Who had the best Magic? (Chrono Trigger)

[Super Christ]

While I don't think Magus sucks like ed does, I'm still going to have to back him up on this one. He may have one of the top 3 most powerful single spells in the game (Luminaire, Flare, and Dark Matter) he's still not all that great a spellcaster.

Originally posted by Sephiroth1999AD
1) Magus doesn't suck with magical attacks. He can use every element, and with Gold Stud, he'll never run out of MP. Edczxcvbnm said, "If you are fighting creatures that absorb different types of magic or something you can't use his magic because you will screw yourself." What if you're Lucca and you're facing an enemy that absorbs Fire? She's not a good attacker and she can't heal, so she wouldn't be that great for the situation. Magus can at least blast that fire enemy with Ice2. An enemy that absorbs Dark attacks? There's still Fire/Ice/Lightning2.

That situation comes up several times in the Undersea Palace, and I'd hate to have Magus on my team; Lucca's a much better choice. For instance, just to pull a single encounter out of the Undersea Palace, 2 Scouts, 2 Red Scouts, and 2 Blue Scouts. Magus fighting them would look like this:
Magus casts Fire 2.
Red Scout dies.
Red Scout dies.
Blue Scout counterattacks: Water.
Blue Scout counterattacks: Water.
Scout counterattacks: Lightning.
Scout counterattacks: Lightning.
Magus casts Ice 2.
Blue Scout dies.
Blue Scout dies.
Scout counterattacks: Lightning.
Scout counterattacks: Lightning.
Magus casts Lightning 2.
Scout dies.
Scout dies.

However, Crono, Lucca, and Marle together could get it done faster without incurring any counterattacks.
Crono casts Lightning 1.
Scout dies.
Lucca casts Fire 1.
Red scout dies.
Marle casts Ice 1.
Blue scout dies.
Crono casts Lightning 1.
Scout dies.
Lucca casts Fire 1.
Red scout dies.
Marle casts Ice 1.
Blue scout dies.

And then there's other fights; for instance, against Queen Zeal on top of the Black Omen. There you definitely don't want to use any full screen attacks. But, the only only 2 attack spells Magus has that aren't full screen are Dark Bomb, which isn't all that great, and Black Hole, which doesn't affect bosses and doesn't even do all that much in normal battles anyway.

As for the situation you described, Lucca against an enemy who's resistant to fire; that's why you have other party members. With Crono, Lucca, and Marle together you have everything you need; great physical and versatile lightning from Crono, versatile fire from Lucca, and then healing and versatile ice from Marle. And you're not lacking in shadow - Delta Force deals shadow damage.

Originally posted by Sephiroth1999AD
3) If Magus isn't a team player, then what's up with Magus/Lucca/Robo's Omega Flare triple-tech, and what's up with that being the most powerful stand-alone attack in the game, causing 7500+ damage to all targets for a very low MP? Magus/Lucca/Marle's Dark Eternal also did tons of damage. I used it to slaughter (SPOILER)Yakra XIII really badly.

He still isn't a team player. Everyone but Magus has 15 double techs, and in the way of triple techs, Crono has 10; Marle, Lucca, and Robo have 7 each; and Frog and Ayla have 6 each. Magus, however, has no double techs and only 2 triple techs, and even for those you have to have one of those colored stones equipped to make him do them. Granted, Omega Flare is the strongest single spell in the game, but Antipode 3 does nearly as much damage, costs slightly less magic, and your third character is still free to act; say, if it's Crono, throw down a Luminaire and you've done more damage between the 3 of you than Omega Flare does. (5000+ for Antipode 3 and then 4000 or so for Luminaire).

Still, for the highest rate of damage you can get in one single turn, the best you can do is Crono: Luminaire (4000 or so), then Lucca: Flare (3000+) and finally Magus: Dark Matter (3000+), for a total of 10000+ damage. Unless Ayla gets lucky and hits critical, but even then it's only against one enemy.

Originally posted by Kr0N0s
=Hes the only guy in all the team who use shadow....

Not quite right. Robo's laser spin does shadow, as well as the antipodes, and most of the triple techs.