The Lore of Light, as described in the rulebook as the lore that exceeds in scourging and destruction of supernatural creatures. The Empire constantly fights against undead and Daemons of Chaos. So how would Lore of Light help the Empire win battles? Here's a simple description of how to use Lore of Light in the Empire's battle against the supernatural.
Shem's Burning Gaze
The most basic spell in the lore. Magic missile. It is very easy to cast, have decent range and does flaming attack. Against the undead or daemons, the lore attribute changes the spell to hit an additional D6 number of hits. If you feel that Strength 4 may not be enough, boost it up and raise the strength to 6. With 2D6 number of hits, on average, you would be able to do about 6 wounds against normal troops.
Pha's Protection
This spell increase the survivability of Empire troops by a lot. This is increased even more coupled with The Speed of Light (explained later). Not only it helps during close combat but any range shooting would suffer an additional penalty to shoot at the unit. Even warmachines that doesn't require a Ballistic Skill would drop it's chances to 50% to shoot at the unit. Especially useful to protect Empire's “hammer” or “anvil” from enemy fire. Remember, Empire troops die easy.
The Speed of Light
This spell increases the target unit's Weapon Skill and Initiative to 10. That would mean that even the most skilled warriors would only have 50% chance of hitting the unit. If possible, stack Pha's Protection on them and make them even more harder to hit, reducing the opponent's chance to hit to a mere 33%. That would increase the survivability of the unit and also to hit back against your opponent. Very useful against High Elves even though they may strike first but then they cannot re-roll against your high initiative.
Light of Battle
Empire troops have low leadership and it is not uncommon for units to panic or break in combat. This spell could be a lifesaver because it automatically rallies the fleeing unit. Furthermore, this unit will pass any leadership test until the caster's next magic phase. There had been many cases when a unit flees causing a chain reaction to other units to flee as well. Cast the boosted version and all those fleeing units would rally. Don't underestimate this spell especially when you play a list where your units are not accompanied by characters or army general nearby.
Net of Amyntok
I have found this spell to be very useful when playing against Tomb Kings or High Elves or Dark Elves who likes to field a huge number of archers in a unit. In order for them to shoot, it forces them to take a Strength test of which failing the test would disable them from shooting at your unit. Another of it's usefulness is to prevent opponent's redirectors from blocking or manoeuvre against you. Empire big blocks are pretty difficult to move around terrains and a lot of times, opponents would use redirectors to redirect out main unit from our intended location.
Banishment
Though it may sound like just a mere magic missile of Strength 4, this spell deals 2D6 hits and forces the target to re-roll successful ward saves. Sometimes we would face our opponent's characters leaving their unit for some strategic (or foolish) purpose. That's the right time to cast this spell on them and though they may think that they have ward saves to protect them but when they are forced to re-roll their successful saves, it may not be so safe any more.
Birona's Timewarp
This spell turns any Empire unit into formidable warriors with additional attack and always strike first and it last until the caster's next magic phase. So if you managed to cast this spell at a unit that has successfully charged a unit, they would be ensured to have the effect for two rounds of close combat. Stack The Speed of Light with them and you'll have a unit that hits well with re-rolls.
When you plan to choose Lore of Light for your wizard, always bear in mind to have a plan ahead of your battles. Determine the right moment and right sequence to cast your spells. Especially those which you can stack the effects and cause your unit to be very formidable in close combat. The best part is that we can also have the Empire War Altar which casts the Lore of Light spells at bound power 5. Though easily dispelled but reserve some of the dice so that you would be able to get off the spells to your advantage.
