Sorc vs Wild Mage vs Cleric/Mage – 2016 Edition, with SCS
Livegood118
Member Posts: 48
Hi all,
I thought for the new year I'd bring up the age old debate of which class is the strongest "pure" spellcaster. Many of you may be on break from college/school/work over the winter holidays and playing BG again so why not? I pretty much consider SCS mandatory now to bring any sense of challenge to the game - your mileage may vary.
One thing I will say is that I'd like to hear views on how these characters actually progress through the game in a party of 5-6 people e.g. how useful they are from beginning, middle to end. One of the tough – but in my opinion fair – aspects of SCS is that the Robe of Vecna is moved to the 5th level of Watchers keep which isn't realistically going to be attempted on higher difficulty modes until you've got at the very least around 5,500,000 – 6,500,000 xp I'd say.
First - the Cleric/Mage. It's a great combination but seems like a bit of a late bloomer and like most casters really only begins to properly kick ass once you can use lots of level 9 spells. Unfortunately for the C/M this is around the 6,000,000m XP mark well in to TOB. For me personally the key spells from the Divine side of things are Flamestrike, Bolt of Glory (Ignores MR), the defensive buffs (e.g. free action, death ward, NPP), Harm, Heal, Firestorm (ignores MR), Sunray, Storm of Vengeance and Implosion (ignores MR). I personally use the Nerfed version of harm which does 150+ damage.
Sure, you can use all your buffs to give yourself a great Thac0, wear good equipment and whack things around but is this something that (a) needs to be done and (b) can't be compensated for through smart use of a greater selection of Arcane Spells. To me Implosion really stands out as one of the few MR Resisting physical damage spells but it still can't be used on an SCS Lich with an improved Invisibility effect right? When I'm using SCS I often find myself in a position when fighting a nasty lich that I'm able to get all of their spell defences away in a time stop but because of their judicial use of combat protections (in some cases granting immunity to all elemental damage) I'll have to wait till the Timestop's over before I get dispel their illusions and actually breach them to hurt them with damage spells.
IMO one of the greatest aspects of a pure caster is the ability to use Project Image for greater spell efficiency and this is something the Sorcerer does best. With a maximum potential for 10 level 7 spells if using all of the best end-game equipment a Sorc essentially has quick access to his entire spellbook an extra 10 times. One of the advantages of the Sorcerer's "flexibility" is that if you want to use Project Image a lot (e.g. more than 5-6 times in a big long fight) and still use lots of other level 7 spells you'll be able to, though the fights where this is actually the case could probably be counted on one-hand. He's an early bloomer and will start being able to use Improved Alacrity/Time Stop at about 3,000,000 xp. I find that spell choices can start to get really tight from about level 7 onwards for the Sorcerer and level 9 in particular is a hard one. I'd personally go for (Timestop, Shapechange, Imprisonment, Chain Contingency) but you still miss really good spells like Wish and Spellstrike. Level 8 and 7 are a little less crowded but 6 is a tough one too. Foes that have partial invisibility can have their brains gobbled by a Projected Image Mindflayer provided they don't have protection from magical weapons so I don't really see what the Cleric's choice of "physically" oriented buff spells can compensate for that Arcane spells can't. Leave enemies that don't deserve this kind of gobbling to fighters imo. Hell, if you don't care about the loot just use Imprison on them.
