Lore Attribute; Roiling Skies
This is by far the least beneficial attribute we've seen so far in this series so far. Whenever a spell from the Lore of Heavens targets an enemy unit or a model with the Fly special rule, the unit suffers D6 S4 hits in addition to the effects caused by the spell itself. Now, to be fair I actually have been using this lore attribute to be very useful, but that's because I've been playing my Daemons buddy a lot recently with my Bretonnians for tournament preparation. Blasting his Furies with Wind Blast and the watching his chaff melt with Roiling Skies is absolutely hilarious. If you deal with a lot of chaff that can fly and mess with your stuff, then this can be really a helpful. However, it's a bit too specific for me to definitively say that this is a useful Lore Attribute.
Signature Spell: Iceshard Bizzard
This is a Hex spell with a range of 24" that goes off on a roll of a 7+. The targeted unit suffers a -1 to-hit penalty for all to-hit rolls and it also suffers a -1 to it's Leadership until the start of the caster's next Magic Phase. Shooting attacks that do no use Ballistic Skill stats to shoot (cannons, Terrorgheist screams) must roll a 4+ on a D6 before firing or the shot is considered to be lost. This spell can be boosted to have a range of 48" for an increased casting value of 10+. Again, much like Flaming Sword of Rhuin it's not what this spell does, but it's the amount of things it does for the casting value that makes this spell a great one to have in your magical toolbox. Ask a Nurgle player how much -1 to-hit rocks, and you will have your answer as to why this spell is nice. It's a cheap way to shut down cannons, make a nasty combat a little less scary, and even dick around a little bit with your enemy's leadership. Again, all of these things by themselves is very inconsequential, but when rolled into one spell it makes a very handy, very effective spell that can be useful in almost every game you will ever have. Great to switch too if you get one of the stinkers in this lore.
Spell #1: Harmonic Convergence
This is an Augment spell with a range of 24" and a base casting value of 6+. The targeted unit/model re-rolls all to-hit, to-wound, and armor saves that have a rolled value of 1. This can be boosted to include all friendly units within 12" for a boosted casting value of 12+. This spells seems really nice, but unless you're running a horde style army that's making a lot of rolls, this spell is not necessarily very good. It's by no means the worst spell in Warhammer, but it's not a spell that would make me jump up in joy and rapture. Particularly if I'm running Bretonnia where I'm not putting out too many attacks from my Lances anyway, really kind of a waste. Not that good of a spell, I give it a 2 out 5.
Spell #2: Wind Blast
This spell is a Direct Damage spell with a range of 24" with a base casting value of 7+. Now, I will put a little disclaimer before I go any further with this spell. I originally I hated this spell, I could not possibly have ever thought this was a good idea. Until I started playing Bretonnia. What this spell does is it "pushes" the targeted unit D3+1" directly away from the caster. If the target comes into contact with impassible terrain, it stops 1" away from the terrain an inflicts D6 S3 hits. If it comes into contacts with another unit, both units suffer D6 S3 hits. Targets that cannot move are not pushed back but still suffer D6 S3 hits. This spell can be boosted to inflict D6+2 hits instead of D3+1 for a casting value of 14+. This is perhaps the most tactical spell in all of Warhammer Fantasy. Movement is such a pivotal part of the game that it really determines who wins and who loses. Especially for Bretonnia, where our entire army is reliant on distance, anything that puts your enemy out of a charge arc but still within a makeable charge on your part is an invaluable tool for Bretonnia. I love this spell, and I'll admit I'm a bit biased because I play a very obscure army so I will say this spell is not for everyone. For some armies, this spell does nothing, but for other people like myself, this spell is awesome. I'll give it a safe 3 out of 5.
