Mage Comparison

[Gatts]

Spreading is not bad idea, but let me tell why I focused so much for INT instead anything else as a mage:

If I played UDNEAD:
phantom % increases by your INT... so if you can have INT 50+ ... your phantomed unit can pretty deliver nice damage and last full 2 rounds and still be able to kill a lot with last attack!

If I played living fuss army;
GOD ARMOR % increases by INT - you can make one of your TANK units quite invulnerable up to 70% resistance... place it so far away that the dragons attacking this suicide unit won't have any chance of "touching" your flank/rare units - archers... than you can resurrect/buff your tank suiciders as long you can use your spells/skills wiseley (Lina's charges, magic spring etc.)

Each of these tactics works perfectly against units with huge resistance or immunity to damage units (and there are plenty more... plenty more tactics where your ATT/DEF is not important at all)

[bsctgod]

Wow, all these high INT mages. I had a 14 INT when I beat the game at level 27.

Mine was more of a warrior mage I guess. I had a pretty high ATT/DEF and high Leadership at the end. I stopped using direct damage spells after around level 20 and concentrated mostly on mass buff/debuffs.

[YENKO]

Lvl 19 mage
Att 10 def 14 int 25
ldr 10000 rage 50 mana 120, gold 2M
higher magic 3, destroyer 3, distortion 3, the rest 2, bowman commander, reserve lvl 2 etc. I could boost my stats more with the right combination of the artifacts I have, but I prefer it this way: my 'she' warriors are boosted by Anga ring, my archers are boosted by the dwarven ranger set (telescope+barrel) and some fire defence. I like it this way. I am halfway through ElvenLand and having tons of fun. And almost zero losses

BSCTGOD:"Mine was more of a warrior mage I guess. I had a pretty high ATT/DEF and high Leadership at the end. I stopped using direct damage spells after around level 20 and concentrated mostly on mass buff/debuffs."
That's my plan too, so I pump up my LDR. I like to go close&personal sometimes.