Is there a Reason to be anything but Elves?

[xalien]

Does the mirror grant an illusion promotion even if used by non-illusionist civs? 100% heal after combat is where it's main strength lies.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

The caster of the copy created by the Mirror will always be an Illusion, yes.

 

[Demus]

Does the mirror grant an illusion promotion even if used by non-illusionist civs? 100% heal after combat is where it's main strength lies.

nah, the main strenght is it giving exp to other units (who make the actual kill), something normal summons won't do. That is one of the strenghts of azalkan, he can kill 3 opponents per turn without losing a single bit of HP, thanks to his illusion prepping everything for him

 

[xalien]

I usually find mirror to be more useful as a "bodyguard" since illusions can't be dogpiled - very nice when farming in other civ's territory. Specifically after getting drill 4 you get 4-8 first strikes that lets you attack pretty much anything without taking damage - especially if you have the Shrine of Sirona for quick heal.

If you can give him the ability to fear (like Timor mask) you can kill up to 12 units if you keep "pushing" them on the road.

 

[[to_xp]Gekko]

another nice reason for the mirror, I reckon, would be giving it to an archmage with mind 3, and use domination with the illusionary archmage

 

[Monkeyfinger]

nah, the main strenght is it giving exp to other units (who make the actual kill), something normal summons won't do.

This is a pretty bad strength because anything a normal summon would have killed, the illusion will hurt badly enough to be only worth 1 XP.

 

[Demus]

This is a pretty bad strength because anything a normal summon would have killed, the illusion will hurt badly enough to be only worth 1 XP.

killed = 0 exp, not killed = 1 exp.
I beat the black tower using this strat: magnadine's illusion would take the top 3-4 defenders down to low hp, magnadine himself would take the next bunch, and a few follow-up troops cleared the remaining units. It didn't matter how many crossbowmen he was throwing at me, they all just became more exp for my army. There's no single summon that can cut 4 units down to size like that, you'd need 4 archmages to get the equivalent effect (which are a lot more vulnerable).

 

[travathian]

another nice reason for the mirror, I reckon, would be giving it to an archmage with mind 3, and use domination with the illusionary archmage

Illusions can't cast spells. The best unit to give it to is a Shadow with Blitz and Marksmen. Illusion attacks city first, then the real version attacks to finish off injured unit. Rinse, repeat. You don't even have to use the same Shadow, you can use one of the other 3 to finish it off to spread the XP around. Awesome for taking down cities with lots of decent defenders.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

The Illusion race does not forbid casting, except of course for spells that no living unit could cast. The Illusion created by the Black Mirror however is set to be like it had already casted that turn. I believe you can get around this if the unit that cast Mirror had the Spellstaff promotion, or was a Eater of Dreams, as they would thus have a way to restore their casting ability. (In my version Spellstaves are changed into equipment, and would thus not be copied for the Mirrored unit.)