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Phantom Warriors
Realm Icon SorcerySorcery
Spell Properties
Spell Rarity Common
Casting Cost Icon Mana 10
Research Cost Icon Research 100
Unit Properties
# of Figures Icon MultiFigureUnit 6
Moves Icon Movement Ground1 / Icon Movement Water1
Melee Attack per figure Icon Melee Normal 3
Resistance Icon Resist 6
Hit Points per figure Icon Hits 1
Unit Abilities

Ability NonCorporeal Non-Corporeal

Ability PoisonImmunity Poison Immunity

Ability StoningImmunity Stoning Immunity

Ability DeathImmunity Death Immunity

Ability Illusion Illusion
Tactical PhantomWarriors

Phantom Warriors are a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. Phantom Warriors belong to the Icon SorcerySorcery Realm, and may be summoned using a Summoning Spell of the same name. They may only be called upon during battles, and disappear immediately afterwards. Phantom Warriors are relatively weak and easy to destroy, but their attack completely ignores the Icon Defense Defense score of enemy units that do not possess Ability IllusionsImmunity Illusions Immunity. Phantom Warriors can be used to bolster the ranks against a superior force, or to present an additional target to absorb enemy attacks.

The Fantastic Unit[]

Physical Description[]

Phantom Warriors are a pack of translucent humanoid beings, resembling men armed with long pikes. Only their glowing magical outline is ever visible, so little is known about them beyond this basic description.

The Phantom Warriors unit is a Icon MultiFigureUnit Multi-Figure Unit, containing up to 6 of these creatures.

Attack Properties[]

The Phantom Warriors possess a Melee Attack with the strength of Icon Melee Normal 3 per figure. This is not a significantly powerful attack, except for its valuable Illusion Damage property. With this modifier, any attack made by the Phantom Warriors completely ignores the enemy's Icon Defense Armor. In other words, any enemy unit coming under attack from Phantom Warriors does not to use any dice during their Defense Roll made to block or deflect Icon Damage damage!

Given a basic Icon ToHit 30% chance for each Icon Melee Normal 1 to inflict Icon Damage 1 point of "raw" Icon Damage damage, and ignoring the enemy's Icon Defense Armor rating, an attack by a full contingent of Phantom Warriors will deliver Icon Damage 5.4 points of Icon Damage damage on average – quite powerful for their low Casting Cost.

However, opponents possessing the Ability IllusionsImmunity Illusions Immunity ability are not subjected to the Illusion Damage component – they get to make their Defense Rolls to reduce the Icon Damage damage as normal. Such units may be exceptionally resilient to the Phantom Warriors' technically-weak attack, possibly suffering no damage at all from it! In addition, any bonus granted by City Walls is applied after the Ability Illusion Illusion effect, and as a result may still provide some protection.

Defensive Properties[]

Phantom Warriors are some of the weakest units when it comes to protection in combat – they have none! The Phantom Warriors' Icon Defense Defense score is Icon Defense 0, which means that they make no rolls to deflect incoming Icon Damage damage, and are thus extremely vulnerable to Ranged Attacks of all kinds, as well as direct-damage spells, and attacks made by units with Ability FirstStrike First Strike or other pre-melee abilities. Given the Phantom Warriors' Icon Hits 1 per Icon Figure figure, they tend to die often during normal Icon Melee Normal Melee combat too, whether or not they manage to inflict Icon Damage damage upon the enemy.

Phantom Warriors possess a Resistance score of Icon Resist 6, making them slightly better than average at resisting ill effects from enemy spells and unit abilities. Thanks to their additional abilities however, they are completely immune to petrification (from any source); Poison Damage attacks; and most spells, Special Attacks, and Unit Curses associated with the Icon DeathDeath Realm.

Other Properties[]

Phantom Warriors are fairly slow, moving at Icon Movement Ground1 during battle. They can move on Ocean terrain as easily as on ground, making them suitable for naval combat situations. Phantom Warriors are also Ability NonCorporeal Non-Corporeal, which enables them to move through City Walls or other obstacles without any problems. When Phantom Warriors exist outside of combat (as Rampaging Monsters), this ability also allows them to move across overland map tiles at a cost of 0.5 Movement Points per tile. On the other hand, they do not get a speed benefit from Roads, and will not have infinite movement across Enchanted Roads like other units do.

Basic Tactics[]

Phantom Warriors are typically called in to bolster the ranks during battle. They are expected to die fairly quickly, especially if the enemy possesses any Ranged Attacks or direct-damage spells, but will deliver some good combat hits if they can make contact with the enemy. Phantom Warriors can also be used as meat-shields of a sort, taking damage in lieu of more valuable units. Phantom Warriors are completely expendable, as they will not last after the battle is over anyway!

