Yeah, some good ideas suggested here.

Seems like a much worse version of Hold the Line and Gift of Iron.

Cool. A clone version where you create a copy of yourself would be cool as well.

Love it.

This already exists?

I don't understand.

One thing I want to see is more tactical teleportation spells. They could really liven up combat.

Vanish - All enemies near the caster get -50 accuracy for 2 turns and the caster teleports to a empty tile. Of course the AI would have to know how to use this to get casters away from enemies that attack them.

Long Stride - Caster is teleported to target tile and gains another action.

Summons. Many more summons. That will make the summoning track more attractive, and potentially more varied, as well as interesting.

Summoning that also depends a bit at high levels on multiple elements. Perhaps a magma elemental if you have earth and fire. A storm elemental for air and water. Just thoughts.

These are some tactical spells I'd like to see that require code:

Reflect - Upon being hit by an offensive spell, that spell is reflected back to the caster. After the spell is reflected, the unit that avoided the spell loses 50% of its spell resist for 3 turns. For AOE spells, other friendly units would still get hit, the reflect would make only the caster suffer.

Essence Trap - Each time this unit is hit by a spell it gains 5 mana and gains +2 Initiative for 5 turns. The effect does not stack with itself.

Lord of Currents - Each time target casts a spell it gains +10 resistance to either fire, cold, poison or lightning. It also increases spell damage by 10%. The temporary effect lasts 3 turns, and stacks with itself.

I'd also like to see tactical-wide weather changes. Only ONE of these spells could be active at once, casting another one would instantly dispel the previous. You could very sparsely use particle effects, but the primary visual effect would be from the camera lightning already implemented.

Fog - All units lose 20% of their current dodge and accuracy. (favors tank units)

Ice hail - All units take 3-6 cold damage each time they act. (favors slow units)

Acid rain - All units lose 25% of their current defense. Poison resistance mitigates this effect, a unit immune to poison damage suffers no ill effect.

Grand Sealing - All summoned units suffer 3-10 damage each time they act. All other units gain +10 Spell resistance

Eternal Night - All ranged units lose 40% of their accuracy.

Mud rain - All mounted units lose 1 Moves.

Starshine - Current weather effect dispelled.

Dawn of the Dead - Whenever a humanoid unit dies, it is replaced by a skeleton carrying roughly the same equipment. The skeleton is a Monster and will attack anyone who belongs to a faction.

Chaotic Realm - Each time any unit is hit by a ranged or melee attack, or a spell, a random effect is rolled on that unit. Effects vary greatly, such as taking damage, getting healed, gaining temporary or permanent stat boosts, losing stats temporarily or permanently, losing items, teleported around the map and so on.

I love some of those proposed spells, especially mirror image and brainwash.

Am I understanding correctly that mindblast would be single target and to 1 damage to a group of 1 and 36 to a group of 6? This seems a bit weak unless it is cheap, and I'm not sure that it is something that really feels like it is missing from the current group of spells.

The anti-multiple champion spells also seem like they would rarely if every be used.

Here are some spells I would be interested in:

I would love to see a spell that creates an impassible obstacle on the field.

Silence.

A spell that can dismount an opponent.

Teleport other or teleport enemy/ally.

A spell that gives a unit +dodge and +1 or 2 counterattacks for a round or 2

Spells that make fire/ice damage heal the target.

Spell that does high damage to poisoned target but removes the poison

Spell that increases defense or dodge for each adjacent enemy unit

A strategic movement spell weaker/different from Cloud Walk available to all mages

Spell that does bonus damage for each enchantment on the target.

Yes please! 

Also maybe <Duration> that is calculated like <Value> can be calculated could be a cool feature for a curse(i.e. a Mage gets silenced for 10 turns (-1 turn for every 10 points of spell mastery he has) ).

 Maybe also a type of GameModifier "Chance to apply spell to unit" where <Value> is the chance a spell gets applied (i.e cast Feedback spell on a single target, then there is a (70-that units fire resistance) chance that  a fireball is triggered on its position applying additional damage to the target and nearby units). Could also have a <Duration> to apply the spell on the beginning of each turn.

All of these ideas are great. Please implement every one of them. - especially the summons spell suggestions.

Also, how about a "protection from normal missles" spell.  - Protects against arrows and hurled rocks for 1 turn for every 2 levels of the caster. The spell could just benefit the spellcaster or even his entire army (at a higher manna cost and a shorter duration)

Well I don't mean to sound like the party pooper, because new stuff is always great.. particularly AI stuff and code changes that open up more possibilities (for modders and Stardock to use in future).  So something like Mirror Image would meet that criteria and would be great, but some of those other spells not so much because i'm not sure they bring anything drastically new to the table (some of them I think we could mod in eg. Dazzle, Defensive Stance, Aggression).

