Stratos – Level 1:

Creatures:

Manahoar (All Gods Creature)

Soul cost: One

Mana cost: One

Special ability: None

Innate ability: Mana Channeling

Overview: The Manahoar is singularly the most useful Creature in the game. Since it costs but one Mana and one Soul, you can summon one in even the direst of situations. Manahoars cannot attack, but are reasonably quick, and have good health and defense. The Manahoar has one use and one use only: Its innate ability, “Mana Channeling”, does exactly what it sounds like: it channels Mana from your Manaliths to themselves, and makes them essentially portable Manaliths. Also, the more Manaliths you have, the more Mana the Manahoars will channel, so if you have two to three Manaliths, the Manahoar will produce more Mana than any one of the Manaliths, making it not only a moving source of Mana, but a more time efficient one than an Alter, Shrine, Manalith, or Manafount. I always keep at least three, preferably four, Manahoars around me at all times. Although the Spell recharge time is still the same, you will regenerate Mana within a few seconds of casting even the most powerful of Spells.

Frostwolf (Basic Melee)

Soul cost: One

Mana cost: Three hundred

Special ability: Run Away

Innate ability: None

Overview: At the risk of sounding biased, the Frostwolf sucks. Although it is the fastest melee Creature in the game (even faster with “Run Away”, its special ability, which is essentially a self-cast “Speed Up” Spell) it has poor HP, poor defense, and barely decent attack power. The only thing that the Frostwolf is good for is raids and attacking retreating foes. Hit and run or surprise tactics, in other words, are essential to the effective deployment of this Creature, and luckily, that’s what they’re best at. In a real fight, they barely get three hits in before they’re dead.

Sylph (Basic Ranged)

Soul cost: One

Mana cost: Three hundred

Special ability: Stealth

Innate ability: None

Overview: Although it may seem very weak at first, the Sylph is actually slightly more powerful than it seems. Although it suffers from the same lack of HP and defense that the Frostwolf does, it is almost equally quick, and unlike the Frostwolf, it actually has some worthwhile abilities. For one thing, its special ability, “Stealth”, which turns the Sylph completely transparent, makes it an excellent… well… stealth unit. A large group of Sylphs can sneak in, invisible, attack, then revert to “Stealth” mode again and disappear. If anything, it is sure to unnerve your foe. The Sylph has a decent damage output, and is good for shooting down flyers, like all ranged Creatures are. The bad HP and defense, however, means that a Wizard can kill a Sylph by simply running past it with “Fireform” on. Because of this severe frailty, it is advised to keep Sylphs in “Stealth” mode when not in use. Be wary, however: Sylphs cannot and will not attack while invisible. You must order them too, and when they do, they turn visible again.

Brainiac (Basic Flyer)

Soul cost: One

Mana cost: Three hundred

Special ability: None

Innate ability: None

Overview: Quite a good low-level creature, the Brainiac, although frail, like most Basic Flyers (and other flyers, to boot) is amazing because of its range, which is the longest of any Basic Flyer, and pretty long besides. It also has decent attack power, but most importantly, it knocks over anything that it hits. This makes the Brainiac simply wonderful when used in large numbers during early-level skirmishes, because aside from taking out Basic Melee, and even Brawlers quite easily, it can be used to stop the enemy Wizard from intervening by knocking it over whenever it tries to cast a spell. As long as you keep a close eye on your foe when in battle, this is a very effective tactic. It is best, however, to keep your Brainiacs nearby at all times, since they do die rather easily. Even though they have decent HP, they have the typical poor defense flyers are infamous for, making them easy targets for Basic Ranged and Sniper Creatures. Not to mention that, like all Basic Flyers, they can be shot down in one hit by any Basic Attack Spell. So, keeping them close by ensures that you will be free to gather their Souls when they die.

Spells:

Speed Up (All Gods Spell)

Mana cost: Three hundred

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: “Speed Up” is one of the most useful spells in the game. You can target any allied Creature, Sac Doctor, or Wizard, and it speeds up its movement speed for a length of time, which is different for every target. It also recharges in about three seconds, so it’s ready to use again long before it wears off. It’s good for charging into a fray (or ex-fray, as is more often the case) to collect blue Souls, or for just generally speeding stuff up. Also, it is good for getting slow Creatures to their targets before they can be killed by enemy ranged units.

