[Stagger Lee]

Originally Posted by Adam J

I had them all acting after one of the masters, so that clears up one mystery. That seems like any extremely wierd rule that they won't cast if the master casts first, but I guess it's an attempt to help with fatigue (but knowledgable scripting will do that better, so its a bit paternalistic). I don't think that particular ordering issue is in Baalz extremely handy guide. I didn't have a w9 bless, so I don't know why they felt free to cast crappy holy spells, but they certainly did. And thanks for the calculations Stagger Lee, I had already estimated I'd get only two (or if really lucky three) bladewind out of each slave thanks to the 40 fatigue from each casting.

Yes, I think it is what could be called an exploit. Although not a cheap one. I have killed many of my own mages underestimating fatigue accumulation on slaves.

Originally Posted by Baalz

Reverse communion - 2 or 3 masters then as many cheap slaves as you can muster. Your masters will cast power of the spheres then whatever other booster is appropriate (phoenix power, etc). For air spells you can use the third master to cast storm so that air power is an option. Now, all your slaves have been boosted 2 levels, so they can cast fun things like falling fire, thunderstrike, etc. Even lowly S1 mages are now capable of Soul Slaying. The fun thing about this one is it's a great way to use all those cheap researchers you've got with no other preparation. Leading a fight with three rounds of 10X Falling Fires makes quite a difference considering how cheap the mages are. Note, this communion takes advantage of one of the quirks of the communion, the fact that slaves can cast spells so long as they act sequentially before all masters in the turn sequence. Commanders resolve their orders in the same order that they're listed in the strategic screen. If for whatever reason you're not comfortable trying to get this order right you can have the masters retreat after casting the buffs - the buffs remain in effect. Note, the communion bonus does not affect slaves casting by themselves, only the buffs the masters cast help. Apparently the slaves are acting by themselves outside the communion.

Credit where credit is due!