With the release of Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs, Total War: Warhammer 3’s Immortal Empires map now features no less than 180 spells spread across 30 Lores of Magic. Needless to say, when you have a game with so many spells some of them will inevitably end up being much better than others.
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Despite Creative Assembly’s best efforts to balance the game’s magic system, a lot of spells continue to be grossly overpowered. Now, if this was a multiplayer-focused game, that wouldn't be a huge problem. But since most people prefer Immortal Empires over the multiplayer mode, spells like the ones found on this list only serve to make the game more fun. Unless you’re on the receiving end of them, of course.
10 Final Transmutation
Final Transmutation is a direct damage spell from the Lore of Metal designed to take down enemy lords or other high-value targets. The spell isn’t nearly as flashy as some of the others on this list and won’t let you delete entire armies in just a few seconds. In fact, the spell isn't very good against groups of enemies at all. However, if we’re talking single-target damage, this is pretty much as good as it gets. Unsurprisingly, Final Transmutation costs an arm and a leg to cast, especially if you’re looking to overcast it.
Throw down a couple of Final Transmutations on an enemy wizard and watch as their health bar dwindles in a matter of moments. Powerful Legendary Lords will fare a bit better but they, too, will take a massive hit to their hit points. Unlike other spells meant to deal with strong single entities, Final Transmutation also affects units near the primary target. While it won’t do a ton of damage to them, it can cripple weak infantry protecting enemy lords or heroes.
9 Vangheist’s Revenge
Vangheist’s Revenge is a wind spell from the Lore of the Deep that summons a ghostly ship capable of disrupting enemy formations and inflicting a fair amount of damage. As with all wind spells, landing a good Vangheist’s Revenge requires good timing and a bit of luck, but when you manage to pull it off, the results are absolutely glorious. The spectral ship can easily obliterate two or three units of infantry in one fell swoop. The spell isn’t bad against other targets either considering it does both magical and full armor-piercing damage.
The only thing keeping Vangheist’s Revenge from being completely broken is its cost. The spell costs no less than 20 Winds of Magic to cast, and that’s just the base version. Overcasting this bad boy will set you back no less than 26 Winds of Magic. Alongside this, it also takes quite a while to cast, giving enemies a few good seconds to get out of the way. But in spite of those drawbacks, Vangheist’s Revenge is easily the best spell in the Lore of the Deep and is more than deserving of a spot on this list.
8 Flame Storm
Flame Storm is a vortex spell from the Lore of Fire that deals a considerable amount of damage even in its base form. When overcast, the spell deals even more damage and lasts twice as long as usual. We’re talking close to a full minute, which is quite a long time when you’re in the thick of battle. Flame Storm inflicts both fire and magical damage, making it ideal against most unit types. Despite also inflicting a small amount of armor-piercing damage, the spell performs best against blobs of unarmored infantry or cavalry units.
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The spell’s radius isn’t particularly large, however, this is a moving vortex that ends up covering more ground than you might expect. Much like other randomly moving spells, Flame Storm is unpredictable and can end up doing more harm than good when used willy-nilly. Then again, it’s hard to resist summoning a giant flaming tornado whenever the opportunity presents itself, in spite of the potential dangers to your own troops.
7 The Dwellers Below
The Dwellers Below is a direct damage spell from the Lore of Life that has been the topic of many memes over the years. Just as its name implies, the Lore of Life mostly revolves around healing and buffing friendly troops. That's precisely why it’s a bit unexpected to see that the very same Lore also contains one of the most broken damaging spells in Immortal Empires. In fact, it’s the only spell in the entire game described as being able to cause severe damage to enemies.
One of the things that makes The Dwellers Below special is that it’s a two-phase spell. During the main phase, enemies caught in its radius get afflicted by a status effect known simply as Dwellers Below. This status effect deals a good chunk of damage-over-time while also slowing down movement speed. All the damage is full armor-piercing and continues to wreak havoc even after the main phase has ended. Overcasting the spell only increases the movement debuff, which makes a lot of sense since the damage is already egregious as is for its cost.
6 Comet Of Cassandora
Comet of Cassondora is a bombardment spell from the Lore of Heavens that needs very little introduction at this point. The spell has been around since the very start of the series and was even featured in the launch trailer for the original Total War: Warhammer. In terms of raw numbers, Comet of Cassandora is one of the most devastating spells in the entire game. Not only does the impact itself deal a ton of damage, but the comet also creates a massive explosion that sends enemy troops flying in all directions.
Overpowered spells usually require a lot of Winds of Magic to cast, but that’s not the case with Comet of Cassandora. The spell only costs 13 Winds of Magic, which is an absolute bargain. The upgraded version is a bit pricey at 20 Winds of Magic but overcasting it doubles its explosive damage, so it’s definitely worth the cost. Urannon’s Thunderbolt, the other bombardment spell from the Lore of Heavens, is pretty powerful in its own right when used against very specific targets, but Comet of Cassandora decimates everything save for the strongest elite infantry or monster units.