Lightning (Basic Attack Spell)

Mana cost: Two hundred

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: This Spell, which sends a bolt of lightning to electrify your target, is my favorite Basic Attack Spell. It has the fastest recharge time (like a “Speed Up” Spell) the quickest “cast to hit” time (instant) the lowest Mana cost (two hundred) and the highest attack power (makes it good, even against high-level Creatures). All this good comes with two disadvantages: firstly, the lightning bolt takes the shortest route from you to the target (a straight line), even if that means going through a hill. Problem is, it can’t go through hills! Instead, it just chars the ground, at no advantage to you. Secondly, like regular lightning, it goes for the tallest object. This means that if you cast it too close to a tree or building, it will be attracted away from the target and hit the tree or building. Not fun. So, you should try to use this Spell only when you are sure you aren’t near any tall objects (luckily, Creatures don’t attract “Lightning”), mountains, or hills. Aside from those two disadvantages, “Lightning” is the best Basic Attack Spell, and that’s not just a personal opinion, it’s a fact!

Heal (All Gods Spell)

Mana cost: Three hundred

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: Restores the target’s HP. It can completely heal most Creatures, and only the most powerful entities will need to be healed more than once in order to be restored to full health. It is equally useful during and between battles. You can use it in battle to heal your minions and yourself while fighting, and you can use it between battles to refresh before the next skirmish.

Manalith (All Gods Spell)

Mana cost: Eight hundred

“Stander” Spell: Yes

Overview: “Manalith” constructs a Manalith over targeted Manafounts. A Manalith makes it so that only you and your allies can gather Mana from that Manafount. It also ignites your and your allies Manahoars. Any Manafount you see should have “Manalith” cast on it immediately. A Manalith can be destroyed if it takes enough damage, but it quickly regenerates health, so it is hard to take one out without using Creatures.

Guardian (All Gods Spell)

Mana cost: Three hundred

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: “Guardian” can be cast on any Creature near one of your or your ally’s buildings (Manalith, Shrine, or Altar). It tethers the Creature to the building via a glowing red magic beam. This has its advantages and its disadvantages. It raises the Creature’s defense, and causes it to regenerate health VERY quickly, even if it’s a Charnel creature. Unfortunately, it also stops the Creature from using its special ability (if it had one) and keeps it from moving too far away from the building. Any damage done to a building with guardians is re-distributed among its guardians.

Convert (All Gods Spell)

Mana cost: Eight hundred

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: The “Convert” Spell can be cast on Heathen Souls. It summons a Sac Doctor, who will spend some time re-injecting the Soul(s) into the dead Creature, then it will carry the creature in a floating magical sphere back to the nearest allied Altar or Shrine to be sacrificed, which also takes some time. Once the sacrifice is completed, the Creature’s Soul(s) are added to your stockpile. If the Sac Doctor is killed while re-injecting the Soul(s), the Soul(s) will pop back out. If the Sac Doctor is killed while carrying or sacrificing the Creature, the creature will fall back to the ground, alive, but with only 50% of its total HP. You should immediately cast “Convert” on any Heathen Souls you come across.

Desecrate (All Gods Spell)

Mana cost: One thousand

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: This Spell is the only way to defeat your opponents. Target one of your Creatures while near an enemy Altar and a Sac Doctor will come down and pick it up. Then it will take it to the Altar and begin to sacrifice it. During the desecration ritual that the Sac Doctors perform, a portal, just like the ones that Sac Doctors come out of, will float in the air above the owner of the Altar. It will attack its victim with a bolt of energy that drains HP, Mana, and experience from the Wizard. While the experience bar will slowly regenerate when not being attacked, it will not go above the point where it was when it was drained. The HP and Mana drained by the bolt will not regenerate automatically. If the opposing Wizard is killed during the desecration, their Altar is destroyed (revealing a Manafount beneath it) and all of its Creature will fall dead. Any structures erected over Manafounts by that Wizard, that is to say, Shrines and Manaliths, will stay, but can still be destroyed. If any one of the Sac Doctors performing the desecration ritual are killed, the Creature being sacrificed will fall back to the ground with 50% maximum HP, and the desecration will end. If the desecration is successful, the Souls from the sacrificed Creature will be added back into your stockpile.

