History Main / ShootTheMageFirst

Is there a GlassCannon who can destroy half your team in a single attack? A wizard who can grant every foe in the room extremely durable {{Beehive Barrier}}s? An EnemySummoner who can flood the room with hordes of relentless, {{Zerg Rush}}ing enemies to their heart's content? A [[KillerRabbit seemingly harmless puppy]] who devours your vanquished foes in order to metamorphose into an [[DemonicSpiders Level 9000 Unstoppable Hellhound of Flaming Death and Eternal Suffering]]? A mage who can upgrade said Level 9000 Unstoppable Hellhound of Faming Death and Eternal Suffering into a '''Level Infinity +1 Omnipotent EldritchAbomination of Endless Oblivion'''?

[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Kill. Them. On. Sight.]] Shatter the GlassCannon before he gets anywhere near you. Kill the EnemySummoner the second he appears and hope his minions [[KeystoneArmy dissappear upon his death]]. Punt the goddamned puppy into low Earth orbit to spare yourself a nasty headache. Because if you don't, [[ThisIsGonnaSuck you're gonna have a real bad day]].

Is there a GlassCannon who can destroy half your team in a single attack? An EnemySummoner who can flood the room with hordes of relentless, {{Zerg Rush}}ing enemies to their heart's content? A [[KillerRabbit seemingly harmless puppy]] who devours your vanquished foes in order to metamorphose into an [[DemonicSpiders Level 9000 Unstoppable Hellhound of Flaming Death and Eternal Suffering]]?

[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Kill. Them. On. Sight.]] Shatter the GlassCannon before he gets anywhere near you. Kill the EnemySummoner the second he appears and hope his minions [[KeystoneArmy dissappear upon his death]]. Punt the goddamned puppy into the sun to spare yourself a nasty headache. Because if you don't, [[ThisIsGonnaSuck you're gonna have a real bad day]].

[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Kill. Them. On. Sight.]] Shatter the GlassCannon before he gets anywhere near you. Kill the EnemySummoner the second he appears and hope his minions [[KeystoneArmy dissappear upon his death]] Punt the goddamned puppy into the sun to spare yourself a nasty headache. Because if you don't, [[ThisIsGonnaSuck you're gonna have a real bad day]].

[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Kill. Them. On. Sight.]] If you don't, [[ThisIsGonnaSuck you're gonna have a real bad day]].

One of the disadvantages of being a wizard is that they often aren't exactly [[SquishyWizard the toughest warriors out there]], but get on the wrong side of one and you'll find that they can be ''extremely'' [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards dangerous]] to face. However, wizards are only a threat if they're not being punched in the face, so if you want to survive an encounter with one, ''punch them in the face first''.

This isn't just limited to wizards; in general, whenever there's an individual who possesses some form of ability that allows them to dramatically turn the tide of battle, it's a vital tactic to take them out ''immediately'' before they can potentially put you at a serious disadvantage and allow the opposing side to subject you to a CurbStompBattle.

[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Kill. Them. On. Sight.]] If you don't, [[ThisIsGonnaSuck you're gonna have a bad day]].

One of the disadvantages of being on the wrong side of a wizard is that they are usually ''extremely'' [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards dangerous]]. On the other hand, they are also frequently [[SquishyWizard the easiest to eliminate]]. Therefore, taking them out first usually makes the rest of the battle that much easier. So whoever is wearing a RobeAndWizardHat might as well be wearing a bullseye.

This is also a common tactic in settings without actual magic, where destroying the GlassCannon who can destroy half your team in a single attack is a high priority.

Wizards who serve as {{Enemy Summoner}}s are also disproportionately valuable targets, as killing them off will often stem the tide of summoned mooks and may even [[KeystoneArmy banish/destroy the existing ones]].

Wizards who serve as {{Enemy Summoner}}s are also disproportionately valuable targets, as killing them off stems the tide of summoned mooks and may even [[KeystoneArmy banish/destroy the existing ones]].

** Heavies are also a big target for everyone on the battlefield, due to their MightyGlacier nature. A Heavy can put out an absolute hellstorm of death with his [[GatlingGood minigun]] and his LargeHam tendencies and [[HuskyRusskie large stature]] means he's a prime target for enemies, especially Snipers and Spies due to their weapons' ability to OneHitKO any sufficiently immobile enemies.

* Averted in ''Manga/FairyTail'': Due to the increasing trend of combining martial arts with age-old magic, empowering the user's body based on the level of their magic and how they use it, the mage is the LAST guy you want to take potshots at. Two MageKiller assassins figured this out the hard way. Eight in-universe years after Natsu meets Lucy, magic-martial arts has grown so popular there's now a martial arts grand tournament focused on magic. Subverted multiple times when enemy mages try to pick off the younger but powerful mages, only for them to pull out a secret weapon and pummel the enemy with it, or their comrades to get enraged and hit the enemy even harder.

