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This is the final part of the combat series posts.  Now, it’s hard to go into detail about magic combat because there are different systems.  Wands, incantations, gestures, ingredients, low power, high power, and so many ways you can work the magic of your world.  So, here are a few general tips to keep in mind when having casters fight each other:

1. Defensive spells should not be forgotten.  Deflection, countering, or simple magic shields can extend the fight.  It also shows that your battle casters have more than destruction spells.
2. Remember where the non-magic warriors are while the casters fight.  You need to remember that if a spell is deflected, it should go somewhere.  If it hits an ally then you need to have some emotional toll for that.
3. If your casters are standing still, you need them to have space.  A stationary caster won’t stand in the middle of the warriors unless it is a sneak attack.  Most casters are aware that they can hurt their allies, so they operate accordingly.
4. If your casters are moving, work the scene accordingly.  Unless you’ve previously established that they can fly, you can’t have them do it without clearly having them cast a spell.  Flying casters can also create a rain of magic on the battle below.  When on the ground, they need to use the proper spells for the situation.  Personally, I think the moving around caster duel needs to be with a lot of open space to focus on the actual magic.
5. Clothes and personal affects can be damaged by spells.  If you have a caster struck by a spell then there should be a physical effect.  Burn marks, cuts, or some type of damage and, as usual, they need to act like they’re injured.
6. Spell volleys are great in that they allow you show off both combatants and a variety of spells.  Yet, this can’t be done for long.  Eventually, one has to get the upper hand and push the other onto the defensive.  It doesn’t have to be the intended winner that does this because they can always come out with a sudden spell of genius.  Just put some suspense into these fights.
7. Casters should be able to exhaust each other.  Even if a caster is able to stand up to warriors without breaking a sweat, it’s a different type of fight when it’s magic on magic.  Think of it this way: They are having to use different defenses against spells while at the same time throwing their own spells in the hopes that the enemy doesn’t counter.  It’s a lot more stressful for a caster to fight another caster because it’s more than ‘stay out of sword swinging range’ or ‘magically deflect arrows’.

Those are the basics of magic combat, but everything can be altered in order to accommodate whatever spell system you have.  Have fun and good luck with your combat scenes.