Teleport (All Gods Spell)

Mana cost: Eight hundred

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: This is a VERY underused, VERY useful Spell. “Teleport” lets you target any one of your or your ally’s buildings, I.E., Manalith, Shrine, or Altar, (mini-map targeting comes in useful here) and instantly transport yourself and any of your nearby minions to that building from anywhere on the map. This is good for retreating from a losing battle, protecting your Altar when you get the “An enemy Wizard is approaching your Altar!” message, and launching surprise attacks on any foe passing or attacking your buildings. If your opponent casts “Death”, one of Charnel’s Wrath of the Gods Spells, I find it quite amusing to teleport away and laugh as they try to fend off the Grim Reaper as it slaughters all of their units.

Stratos – Level 2:

Creatures:

Vortick (Bug)

Soul cost: Two

Mana cost: Six hundred

Special ability: None

Innate ability: None

Overview: Like most Bug units, the Vortick isn’t known for high damage, but for its attack affect. The Vortick shoots vortex beams at its victims at very long range which do only a miniscule amount of damage, but that’s not what they’re good for. The vortex beams cause a small whirlwind where they hit, flinging the target any other nearby units into the air. This is the real beauty of the Vortick. Several can keep a group of units out of commission for quite some time during a battle, without being anywhere near the fray themselves. Another boon is its speed, which is very quick. Unfortunately, it has only decent defense and HP, but what else can you expect from a Bug Creature? If you have them, Vorticks are a great Creature in small groups for turning the tide of battle. Never enter one without a few!

Spells:

Airshield (Shield Spell)

Mana cost: Four hundred

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: Although it doesn’t reduce damage by as much as some other Shield Spells, it has a rather interesting additional effect instead: anything nearby you while Airshield is on will be slowly forced away by the power of the wind swirling around you. This is great for keeping Melee Creatures away from you. It lasts for a decent length of time, and has a pretty fast recharge time, as well. Since it doesn’t last for as long as, say, “Skin of Stone”, however, you should turn it on as you enter a battle, not before, to take full advantage of its limited protection

Stratos – Level 3

Creatures:

Squall (Sniper)

Soul cost: Two

Mana cost: Seven hundred

Special ability: None

Innate ability: None

Overview: Although the Squall doesn’t do hardly any damage, its gale-force wind blasts have the ability to shove the target back several feet, and a large group of Squalls can keep an oncoming force at bay for a good long time, giving you time to bring in powerful fighting reinforcements. The Squall also has decent movement speed, and very good range. Its downfall is its poor defense and sub-par HP, but that’s what the wind blasts are for! They aren’t any good unless they are both use in large numbers and with backup, so don’t bother summoning a Squall unless you can afford at least five more.

Spells:

Freeze (Slowing Spell)

Mana cost: Five hundred

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: “Freeze” freezes your target in a block of solid ice. It’s a good Slowing Spell I suppose, but I have a few gripes with it. For starters, if you cast it on a flying Creature, it smashes upon impact with the ground, freeing the victim. Also, the ice breaks when attacked. In other words, you can only cast this effectively on a ground-based Creature that you don’t plan to attack. On the other hand, it completely incapacitates the target unit until it wears off, which happens quicker or slower based on what Creature or Wizard the target is. Overall, I don’t like this Spell very much, and I think that “Grasping Vines” is a much better substitute.

Shrine (Building Spell)

Mana cost: Eight hundred

“Stander” Spell: Yes

Overview: A Shrine works just like a Manalith except for three differences: It does not ignite Manahoars, it provides less Mana then a Manalith or Manafount do (it provides about as much as an Altar), and, most importantly, Sac Doctors can sacrifice Creatures at Shrines. Because of this, you usually want to cast “Shrine” on Manafounts that are far away from your Altar, so as to cut the travel time of your Sac Doctors. Obviously, is doesn’t do to have a Shrine right next to your Altar, when it provides less Mana and Sac Doctors would only have to travel for mere seconds more without it.

