Age of Wonders 4, the new 4X strategy from Triumph Studios, offers players a fantasy sandbox full of magic, mystery, and murder. Instead of a traditional 4X technology tree, players in Age of Wonders 4 advance their Faction by unlocking new Tomes of Magic, which are divided into 6 distinct Affinities.
The Materium Affinity offers Tomes of Magic mostly focused around economy, industry, and defensive magic. With a balance of tough units, strong cities, and the ultimate in siege-breaking technology, Materium Factions can be dangerous on both attack and defense.
Tier 1 Materium Affinity Tomes
Tome of Enchantment
The Tome of Enchantment focuses on unit enchantments. It immediately unlocks the Draft and Mana-producing Runecarver's Camp and the Sundering Strikes Hero Skill. Sundering Blades, Seeker Arrows, and Spell-Tempered Shields are three great unit enchantment spells that will boost almost every aspect of the player's armies, and will continue delivering value for the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, Awakened Tools can allow a City to rush out units or structures at the cost of Stability, and the Copper Golem summon is a reliable early Polearm unit to protect against enemy charges.
Tome of Rock
The Tome of Rock has a strong defensive focus, and immediately unlocks the Production powerhouse Central Quarry and the Obsidian Weaponry Hero Skill. The Earthkin minor race transformation and Stone Skin buff spell can make the player's armies tough to defeat. Rock Blast is one of the highest Tier 1 single-target damage spells, making it great for targeting glass cannon units.
The Tome of Rock also comes with two new units: the summonable Lesser Stone Spirit, a cheap but tough defensive fighter; and the buildable Gargoyle, a Tier 2 Shock unit with a boosted Defense Mode.
Tier 2 Materium Affinity Tomes
Tome of Artificing
The Tome of Artificing is one of the earliest Siege-focused Tomes, making it ideal for players pursuing early aggression. Unlocking the Tome immediately grants the Gold-producing Golem Mine and the Golem Assistant Hero Skill.
Siege Magic and Construct Repeater Bolters allow players to both lower their siege times and overcome defenses from a distance. Combined with the Artisan Armaments unit enchantment, this should give players a boost in taking enemy Cities by force.
On the defensive side, the Artisan Fortification Structure produces a huge amount of Fortification Health for its tier, as well as adding Bolt Repeater Towers to City defense. Finally, the Iron Golem is one of the toughest Shield units in its tier, and can protect both itself and allies from hostile status effects.
Tome of Wind
The Tome of Winds focuses on boosting speed both on and off the battlefield, as well as controlling enemy units. Unlocking the Tome immediately grants the Avenging Winds Hero Skill.
The Wind Rager can split apart enemy formations, while the Zephyr Archer's multi-target damage makes it ideal against horde armies. When it comes to spells, Dust Storm imposes the Blind condition to all units within 1-hex, while Abducting Cyclone can drag an enemy out of position.
On the Realm map, Favorable Winds and Windborne Scouts allow players to rush their Scouts and Fleets across oceans and over mountains in record time, making it ideal on maps with lots of natural terrain hazards.
Tier 3 Materium Affinity Tomes
All Tier 3 Materium Affinity Tomes unlock the Seed of Materium Special Province Improvement, the first step to Age of Wonders 4's Magic Victory.
Tome of Terramancy
The Tome of Terramancy focuses on physical damage and terrain manipulation, and immediately unlocks the Leaden Blows Hero Skill when chosen. Crushing Earth and Seismic Shock are powerful combat spells, but are less effective against certain enemies as they only deal physical damage. They work well with Summon Stone Spirit, a versatile fighter unit that can immobilize enemies.
On the world map, Earth Shatter allows players to add the Rocky terrain feature and level mountains, creating more space for their Cities to expand into. Finally, Tremor Ritual is one of the most powerful but expensive Siege Projects in the game, and can quickly break through outer defenses.
Tome of Transmutation
The Tome of Transmutation is extremely versatile, with an overall focus on defensive enchantments. It immediately unlocks the Adaptive Armor Hero Skill.
The Transmuter unit, Steel Skin minor race transformation, and Adaptive Armor unit enchantment all work together to boost units' overall defenses, making them incredibly tough to take down. Meanwhile, Melt Armor does the opposite, melting through enemy defense and making them easier to hit.
On the world map, Transmute Resources is one of the most interesting strategic spells in Age of Wonders 4. Turning 75% of a City's Mana income into Gold, Production, and Food can allow for a radical shift in economic focus, and potentially an entirely different way to fund a Faction.
Tier 4 Materium Affinity Tomes
All Tier 4 Materium Affinity Tomes unlock the Root of Materium Special Province Improvement, the second step to Age of Wonders 4's Magic Victory.
Tome of the Crucible
The Tome of the Crucible crosses the line between Materium and Chaos Tomes in Age of Wonders 4, focusing on fire damage and complete devastation. Unlocking the Tome immediately grants the Gold-producing Great Foundry and the Meteor Strikes Hero Skill.
On the battlefield, Meteor Arrows, Meteor Shower, and Lava Burst allow players to spread fire damage over a wide area. This can be devastating to horde armies, as their individual units will quickly be overwhelmed by the area-of-effect damage. Meanwhile, Fortified Crucible provides one of the biggest defensive Fortification buffs in the game, and Pyroclastic Eruption allows players to apply scorched earth tactics to enemy Provinces and Wonders.
Tome of the Golden Realm
Tome of the Golden Realm is all about the Gold resource, and immediately unlocks the Gold-producing Bazaar of Wonders and the Gilded Magic Hero Skill.
As one of the most economic-focused Tomes of Magic in Age of Wonders 4, Tome of the Golden Realm is more useful off the battlefield. The Reagent Refinery and Luxury Markets Structures will allow players to both produce and save more Gold, while the Goldtouched minor race transformation adds +1 Gold for each Population.
On the battlefield, the expensive but powerful Gold Golem and Gilding Blast spell are all about the Gilded status effect. For each unit afflicted with Gilded that they kill in a battle, players will earn a boost of Gold at the end.
Tier 5 Materium Affinity Tomes
Tome of the Creator
The top-tier Materium Tome is the Tome of the Creator, which grants access to the Heart of Materium, the final stage of Age of Wonders 4's Magic Victory, as well as the Ancient of Earth Hero Skill.
In combat, Tectonic Shatter and Call the Titan of the Earth not only deal incredible damage, but also have a chance to break enemies out of defense mode or stun them entirely. On the defensive side, Eternal Earth is a huge buff to all elemental units, allowing them to self-resurrect in battle.
Finally, Tome of the Creator unlocks the single strongest Siege Project in Age of Wonders 4, Create Earthshatter Engines. This Project not only removes 10 Fortification HP per turn, it also spawns a pair of the titular Earthshatter Engines when the battle starts. These powerful units can devastate defenses and units alike with their close-range, area-of-effect attacks.
Age Of Wonders 4 is available now on PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.