Lightning

The creatures of Lightning are, much like the primal force of nature they are named for, sudden and unpredictable in both their offensive tactics and their counterattacks. The forces of this element tend to deal with threats swiftly, taking down one opposing creature at a time with lethal ferocity.

It is because of this that the main tactic Lightning is known for is the pre-emption of enemy forces before they are ever truly prepared for battle. The element's spells tend to center around either the direct disruption of enemy resources, or using a friendly creature as a conduit to stun multiple foes. This enables their forces to keep an enemy unit consistently demoralized and on guard, giving their own creatures time to build up a greater force before moving in for the kill.

Lightning creatures tend to be hard to take down in direct combat; their forces tend to be well-equipped defensively, by way of either creatures trained for the interception of enemy attacks, or the ability to remain ready for battle at all times; immediately after an attack, is not uncommon for a Lightning creature to take to the skies, far above the counterattacking range of any would-be assailants. While not all creatures are fast enough to exploit such an ability, there are likewise those that can absorb energies from surrounding conflicts or actions directly to achieve this form of defense. If neither of these options are available, there are also several spells that can emulate the ability.

It is a combination of these factors that make a force of Lightning creatures a very stable and cohesive unit that is very hard to stop once assembled properly. Most Lightning creatures are very suited for attacking enemies, and if an opposing force is disabled long enough for their most powerful champions to take to the skies, there is very little that can truly stand in their way.

However, due to the limited nature of Lightning's approach, it does have certain drawbacks; pre-emption of an opponent's forces or strategy is a very useful ability, but is often contingent on the power of Lightning's own creatures to be executed properly; the ability to stun an enemy unit is mostly useless if there is no creature available that is strong enough to exploit the resultant opening. Because of this, the offensive capacity of Lightning is somewhat situational, depending strongly on the arrangement of their own forces.

Since their overall strength is dependent on the arrangement of their own units, it can therefore be difficult for Lightning's forces to attack enemies precisely. Even if there are multiple enemy creatures that could be stunned in preparation for an attack, a sufficiently strong force of creatures must be available to do battle, or the commanders of a Lightning unit may have to settle for the destruction of weaker targets - they have few surprise tactics at their disposal, and likewise not many ways to increase their power suddenly, making the options of a Lightning army a bit predictable in terms of their reactions to enemy threats.

Lightning creatures are also somewhat ill-equipped for dealing with larger amounts of weaker foes; no matter how many creatures a Falcon or a Hawkman may be able to tear through in a conflict, they can only each react to one enemy at a time, and even if multiple enemy units are stunned at once, there might simply not be enough defenders to keep their forces from being overrun. The Lightning element's armies likewise have no innate means of accelerating their own advancement or gaining new resources in the midst of battle, instead relying on their ability to destabilize their enemies to buy enough time to build their power. If caution is not taken, however, their units can simply be overwhelmed altogether, which means each enemy threat must be considered very carefully before any action is taken.

However, if their enemies can be consistently kept in check, their powerful defenses can enable a force of Lightning creatures to assemble into a nearly impregnable unit. In the hands of a capable commander, their offensive capacities in tandem with their general stability make for a highly effective and precise army. If their resources are managed carefully and each threat is given due tactical consideration, the creatures and spells of Lightning can be very potent.