Stratos – Level 4

Creatures:

Storm Giant (Brawler)

Soul cost: Two

Mana cost: One thousand

Special ability: Call Lightning

Innate ability: Lightning Rod

Overview: Finally breaking the curse of the Frostwolf, which has so far plagued every Creature except for the Vortick, at level four Stratos manages to turn out a Creature that is not only acceptable, but actually very good! Storm Giants have both an innate and a special ability, which work together. The special ability is “Call Lightning”, which summons a bolt of lightning out of the sky to strike the Storm Giant in question. This sounds pretty stupid, and it would be, were it not for the Storm Giant’s innate ability, “Lightning Rod”. This ability makes the Storm Giant super-resistant to hits by lightning. Still sounding stupid? Get this. It also makes it so that when a Storm Giant is hit by lightning, it powers up, becoming slightly faster and much more powerful for a limited time after the strike. It also causes it to spew electricity from its body, striking anything nearby. This makes the Storm Giant a very good Creature in combat. Powerful enough to take out most melee Creatures, while striking flying foes out of the sky randomly, several Storm Giants can turn the tide of any battle, running into the fray, then powering themselves up with “Call Lightning” and “Lightning Rod”. Additionally, if a Storm Giant is killed while “Lightning Rod” is activated, its corpse will continue to spark and blast electricity from itself. The Storm Giant has naturally high attack power, even without its special and innate abilities. It is also quite quick moving. Plus, it has decent defense and good HP, so they tend to get more than just a couple of hits in during a fight. If you want to use a Storm Giant safely, however, make sure to evacuate all of your weaker Creatures from the area before using “Call Lightning”, as the bolts spewed forth by the Storm Giant hit things completely at random, without affiliation differentiation.

Spells:

Chain Lightning (Advanced Attack Spell)

Mana cost: Eight hundred

“Stander” Spell: Yes

Overview: This Spell is exactly what it sounds like: a juiced-up “Lightning” Spell. It does even more damage than its predecessor, but aside from that, it has two major advantages over “Lightning”: it can go through hills and mountains to reach its target, and it isn’t attracted to tall objects! This makes it worth its Mana cost, which is four times as much as a regular “Lightning” Spell, and the fact that it is a “stander” Spell. Along with the complete erasure of the original “Lightning” Spell’s disadvantages, it has a new feature, which is that it leaps from target to target, hitting up to five foes in one casting! This means that you can take out entire groups of small Creatures in just one burst. Of course, this comes with the disadvantage of being more expensive than “Lightning”, taking longer to cast, forcing you to stand still while you cast it, and having a much longer recharge time. Overall, however, this is a very good Spell.

Stratos – Level 5

Creatures:

Seraph (Bomber)

Soul cost: Three

Mana cost: One thousand

Special ability: Cage Pull

Innate ability: None

Overview: (Note: The Gremlin and the Seraph are exactly the same, except the Seraph is slightly faster, and the Gremlin has more attack). Essentially, this unit is a female, blue version of Persephone’s Gremlin. Although the Seraph is slightly faster, and has slightly less attack power, it is otherwise the same. Even its special ability, “Cage Pull”, is identical to the Gremlin’s “Web Pull” in every way, except it uses electricity instead of a spider web. Basically employ this unit in the same way you would Gremlins. Their greater speed can make them be better raiders than their counterparts, but the Gremlin is a better front-line fighter because of its raised attack.

Spells:

Soul Wind (Soulcatcher Spell)

Mana cost: Five hundred

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: This spell is pretty much the same as James’ “Soul Mole” Spell, but with shorter range by a lot, and ten times the Mana cost. Plus it uses a tiny tornado instead of a rock. Has anybody noticed Stratos’ tendency to copy? The one thing that is better about “Soul Wind” over “Soul Mole” is that it attacks. Yup, that’s right, it attacks. Every enemy unit that the tornado passes within range of gets a lovely little bolt of Lightning shot at it. I actually like sending weak units into a large group of enemies to be killed, then sending “Soul Wind” after its Soul, blasting all of my foes with powerful electricity. It’s great to have multiples of these floating around and retrieving your fallen Creature’s Souls during a battle, as it save you walking time, and does significant damage at the same time!

