Apprentice

The Apprentice is a tier 2 magical unit in Symphony of War.

They can be purchased as conscripts after unlocking a tier 1 tech (with the Gem cost included); albeit at ~3.5 times the cost as the other 4 conscript units.

Stats

Stats		Base	Growth		Lvl 1	Lvl 54
		Low	Low		~80	~182
		Med	Med		20	91
		None	None		-49	-49
		Low	Low		~4	~16
		Med	High		~27	~70
		Low	High		~16	~48
		Low	Low		~89	~981

• Stats for the Apprentice as a conscript unit.

• While the Apprentice can promote from a or , their base magic is 10~36 points (based on level) below were a conscript apprentice's is; before class bonuses are applied.
  The Apprentice grants a +5 Magic bonus over those classes as it's class bonus, which is very minor come mid-late game.
  Early game the hit of -10 Magic can be offset by a rare Dark Affinity showing up for Fighters or Bowmen.

• While the Apprentice has a negative internal Armor stat, this is rounded up to 0 in-game.
  
  It's main function is making +Armor artifacts functionally worthless on units like the Apprentice, as he will ignore the first +49 Armor before getting any benefit from such artifacts.
  It is possible to exceed this with Genbu Shell Fragment and the DLC artifacts in Spencer's Spectacles and Tailored Great Helm, though here it's at best 2~4 Armor, which still may as well be 0.

Related Technologies

Tech:
	Martial Traditions	Gain Class Points 15% faster.
	Spirit Piercing	Magical attacks pierce 25% of target's magical resistance.
	Magician's Initiative	Allows Apprentices to strike on the 1st volley of attacks, rather than 2nd, during Player-Phase.
	Mage Regiments	Heavy Infantry Slow Infantry
	Mixed Unit Tactic	Gains +3 weapon power for each different archetype of unit added to the squad, starting from the second.

Battle Details

Battle Detials:
Round:	Before tech and any Enemy Phase:	Player-Phase with Magician's Initiative researched:
Round 1	Wait	Magical Fire Attack, Magical Volley (7th), at 1 range.
Round 2	Magical Fire Attack, Magical Volley (7th), at 1 range.	Wait
Extra Attack	Magical Fire Attack, Magical Volley (7th), at 1 range.	Magical Fire Attack, Magical Volley (7th), at 1 range.
Other Detials:
Suffers from Magic Fatigue during enemy phase

Strategy

Tactics

Apprentices needing to wait a turn to deliver their 1 attack, while also being quite frail, heavily favors using the Apprentice in squads that deny rival squads the ability to counter-attack.

This can be accomplished with Walls or, more reliably, in light-infantry squads.

Squads

Light Infantry squads that go all-in on the offense angle are the best possible place to put an Apprentice; as Ambush circumvents all of the Apprentice's core issues: while also offering a good physical / magical damage split for the squad overall; along with a split of magical/light volleys.

Ambush Squad:				DLC Squad:

• War Cats take up 2 spaces, above is an example of 1 cat.

As Opponents:

Aggressive Attack is a reliable option that can push a squad's damage output past the point a Siren will hang on by a thread, and be killed outright. Especially useful for any squad with AoE attacks, Stealth Attacks, or Archery attacks that can target the Apprentice directly: and potentially knock them out in a single hit.

Builds

Traits

• Executioner and Desperation are excellent traits to bolster Apprentice's offenses, especially as an extra attack doubles their damage output.

• Concentration, Arcane Speed, and Smite are also good general sources of boosting their damage output.

• And Unassuming, Arcane Barrier, and Arcane Vigor are useful traits to keep the Apprentice alive.

Artifacts

Crystal Lance, Cyrene's Regalia, and Excalibur are solid artifacts for the Apprentice; or rather the Apprentice and the rest of his squadmates.

And Sayunaari War Pike and Auraweave Cloak are more direct bonuses to the Apprentice's offenses.

Trueshot Bow and other +Skill items are also a solid overall option in an Ambush squad, as targets are often benefiting from avoid bonuses.

Affinity

Dark is the most sought-after affinity for Magicians like the Apprentice; amplifying their Magic damage output to the highest level.
Dark is the rarest affinity; though Magicians are generally the rarest combat units. Any Apprentice conscript that shows up as Dark is generally worth a shot.

Water is a solid fallback; were the bonus to HP and MAG are appreciated.

Gallery