Spell #3: Curse of the Midnight Wind
Another Hex spell that has a range of 24" and a base casting value of 10+. The target must re-roll all 6's when rolling to-hit, to-wound, and armor saves until the start of the casters next magic phase. It can be boosted to target all enemy units within 12" of the of the caster for an increased casting value of 20+. This spell is really kind of unimpressive unless you combo it with Harmonic Convergence. Both of these spells do have one key tactical use that I failed to mention in Harmonic Convergence. In a timed tournament, these spells can really help waste the clock, like a run play in football. All those re-rolls take up time and can mean the difference between a minor loss and a major loss if it can stop your horde from getting completely massacred within the given time for the battle. I give this spell a 2 out of 5, I personally swap it for Iceshard when given the opportunity.
Spell #4: Urannon's Thunderbolt
A Magic Missile with a range of 24" that causes D6 S6 hits on a base casting value of a 10+. It can be boosted to have a range of 48" for an increased casting value of 13+. While most Magic Missiles can be used to remove Fast Cavalry and other chaff, Urannon's Thunderbolt can be used to remove Monster Cavalry. At S6, anything that gets his is taking a -3 penalty to their armor and at S6 there's not too much out there that's going to be confident enough in its Toughness to block this. For a 10+ value, this is a damned steal of a Magic Missile, and this is easily a first turn cast if you boost it. If there are any lone characters mounted by themselves (even better if it's a Dragon or some other kind of Flying mount) make an attempt to hit them with this and just laugh as they get liquified by the spell. I really like this spell, because there's not too much that this spell won't kill. As with most Magic Missiles, it's not very effective against large hordes or bricks of infantry. Against things that rely heavily on an armor save though, this spells is very scary to them. I give it a 4 out 5, and if you like rocking out to Heavens magic, I highly suggest this spell.
Spell #5: Comet of Casandora
There are many players I know who argue that the bomb spell in the Lore of Shadows is not Okkam's Mindrazor, but is actually Pit of Shades. I can agree to some point with that argument, because I agree with the cornerstone of that particular argument. Numerical spell placement does not dictate spell power. Comet is the true king of the Lore of Heavens. I splurged on this spell in a later list, so if you really want to know my long-winded explanation and adoration of the Comet, then go see my Top 5 Favorite Spells list. 5 out of 5, best spell in this lore and possibly the best out of the 8 standard lores.
Spell #6: Chain Lightning
A Direct Damage spell with a range of 24" and a base casting value of 15+. The unit targeted takes D6 S6 hits and when the damage has been resolved roll a D6. On a 3+, choose another enemy unit within 6" of the original target. That new unit suffers D6 S6 hits as well. Keep repeating this until a roll to carry on is failed or there are no more viable targets. Note that a unit can only be subject to Chain Lightning once per Magic Phase. This spell is really effective against any armies that like to castle, like Dwarves, Chaos Dwarves, certain Skaven and Empire lists, etc. because their stuff will be very close together. If you want to get really tricky too, you can cast this on an Engineer and then have this jump to the artillery pieces he's rubbing his dick all over. If Comet seems a bit too blunt for your tastes to handle artillery pieces, then this spell is really nice because most people I play keep their artillery pieces within 3" of an Engineer (should they take one) meaning you can jump from artillery piece to artillery piece and just keep laughing all the way. Very situational and to be honest not nearly as good as a boosted Urannon's and it's also not as cheap to cast. I give it a solid 3 out 5.
So in conclusion, what do I think about the Lore of Heavens? Well, I think it's quite a bit of a sleeper lore of sorts. You see, in an era where Gun Lines are still reigning supreme there is a need for a lore that can shut down artillery. That comes in the form of Heavens magic. Whether you cast Iceshard to make their cannons have a harder time, or you simply go the more elegant way of nuking their cannons and other war machines with spells like Comet or Chain Lightning this lore in my mind has its primary focus in stopping artillery and overall just being a complete pain in the ass for your opponent to deal with. Unless you're running Bretonnia, I wouldn't necessarily advise running a Level 4 on Heavens, since you can always swap to Iceshard and maximize you're efficiency in the task of being a thorn in the side of your enemy. Level 1's and 2's work best, but if you want to have some fun run a Lord-level caste on it sometime.
