so remember that (so if you have a blood mage that can enter a communion via sabbath, do it).

Works especially well with reverse communions, where the goal is buffing your slaves with PotS and other spells so they can all cast evocations. If you're say Bogsrus, form a reverse communion with as many A2S1 guys that you can (since it's Bogarus, 30+ mage communions are fairly easy to make), have couple masters (at the end of the turn order, since if a master casts before a slave, the slave won't cast [I learned this the hard way, hahah]) cast buffs from Mistform to PotS to Earthpower to whatever battlefield spells you need (Flaming Arrows, whatever), and script reinvigoration in alternation on Diabloists or Starets (because reinvig needs master fatigue to cast). Watch as you rain dozens of thunderstrikes, Gifts, Falling Fire, Magma Eruptions, Astral Fires, whatever you desire, and decimate the enemy army, all with pretty much nonexistent fatigue.

Yes, but experience has shown this to be hard to rely on. Battlefield placement is far more important when blood is involved. A nearby master might just grab a few slaves meant for someone else, screwing up lots of well laid plans. Also, the fatigue on the master casting reinvig, iirc the fatigue has to be significant, or it may go off script.

Originally Posted by Immaculate

Don't forget the value of combinations like 'resist fire', 'flame storm', or 'resist poison', 'foul vapors'. Suddenly all your casters share the elemental immunity that their troops presumably possess (summon lots of firesnakes for example) THEN drop the big thunderstrikes or whatever.

Perhaps nitpicking, but not all casters, rather all slaves and the master casting the spell. Other masters will have to hit themselves or buff with items.

[Legendary League]

Originally Posted by Stagger Lee

Yes, but experience has shown this to be hard to rely on. Battlefield placement is far more important when blood is involved. A nearby master might just grab a few slaves meant for someone else, screwing up lots of well laid plans. Also, the fatigue on the master casting reinvig, iirc the fatigue has to be significant, or it may go off script.

Yeah, it makes things abit more difficult to run properly. However, the payoff (far larger number of evocations spammed) is definitely worth it.

It just requires clever scripting, and alternation using several masters (i.e. 4 masters stagger-casting Reinvigoration with one slave each (the first one casting reinvig can cast Sabbath Master instead to get the fatigue), or 2 double casting reinvigoration at staggered intervals, with a highish fatigue spell in between).

[Stagger Lee]

Originally Posted by Legendary League

stagger-casting

My specialty.

[mattyburn7]

Yes...and as LL said, make sure they are casting high fatigue spells...or else you may suddenly find some imps fighting on your side!!

[JonBrave]

Originally Posted by Stagger Lee

Battlefield placement is far more important when blood is involved. A nearby master might just grab a few slaves meant for someone else, screwing up lots of well laid plans.

Excuse if this question is not to do with Communion. I have seen my virgins standing around on the battlefield (hussies, they're probably just there to flirt...). Are you saying that with blood casting anyone can help themselves to a common pool of slaves? I assumed each mage had to come equipped with his own, like gems? Or maybe that this applies in communion only?

[sansanjuan]

There is a range.... Perhaps half the field? There is a thread somewhere.
ssj

[JonBrave]

Originally Posted by sansanjuan

There is a range.... Perhaps half the field? There is a thread somewhere.
ssj

Could you/someone please clarify: even if there is a range involved, are you saying that mages help themselves to one another's slaves, unlike gems?? If that's so, it does make planning harder.

[Valerius]

Originally Posted by JonBrave

Could you/someone please clarify: even if there is a range involved, are you saying that mages help themselves to one another's slaves, unlike gems?? If that's so, it does make planning harder.

It also has advantages, in that if you run out of slaves while in the field you can teleport in another mage and have those slaves used immediately rather than needing a turn to redistribute them as you would with gems.

[Knai]

Originally Posted by Valerius

It also has advantages, in that if you run out of slaves while in the field you can teleport in another mage and have those slaves used immediately rather than needing a turn to redistribute them as you would with gems.

On the other hand, there are some huge disadvantages. Battlefield evocations can't just drain gem pools, but slaves can be slaughtered wholesale. That's a pretty major downside.

With that said, there is also some general screwing around you can do in single player that more than makes up for it. Blood Slave thugs are completely and utterly absurd (and generally worthless), and as such oddly entertaining.