Stratos – Level 6:

Creatures:

Flurry (Artillery)

Soul cost: Three

Mana cost: One thousand one hundred

Special ability: None

Innate ability: None

Overview: One of the best Altar guards in the business, the Flurry launches what are known as “Storm Crystals”, which are essentially giant snowflakes, at extremely long range. These projectiles cause a massive implosion when they hit either their target or the ground, sucking anything around it into the center of the blast, usually flipping it through the air and knocking to the ground. Unlike most Artillery Creatures, Flurries are exceptionally accurate, ands the Storm Crystals they launch do a good amount of damage, aside from the implosion. They also have very high HP, decent defense, and, also unlike most Artillery Creatures, moderately good speed. While one Flurry, though imposing, is rather unhelpful, small groups of them are devastating, pulling the enemy forces in every direction. An interesting combination is to use Flurries with some of James’ Flummox: The Flurries cause vacuum implosions, while the Flummoxes cause earthquakes, and both do high damage. Using these two Creatures together can almost ensure that the enemy won’t be going anywhere for a while, since they are pulled off course or knocked down every couple of steps.

Spell:

Frozen Ground (Disruption)

Mana cost: One thousand

“Stander” Spell: No

Overview: A very useful Spell against enemies with a tendency to group their Creatures tightly together. “Frozen Ground” summons a big snowball which throws itself at the targeted Creature, Wizard, or area, and causes a large circle of icy ground to appear around it. The frozen ground (see how the Spell got its name?) freezes anything standing on it upon its creation, putting it in a block of ice just like the one from the “Freeze” spell. After a while, the frozen ground explodes in shards of ice from the inside out, doing a good amount of damage to anything standing on it. You can use “Frozen Ground” to halt entire areas of an army during an attack, which is especially useful against those pesky ranged Creatures in the back line that your Creatures can’t quite get to. Plus, anything running over the ground when it explodes will be damaged, and not many people have time during a frenzied fight to order their Creatures around entire patches of land. “Frozen Ground” also has quite a quick recharge time for a Spell of this level, and is ready to use again soon after the ground from the last casting explodes.

Stratos – Level 7:

Creatures:

Yeti (Heavy Hitter)

Soul cost: Four

Mana cost: One thousand three hundred

Special ability: None

Innate ability: Freeze

Overview: A lot of people think that the Yeti has the same innate ability as the Storm Giant and Silverback, “Lightning Rod”, although I don’t know why. It doesn’t. Anyway, this is an extremely good melee Creature, and one of my personal favorite Heavy Hitters. The Yeti, which resembles a giant, white Netherfiend, has hugely high attack power, and great HP. Its defense and speed are average, but its slow enough that you may want to consider “Speed Up” to increase its mobility to more acceptable levels. The Yeti pummels its foe with chisel-like blows from its clawed arms. About 50% of the time when it hits a unit, the unit is frozen in an ice cube, the same as the ones from the “Freeze” and “Frozen Ground” Spells. This allows the Yeti to repetitively attack a unit without it being able to retaliate or escape.

Spells:

Fence (Wall Spell)

Mana cost:

“Stander” Spell: Yes

Overview: “Fence” is the most powerful Wall Spell. It summons a line of glittering orbs that float in the air, electricity arcing between them. If anything comes too close to this line, a deadly bolt of lightning shoots from one of the orbs to strike it. These bolts are powerful enough to blast Bomber Creatures right out of the sky in one hit, and can kill many other Creatures outright as well. The downside to all of this is twofold: one, it has the longest recharge time of any Wall Spell, and two, it takes longer to cast. Unlike “Firewall” which ignite almost instantly, or “Wall of Spikes” which spreads in either direction as soon as you start casting, “Fence” takes several seconds to come into effect, giving the enemy plenty of time to escape. Because of this, you need either careful planning, or excellent timing in order to pull this spell off effectively.

Stratos – Level 8

Creatures:

None.