And then we come to the Wild Mage. I'd argue that the Wild Mage definitely has the hardest start because of bad rolls (though admittedly you can save scum to NRD high level spells earlier than you're supposed to!). To make matters worse:
(a) Chaos Shields of different types no longer stack in EE (e.g. ordinary + improved Chaos Shield) though this is somewhat compensated for by the +15 Circlet added late in the game by TOB
(b) Chaos shields of the same types no longer stack in Sequencers/Contingencies in EE (fair enough)
The new robe added by EE which grants Chaos Shield also "sets" the status and will not stack with spell Chaos shields. Therefore, at 3,000,000 XP, the highest legit +to your rolls you can get at the end of SoA is 18 (level) + 25 (Improved Chaos Shield) = +43, whereas before without using Chain Contingency cheese you would have been able to get 18 (level) + 25 (Improved Chaos Shield) + 15 (Chaos Shield) = +58. When you've hit the TOB level cap you'll therefore cap at +71 to your rolls which is OK though I wouldn't use an NRD in life or death situations. For reference, the EE Wild Surge table from 71 onwards is as follows:
71 Fireball spell centered on target
72 Flesh to Stone spell on target
73 Spell takes effect as normal, and caster is recuperated as if rested
74 Heal spell centered on caster
75 Target dizzy
76 Sunfire spell centered on target (caster unaffected)
77 Target held
78 Target blinded
79 Target charmed
80 Gems created on target
81 Target’s movement rate doubled
82 Random treasure created on target
83 Target polymorphed into squirrel
84 Silence 15-Foot Radius centered on target
85 Target’s sex changed
86 Fake explosion (no damage) centered on target
87 Cow falls from sky, lands on target
88 Target dizzy
89 Spell has 60-foot radius at target
90 Stinking Cloud centered on target
91 Target is itchy
92 Caster’s Hit Points doubled
93 Target held
94 Target hastened
95 80% of gold on target is destroyed
96 Spell cast at double effectiveness
97 Spell cast, -4 to target’s Saving Throw
98 Target’s color changed
99 Spell cast at double level
100 Spell cast normally
6 of those involve casting the spell normally so you'll have about a 76% chance success rate with NRD under ordinary EE rules. A lot of them suck though, so personally, were I to play the game again, I'd modify the Chaos Shield and Improved Chaos shield spells to increment rather than set and make it so that the Wildmage Robe stacks with the spells as well. That way, at the end of SoA you'd be able to get +18 (level) + 15 (Wildmage Robe) + 15 (Chaos Shield) + 25 (Improved Chaos Shield) = +73 and NRD would be useful for most of TOB, and then in the end-game at max level and with the circlet you can choose between wearing the Robe of Vecna (+86) for a little bit of risk or the wild mage robe (+101) for complete certainty with NRD.
Personally, I think that it's fairly even between the Sorc and the Wild Mage, though overall Sorc is still top dog.
Your views welcome!
Edit: Goes without saying that I'd consider the best form of Cleric/Mage the Gnome/Illusionist Variety for them extra spells.
I thought for the new year I'd bring up the age old debate of which class is the strongest "pure" spellcaster. Many of you may be on break from college/school/work over the winter holidays and playing BG again so why not? I pretty much consider SCS mandatory now to bring any sense of challenge to the game - your mileage may vary.
One thing I will say is that I'd like to hear views on how these characters actually progress through the game in a party of 5-6 people e.g. how useful they are from beginning, middle to end. One of the tough – but in my opinion fair – aspects of SCS is that the Robe of Vecna is moved to the 5th level of Watchers keep which isn't realistically going to be attempted on higher difficulty modes until you've got at the very least around 5,500,000 – 6,500,000 xp I'd say.
First - the Cleric/Mage. It's a great combination but seems like a bit of a late bloomer and like most casters really only begins to properly kick ass once you can use lots of level 9 spells. Unfortunately for the C/M this is around the 6,000,000m XP mark well in to TOB. For me personally the key spells from the Divine side of things are Flamestrike, Bolt of Glory (Ignores MR), the defensive buffs (e.g. free action, death ward, NPP), Harm, Heal, Firestorm (ignores MR), Sunray, Storm of Vengeance and Implosion (ignores MR). I personally use the Nerfed version of harm which does 150+ damage.
Sure, you can use all your buffs to give yourself a great Thac0, wear good equipment and whack things around but is this something that (a) needs to be done and (b) can't be compensated for through smart use of a greater selection of Arcane Spells. To me Implosion really stands out as one of the few MR Resisting physical damage spells but it still can't be used on an SCS Lich with an improved Invisibility effect right? When I'm using SCS I often find myself in a position when fighting a nasty lich that I'm able to get all of their spell defences away in a time stop but because of their judicial use of combat protections (in some cases granting immunity to all elemental damage) I'll have to wait till the Timestop's over before I get dispel their illusions and actually breach them to hurt them with damage spells.