5 Deliverance Of Itza
Deliverance of Itza is a pretty unique explosion spell that has its own Lore of Magic. The spell has three tiers and can only be cast by Lord Kroak, one of the best Legendary Heroes in Immortal Empires. The spell was first introduced in Warhammer 2 and despite having been nerfed in Warhammer 3, Deliverance of Itza remains absurdly overpowered to this day. The main thing that separates it from a lot of similar spells is that you can safely cast it on top of your own units because it doesn’t deal friendly fire.
Deliverance of Itza also stands out thanks to its radius, which is quite large even at tier one. Meanwhile, the radius of the third tier borders on ridiculous and is one of the largest in the entire game when looking strictly at damaging spells. Units that survive the blast itself get pushed back like ragdolls and take significant impact damage. The only drawbacks of the spell are that it takes a very long time to cast and is fairly expensive if you’re going for the third tier. Though some might argue that it should actually be more expensive given how easily it can delete hundreds of units at once.
4 Flames Of Azgorh
Flames of Azgorh is a bombardment spell from the Lore of Hashut, the new Lore of Magic introduced alongside the Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs DLC. The spell is particularly powerful when used by Drazoath the Ashen but will make short work of enemies regardless of who wields it. Flames of Azgorh deals magical, fire, and armor-piercing damage. If that wasn’t already enough, the spell also deals damage-over-time, so there’s a little something for everybody here.
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Flames of Azgorh's damage output will vary depending on a couple of factors. The spell causes a sizeable explosion that launches numerous fireballs into the air that deal almost as much damage as the explosion itself. However, their trajectory is a bit erratic and there’s no way to make sure that the fireballs will land where you want them to. Some will inevitably miss the mark and might end up hitting your own troops instead.
3 Pit Of Shades
Pit of Shades is a vortex spell from the Lore of Shadows that’s a lot more devastating than its stats would suggest. This spell’s unit card is paradoxical as it claims to only affect one unit, but then immediately goes on to say that it’s strong against multiple units. And indeed it is. Pit of Shades can easily take out several units at the same time regardless of their armor values. 100% of the damage inflicted by the spell is magical and armor-piercing, so nobody is safe from it.
Damage aside, the main thing that makes Pit of Shades so overpowered is its physics. This is a stationary vortex that pulls everything toward its epicentre, making it very difficult to escape its grasp. Units with small mass are flung into the air several times while the effect lasts and take additional impact damage every time they hit the ground. Pit of Shades is a bit more expensive to cast compared to other vortex spells, but that’s hardly surprising considering how powerful it is.
2 Blight Boil
Blight Boil is an explosion spell from the Lore of Nurgle that became infamous during the early days of Total War: Warhammer 3. This spell seems harmless at first since nothing happens for a good few seconds after you cast it. If you use it on a blob of units, you might not even notice the disgusting boil that’s slowly starting to fester and grow in the midst of them. Once the boil is finally ready to pop, the ensuing carnage is both spectacular and grotesque in equal measure.
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Surprisingly, Blight Boil doesn’t do any poison damage as you might expect judging by its name. Instead, it’s just magical damage and 33% armor-piercing damage. The damage values on the spell card are not very impressive, so you’ll be excused for thinking that this is an overrated spell. However, as soon as you use you’ll quickly find out that the gifts of Papa Nurgle are powerful indeed, as the explosion caused by this spell causes a tremendous amount of impact damage. If that wasn’t enough, the spell is almost comically cheap considering the amount of damage it can do when used properly.
1 Infernal Gateway
Infernal Gateway is a vortex spell from the Lore of Tzeentch. Anybody familiar with Warhammer lore knows that Tzeentch is the master of magic, so it's only fitting that one of his spells ended up taking the top spot on this list. Infernal Gateway is a pretty standard stationary vortex spell that deals both magical and full armor-piercing damage. In addition, the spell also inflicts collision damage and prevents affected units from escaping its grasp. Naturally, smaller units will be more susceptible to this effect than larger ones.
Infernal Gateway is very similar to Pit of Shades save for a few key differences. The spell lasts a few seconds longer but is more expensive to cast and doesn’t recharge quite as fast as Pit of Shades. Of course, the recharge rate can be improved with Gleam Magic, another Lore of Tzeentch spell. On paper, Infernal Gateway is a little more overpowered than Pit of Shades thanks to its increased duration, but in practice, the difference is fairly small. With proper timing, you can easily get hundreds of kills with one cast of either of them, though you'll usually get more mileage out of Infernal Gateway.
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