Polymorph / shapeshifting, Dispel enemy buffs and curing poison as have been suggested would all be great.

I have a couple of things I'd like to suggest though:

1) Pls get the AI to use any spells/abilities that it currently does not use before adding new stuff.  For example i'm 99% sure the AI does not use these:

- Blade Rush

- Lightning Form

- Thunderstrike (Crow Demon ability - actually this half works, the damage applies but the unit does not teleport)

- Blink

There's probably more that's just some off the top of my head that I've tested in the past.

2) Spells are nice, but if there was time to be spent on tactical coding... adding in some form of LOS / Cover might be worth considering.  That'd be a great DLC, coding in LOS and adding a bunch of tactical maps that include cover / obstacles etc.  You could even have destructable objects like a gate that can be bashed down (then we can do seige type walls and stuff).   That'd be well cool, i'd prefer that over the spells personally.

Just my thoughts, all good regardless.

Also, "watered down" version of manna blast, available near the end of the mage path of one of the schools, would be cool.

I second abob101's comments about new tags and the AI's use of existing spells.

Also the posts about tactical summons, and as many as I want if i have the mana to do it, and the true flight would also be wonderful.

Loot should just be a bandit lord trait, great idea!  

May I add a Bandit Lord Sov-only tactical or strategic spell- Phantom Pickpocket:  You randomly steal an item from an enemy hero. (Cooldown of 99 turns)

Tactical regeneration was a great spell, can it be um, resurrected?

A problem with many of the spells suggested is there is too little reward for taking up a turn or 2 turns of casting time.  Especially for the non-direct damage spells.  

Warp/Straighten wood (consult your cleric if it persists longer than 4 seasons , or just Mass Dispel magic if you want to avoid really bad jokes) would be good examples of spells worth casting, they affect more than one unit and could also be countered in some other way... hmm, now I need to make magic resistant archers (I have never used that Spell Resistance trait when building a unit and I only take it as a Defender when I want to get to the good stuff beyond it.  Non-related thought:  What if Conclave units could be made highly magic resistant?)

Can you make spells that buff/debuff in three different AOE?  Make mana cost scale of course, really good ones could take two turns to cast I guess:

Spell:                                                                                Counter:

Single Unit:  Flame Blade                                                     Dispel                                                      

3x3 square: Greater Flame Blade                                          Greater Dispel

Whole battlefield:  Mass Flame Blade                                    Mass Dispel

Also the mixed school spells were terrific and made exploring different combinations fun.

Random weapon enchantment spell that would be permanent with a high mana/crystal cost/Sov HP cost?

Every 5th level spell school should have a change shard spell.  If I want 6 life shards at the expense of all others so be it.  Or make it only available to single school mages sorta like the different Mastery traits from MOM, as they won't be getting any mixed school spells.

Have you played with any mods installed, Frogboy?  I know you are a busy guy, but the modders here have done some incredible work!

Thanks for this game and your devotion to it, it just keeps getting better.

Oh yeah, whatever happened to the Spouses DLC anyway?

Mass haste spell please!

Party Crasher - Summons third party onto the battlefield which is nine titans working together to ruin your
 fun and your enemies. They will attempt to kill everyone unless they're friendly titans.

Let Chaos rule! -Indestructible black portals spawn every X tiles and summons an army every two turns.

Second Cataclysm - You have gone mad and created an massive mana core because you wasn't happy that first
 cataclysm failed to do the job and so you're attempting to have second one to finish the job only to fail. 20 turn cast time.
After 20 turns pass, the world is remade, lands torn apart, new mountains rise and monsters respawn and add even more
monsters running around and even powerful monsters is born. New wildlands get created.

Bring old ones back. Conditional: The elemental gods must've been slain in the playthrough first. Go to where
their corpse is and resurrect them and such act will put them under your command as your servant, you now may
order it around to bring you coffee or raze enemy cities to the ground.

Of course the elemental god of your choice will have their unique spells.

Delin, Pyre of Man.

Spell 1: Summon five fire elementals.

Spell 2: Summon nine fire shrills.

Spell 3: Summon one fire Giant.

Spell 4: Falling flames firedrops fall from the sky generating fire storms and spawning random fire element monsters.

Spell 5: Burn the land - Convert X amount of tiles into burning wildlands of your own with a base for each amount of X tiles
generated so your enemies can raze those and convert the land back to normal.

Spell 6: Summon molten caves - this spawns random fire type monsters every X turns.

