So this is a series that I think as a Lizardmen player touches a subject that's very near and dear to my heart, and that' s magic. While this one is going to be a lot longer, it's also going to be a lot more in detail and ONLY dealing with the individual lore itself. What spells are good and what are ones you want to swap for, so, without further ado, let's check this thing out!
Lore Attribue: Kindlflame
Basically, this is what makes spamming Fireball possible in a list with a few Fire mages included into it. What is does is very simple, if a Direct Damage or Magic Missile spell is cast at a unit that has already been targeted by a Direct Damage or Magic Missile spell from the Lore of Fire in the same magic phase, then the caster gets a +D3 to his casting value. Oh, and all attacks made by this lore count as Flaming Attacks. No fucking shit. While by no means game changing, it's actually a very simple and effective lore attribute. Something you'll find the Lore of Fire is pretty much the epitome of. I really like it because it allows the level 1 or 2 casters to suddenly become Nagash(s) of the Lore of Fire in terms of the ability to shove a spell down your opponent's throat. Plus. considering all but 3 out of the 7 spells in this lore are either DD or MM, this attribute can really come in handy when you're up against Dwarves or anti-magic built armies.
Signature Spell: Fireball
This spell epitomizes the Lore of Fire. Simple, low casting value, humble compared to most other lores, and pretty much focused solely on offense. And I love it! Basically, it's a Magic Missile with a casting value of 5+ and a range of 24" that inflicts D6 S4 hits. It's all you could want in a MM spell, cheap, effective, and balanced. If you want to give it a boost, you can increase the casting value to 10+ for an increased range of 36" and the number of hits increases to 2D6 hits. The best part though, is coming up. You can boost this spell AGAIN to have a range of 48" and inflict 3D6 hits for a casting value of 18+. Now, the increased range and number of hits is nice, but isn't that a little expensive? Wrong! Refer to the lore attribute. As long as you hit your intended target with another DD or MM spell, you'll mathematically add around 2+ to your casting value, making this spell decently easier to cast. I've seen Elf armies with no form of artillery use this spell to snipe monsters, Daemon Princes, Dragons, Phoenixes, you name it! Hell, at 3D6 you're getting into the range where even rank and file are going to be a little wary of this spell. I know a lot of people bitch about it only being S4, but in a meta where Elves rule supreme, it's not that insanely hard to wound something that's T3 with a S4 hit that may only have light armor and a shield at most! A great spell to swap to if you're ever in doubt. On a 1-5 scale, I'd probably give this spell an even 4.
Spell #1: Cascading Fire Cloak
This spell is handy if you're the kind of guy who likes to put a Level 1 or 2 in your block of infantry to help boost them a little bit. It's an Augment spell that targets the caster and/or the unit that the caster is in. On a 5+, every enemy unit in base contact with your unit suffer a 2D6 S4 Flaming hits at the end of every Magic Phase. The best part, it's a Remains in Play spell! It can't be boosted, so that's kind of the downside to this spell. If your Fire caster is on top of a dragon or something, then this spell is kind of useless. However, if he's a Fire Battle Wizard in a horde of Halberdiers, then this spell totally kicks ass! I cannot tell you how many times this spell has both helped and fucked me over in horde-on-horde grinding situations. Two or three extra guys dying per turn may seem like nothing, but after four magic phases of being in combat, that shits starts to add up let me tell you! On average, I'd give this spell a decent 3.
Spell #2: Flaming Sword of Rhuin
This is the second and last Augment in the Lore of Fire. For a casting value of 8+, you can target a friendly unit/model within 24" and give that unit/model +1 to-wound in all shooting and close combat phases. That unit/model also counts as having Flaming and Magical attacks. All these effects last until the start of the caster's next magic phase. You can choose to boost this spell to have a range of 48", but the casting value goes up to an 11+. I think this is actually a decent spell, considering how much it does in return for what it costs. So for a casting value of 8+, you can boost any unit within 24" to have +1 to-wound, Magical Attacks, and Flaming Attacks. Can we say, hell yes! I know a lot of people who complain about the fact this spell doesn't adjust any stats, making it kind of inadequate, but I don't think so. Looking at it objectively, this spell costs less than most spells that adjust to-hit or to-wound values, and gives you two very helpful effects for less than double digits of a casting value! Call me a sucker for hard luck case (lore), but I like this spell a lot! I give it an easy 4!
