How does direct damage mage hold up on impossible?

[DGDobrev]

Direct Damage mage can cut it, but it requires a very strong backup. This means a very tough unit to carry Amelie around, while minimising the danger of losing the battle. This usually means a Rune Mage (no kiting), a Troll (with Call Collosus scroll, which is ridiculously hard to obtain on Debir) or a Dragon of a sort (with Kiting).

The Rune Mage can cut it, but it is relatively low in HP, doesn't have decent resistances compared to other level 5 units and costs quite a lot of leadership. The Troll is probably the best option, as he needs less leadership to command, has a great physical resistance (even more with stone skin), and does wonders in the night or underground, restoring all his HP every turn. The downside is that it is awfully hard to get a Call Collosus scroll early on - in all my play-throughs I got it only 4 times on Debir. In 2 of those it was pure luck - I got it in the training mission in Debir, but thanks to the fact that my HDD broke, I don't have them anymore... The other 2 were a product of meticulous digging and replayed battles till I get what I need - this means digging for chests after each unit's turn, and if you didn't get the desired result, you try again on turn 2, then turn 3... and so on. This squarely means you can play a single battle for 5 hours real time till you get remotely close to what you want.

The last option is doing a very quick kite run, picking up XP, a couple of items and a dragon egg or two in the meantime. This run is usually: Debir - Scarlet - Verona - Elon - Sheterra - Debir. It can be done in about 2 days game time and will start you off the right foot - level 10-12, a few items, a Black and/or Red and/or Green Dragon, and built up skills to start roasting the enemies right at the start.

I can tell this for a fact since I did such a play-through - I managed to get by with a single Black Dragon, using only direct damage spells till level 43 on Impossible (slapped Elenhel's army too with the single BD). I must admit that at some points, it was more of a torture than fun, but I was interested to know how long one BD can hold his ground.

So, in my opinion, Direct Damage can cut it, as long as you get yourself a decent level 5 unit to back you up.