Phantom Warriors | ||
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Realm | Sorcery | |
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Spell Rarity | Common | |
Casting Cost | 10 | |
Research Cost | 100 | |
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# of Figures | 6 | |
Moves | 1 / 1 | |
Melee Attack per figure | 3 | |
Resistance | 6 | |
Hit Points per figure | 1 | |
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Illusion |
Phantom Warriors are a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. Phantom Warriors belong to the Sorcery 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 Defense score of enemy units that do not possess 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 Multi-Figure Unit, containing up to 6 of these creatures.
Attack Properties[]
The Phantom Warriors possess a Melee Attack with the strength of 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 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 damage!
Given a basic 30% chance for each 1 to inflict 1 point of "raw" damage, and ignoring the enemy's Armor rating, an attack by a full contingent of Phantom Warriors will deliver 5.4 points of damage on average – quite powerful for their low Casting Cost.
However, opponents possessing the Illusions Immunity ability are not subjected to the Illusion Damage component – they get to make their Defense Rolls to reduce the 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 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' Defense score is 0, which means that they make no rolls to deflect incoming damage, and are thus extremely vulnerable to Ranged Attacks of all kinds, as well as direct-damage spells, and attacks made by units with First Strike or other pre-melee abilities. Given the Phantom Warriors' 1 per figure, they tend to die often during normal Melee combat too, whether or not they manage to inflict damage upon the enemy.
Phantom Warriors possess a Resistance score of 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 Death Realm.
Other Properties[]
Phantom Warriors are fairly slow, moving at 1 during battle. They can move on Ocean terrain as easily as on ground, making them suitable for naval combat situations. Phantom Warriors are also 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 Sorcery 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 Sorcery 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 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 damage.
Ability Overview[]
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 Web, Cracks Call, and Entangle spells.
Poison Immunity[]
- This unit cannot be hurt by Poison Damage. It will automatically pass any Resistance roll to avert such damage.
Stoning Immunity[]
- This unit cannot be petrified by Stoning Damage. It will automatically pass any Resistance roll to avert such damage.
Death Immunity[]
Illusion[]
- When this unit attacks an enemy, that enemy's Defense score is considered to be zero while resolving this damage.
- Targets with 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 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 Sorcery Realm, Phantom Warriors may become available to any Wizard who acquires at least 1 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 1 book), which gradually increases with the amount of Sorcery Spellbooks possessed or found during gameplay. With 7 or more, the spell is certain to show up sooner or later, unless acquired from another source. It has a Research Cost of 100, although its research is quicker for Wizards possessing the Sage Master, Conjurer, and/or Sorcery Mastery Retorts; or a bookshelf containing 8 or more.
Phantom Warriors may also be selected as a starting spell by any Wizard with at least 2 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.
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 Word of Recall and the Phantom Warriors spells. Enter a battle and summon the Phantom Warriors that you want for your army. Use Word 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 2 per turn Upkeep Cost. This does not work if you win the battle.