Enemy Phantom Warriors[]

Although Wizards may only use Phantom Warriors during combat, as Fantastic Units they are often found as permanent guardians in many Icon SorcerySorcery Nodes and other Encounter Zones. Furthermore, they may lead Rampaging Monster groups to attack player-owned cities! Phantom Warriors are often encountered in large masses, whether on their own or accompanying stronger Icon SorcerySorcery units.

Phantom Warriors can easily be dispatched with Ranged Attacks, as they move slowly across the battlefield and have no means by which to defend themselves. Another good way to destroy these warriors is to attack them with units that have Ability FirstStrike First Strike, or some other combat ability that applies before Melee Damage is dealt. This will often destroy the Phantom Warriors before they can do any Icon Damage damage.

Ability Overview[]

Ability NonCorporeal Non-Corporeal[]

  • This unit may move across any overland terrain at a rate of 0.5 Movement Point per tile.
  • The unit does not get speed benefits from moving across Roads or Enchanted Roads.
  • During battle, the unit may move through City Walls as though they were not there.
  • The unit is immune to the effects of the Icon NatureWeb, Icon NatureCracks Call, and Icon NatureEntangle spells.

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 by Stoning Damage. It will automatically pass any Icon Resist Resistance roll to avert such damage.

Ability DeathImmunity Death Immunity[]

  • This unit will not be affected by most spells and abilities associated with the Icon DeathDeath Realm.

Ability Illusion Illusion[]

  • When this unit attacks an enemy, that enemy's Icon Defense Defense score is considered to be zero while resolving this Icon Damage damage.
  • Targets with Ability IllusionsImmunity Illusions Immunity ignore this effect, and may make their Defense Rolls as normal.

The Summoning Spell[]

Usage[]

Phantom Warriors may only be cast in combat, for the base Casting Cost of Icon Mana 10. Upon successfully casting the spell, the game will prompt for an unoccupied tile to be selected on the combat map, where the Phantom Warriors unit will then appear, with full Movement Allowance, and may move and/or attack immediately as necessary.

Since it does not carry over to the overland map, there is no Upkeep Cost associated with either the spell or the unit itself, which will automatically disappear at the end of the battle – along with any Unit Enchantments that may have been cast on it. It is not possible to manually dismiss the Phantom Warriors unit during combat, nor is it possible to use dispel type spells to remove it from play – the Summoning Spell itself dissipates immediately after casting.

Acquisition[]

As a Common Spell of the Icon SorcerySorcery Realm, Phantom Warriors may become available to any Wizard who acquires at least Icon Sorcery1 Spellbook. With none, the spell can naturally not be learned during the campaign. This is the minimum requirement for it to be traded for, appear in Treasure, or be found in the spoils of victory when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who already knows it.

The base chance for Phantom Warriors to be researchable (at some point) in the campaign is roughly 30% (with Icon Sorcery1 book), which gradually increases with the amount of Icon SorcerySorcery Spellbooks possessed or found during gameplay. With Icon Sorcery7 or more, the spell is certain to show up sooner or later, unless acquired from another source. It has a Research Cost of Icon Research 100, although its research is quicker for Wizards possessing the Sage Master, Conjurer, and/or Sorcery Mastery Retorts; or a bookshelf containing Icon Sorcery8 or more.

Phantom Warriors may also be selected as a starting spell by any Wizard with at least Icon Sorcery2 books. In this case, it will be available for casting as soon as the game begins.

Permanent Summoning Trick[]

Disclaimer: This trick appears to violate the game designers' intent, and it cannot be guaranteed that its use won't destabilize the game.

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A Phantom Warriors unit summoned to your Summoning Circle using the Icon SorceryWord of Recall spell.

If you MUST have a Phantom Warriors unit for your army garrisoned in one of your towns, you can enter a battle with the intention of losing (not winning). You will need to know the Icon SorceryWord of Recall and the Phantom Warriors spells. Enter a battle and summon the Phantom Warriors that you want for your army. Use Icon SorceryWord of Recall on the Warriors. You can continue the battle to the maximum number of turns, flee the battle (with the risk of losing any units that you have in the battle), or recall any remaining units as well. This brings your units back to the Summoning Circle and you now have one or more Phantom Warriors that require a Icon Mana 2 per turn Upkeep Cost. This does not work if you win the battle.

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