Spells:

Cloudkill (Wrath of the Gods Spell)

Mana cost: One thousand six hundred

“Stander” Spell: Yes

Overview: Seeing as “Cloudkill” is a Wrath of the Gods Spell, it takes extremely little time to recharge. It also costs two hundred less Mana than every other Wrath of the Gods Spell to cast. Considering the swath of destruction it is capable of raining down on the target, I’m not quite sure why. This Spell causes a large storm cloud to grow above the target (which can be a unit or an area) which slowly follows it around and blasts powerful lightning bolts at anything within range, which is a considerable distance. The bolts do a lot of damage, and drain a small amount of Mana to boot. Casting this above a Shrine or Manalith literally assures the destruction of the building in question! It also does massive damage to enemy armies, and if you can manage to cast it on a slow creature such as an Abomination or a Taurock, the cloud will be able to keep up with it, spewing damage wherever it goes. It is very fun to cast this on an enemy Wizard, so that the storm cloud follows him, destroying any Manaliths that he tries to gather Mana from, killing any Manahoars he sends to gourd him, and slaughtering his troops when he moves in to heal them. This is one of my favorite Wrath of the Gods Spells, since it is the only Spell I know that can cause such massive destruction with such precise targeting. It is very fun to combine this Spell with Stratos’ second Wrath of the Gods Spell, “Tornado”, having “Tornado” suck your foes into the air while “Cloudkill” follows them up and shoots at them with its powerful bolts of electricity.

Tornado (Wrath of the Gods Spell)

Mana cost: One thousand eight hundred

“Stander” Spell: Yes

Overview: Since it doesn’t do any direct damage, “Tornado” has rather specialized uses. One of them is stalling an enemy Wizard while you cast “Desecrate” on their Altar. “Tornado” summons a huge tornado (duh) that sucks up anything in the vicinity and swirls it around it’s vortex before retreating once again into the stormy sky, dropping anything that it was carrying to the ground far below. This is what does damage. It hurts pretty bad to fall from about a hundred or more feet in the air and slam into the ground. The Spell lasts for just a little bit less than a minute, and is the ultimate in keeping a massed foe out of your hair for a while. Because of this, it’s great, as mentioned above, for desecration. Cast “Desecrate” on an enemy Wizard’s Altar, then when they appear with their minions to defend it, cast “Tornado” and watch them fly. While they’re in the air, you can use ranged Creatures and Spells to take pot shots at them from the ground. By the time the “Tornado” Spell wears out, if they aren’t already dead, the impact will probably kill them. This Spell takes an extremely long time to recharge, though, so make sure not to squander it. Only use it when an opportunity for maximum effect presents itself (i.e., a massive group of close-knit forces), or when it’s absolutely necessary in order to win a fight. Another thing is to be sure not to cast it if there are too many opposing flying Creatures in the vicinity, since although they will be prevented from moving away until the “Tornado” is finished, they will not fall, or take damage, and will be flying so high in the air by the time that “Tornado” is through with them that they will be almost impossible to hit.

Stratos – Level 9:

Creatures:

Silverback (Titan)

Soul cost: Five

Mana cost: One thousand nine hundred

Special ability: Run Away

Innate ability: Lightning Rod

Overview: Ah, the Silverback. This is my favorite Titan Creature past the Rhinok. The Silverback is a giant ice dragon, and has the breath to back it up. The Silverback breaths an icy mist at its victims, doing a good amount of damage and freezing them in a block of solid ice. These ice cubes act just like the ones from “Freeze” and “Frozen Ground”. Three Silverback Dragons (that’s what I like to call them) can keep a whole army from moving until it dies by misting them over and over. This is because the mist is not targeted at a single unit, but at the whole area surrounding it, too. The Silverback also has the typical stats of a Titan: high defense, higher HP. This, combined with very high speed, and great attack power (especially since it freezes as well) makes the Silverback one of the “most annoying powerful units” in the game. Quoth Redstar. It also has a special ability, “Run Away”, which is the same as the one on Frostwolf: a self-cast “Speed Up” Spell. This allows the Silverbacks to move in and out of a raid or battle with devastating efficiency. It also has the same “Lightning Rod” innate ability as the Storm Giant, making mischievous Stratos Wizards really wish they hadn’t cast “Cloudkill” on you. Since the Silverback Dragon can fly, just like the regular Dragon, it is a melee Creature killing machine. Because of its high stats, which, although typical of a Titan, are very good, and its ability to freeze its foes, the Silverback is an extremely good unit.

Spells:

None.