Poll: Best lore for the Sorcerer-Prophet?

That is correct. The difference lies in the duration of the spells. As you know, there are spells that are cast instantly, remain in play, and last for more than one turn.

If one follows the Skaven FAQ, Wither and similar spells would be spells that last more than one turn, in casu until the end of the game.

As NIGHTBRINGER already quoted above, in the case of spells that remain in place, or that last more than one turn, BRB p. 97 specifies:
“When a character joins a unit that is under the effect of a spell that affects the entire unit, the character only benefits or suffers from the effects of the spell whilst he remains in the unit.” And vice versa: “Similarly, if a character is the subject of a spell that is capable of affecting a unit, the effect will also apply to any unit he joins, for as long as he remains part of it, and the spell lasts.”

One can easily see that the Skaven FAQ goes against this rule, but without justification for doing so. You may perhaps remember from another thread that I am always a bit weary of using Skaven FAQ, because:

- they are AB specific
- an AB that is still 7th edition
- and the Skaven AB, to boot.

If we disregard the Skaven FAQ, one comes to a somewhat different conclusion. In my opinion, spells like Dark Subjugation (and, indeed, Wither itself) are spells that are cast instantly. The fact that a spell is cast instantly does not mean it cannot have permanent effects, the most obvious and common example being the effect of Wounds lost or Wounds regained. Once cast, these spells are no longer active on the target, but that does not change the fact that the result on the target is permanent. So, characters that are part of the unit at the time Dark Subjugation is cast, have been targeted by the spell. Since the result of the spell is permanent, they will retain the malus, even if they leave the unit, just as if they had lost/regained Wounds as a result of a spell. However, this also means, that characters who join that unit in subsequent turns do not suffer the malus (contrary to the Skaven FAQ).

Ash Storm, on the other hand, is a spell that last more than one turn, and thus is subject to the BRB rule on p.97.

Admittedly, the BRB is a rather hazy, when distinguishing between a spell and its effects in this regard. The French version is once again a bit clearer. I hope that I have been clear enough in expressing my views.

Storm banner puts him in his place

And howling warpgale

But I agree - Lore of Hashut. You're pretty much the only model across all army books that can take that exclusive, and very scary lore (short range aside), why wouldn't you take it?

Look at the number of armies that have access to Purple Sun and have used it to win games vs the number of armies that have Lore of Hashut and have used it to win games.

That's like saying more people die each year due to bee stings than shark attacks. LOOK AT WHERE HUMANS LIVE - of course that's the case literally BILLIONS more people are exposed to bees than sharks every year.

I'm not trying to claim that one is better than the other - but purple sun spam was a huge reason people HATED 8th edition (well, at least the magic phase anyway) and were quick to jump ship to AoS when it came out. If it means the difference between a fun game and making my opponent not want to play anymore than of course I'm going to take what's fun. You are right though that Lore of Death is probably the more deadly choice.

Personally I won't ever take lore of death unless my opponent is well prepared for it, even then I probably wouldn't take Purple Sun, even if I rolled it (and my regular opponent these days plays lizardmen  ) - plus I've always felt icky after using that spell against someone.

The poll is best lore though. Not most fun game :/

Also I thought it was implicit that we talk % as that goes without saying when we are comparing.

Strange, this is what it says for me

I was trying to attach a screenshot but couldn't figure it out! But yes, Horace has the gist of it.

The thread apparently is asking for both.

For clarification, the terms "best" and "favourite" are used interchangeably to mean the most effective choice from a competitive standpoint.