** 1st Edition TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Campaign Setting boxed set booklet ''Cyclopedia of the Realms'', section "Pirate Isles of the Inner Sea". On pirate ships it was a standard procedure for archers to make anyone who was appearing to cast a spell their first target. Considering that mages start out with an AC of 9 and can only improve it by means of magical items, archers are deadly to mages who don't have a Protection from Normal Arrows spell up.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/targeting.jpg]]

* Common advice in ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', where "Geek the mage first" is one of the first rules a new shadowrunner learns. The ones slinging around spells are usually the ones who get the first mags emptied into them.

* Common advice in ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', where "Geek the mage first" is one of the first rules a new shadowrunner learns.

* Supplementary material for ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' mentions that, all [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual parahuman]] threat ratings being equal, [[CapeBusters PRT operatives]] are to target Thinkers first. Thinkers have abilities like SuperSenses or precognition, which can be used for things like seeing surprise attacks coming, evaluating strategies, or finding opponents' weaknesses. Even one of these can, with some care, be used to turn a cape team's threat level from "generally manageable troublemakers" to "tactical geniuses who home in on weaknesses you didn't know you had."
** In a world with superpowers like "be an infinite walking explosion" or "create an army of loyal parahumans" or "pull out any power you feel like," two of the most feared parahumans are otherwise physically normal people who have top-tier Thinker powers that let them walk into rooms full of opponents and shred them all without a scratch.

** Subverted when fighting the Swine King, [[spoiler:as killing Wilbur (the aforementioned mage) will piss the king off sop badly he'll start hitting your entire party at once with horrifically powerful attacks, often leading to a TotalPartyKill. So ''don't'' touch Wilbur until the King's dead.]]

** Subverted when fighting the Swine King, [[spoiler:as killing Wilbur (the aforementioned mage) will piss the king off so darned much he'll start hitting your entire party at once with horrifically powerful attacks. So ''don't'' touch Wilbur until the King's dead.]]

** In most parties, the job of close-combat specialists like fighters and barbarians is to stand in front of spellcasters to prevent the enemy from invoking this trope.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'': In "Books from Beyond," Ash goes to an old friend, Lionel Hawkins, and has him summon the demon Eligos from the Necronomicon for the purpose of interrogation. When Eligos inevitably breaks free of the binding circle keeping him restrained, the very first thing he does is kill Lionel, the only one who can read the incantation needed to send him back.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':

** In the Battle of Azure City, Hinjo tells the Order to ignore the fighting on the walls and go straight for Xykon, knowing that Xykon's power is enough to "alter the course of the entire battlefield" on its own (in fact, as an epic-level lich sorcerer, it's entirely possible that Xykon is by himself [[PersonOfMassDestruction more powerful than everyone else on the battlefield combined]][[note]]With the possible exception of the Monster in the Darkness, as no one (not even the Monster himself) knows ''what'' he is or the true extent of his powers.[[/note]]), so he wants Xykon taken out or at the very least distracted ASAP.

* In ''WebVideo/CounterMonkey'', Spoony repeatedly discusses this trope since Wizards are the primary area-of-effect elemental damage dealers and masters of StandardStatusEffects. Even with one spell each, they can kill a party, as Spoony himself once demonstrated. Competent opponents know they are the biggest source of pain and should be dealt with first. He further advises players who are Wizards to not dress like the stereotypical Wizard to disguise their identity and avoid being singled out (In particular, not to dress "Like fucking Gandalf" and to carry a sword- not learn to ''use'' it, but have it as cover).

->''"By the way, if you're every playing a wizard, a smart DM will always target wizards first, especially high levels, because if you're obviously a wizard, any one with any kind of intelligence knows that you are the guy who dishes out pain, and dishes out pain in, like, a wide area of effect. So don't be the kind of wizard who [[RobeAndWizardHat dresses like fucking Gandalf!]]"''

One of the disadvantages of being on the wrong side of a wizard is that they are usually ''extremely'' [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards dangerous]]. On the other hand, they are also frequently [[SquishyWizard the easiest to eliminate]]. Therefore, taking them out first usually makes the rest of the battle that much easier.

DrawAggro is a useful way to [[DefiedTrope defy this]], as long as it's not the mage drawing the enemy attention.

** The vampire [[spoiler:possessing Durkon]] arranges several ambushes for the Order in which its vampire spawn try to dogpile the SquishyWizard Vaarsuvius. Not only are they a high-priority target to kill, but the spawn's LifeEnergy-draining touch can leech away Vaarsuvius' [[VancianCasting prepared spells]] well before inflicting CriticalExistenceFailure.