Guardian

Guardian
Associated Gods	All
Level	1
Type of Spell	Structure
Casting Mode	Mobile
Mana Cost	300
Damage	None
Area of Effect	Singular
Spell Duration	Permanent
Casting Time	4 s
Cooldown Time	5 s

"The Guardian spell forms a symbiotic link between the Manalith and any creature chosen to be its guardian. After casting the spell, a beam of red energy will bind the creature to the Manalith. The tethered creature will only be able to travel in the immediate vicinity of the structure, but in return will be granted enhanced statistics such as enhanced missile and magic defense, better health and mana regeneration, and more powerful attacks. Guardians are not invincible, and are very susceptible to melee attacks." – The Manual

Guardian is every god's level 1 spell.

Spell Summary

"A Manalith being guarded will have enhanced defenses. If the building itself takes damage, the damage will be distributed amongst all of the creatures connected to it. All guardian creatures must be killed off before the Manalith can be destroyed. In all, it’s a very powerful spell, and if used properly it can turn the tide of battle." – Manual

The Guardian spell can be cast on any mundane creature in the vicinity of a manalith. The spell links the creature to the manalith with a red beam, strengthening them, but making them unable to move more than a short distance away from the manalith. In addition, if even one creature is guardianed to a manalith, the manalith cannot be destroyed until the creatures die; however, attacking the manalith results in the damage being spread among the guardian creatures.

The spell is received along with other level 1 spells and in the campaign is received in the first mission.

A lone guardian receives 75% damage reduction and strong regeneration bonuses, but those are reduced for each additional guardian linked to the manalith. Having more that 4 guardian creatures increases durability of a manalith very slightly.

Most guardianed units deal 50% more damage, with the exception of poison attacks - those are 125% stronger. Minions also receive huge drain bonus.

Targets

Possible Targets for the spell Guardian
Enemy Creatures	✘	Neutral Creatures	✘	Friendly Creatures	✘	Your own Creatures	✔
Enemy Wizards	✘	Neutral Wizards	✘	Friendly Wizards	✘	Yourself	✘
Enemy Structures	✘	Neutral Structures	✘	Friendly Structures	✘	Your own Structures	✘
Ground	✘	Flying Creatures	✔	Blue Souls	✘	Red Souls	✘

Also, do note that this spell cannot be cast upon any hero creatures.

Tactical Uses

The guardian spell is very useful for defending a single manalith; however, cast the spell sparingly, as it can quickly thin out your army. It is a good idea to use only a few creatures this way, and only on critical manaliths.

In singleplayer, guardianing snipers or artillery units is usually the best idea. These creatures are capable of dealing massive damage to enemy's army, and can overcome superior numbers.

In multiplayer, however, where warfare is more mobile, manaliths are more critical and the enemies have numerous strategies to bring down even a manalith guarded by numerous artillery units, Guardianing ranged creatures is not as popular. Usually, a single brawler or bomber is guardianed to manaliths of great importance; this aids the survival of the manalith, which is most important in multiplayer. (More specifically, the guardian will allow the manalith to survive long enough for your wizard to teleport back to it and save it. Trolls, for instance, work very well for this, as they are incredibly durable as a guardian.)

While alive, the Guardian cannot travel very far away from the structure it is guarding. There is no way to detach the guardian spell from the guardian unless the creature dies. Because of this, the only way of getting your souls back from the guardian without your enemy killing the creature is to order your other creatures to attack the Guardian creature until it dies and you can collect the souls (this is also the reason why heroes can't be guardians). Repeat as necessary.

If you find yourself having to fight numerous guardianed creatures, there are a couple of strategies you can use. If the enemies are ranged creatures, use their physical weakness to overcome them; send sped-up bombers to attack the manalith (not the creatures themselves, as pathing issues will make this difficult). If even a few reach the manalith, the guardians will fall very quickly. On the other hand, if several tough melee units are guardianed to the manalith, try to avoid fighting them; they can't hurt you, nor can they exert power on the rest of the map. Either way, the fastest way to wipe out many guardians is to use destructive rain or ultimate spells.

Gallery

This page would benefit from a gallery of images about this article.

A Charnel manalith guardianed by half a dozen creatures

Every God's Spells in Sacrifice
Wizard Spells	Manahoar	Speed Up	Heal
Structure Spells	Convert	Manalith	Guardian
	Desecrate	Shrine	Teleport