Shapechange!!!
Nothing like having a mage turn in to juggernaught of destruction then sucking the brains from another enemy then regenerating in wolfwere mode while hacking in to baddies... and combined with timestock i find this a most effective way of dealing with problems.
The secon best spell is Melfs minute missiles. Iused these bad boys to take down kangaax (very slowly) but they are good,.
Put my vote in for melf's meteors too, at least for my kensai/mage. Stoneskin a close second. Lately my fav meta-spell has been Spell Trigger (Prot. Magical Weapons, Imp. Haste, Tensor's Transformation). So far this one has got me past the (toughened) Illasera, Gromnir, and Yaga-Shura. We'll see how it does vs. the Imprisoned One!
I agree that Project Image is a very good spell, but it is not fair to count it as "one" spell to kill a dragon with. Anyway with Wish: Rest (and Project Image) any battle can be won with no spell.
What I meant was: if you have to kill something mean and you can only waste one spell and no potions/charges/scrolls, I think you should pick Project Image.
Remember that your Projected Image can cast Wish, or read it from a scroll. I'm only saying that in terms of percentages, Project Image is the spell that's your best bet to get a hard job done. More reliable, I would say, than Imprisonment (because many enemies are immune to this).
Summon (dark) planetar is a great spell, but it's lvl 10, so it may don't count. The planetar's own spell collection is already worth casting the spell, not to mention it's fighting abilities.
The BEST mage spell is one that benefits all others.
And from that perspective the winner is Improved Alactiry. No arguments can be put against this spell. If you were to compare it with another, I'd simply say: 'but this spell makes you able to cast THAT spell more often, making every OTHER spell even more powerful'
Lately my favourite has been Greater Malison...use it 3-4 times a day, and since even the fighters' attacks now involve saves (e.g. Celestial Fury: save or be stunned), the effects are very noticeable. Makes a lot of spells, like slow, more useful.
Also Jaheira's Dolorous decay has started working better if i wait 'til Jan gets the GM off first.
I would have to say summon planater or Dragons breath. They are level 10, which sort of makes them obvious picks, but still, Planater is the best fighter in the series!
"Veni,Vidi,vici!"
(I came,I saw,I conquered!) Julius Ceasar
If you cast that on a lich, he'll go into a buff frenzy was each buff goes down, also while hes doing this you got 3 rounds of combat damage building up on him, Kangaxx is oh so easier, accually, name one battle where warding whip couldn't make your job alittle easier?
i think ill say time stop is my fav. (i use as many wiltings during and then summon frenzy) but- BUT the two fights with Irenicus were funny - i just summoned one measly planetar (1st fight) or fallen deva (in hell) and he just stood there wasting his spells on my practically invincible while it whacked him down to death-healing every 10 secs just in case
all in all, the combo of time stop with max wiltings, a few haekeshers/mord. swords/planeters is unbeatable - even by drags, sravok, irenicus, demons, devils....
hmmmm..... ill have to say protection from magical weapons!(or absolute immunity) i found it useful when fighting dragons with my fighter mage. prot. from magical weapons alows you to hack and slash the dragon all you want without getting hurt apart for the dragons breath but that problem can be fixed by casting prot from fire spell if you are fighting red dragons.
