Tomes are a new twist on the usual strategy-game tech tree in Age Of Wonders 4. Throughout each campaign, you'll get several opportunities to add a new Tome to your library. Each comes with a unique ability and a set of unlockable powers that you can gain through research. This lets you customize your empire in ways that few other games can match!

Related: Age Of Wonders 4: Complete Guide To Combat

There are dozens of Tomes available at any given time, so it can be tricky to pick which one is best. It's usually a good idea to pick one that fits your main Affinity, but if all else fails, these are the best Tomes to pick.

10 Tome Of Revelry

the tome of revelry in age of wonders 4
  • Chaos, Tier 2

Morale is critical in battle, and the Tome Of Revelry helps ensure that your troops are always at their best. Enhance them with Reveler's Heart and Bloodfury Weapons to keep them at high Morale even during long, slogging battles, while a Skald provides buffs! Be sure to have a Hero with Reveler's Triumph leading your army so that you can maximize damage from all the critical hits that you'll be landing.

The Carnival Of Flesh is a great way to increase the Food and Draft of a city, especially when it's surrounded by Farms. Chaos excels at churning out low-tier units, so be sure to use Revels Of Carnage to level them up quickly!

9 Tome Of Amplification

the tome of amplification in age of wonders 4
  • Astral, Tier 2

Rulers with Astral Affinity tend to cast even more spells than most, and this early Tome lets them get the most out of their Mana. Astral Blood lets your units increase their critical hit rate whenever you cast a spell in combat, along with the extra damage they're already getting from Star Blades. You can also enhance their ranged attacks with Amplified Arrows, letting them deal lightning damage from afar.

Chain Lightning is an excellent direct-damage spell, made even better by the Spell Amplification Hero ability that gets unlocked when you select the Tome of Amplification. On top of it all, the ability to construct Resonance Fields means you'll never be short of Mana!

8 Tome Of Necromancy

the tome of necromancy in age of wonders 4
  • Shadow, Tier 2

If you're harnessing dark forces for personal gain, the Tome Of Necromancy is practically a must. Raising swarms of zombies from the dead on the battlefield is a great way to turn the tide, but the Tome Of Necromancy lets you turn them into shambling bombs with the Rotting Explosion spell.

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You can also recruit Necromancers with this Tome, who can raise and bolster undead units of their own. Be sure to enhance them (and any other Battle Mages and Support units) with Necrotic Magic to inflict Decaying on their targets!

7 Tome Of Transmutation

the tome of transmutation in age of wonders 4
  • Materium, Tier 3

This clutch Materium Tome would be fantastic just for its Adaptive Armor spell, which allows units to boost their magical defenses every time they take non-physical damage. There's a lot more to the Tome Of Transmutation, though! Steel Skin can enhance the physical and Blight defense of an entire species and Transmute Resources lets you convert a city's excess Mana into other things.

Transmutation is great on offense, too! The Transmuter is a unique Battle Mage that deals physical damage and can stun a one-hex radius of enemies, temporarily turning them to stone. Be sure to soften up your targets first with Melt Armor, which deals moderate Fire damage while debuffing their physical defense.

6 Tome Of Glades

the tome of glades in age of wonders 4
  • Nature, Tier 2

The Nature Affinity has some excellent Tomes, and the Tome Of Glades is an excellent choice even if Nature isn't your primary. Aspect Of The Root enhances Polearm and Shield units, letting them self-heal and enter Defense Mode all at once; alternately, you could summon a front line of Entwined Protectors, who do one better and heal adjacent allies as well!

Glade Runners are solid mid-level Ranged units, especially when transformed with Leafskin for forest camouflage. No forests? No problem! The Tome Of Glades lets you create Forests on the world map, ensuring you'll get the bonuses you want.

5 Tome Of Sanctuary

the tome of sanctuary in age of wonders 4
  • Order, Tier 3

Easily one of the best defensive Tomes in the entire game, the Tome Of Sanctuary keeps your troops in the fight no matter what. The Anointed People transformation protects them from negative status effects, while Salvation provides a full heal and removes any debuffs that manage to get through. To top it off, Keeper's Mark lets your units ignore the first fatal blow they receive in battle!

The Tome Of Sanctuary offers even more bonuses while defending your home territory. Healing Spires in your cities let your troops get passive healing while fighting off a siege, and Consecrated Domain gives friendly troops within a city's borders extra Morale and Resistance!

4 Tome Of Cycles

the tome of cycles in age of wonders 4
  • Nature, Tier 3

The Tome Of Cycles is frightfully effective, mainly since it gives access to the Druid Of The Cycle, arguably the best Support unit in the entire game. Even without the Druid, the Diffuse Health spell lets you steal an enemy unit's HP, while Parting Gifts heals your units whenever a nearby ally dies.

Related: Age Of Wonders 4: Complete Pantheon Guide

Projectiles Of Decay is a simple solution for handling healing-focused enemies. Your Ranged units will deal bonus Blight damage, which few units have any Resistance to, and prevents their targets from healing while Decaying is in effect!

3 Tome Of The Demon Gate

the tome of the demon gate in age of wonders 4
  • Chaos, Tier 4

Every Chaos build will eventually want to unlock the Tome Of The Demon Gate. As its name implies, it lets you call forth infernal fiends to terrorize your enemies! Give all your Heroes the Demonic Anthem ability, and whenever their troops die a low-level demon will appear in their place!

The Tome's summoning spells usually cost Population in a friendly city, but you can circumvent this by building a Demon Gate province improvement. This lets you recruit fiends like any other unit in the host city! Use Fight For Power to combine two fiends of the same tier into a higher-level one; you can even grind out mighty Balors this way.

2 Tome Of The Great Transformation

the Tome of the Great Transformation in Age Of Wonders 4
  • Shadow, Tier 4

A Tome with such an impressive name is bound to be good, and the Tome Of The Great Transformation includes a staggering array of powerful abilities. Fetid Legion gives your melee units Weakening Aura, which reduces incoming damage and lets you capitalize on Cull The Weak if your empire has the Dark Origin Culture. If you're going all-in on necromancy, you can use the Wightborn transformation to make your entire species undead!

Domain Of Death increases the Stability of your cities, eliminating the need for costly Overlord Towers, and enhances the fighting power of undead units fighting in your territory. You can also use Desecrate Structure to squeeze every ounce of Mana out of your domain, casting more spells and raising more shambling minions!

1 Tome Of The Golden Realm

the Tome of the Golden Realm in Age Of Wonders 4
  • Materium, Tier 4

You can never have enough Gold in Age Of Wonders 4, but the Tome Of The Golden Realm can help you get awfully close. Luxury Markets, Reagent Refineries, and the Bazaar Of Wonders all let you turbocharge your cities' economies, while Gilding Blast and Gold Golems let you turn your enemies into cold, hard cash.

The cherry on top (a golden cherry, of course) is the Goldtouched transformation. This causes each city populated by the transformed species to generate one extra Gold per turn per population, and gives the species' troops two extra points of Resistance! Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy allies - and to win the game, that might be all you need.

Next: Age Of Wonders 4: Complete Guide To Diplomacy