Fire Spirit sacrifices its own HP (3% per second) to fire a beam 640 / 800 / 960 long toward its current target. The beam roasts enemies and heals allies at the same time: base damage 30 / 70 / 105 and base healing 50 / 75 / 125, plus a share of the target's HP that steadily grows while the beam burns. Duration 4 / 5 / 6 s, cooldown 10 / 8 / 6 s.
Role: a mid-game support mage. It stands behind the line, but positioning matters: the beam should cross both enemies and your own units to pay off. Best with a durable front line worth healing, and it fills Spirit and Mage synergies.
Synergy effect:
(2) If allied Spirits are attacked in melee, there is a 15% chance to petrify the attacker for 3 seconds. The effect can only be removed by a strong dispel.
(4) Allied pieces have a 10% chance to petrify the attacker for 3 seconds after an attack (strong dispel only).
(6) Petrified duration +1 second, and damage taken by petrified enemy units is increased by 100%.
Petrify: the unit cannot attack, move or cast abilities. This effect pierces spell immunity.
The effects of several thresholds are active at the same time: activating a higher threshold does not deactivate the lower one.
How to play
Spirit is a control synergy through petrification: (2) is built from cheap heroes in the first rounds and punishes enemy melee fighters who hit the Spirits. (4) in the mid game spreads the petrify chance to the whole board, and (6) with the expensive heroes also makes petrified enemies twice as vulnerable to damage. The thresholds stack, so the fuller the build, the more often the enemy stands still, and the synergy pairs well with any source of damage.
Synergy effect:
(3) Reduces the magic resistance of all enemy pieces by 30%.
(6) Reduces the magic resistance of all enemy pieces by 80%.
(9) Reduces the magic resistance of all enemy pieces by 85%; in addition, at the start of the battle enemy pieces receive a debuff: they are frozen when they take magical damage. The freeze duration equals the actual magical damage taken divided by 300, in seconds.
Class trait: each surviving allied Mage on the board grants Mages 10% mana, up to 60%.
Freeze: the piece cannot attack, move, or use abilities.
How to play
Mages are a magical damage synergy: (3) noticeably lowers the magic resistance of all enemies, (6) almost removes it, and (9) adds a freeze on magical damage — a rare late-game option. The class is wide, with many cheap heroes, so (3) comes together in the first rounds, (6) in the mid game, and the top threshold is closed by expensive Mages. Mages need a sturdy front line in front of them, but their trait builds mana quickly while many Mages are alive on the board.