IMO one of the greatest aspects of a pure caster is the ability to use Project Image for greater spell efficiency and this is something the Sorcerer does best. With a maximum potential for 10 level 7 spells if using all of the best end-game equipment a Sorc essentially has quick access to his entire spellbook an extra 10 times. One of the advantages of the Sorcerer's "flexibility" is that if you want to use Project Image a lot (e.g. more than 5-6 times in a big long fight) and still use lots of other level 7 spells you'll be able to, though the fights where this is actually the case could probably be counted on one-hand. He's an early bloomer and will start being able to use Improved Alacrity/Time Stop at about 3,000,000 xp. I find that spell choices can start to get really tight from about level 7 onwards for the Sorcerer and level 9 in particular is a hard one. I'd personally go for (Timestop, Shapechange, Imprisonment, Chain Contingency) but you still miss really good spells like Wish and Spellstrike. Level 8 and 7 are a little less crowded but 6 is a tough one too. Foes that have partial invisibility can have their brains gobbled by a Projected Image Mindflayer provided they don't have protection from magical weapons so I don't really see what the Cleric's choice of "physically" oriented buff spells can compensate for that Arcane spells can't. Leave enemies that don't deserve this kind of gobbling to fighters imo. Hell, if you don't care about the loot just use Imprison on them.
And then we come to the Wild Mage. I'd argue that the Wild Mage definitely has the hardest start because of bad rolls (though admittedly you can save scum to NRD high level spells earlier than you're supposed to!). To make matters worse:
(a) Chaos Shields of different types no longer stack in EE (e.g. ordinary + improved Chaos Shield) though this is somewhat compensated for by the +15 Circlet added late in the game by TOB
(b) Chaos shields of the same types no longer stack in Sequencers/Contingencies in EE (fair enough)
The new robe added by EE which grants Chaos Shield also "sets" the status and will not stack with spell Chaos shields. Therefore, at 3,000,000 XP, the highest legit +to your rolls you can get at the end of SoA is 18 (level) + 25 (Improved Chaos Shield) = +43, whereas before without using Chain Contingency cheese you would have been able to get 18 (level) + 25 (Improved Chaos Shield) + 15 (Chaos Shield) = +58. When you've hit the TOB level cap you'll therefore cap at +71 to your rolls which is OK though I wouldn't use an NRD in life or death situations. For reference, the EE Wild Surge table from 71 onwards is as follows:
71 Fireball spell centered on target
72 Flesh to Stone spell on target
73 Spell takes effect as normal, and caster is recuperated as if rested
74 Heal spell centered on caster
75 Target dizzy
76 Sunfire spell centered on target (caster unaffected)
77 Target held
78 Target blinded
79 Target charmed
80 Gems created on target
81 Target’s movement rate doubled
82 Random treasure created on target
83 Target polymorphed into squirrel
84 Silence 15-Foot Radius centered on target
85 Target’s sex changed
86 Fake explosion (no damage) centered on target
87 Cow falls from sky, lands on target
88 Target dizzy
89 Spell has 60-foot radius at target
90 Stinking Cloud centered on target
91 Target is itchy
92 Caster’s Hit Points doubled
93 Target held
94 Target hastened
95 80% of gold on target is destroyed
96 Spell cast at double effectiveness
97 Spell cast, -4 to target’s Saving Throw
98 Target’s color changed
99 Spell cast at double level
100 Spell cast normally
6 of those involve casting the spell normally so you'll have about a 76% chance success rate with NRD under ordinary EE rules. A lot of them suck though, so personally, were I to play the game again, I'd modify the Chaos Shield and Improved Chaos shield spells to increment rather than set and make it so that the Wildmage Robe stacks with the spells as well. That way, at the end of SoA you'd be able to get +18 (level) + 15 (Wildmage Robe) + 15 (Chaos Shield) + 25 (Improved Chaos Shield) = +73 and NRD would be useful for most of TOB, and then in the end-game at max level and with the circlet you can choose between wearing the Robe of Vecna (+86) for a little bit of risk or the wild mage robe (+101) for complete certainty with NRD.
Personally, I think that it's fairly even between the Sorc and the Wild Mage, though overall Sorc is still top dog.
