The most UNPOPULAR faction in Heroes 5.

it doesn't seem to block magic, so I was referring to regular shots. those near Abrek don't get hit. but if your unit is in the middle of the field, it still takes full damage from the shots of your own mages, of any kind. another thing is that with a large number of mages, a simple shot becomes much more advantageous than a fireball. except in isolated cases with a large crowd of enemies, when there are only 3-4 of them, and you can hit them with a fireball. but this doesn't happen often enough to justify using a fireball when a shot would work. besides, the shot can have a luck bonus. but, as far as I know, combat units don't have Bloodlust...