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Colossus
Summon Colossus
Realm Icon NatureNature
Spell Properties
Spell Rarity Very Rare
Casting Cost Icon Mana 800
Upkeep Cost Icon Mana 17 per turn
Research Cost Icon Research 3,500
Unit Properties
# of Figures Icon SingleFigureUnit 1
Moves Icon Movement Ground2
Melee Attack per figure Icon Melee Normal 20
Ranged Attack per figure Icon Ranged Boulder 20
Defense per figure Icon Defense 10
Resistance Icon Resist 15
Hit Points per figure Icon Hits 30
Unit Abilities

Ability Quiver Ranged Attack x2

Ability ToHit +30% To Hit

Ability WallCrusher Wall Crusher

Ability PoisonImmunity Poison Immunity

Ability StoningImmunity Stoning Immunity

Ability FirstStrike First Strike
Tactical Colossus

The Colossus is a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. It is summoned using the Icon NatureNature Summoning Spell of the same name. Packing a powerful punch in both Icon Melee Normal Melee Attacks and Icon Ranged Boulder Ranged Attacks, the Colossus can trample over large armies with ease. It possesses a wide range of combat abilities, including primarily First Strike and a Icon ToHit +30% To Hit bonus, both of which enable it to take out the enemy's most powerful units in one-on-one combat.

The Fantastic Unit

Physical Description

A Colossus is a gigantic humanoid, many times larger than an adult human. Its true nature is hard to discern, as it is clad from head to toe in shining golden armor, capped with a large and imposing helmet.

The Colossus is a Icon SingleFigureUnit Single-Figure Unit.

Attack Properties

The Colossus is an extremely potent warrior. It possesses both a Melee Attack and a Ranged Attack, and both are powerful enough to wipe the floor with its enemies.

The Colossus's Melee Attack has a strength of Icon Melee Normal 20. The amazing Icon ToHit +30% To Hit bonus allows it to deliver around Icon Damage 12 points of Damage with each attack, on average. This is then coupled with a First Strike ability, allowing the Colossus to destroy its enemies before they can even fight back.

Even before it reaches its target, the Colossus can lob massive boulders at its enemies, a Ranged Attack with a power of Icon Ranged Boulder 20. Like the Melee Attack described above, this enjoys a Icon ToHit +30% bonus, which means the Colossus is extremely dangerous even at a distance. It can lob up to two boulders in each battle this way.

Note that both attacks enjoy the benefits of the Wall Crusher ability. The Colossus can target individual City Wall sections, and has a certain chance to destroy them. If it uses a Ranged Attack for this, its chance of destroying the wall section is 25%. If it uses a Melee Attack, the chance is 50%. In both cases, if an enemy unit is standing adjacent to and inside the targeted wall section, the Colossus's attack targets both the wall and the enemy unit. Any wall section destroyed by this attack will remain destroyed for the rest of the battle - but will be entirely fixed when the next battle begins.

Defensive Properties

Thanks to its thick armor, the Colossus has one of the highest natural Defense ratings of any unit, at Icon Defense 10. This allows it to block around Icon Damage 3 points of Damage on average each time it is attacked, which should be enough to prevent all damage from enemy low-tier or even mid-tier units. However, by the time a Colossus enter play, the enemy will usually also be able to field its own high-tier units that will have little trouble dishing damage even through this much armor. So while a Colossus can survive protracted battles against weaker units and remain practically unharmed, it is still in danger when fighting units of its own tier.

Fortunately, the Colossus has a large pool of Hit Points, at Icon Hits 30, which will help it last longer in combat against strong opponents. Again, the First Strike ability can be used to destroy the enemy before it even has a chance to retaliate, thus protecting the Colossus from harm.

Finally, note that the Colossus is almost entirely immune to Curses and other combat maledictions thanks to its exceptionally-high Resistance rating of Icon Resist 15. This includes virtually all Special Attacks. None but the most powerful maledictions stand any chance of affecting the Colossus, so spells against it should be limited to direct-damage, or spells that simply cannot be resisted at all.

Other Properties

The Colossus possesses both Poison Immunity and Stoning Immunity, rendering it completely impervious to Poison Damage and Stoning Damage, respectively. Of course, due to its incredibly-high Icon Resist Resistance score, these immunities are redundant - but may come in handy if the Colossus' Resistance score is ever reduced somehow by the enemy.

Basic Tactics

Tactically speaking, there is little that can stop a Colossus when it's rampaging across the battlefield. In fact, even its initial Ranged Attacks can easily cripple or destroy most low- or mid-tier units. It usually starts combat by using these Ranged Attacks against the most dangerous target on the battlefield, to weaken it before closing in for the kill. If the enemy is using its own Ranged Attackers, the Colossus may spend its ammo destroying at least one of them as soon as possible.

If facing highly-armored Ranged Attackers, the Colossus may need to close the distance before launching its Ranged Attacks. This minimizes the Icon ToHit To Hit range penalties, ensuring that the Colossus has the best chance of destroying such units before engaging in Melee.