Your views welcome!
Edit: Goes without saying that I'd consider the best form of Cleric/Mage the Gnome/Illusionist Variety for them extra spells.
4
Comments
The advantage of the Cleric/Mage is the ability to cast any spell. I have frequently played sorcerers and noticed times when I could benefit from a spell I never learned, and seldom are there enough scrolls to fill that void. Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Protection from Fire, Minor Spell Turning, Minor Sequencer, Limited Wish, True Seeing... a sorcerer has to use either very limited spell picks or very limited spell scrolls to cast them, but all Cleric/Mages can learn and use these spells. There's a lot more to the spell system in BG2 than casting six Skull Traps a day.
A sorcerer needs SI: Enchantment to block the many crippling disablers of the game, which doesn't last very long and doesn't block all disablers. You'd need SI: Conjuration for Power Word: Stun or Symbol: Stun. You need SI: Necromancy or a spell deflection/turning/trap spell to block Finger of Death, or SI: Alteration to block Disintegrate or Flesh to Stone or Sphere of Chaos, all of which can come from the exact same enemy. To block them all, you would need multiple SI spells. Potions can only block some disablers; not all.
A Cleric/Mage is immune to all disablers and instant death effects with Remove Fear, Death Ward, and Chaotic Commands, and those spells last for literally ten times as long as Spell Immunity spells. Disablers are the biggest threat in BG2, and cleric buffs, with SI: Abjuration to prevent them from being dispelled, block all disablers, from Hold Person to Death Gaze to Psionic Blast to Symbol: Fear. A sorcerer is not going to be immune to everything, at least not for long.
A Cleric/Mage can be immune to everything at all times. Fear, confusion, stun, PW: Stun, hold, paralysis, charm, maze, sleep, slay, vorpal strikes, PW: Kill, petrification, disintegration, summoned demons, fire, cold, electricity, acid, magic damage, on top of everything the sorcerer can do. A sorcerer can only get immunity to some of these things, some of the time. A Cleric/Mage can be immune to all of these things, all of the time. And a Cleric/Mage can give the exact same immunities to any party member or summons. Your sorcerer can't make your paladin immune to Finger of Death; your Cleric/Mage can.
Cleric/Mages also get much better item options than the average mage. The Shield of Balduran, Vhailor's Helm, Mace of Disruption, Flail of Ages, Defender of Easthaven, Helm of Defense, Shield of Harmony, Shield of Reflection, Crom Faeyr, and Dragonscale Shield can make a very big difference at various stages of the game, and a sorcerer can't use any of them. But any item a sorcerer can use, a Cleric/Mage can use as well.
Cleric/Mages get more summons in the form of Animate Dead. They can heal injured party members or remove stun and hold effects with Remove Paralysis. They can inflict 50% stackable spell failure on a lich with Holy Word, or clear out a whole room of vampires with Turn Undead or Sunray. A Cleric/Mage can cast Farsight many times a day and send out summons to fight distant enemies, as long as it needs to. A sorcerer trades in all of these things, plus the comprehensive immunities, in exchange for one extra spell level and an extra spell slot per spell level, and even then, the sorcerer only gets to choose a fraction of the same spells.
Sorcerers cast high-level spells more often and earlier than Cleric/Mages. But a Cleric/Mage can make an entire party nearly indestructible against any threat, while a sorcerer doesn't even have the spells to make itself immune to everything. Sorcerers are better at killing stuff; Cleric/Mages are better at surviving.
Cleric/mages are very powerful, which is why to date I don't think I have ever ever completed a run without Aerie, with the sole exception being my one evil run. I've left her behind in other runs, but they failed or I lost interest for one reason or another. There's not much more to say here that hasn't already been mentioned.
Sorcerers are powerful, but they have lots of limits. I will play with a sorcerer occasionally, but you really have to choose between making them offensive or defensive; you can't have both. Because of their limits on spells you really have to hoard scrolls to make them well-rounded and you're probably going to be writing at least one copy of any said scroll with your mage (since you will most likely have one), leaving *maybe* two copies of a scroll for your sorcerer to use when they want. If you're lucky.
