Master Of Magiccaptures the ’90s fantasy feel of the original perfectly, due in no small part to the cast of playable Wizards. While you’re free to create your own mystical monarch, it’s much easier to get straight to exploring if you choose one of the pre-gen characters. The game offers a wide (albeit not complete) assortment of spellbook and ability combinations, so you’re able to easily play several campaigns with plenty of variety without ever seeing the customization screen.
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We’ve ranked the starting Wizards based on their overall capabilities. If you’re looking for an edge in your conquest of Arcania, start here!
14Ariel - Charismatic
Ariel’s diplomatic skills give her a bit more leeway when dealing with other Wizards, but her ability comes into play so rarely and with so little overall effect that it’s hardly worth missing out on better powers. Whilehalf-price heroes, mercenaries, and artifactscan be a boon early in the game before your economy gets rolling, Arial’s charisma sees diminishing returns the longer the campaign goes on.
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Being one of the few single-type Wizards in the game is also a net disadvantage for Ariel. Hermastery of Life magiccan keep your units buffed and healthy, and she can get to rare powers like summoning Angels quicker thanks to her specialization, but a lack of versatility can be a curse rather than a blessing.
13Raven - Extra Spellbook
Raven is the only starting character withno Wizard ability. Instead, he starts with an extra spellbook; this slightly increases his research speed and allows him to start witheleven spells instead of ten.
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Raven uses Sorcery and Nature magic, making him effective at battlefield control. His lack of an ability, however, causes him to lag behind the other Wizards. Only his small research bonus puts him ahead of Ariel in terms of overall effectiveness.
12Jafar - Alchemy
Jafar focuses purely on Sorcery, which is fairly weak in the early game but has the potential toshut down enemy Wizards later on. Sorcery also has some decent summoning spells, letting the wandering Alchemist fortify his forces with creatures like Nagas.
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Alchemy allows Jafar totransmute Gold into Mana and vice versaat a one-to-one ratio, making it easier to fix his economy. This can be useful when an event hampers your income, or if you need to hurry production.
11Oberic - Mana Focusing
Chaos and Nature are both excellent Realms, so Oberic’s spellbook will always be filled with useful magic. Whether you’re summoning powerful creatures like Basilisks and Fire Giants or blasting apart castle walls, Oberic’s magic is great for combat.
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As impressive as Oberic’s repertoire is, his ability leaves something to be desired. Hedistills Mana from Power more easily, which isn’t much use until you have several towns and Nodes under your control. To get the most out of Mana Focusing, you may need to temporarily pull some Power away from research and casting ability.
10Kali - Artificer
Kali uses both Sorcery and Death magic, a combination that lets her capitalize on her opponent’s misfortunes. Whether she’s countering enemy spells or raising fallen soldiers as undead, she’s best used turning other players' losses into her gains.
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Kalistarts the game with Enchant Item and Create Artifact, along with her usual allotment of spells, letting her empower any heroes that join her from the start. Since heroes only come along rarely, these spells can be put to use diplomatically; trade a handful of magic items for spells, mana, or gold to stay on-pace with your opponents!
9Rjak - Infernal Power
Rjak needs to expand consistently and relentlessly in order to make the best use of their abilities. Religious buildingsprovide additional Powerand unrest suppression thanks to Rjak’s Infernal Power ability, so you want to have as many towns as possible and max out the religious line in each of them.
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Rjak’s exclusive use of Death magic can be a bit of a bottleneck before you have a healthy Mana income. Since most Death buffs only affect the undead, you’ll need torely more on summoned unitslike Skeletons and Ghouls than you would with other Wizards.
8Freya - Nature Mastery
If you’re going to pick a single-discipline Wizard, it’s best to select one that has mastered their field. Freya is one of the two pre-gen Wizards that fits the bill.
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As the game’s pre-eminent Nature Wizard, Freya gets a bonus to Research when developing new spells within her domain, and theycost less to cast. Even better, she getstwice as much power from Nature nodesand her Nature spells are twice as hard to dispel. From summoning bears to warping the battlefield, Freya is able to field hardy armies and shape the battlefield to her advantage.
7Tauron - Chaos Mastery
Like Freya, Tauron has mastered a single type of magic at the expense of the others. He gets all the same bonuses that Freya does, except that his specialization is in Chaos magic rather than Nature.
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Chaos is arguably thebest overall discipline in the game, with powerful summons, dangerous damage spells, and disruptive effects. When it comes to brute magical force, Tauron is about as straightforward as it gets.
6Horus - Archmage
Life magic and Sorcery might not be the most impressive pairing in the game, but Horus can out-cast any competitor with ease. As an Archmage, hiscasting ability starts ten levels higher, and he levels it up more quickly. This translates to more spells per turn, provided he has the Mana to power them.
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In the late game, Horus cansummon elementals and angels alike to the battlefieldwith ease while healing his soldiers and interfering with his opponents' spells. If Horus is one of your opponents, eliminate him early so that he never reaches that level of power.
5Sharee - Conjurer
Sharee’s combination of Chaos and Death magic makes her an offensive powerhouse, and she can use enchantments like Dark Rituals to get almost as much Power out of her towns as Rjak with little effort. Both of those domains have some great summoning spells, which is excellent for Shareesince she researches and casts summons faster.
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Sharee’s summoned units have areduced Mana upkeep, letting her field more high-tier monsters provided she has the time to summon them all. Remember, you can only cast one spell at a time, so she can’t create an entire army out of thin air!
