[Ghill]

Spellcasting/ranged SC's are not nearly as popular as melee SC's because almost all SC's will be bogged down in melee during a prolonged battle. When a caster is in melee they will only cast melee spells or, more likely, use their basic attacks. If they have no melee attack (when they have 2 shields...) they should automatically cast melee spells, I think.

If you do go for the long-range spellcasting then you probably will want to stick them with some melee units, otherwise they will only get a few spells off before being swarmed and distracted.

If you can get Pheonixpyre, do it. The spell is ridiculously good, the caster will come back with a fiery blast every time they die for the rest of the battle with only one casting.