Wild mages can be pretty powerful in that they get extra spells and don't have any spell restrictions, but whether you want it to happen or not (and there is *no way* to stop this iirc) their caster level fluctuates with each spell they cast, which, while not as important at high levels, can be really annoying at lower levels. Plus, wild surges are a thing. You can make them less likely with items and spells, but they are still a thing. You can't delete them.
Cleric/mages are the most versatile, they can fit any role efortlessly, though they do not become very good arcane spell damage dealers soon. That puts them into a support role most of the time, that's what I find limiting. I don't like melee shenenigans with all the buffs, so there.
Sorcerers are the least versatile, but they can cast arcane damage and debuff spells like a machine gun. However, I find the tiny spell selection too shallow and unfun. You can not change things or spice things up with a sorcerer, they are like, set in stone, too strict and unyielding. I tried a random sorcerer challenge, where I rolled the dice to pick spells at each level up, but I found it boring soon, too.
Wild mages on the other hand, have good versatility, and fun and an unique aspect. You can try casting higher level spells via NRD, if you have the spell in your book. This makes finding high level scrolls tremendously rewarding as a low level wild mage! A sorc has no real use of scrolls. A mage can scribe it but has to wait. But wild mage can try to cast it as soon as he scribes it!
I found a spell trigger scroll in Irenicus Dungeon and it has been my favourite moment. I made use of it via nrd, and began blasting triple cone of colds at lvl 10. Fun! Definitely my favourite class, and an amazing addition to the game.
Ofcourse wild magic fails often, too, and in spectecular ways you can not imagine. Still, when it works it works wonders. You can petrify an opponent while trying to cast a magic missile. You can gate in a demon that will slaughter your foes. Or you can blast your own party with a fireball. Or land a cow on your party member to crush him to death while trying to cast a cure light wounds ability. (abilities also trigger surges!)
But I guess if you like the idea of wild surges, it's a good tradeoff. I just don't.
I find it exciting and fun. It makes the game feel exciting every time I try. I have fun, and I play the game to have some fun in my precious free time, so wild mage is my favourite class...
I'm not sure that, with prudent choices of spells, the Sorcerer's restrictions on choice is really that much of an issue. This would be my build for instance:
lvl1: Magic Missile, Identify, Spook, Mage Armour, Sleep,
lvl2: Mirror Image, Melf’s Acid Arrow, Resist Fear, Luck, Web
lvl3: Flame Arrow, Spell Thrust, Haste, Skull Trap, Protection from Normal Missiles
lvl4: Stoneskin, Secret Word, Improved Invisibility, Farsight, Greater Malison
lvl5: Breach, Spell Immunity, Lower Resistance, Cloudkill, Spellshield
lvl6: Protection From Magical Weapons, Mislead, Improved Haste, True Sight, Globe of Invulnerability,
lvl7: Ruby Ray of Reversal, Project Image, Mordenkainen’s Sword, Protection from the Elements, Spell Turning
lvl8: Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting, Protection From Energy, Power Word: Blind, Incendiary Cloud
lvl9: Timestop, Shapechange, Chain Contingency, Imprisonment,
lvl10: Improved Alacrity, Dragon's Breath, Summon Planetar, Energy Blades
You're admittedly a little bit low on the offence until you hit the 3,000,000 but I build Sorcerers mostly for killing enemy mages. I'm fairly sure there isn't anything that the game can throw at this build that it can't handle reasonably well under SCS and it's particularly good at nasty mages.
