Blood Mage (Warcraft III)

Many of the stoic high elves, reeling from the loss of their ancient homeland, Quel'Thalas, have given in to their hatred and despair and embraced the dark side of their magical natures. Calling themselves 'Blood Elves' - these cold hearted refugees seek to expand their remaining magical powers at any cost - even if it means courting the infernal powers of the Burning Legion! Though still loyal to the Alliance, the Blood Elves' passions will lead them not only to the highest pinnacles of power, but to the darkest depths of madness.

Hero names
Eldin Sunstrider, Tanin Hawkwing, Lorn Bloodseeker, Aldos Firestar, Gilaras Drakeson, Hale Magefire, Kath'ranis Remar, Tyoril Sunchaser, Sylvos Windrunner, Tenris Mirkblood, Marakanis Starfury, Geldor Earthfire, Halendor Burnkin, Kelen the Destroyer.

Information
A mystical Hero, adept at controlling magic and ranged assaults. Though still members of the Alliance, the Blood Elves have begun to turn to the darkest parts of magic, abandoning the water and frost spells of the Kirin Tor for the fire and heat of what some people fear to be Demonic magic.

Blood Mages aren't often used by human commanders in small or free-for-all matches due to their lack of versatility but can prove well as a support Hero in team matches.

Flame Strike is his best damage-dealing spell, dealing equal damage to both enemy ground units and structures, whereas the Archmage's Blizzard does reduced damage. In maps where creep camps may be blocked off by trees, a Blood Mage can use Flame Strike on those trees to immediately remove them, and access whatever is inside the hidden area. This is particularly useful in maps such as Plains of Snow where gold mines for expansion are blocked off by trees.

Banish is a good skill when running magic-damage heavy armies because the targeted unit becomes temporarily ethereal; this prevents them from being physically harmed, but they take additional damage from spells and magic attacks. Banish also slows the unit down.

Siphon Mana is a great spell for the Blood Mage, and regardless of what spell you go for first, it should be his side skill. The Blood Mage's spells require immense amounts of mana in order to operate, and this spell helps him alleviate this problem. Though nowhere as consistent as the Archmage's Brilliance Aura, Mana Drain can be used to rip mana off an enemy unit or Hero rapidly. It can also be used to channel mana from the Blood Mage to the targeted friendly Hero, making it a quick patch-up for mana-intense heroes like the Mountain King.

Phoenix is the Blood Mage's ultimate and is a powerful supporting aerial unit, dealing high magic damage and possessing Spell Immunity protecting it from magic attacks. The Phoenix can be a major pain to enemies if used properly due to its ability to constantly revive itself in its egg form if the egg is not destroyed in time.

Give the Blood Mage all Intelligence boosting and mana regeneration items. This ensures he can make the most out of his mana and support everyone better.

In smaller games, the Blood Mage is usually picked up as a "mana battery" after opening with a Mountain King, forgoing Flame Strike in order to focus on the synergy between their other spells: Siphon Mana helps keep the Mountain King's small mana pool topped up while denying the enemy's spellcasting, and Banish into Storm Bolt will outright kill weaker enemies and cripple most others. This allows the Human player to opt for a much more aggressive playstyle than opening with an Archmage.

lame Strike

 * Conjures a pillar of fire which damages ground units in a target area over time.

Flame Strike's damage is capped to 6 targets at a time; if it hits more than that, then the damage is spread equally across all units. The spell also deals the same amount of damage to buildings. The spell can also clear trees in the targeted area, but given its small AoE, use it sparingly for this purpose. Mid/late game should simply use Mortar Teams or have peasants already chopping that area down early game.

When used, the Blood Mage swirls around as if he is in a trance, and a gong-like sound will be heard when he conjures the flames. Do not move the Blood Mage until the flames appear, or the spell will be canceled and his mana will be wasted.

Stun the Blood Mage before the flames appear (roughly one second to stop it) or simply run away from the area of effect.
 * Counters

anish

 * Turns a unit ethereal and slows its movement speed by 50%. Ethereal units cannot attack, but they can cast spells and will take 66% more damage from Magic attacks and spells.

This spell is useful at temporarily incapacitating specific enemy units, as Banish makes them temporarily ethereal. Ethereal units can cast spells as normal. They are immune to physical damage, but cannot attack enemies. Ethereal units also take 66% additional damage from magic attacks and spells. Banish also reduces the targeted unit's movement speed by 50%.

Banishing your units can prove beneficial, as it increases the potency of your unit's spells. This also stops the enemy from focusing down on specific units with ease. However, this trick is fairly useless against heavy aerial units, who typically possess magic damage and thus they'll deal more damage as a result. This also allows for increased hero killing opportunities by the enemy with Heroes like the Lich and Mountain King whose nuke spells deal very high damage.

Dispel. If the banished unit is an enemy unit, focus them down with magic and spell damage.
 * Counters

Sipho Mana

 * Transfers mana between the Blood Mage and a target. Drains mana from an enemy, or transfers mana to an ally. Siphon Mana can push the Blood Mage's mana over its maximum value, though excess mana drains off rapidly if not used.

This spell is useful at taking mana from the enemy for your own purposes. Try to cast the spell against an enemy with high mana pool; to check mana pools, hold on the Alt button - this shows all units health and mana on the visible screen. The blue bar indicates how much mana the units have. Try to use it on creeps or enemy melee heroes, as creeps will not move and enemy melee heroes tend to get stuck and have trouble getting out of the Siphon Mana's range.

Siphon Mana also works on your own Heroes (though not in the Campaign); simply have the Blood Mage target your desired Hero and he will immediately start siphoning mana to them. Use this on heroes like Paladins to keep their mana pool replenished so they can cast Holy Light.

As a channeled ability, forcing the Blood Mage to move or stunning him stops the Siphon Mana immediately. Running the targeted unit out of range also ends the spell prematurely.
 * Counters

Phoeni (Ultimate)

 * Summons a powerful Phoenix. The Phoenix burns with such intensity that it damages itself and nearby enemy units. Has Spell Immunity, and Resistant Skin. When a Phoenix dies, it creates an egg that will hatch into a Phoenix.

The Phoenix is a powerful aerial unit that is very effective at taking out aerial units. It also has a pseudo-Flame Strike effect where it'll launch streams of fire to nearby enemy units, causing a burn effect, coupled with its high magic damage. The Phoenix possesses Spell Immunity, preventing heavy aerial units from damaging it in combat.

The Phoenix loses health rapidly over time, and cannot recover this health from Fountains of Life. Despite its Spell Immunity, a Paladin can still heal it with Holy Light.

When it reaches 0 health, the Phoenix lands on the ground and turns into a Phoenix Egg. The egg possesses 200 health and also possesses Spell Immunity. If it is not destroyed in 10 seconds, the Phoenix is reborn with full health.

Like the Far Seer's Feral Wolves, if a new Phoenix is summoned while one is on the field, the old Phoenix is automatically destroyed.

Manual description
A mystical Hero, adept at controlling magic and ranged assaults. Though still members of the Alliance, the Blood Elves have begun to turn to the darkest parts of magic, abandoning the water and frost spells of the Kirin Tor for the fire and heat of what some people fear to be Demonic magic. Attacks land and air units.

World Editor description

 * Mystical Hero, adept at controlling magic and ranged assaults. Can learn Flame Strike, Banish, Siphon Mana and Phoenix.

Quotes

 * See Warcraft III Blood Mage quotes