Lich

*"My drip is eternal."*

a lich floating around. he saw a single jellyfish and was immediately inspired.

**Liches** are a leader unit in the **Death** faction.

## Overview

Powerful mages who have used their magical prowess to live past death, Liches lead undead hordes with their impressive arsenal of spells. They can shield their allies from incoming damage, control large sections of the map, hit enemies from true damage, and even summon the undead, a skill no other spellcaster in the game can possess. This, combined with their surprising durability, makes them a powerful leader on the battlefield -- but their lack of movement and flexibility can make them vulnerable if caught out alone in melee range.

## Abilities

### Stubborn

Attacks against this model with a base damage below 45 have their damage halved on top of the effects of defense.

### Undead

The first time this unit is reduced to zero HP, it is instead brought up to half HP. True damage negates this ability.

### Intense

True damage dealt to this model is halved.

## Gear

### Weapon

WIZARD STAFF

Ability: For every hit this weapon makes the target unit takes 15 true damage in addition to the normal attack.

## Magic

Blast

Deals true damage to a single enemy.

Magic Barrier

The caster and nearby allies are enveloped in magical forcefields. Each affected model gains one shielded status. Damage taken is halved for every shielded status.

Nova

Choose a spot in range and in view of the caster. At the start of your next turn it will explode and deal massive true damage to enemies nearby.

Necromancy

Choose a spot in range and in view of the caster. At the start of your next turn skeletons will be summoned to fit each square in range of the target area.

## Strategy

Put simply, the key to playing the Lich effectively is knowing where and when to use its expansive arsenal of spells. Before going each of these spells in specific, though, there are a couple of general things to keep in mind that can make using this undead fiend a little bit easier. The first thing to understand is that using any of its magic is a major action, meaning that it can’t move or attack before or after casting a spell, and can only cast one spell in a turn. Because the Lich relies so heavily on its magic, knowing how to play around this downside is absolutely crucial to using him effectively, and the trick to doing this lies in the rest of your army. Use horde units like Zombies and Skeletons to create space for your Lich to enter safely, and grapple dangerous ranged units with fast-moving Night Runners, Vampires, and Dragulas in order to keep them from taking down your Lich while it moves into open areas. In general, don't forget to use the rest of your army to set up plays with your Lich, and remember that he’s fairly weak on his own. Now, onto his spells.

First up is Blast. This one is fairly straightforward: use if you need to deal a bunch of damage to a single target. There are a couple of things to note about it, though. The first is that, in melee range, Blast is a much more consistent damage option that the Lich’s melee attack. If you end up getting rushed down by an enemy and survive, hitting them with a Blast can be a consistent way of quickly getting rid of them without worrying about the RNG of melee. The other thing to mention about Blast is how it can be used in conjunction with your other units. The Death faction’s access to horde units like Zombies and Skeletons means that you can often get into situations where you’ve surrounded an enemy and don’t have the line of sight to cast Blast on them. In these situations, always remember that you can retreat these units in order to open up angles of attack.

The second spell on the list is Magic Barrier, and the trick with this is to use it liberally. Unlike the Paladin, the Lich has two charges on this spell, meaning that it doesn’t have to save it for the perfect scenario. Seriously, don’t be afraid to cast this spell. Not only is it great when paired with powerful units like Giant Skeletons and Vampires, but it’s also really effective with Zombies, making them even more tanky than they are naturally. If you’re moving units away from your Lich and it’s not doing anything that turn, just cast this spell beforehand. The next spell to consider, Nova, should be treated very differently. This is arguably the Lich’s most powerful spell, and has a wide variety of uses ranging from clearing enemies out from cover to dealing massive single target damage. A general tip for the spell, though, is to follow up with *pressure from your other units*. This will stop your opponent from easily moving their units out of range and can force them into awkward situations which you can take advantage of.

The last spell in the Lich’s arsenal is their most unique: Necromancy. It’ll essentially mark a small zone, made up of five tiles in the shape of a plus, on which Skeletons will spawn next turn. This is really strong, since it almost nullifies a weakness of the Skeletons; their difficulty in approaching the enemy. By casting the spell near the enemy’s front line, you place the newfound undead in the perfect position to quickly rush down and swarm the enemy. Play these Skeletons the same way you would play any other; focus on using them to control space rather than being your primary damage source. All this being said, there are a couple of things to be aware of when using this spell. First, Skeletons don’t spawn on a tile marked by Necromancy if another unit is already standing on it, so enemies can weaken or even outright nullify the spell by covering some or all of the marked tiles with their own units. For this reason, cast Necromancy in areas that are near but not within space controlled by your opponent. If they can cover up any of your tiles with zero risk, you haven’t placed it in an effective position. Second, remember that the spell will be cancelled if the Lich dies. This also applies to Nova. Just be aware that it’s not really viable as a last resort when your Lich is a turn away from death.

Much of a Lich’s strategy comes from knowing how to use their spells effectively, but there are multiple aspects of Liches which set them apart from other spellcasters. The most important one is their health: these guys are WAY tankier than they look. Unlike Court Wizards, the Lich’s Intense ability means that they can actually survive a Blast, or even a Nova. This is a great complement to their Undead ability, which can allow them to survive otherwise devastating high damage attacks from burst damage such as with The Big One or assaults by melee units like Knight Exemplars. However, this surprisingly impressive effective health pool doesn’t really cover one of the Lich’s major weaknesses: getting rushed down. A low speed combined with an inability to fight with anything other than spells means that, on its own, a Lich is extremely vulnerable. For this reason, it’s absolutely crucial that you keep the undead leader protected with other units that can stop your enemies from staying locked in melee range for a somewhat guaranteed kill.

## Lore

We ain't got much, but here it is:

*"Liches are rare and powerful mages who cursed themselves with eternal unlife in order to give themselves infinite time to amass greater magical potential. Working with dark powers of undeath is a dangerous game, however, and liches are bound eternally to the dark desires of the greater undead legions."*

They seem pretty chill.