vs. any enemy that doesn't naturally see through invisibility: Project Image > (If under threat) Improved Alacrity/Chain Contingency + Contingency: Mislead/Improved Invisibility, PFMW, Spell Immunity: Abjuration, Spell Immunity Divination + Spell Shield. If vs. an SCS Mage add: Protection from the Elements + Protection from Energy. Keep Spell Shield up etc ... Again, I don't think the sorcerer's lack of restriction is much of an issue because there isn't really anything that a lack of Divine Spells can't be compensated for through more Project Image > Arcane Spells in a really big fight. Not completely true in my opinion though ymmv. Under SCS rules Improved Invisibility/Mislead + SI: Divination + SI: Abjuration + Spellshield + Spell Turning (or Spell Trap from Staff of Magi) and a lot of combat protections essentially makes you untargetable/unhittable by (a) any single target spell (b) Remove Magic/Dispel (c) area damage spells (other than Cloudkill I think which has no spell protection). As a hazard AoE Sphere of Chaos is something that would need SI: Alteration admittedly. This is a really good point and something I hadn't thought of. I guess for most fights in the game it is easier to keep these protections up (and hell, you get a lot of more Divine spells ...) however doesn't the Sorc still have the advantage in "bigger" fights through more economy with project images? A Sorc decked out in all the best equipment can get something like 10 level 7 spells.
A Maximum level Cleric/Mage - we're talking at 8,000,000 xp – provided their the Gnome Subvariety, will only get 3 level 9 spells. Before this they'll only have 2. This is enough for maybe one timestop, one IA and another spell of a different type. Very true. I personally don't use the Shield of Balduran but if you do fair enough. I don't think realistically a Cleric/Mage is going to be able to generate more useful summons than a Sorc is. Namely, Mordy Swords and free planetars (which for the mage must be memorised, taking up one of those precious level 9 slots. OK – You've convinced me that for MOST fights in the game that a Cleric/Mage is probably more useful to have around, provided you're willing to fiddle around with your spellbook before fights. But, for the really hard and long fights e.g. Liches, big Watcher's keep fights, multiple spellcasters, I'd argue that having those extra arcane slots at the higher levels, including, in particular, waaay more uses of timestop, improved alacrity, planetars, dragons breaths, Energy Blades, Shapechanges, Imprisonment – all of which can be used multiple times (hypothetically 66 times in one fight) make the Sorc better for those battles. Comparatively, a Cleric/Illusionist using project image 10 times could hypothetically use 33 level 9 spells from a pool of three spells to choose from while also not having any level 7 spells left. I don't think the extra divine spells make up for the lack of choice/utility in more level 9s/8s/7s with the Sorc's flexibile spellcasting.
Let's face it thought the hardest fights in the game might only require 6-7 Project Images so now I'm not sure again.
Given the Sorcerer's "natural" kind of spellcasting, when combined with project image and in addition to the fact that you can use HLAs as level 9 spells you get such extra utility from your level 9 spell slots that they make a massive difference. With the build I describe above you have the following level 9 spells to choose from:
– Timestop
– Shapechange
– Chain Contingency
– Imprisonment
– Improved Alacrity
– Dragon's Breath
– Summon Planetar
– Energy Blades (I can't remember if these can't be used with PI ...?)
With each project image any of these can be used in combination 6 times, whereas with the Cleric/Mage you'll be restricted to three spells.
With Sorc, and a bit of imaginative use of Breach, True Sight and Good Timing:
Vs. Any enemy in the game that isn't immune/resistant to fire damage you can Project Image > Timestop > Improved Alacrity > Dragon's breath*4 = Death
Vs. Any enemy in the game that is immune to Fire Damage and which isn't invisible and which don't care about the loot you can go Project Image > Timestop, Imprison and then whatever else you like in the same round
Vs. Any enemy in the game that's immune to fire damage and has the improved invisibility effect and which doesn't have PFMW and is susceptible to +2 weapons (I think they act as +2) you can Project Image > Timestop > Improved Haste > Improved Alacrity > Shapechange > Time Stop > Gobble brains.
Any mage can be taken down through uses of multiple spell removers, true sight and then timing another time stop after getting your breach in.
And the best things is that when encountering all of these different types of enemies in the same fight you can adapt your strategy multiple times, so if you're fight demons, liches, drow fighters or beholders in the same fight you can take down all of them with the same set of spells.
You don't need to be immune to everything. You need to be able to handle what a particular fight is going to throw at you at that particular time. It is incredibly rare for fights to have more than 2 or 3 things to worry about, probably only the Ascension final battle is even close to that. I can't recall any other fight where you'd need to have a major buffgasm rather than just a squirt of buff here and there.