Spell #3: The Burning Head
The First Direct Damage spell in this lore, and in my opinion one of the most difficult to justify. For a 10+ casting value, you get an 18" line extended from the caster's base in his front arc. The attack works like a cannonball, and each unit in the way (aka each unit under the 18" line) suffers a S4 Flaming hit. If a unit hit by this spell takes any casualties, they must immediately make a Panic test. You can choose to boost the range of this spell to 36" for an increased casting value of 13+. Yeah, this spell is really an answer looking for a question in my opinion. I guess it has potential if you launch it up the flank of an enemy horde unit, but why would you bother doing that when you can just chuck a bomb spell like Purple Sun or Dwellers and do infinitely more damage? Plus, an 18" line is really short ranged, meaning you'll only have the potential to launch it once, maybe twice if you're lucky. You can boost it to compensate for the range, but at that point Fireball will be inflicting more damage, for less of a casting value, with an even higher range! And S4? Are you fucking kidding me GW? You took every opportunity to explain that this spell is effectively a cannonball, but unlike every other cannon in the game, it hits at S4. I guess the whole Panic Test clause is kind of nice, but it's really just cheap icing on a stale cake. Horrible, confusing, confounding spell. I give it a 1 out 5.
Spell #4: Piercing Bolts of Burning
A Magic Missile spell with a casting value of 10+ and a range of 24" that causes D3 S4 Flaming hits for each rank of five or more models in the target unit. Can be boosted to have a range of 48" for an increased casting value of 13+. Okay, who came up with this spell? No, seriously, who actually took the time to write a spell that would be on the same uselessness level as Burning Head? D3 hits, are you fucking kidding me GW? Now, I would understand this if the damage was say, S5 or S6, but not fucking S4! This spell won't even clear up chaff! Hordes, which this spell is specifically designed to counter, will laugh at this spell! I mean, at least in a horde of fifty guys, it will on average do about 10 hits, half of which won't wound, and the other half will be armor saved and/or ward saved away. If this spell and Burning Head made a baby, where it acted as a Flaming cannonball that had the +D3 wounds special rule, or inflicted D3 hits on each model in the line, I could get behind that. However, this spell is just utter and complete rubbish. 1 out 5, moving on!
Spell #5: Fulminating Flame Cage
The only Hex spell in the Lore of Fire. It has a casting value of 11+ and a range of 24". What it does is cause the targeted unit to suffer an immediate D6 S4 Flaming hits. If the unit moves for any reason whatsoever, this includes marching, charging, reforming, fleeing, or anything you can think of, than each model in the unit suffers a S4 Flaming hit. You can choose to boost the spell to have a range of 48" for a casting value of 14+. This spell is in fact awesome! This spell is the one advanced magical tool that this lore has in it. This spells is used in order to prevent your opponent from basically doing anything with his unit. It's used to basically lock down a unit from doing any form of movement. This is great for tearing through nasty looking hordes of Tomb Guard, Trolls, Black Orcs, or anything else you'd like to put out of position or whittle down a bit. Personally, this is in fact my favorite spell from this lore without a doubt. I give it a 5 out 5.
Spell #6: Flame Storm
Yeah, I won't go into too much detail as I already tore this spell a new one the size of the Grand Canyon in a Top 5 review I did a while back, but this is without a doubt one of the most disappointing #6 spells in the game. I'll type it in a bit to get my point across. This is a Direct Damage with a casting value of 13+. You place a small template within 30" of the caster and then scatter it D6". Everything hit under the template suffers a S4 Flaming hit. For a boosted version, you can use a large round template and scatter it 2D6" for an increased casting value of 16+. If you don't see the problem with this spell, then I don't know what to tell you pal. Other than you haven't played Warhammer for very long, have you? This spell is much too high to cast for much too little payoff. In terms of bomb spells, it just flat out sucks monkey dick compared to even this lore's Signature Spell. Not the worst spell in the world, but it certainly won't be winning any MVP awards in my book. 2 out 5.
So in conclusion, the Lore of Fire is by no means a game winning lore like Death or Life, but it does have it's own personal niche in the game. While so many people use magic specifically for Augments or Hexes, the Lore of Fire is actually very refreshing in it's simplicity. This lore has some excellent spells in it, and if I had to pick my three favorite spells from it, I'd have to say Fireball, Flaming Sword of Rhuin, and Fulminating Flame Cage most assuredly take those honors. The three spells I would have to say that I like the least are Burning Head, Piercing Bolts of Burning, and Flame Storm. Where do I see this lore being most effective? First off, never put this lore on anything more than a Level 2. It's got a universal low casting rate, so you don't need to worry too much about that. I guess there's some possibility for High Elves and Chaos Dwarves to combo this lore with some of their mounts, but that's a whole new gaggle of issues brought up with those builds. No, I see this lore being most effective in armies with little to no shooting. The effective, efficient, and prevalent MM and DD spells mean you have plenty of opportunities to fire back a few shot before getting into combat, and the two Augments and single Hex are both great for manipulating the flow of combat. Horde style armies, which often entirely eliminate their BS or artillery options in favor of more troops will have a bit more of an edge in the first few rounds of the game. I also see this as a great lore for new players to have, with the exception of Burning Head and Piercing Bolts that is. It's a great way to introduce magic in a way that isn't so damned confusing it makes your head spin. I would also like to note that with the prevalence of Trolls, Chimeras, and other dangerous things with Regeneration, this lore can be an effective answer to those nasty things that more often that not do show up in tournaments and competitive games.
