- Magic in Heroes 3

I like Grindan from Conflux; he has earth magic as his primary skill, a slow spell in his spellbook, and his specialty is +350 Gold.
He's incredibly strong at the beginning of the game, even though he's a mage, because by level 3, he already has Expert Earth Magic. Add about 100 upgraded sprites to that, and you get a very decent army in the first week with minimal investment. This allows you to develop your city and acquire the resources needed to build phoenixes.