Also, this does seem to be under the premise of party play, so Timestop isn't very efficient. It's great defensively because you don't get killed in the meantime, but disabling 5 party members doesn't sound like a good idea to me if you want to maximize carnage output.
Personally, I think the top spot is pretty much a tie between Sorcerer and Cleric/Mage. Both have pros and cons, and it's really hard to decide between them objectively. Not having to wait to find scrolls can be amazing, but having XP from scrolls can be great, too. Having access to high-level spells before you should can be amazing, but having Chaotic Commands and combat self-buffs can be great, too.
Wild Mage is actually very close, though. Yes, it's risky, but it also becomes a Sorcerer with permanent Alacrity later on in the game. There's also some fun stuff you can do with cheesy high-level spells you get early on (I remember Incendiary Cloud from the Copper Coronet quest, which is like one of the first quests you do). You do always run the risk of backfiring spectacularly before you can stack all the wild surge bonus gear, which can be incredibly annoying in the early game, when you really just wanted to Haste everyone and not reload three times.
Given that the condition is pure caster and not caster/fighter hybrid (which is likely superior in almost every respect), I think I'd go with Cleric/Mage - admittedly because it simulates the hybrid better than the others, and I like scroll XP early in the game. But I think it's reasonably close between all three that it won't matter for the vast majority of people.
As you probably know, a lot of high level SCS mages will Gate in/Summon some seriously nasty demons and Planetars if you give them half a chance (stronger than anything you can summon! One of the very few instances where SCS "cheats", though arguably it makes things more interesting) and demons have been buffed in general. The list is available at this link http://www.gibberlings3.net/readmes/readme-scs.html if you ctrl+f improved fiends. Along with being buffed to high hell, many of them can: teleport at will, invisibility/improved invisible at will, high level damage spells at will, remove magic at will, stoneskin after x rounds, PFMW after x rounds etc ... and you better believe that if they can teleport they are going to teleport to your squishiest characters first and mince them.
Off the top of my head some big combo fights (e.g. high Mr enemies + mages + stuff that requires good spell flexibility + demons) are:
– The battle at the end of the first level of watcher's keep
- The battle at the end of the fifth level of watcher's keep
– TOB final battle
– Improved SoA Final Battle (with tactics component)
– Any fight with Elder Orbs + other beholders
– Pretty much any really good mage (including Liches) that can summon demons.
– Twisted Rune
– Sendai Final battle
There's probably a few other battles elsewhere too.
I will say that I play SCS with the "certain mages come pre-buffed component" which gives really powerful mages and mages that are ganking you like 7-8 prebuff spells before the fight even begins (and then their contingencies go off). I guess if you weren't using this component you'd definitely have much much less to worry about from spellcasters and wouldn't be pressured in to bringing them down in the first round.
This, sooo much this, especially the first part!
Ascension final battle is the only fight I recall where enough stuff is going on that I'd want to consider stacking multiple protective buffs on people. Everything else you can deal with comfortably by either being more aggressive, or being smart about what to protect against.
Honestly, the spells I use most for protection are simply Stoneskin, Remove Fear, and Immunity: Abjuration (or Dispelling Screen in my case, since I use Spell Revisions; same thing). Chaotic Commands if I take a cleric along, sure, but only if it's incidentally available. There's not actually that many stuns/holds outside of places like mind flayer lairs, and most of them have to a) get successfully cast and b) get a failed saving throw. Many times I just ignore those effects and if they happen to go off then they go off, whatever. Outside of solo and/or no-reload runs, it's nothing I can't live with. I'll stand by my argument that reloading on occasion because of terrible RNG is still more efficient, bottom-line, than protectively buffing every time something might come your way. And it doesn't even happen all that often, heck some games it never does at all (not reloading in general, but reloading because of an effect I could have buffed against).
Now, outside of buffs, all 3 choices are fairly similar. Offensive spells, dispels, etc. are all fairly equal. Summons are a bit different, but it's not like Deva is better than Planetar or anything. Firestorm is useful to have, but can be substituted with Dragon's Breath (both ignore MR, both are fire). Not a whole lot of non-buff cleric spells that are very useful, unless you count TS + Harm (which doesn't even work in my setup anyway due to spell changes).