Spell 7: Summon four Ignys.

In addition to any spells Delin might already have.

Abeix, Who dwells beneath.

Spell 1: Summon three Ophidians.

Spell 2: Summon nine earth shrills.

Spell 3: Summon six Crag Spawns.

Spell 4: Summon five earth elementals.

Spell 5: Summon one Earth giant.

Spell 6: Devour city - a giant chasm forms under the city resulting in the city falling to its doom.

Spell 7: Shake the world - Results in new chasms and crags forming all over the world spawning random earth monsters.

Spell 8: Summon earthen Crags - this spawns a random earth type monsters every X turns.

Spell 9: Rumble of newborn - this converts X amount of tiles into your earthen wildlands with a base for each amount of X
tiles generated so your enemies can raze those and convert the land back to normal.

Morian, the Ruin of Summer.

Spell 1: Summon five Trolls. (No, not the internet variety kind. So that you know Frogboy.)

Spell 2: Summon two Troll Shamans.

Spell 3: Summon four Troll Warriors.

Spell 4: Summon four Plaguestalkers.

Spell 5: Summon five Najas.

Spell 6: Poison the land Convert X amount of tiles into the swamp of your own wildlands with a base for each amount of X
tiles generated so your enemies can raze those and convert the land back to normal.

Spell 7: Poison the air - random tiles throughout the world become swamp and spawning random swamp denizens/monsters.

Spell 8: Summon sunken caves - this spawns random swamp denizens/monsters every X turns.

In addition to any spell Morian might already have.

Torax, who Grinds mountains to Dust

Spell 1: Summon nine Wildlings.

Spell 2: Summon three Wildling Riders.

Spell 3: Summon five Wildling warriors.

Spell 4: Summon two Wildling Shamans.

Spell 5: Summon nine bandits.

Spell 6: Summon five Ogres.

Spell 7: Summon three Bone Ogres.

Spell 8: Summon one Bone Ogre Lord.

Spell 9: Grind that mountain to dust - Offending mountain is turned into desert tiles regardless of whom owner is.

Spell 10: Take a nap Torax - Torax is inactive for five turns as it sleeps restoring it's health to full and gains an atk/def buff.

Spell 11: Offend someone at random - Torax farts lowering initative by -3 for everyone in same battlefield except for Torax himself.

Spell 12: Dust everything - Convert X amount of tiles into the desert of your own wildlands with a base for each
amount of X tiles generated so your enemies can raze those and convert the land back to normal.

Spell 13: Summons a wildling or ogre or bandit camp of your choice which spawns the appropriate type every X turns.

Spell 14: Summon nine air shrills.

Spell 15: Summon five air elementals.

Vetrar, Guardian of the world's End

Spell 1: Summon nine Water shrills.

Spell 2: Summon five ice elementals.

Spell 3: Summon three Ice wargs.

Spell 4: Bring the end - Vetrar set loose the motions to freeze the world and kill everyone. 100-300 turns the
 world will gradually become frozen wasteland which summon all matters of Ice/water monsters and camps to spread
 out and help the warm living meet their end quicker and failure to slay Vetrar in 100-300 turn time span = gameover
for everyone except for Vetrar.

Spell 5: Return of icy snap - Convert X amount of tiles into snow of your own wildlands with a base for each amount of X tiles
generated so your enemies can raze those and convert the land back to normal.

Spell 6: Summon four Garrotes.

Spell 7: Summon two Ravagers.

In addition to any spells Vetrar might already have.

Arachnophobia - Magical dark forests spawn on the map which spawns all kinds of dreadful full sized spider armies full
of fully grown spiders no baby spider. NONE OF BABY SPIDERS. And they will keep on spawning the spiders until you raze the forests.

Dead inherits the world - Skeletons, corpse spiders, lichs and banshees emerge from their hidden lairs to add to their ranks of the dead. . . .

Ok that's enough for now, I still have ideas for even more. Magic is fun.

Wow! Wishes do come true.

Water

1. Sheet of Ice (Water - Level 2) - Units in 4x4 square tiles must resist or trip and fall down when moving through these tiles.
2. Fog (Water - Level 3) - ranged attacks (by friend or foe) reduced to a range of 3 tiles. Opposing units more than 3 units distant are invisible.
3. Spring Water (Water - Level 4) - 5x5 square tiles are covered by water. Dangerous to those encumbered by heavy armor (who drown if they fail to resist tripping and fall prone).
4. Freeze Metal (Water - Level 2) - Unit wearing metal armor suffer damage from contact with cold metal. Does not affect units wearing leather armor.