Finally, remember that the Colossus is best used for destroying high-level enemy targets, especially if it gets to use its First Strike ability to take them out before they can retaliate. It is not uncommon to see a Colossus rushing into and killing a Champion outright.

Enemy Colossi

Colossi are only rarely encountered as neutral monsters, and will often appear in only one or two locations across the entire overland map, if at all. They may be accompanied by all sorts of smaller Icon NatureNature creatures when they do appear.

The best way to dispatch a Colossus is to attack it with powerful Ranged Attacks and direct-damage spells. If you can grant Invisibility to a powerful range-attacker, you're home free. You may need several Ranged Attackers concentrating their fire on the Colossus to bring it down quickly enough - before it can close the distance and annihilate such units in hand-to-hand combat. Remember that for the first two rounds of combat, the Colossus will be returning fire at your units and may easily kill the least-defended among them.

Barring access to strong Ranged Attackers, a powerful (and very-well Icon Defense Defended) Melee Attacker (and preferably several) could be used instead. Expect to take heavy damage from the Colossus in retaliation. Always try to maneuver in a way that prevents the Colossus from utilizing its First Strike; Otherwise, it may end up annihilating your attackers before they can do any damage to it. Remember that Special Attacks are often entirely useless against Colossi - you will need units with high Icon Melee Normal Melee Attack scores. Armor Piercing attacks and Illusion Damage are especially potent against this creature as well.

Note that weaker units may find that they cannot hurt a Colossus at all. Ganging up on a single Colossus with masses of low-tier or even mid-tier units is often entirely futile.

Ability Overview

Ability Quiver Ranged Attack x2

  • This unit may use a Icon Ranged Boulder Ranged Attack instead of a Melee Attack twice in each battle. Once the unit's ammo is expended, it must resort to Melee Attacks.

Ability ToHit +30% To Hit

  • This unit has an extra Icon ToHit 30% chance to hit its target with every attack. This improves its statistical chance to inflict more Icon Damage Damage with each attack it makes.

Ability WallCrusher Wall Crusher

  • This unit can make Icon Melee Normal Melee Attacks and/or Icon Ranged Boulder Ranged Attacks (as available) against City Walls. Each attack has a certain chance to destroy the targeted wall section for the remainder of the battle.
  • A Ranged Attack has a 25% chance of destroying the targeted wall section. A Melee Attack has a 50% chance of destroying the targeted wall section.
  • If an enemy unit is standing behind the wall when it is attacked, the Wall Crusher unit attacks that unit as well. Defense bonuses to the target unit depend on whether or not the wall is destroyed during this attack.
  • This ability can only destroy City Walls. Other, magical wall types are not affected.

Ability PoisonImmunity Poison Immunity

  • This unit cannot be hurt by Poison Damage. It will automatically pass any Icon Resist Resistance roll to avert such damage.

Ability StoningImmunity Stoning Immunity

  • This unit cannot be petrified, whether by Stoning Damage attacks or the Petrify spell. It ignores the Stoning effect entirely.

Ability FirstStrike First Strike

The Summoning Spell

Usage

Colossus may only be cast on the overland map, for the base Casting Cost of Icon Mana 800. Upon casting, the new Colossus unit will appear in the town currently containing the caster's Summoning Circle.

The new unit is created with full Movement Points, and may move and/or attack immediately as necessary.

To keep the Colossus in play, it is necessary to pay an Upkeep Cost of Icon Mana 17 per turn. This is drawn automatically from the caster's Mana pool each turn. Failure to pay the required costs due to lack of Icon Mana Mana in the pool will lead to the Colossus being immediately destroyed, along with any Unit Enchantments currently affecting it.

If the unit is destroyed in combat, then it is gone from the world entirely, and there is no further need to pay its Upkeep Costs.

You can also dismiss the Colossus voluntarily. To do this, right-click the unit's icon and then press the red "Dismiss" button on the bottom right corner of the unit's details panel. A dismissed unit is gone forever, but of course you can always cast the Colossus spell again to get a fresh new one. The primary reason to dismiss a Fantastic Creature would be to remove its Upkeep Cost (conserving Icon Mana Mana as a result).

Acquisition

As a Very Rare Icon NatureNature spell, Colossus may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least Icon Nature3 Spellbooks. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard acquires at least Icon Nature10 Spellbooks.

Colossus may not be acquired at the start of the campaign regardless of how many Spellbooks the wizard possesses. It must either be Researched during the game, or acquired through other means.

Wizards with Icon Nature3 to Icon Nature9 Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research Colossus during the game. The chance for this spell to appear for research increases with the number of Icon NatureNature Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. With Icon Nature10 or Icon Nature11 Spellbooks, the spell is guaranteed to appear for Research at some point, if it is not already available for casting.

Colossus has a base Research Cost of Icon Research 3,500.

With at least Icon Nature3 Spellbooks, the Colossus spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell.

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