Good idea, creating custom monsters would be even more fun than normal armies 

Even if it wouldn't make it in release, it'd make a great addition for an expansion (and modding is a given, so I won't mention this   drat, I just mentioned it )

Mounts too!

It only makes sense that if powerful pre-Cataclysm sorcerers made the Fallen, a truly powerful post-Cataclysm sovereign should be able to do something similar.

But I'd rather see it kept clearly as a form of creation, not summoning. Think Saruman making the Uruk-Hai vs. Gandalf calling his friend the King of Eagles to bum a ride.

I'd prefer to see buildings left out of the equation, or at least limited to being optional bonuses to things like mana cost and casting time.

Maybe I'm thinking of in-game creature creation vs. summoning as sort of like champion vs. regular units. Summoned creatures would come from the standard assets, and magic like the stuff that made the Fallen would include a variation on the unit designer that 'average' players could use to cobble together some art & stats and make a unique unit. Which, now that I think a moment more about it, sounds very much like expansion pack stuff if it's going to look good.

i would just love to open up the magic system and make it more than just about making things happen right then.  i want the magic to feel more organic and part of everything.  i guess i could for the most part compare it to dungeons and dragons.  in 2nd edition magic was mysterious and weaved through things. you could really do anything you could imagine.  but in 4th ed, its just about getting the job done and you really on have one flavor, fighting.  i would like for elemental to make the magic feel more like 2nd ed dungeons and dragons, like you could create golems and stuff by spending out resources.  with the magic lab feature it would get just a little bit closer to that.  options...i want alot of options.

While I can definitely get behind this idea. I am worried that if carried to the Nth degree. I am not sure I want to sqaure off against a solely magic monster army.

I would definitely support this idea if there were some limits in place to keep them rare and special instead of masses of magical shock troops.

I'm thinking expand it into global/world illusions too.  For example, instead of actually making the land rise to fortify your area with ACTUAL mountains at a costly mana/essence expenditure.  Be able to create illusionary mountains or other obstacles that can be dispelled, or true sighted through (dispel would mean yuo know they have seen through your imaginary mountains, true sight, means you think that the illusion is still there and working, but they know they can walk right through it).

Not to mention phantom armies walking around the map, even before the tactical battle screen!!

Hah! I figured it out that which game was that! Gene Wars! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genewars

You genetically manipulated the various creatures. Example: You could create a crabbomule from a crab and a mule.

of course there would be checks in place, these creatures you create would be very powerful and custom tailored to your strategies, but they would also would require alot of resources to bring into existence.  they may require rare resources, lots of regular resources, maybe even mana upkeep to keep them binded or alive, they could even cost precious essence.  after all your are bringing something to life, why not cost life essence?

more choices and customization yea bring it on! I am game! thought something tells me so much customization in so many different yet interconnected areas is got to be driving the deves crazy as to how to best implement it and not become grossly redundant and imbalanced.

I really like this idea. There would have to be some balancing here, but that applies to every feature. In order of creating a man eating giant one would have to use lots of effort (getting rare resources, researching expensive spells, paying lots of money and the like). Maybe even the sacrifice of ones own population.

"Put that farmer inside that boiler there and I will make him an assasin goblin in no time"

I am not against "create an artifact spell or forge but PLEASE use your most skilled developers to properly balance such. I say this because I often find that once one can create things in game it takes away any reason to go on quests or adventure in hope of getting that super ultra rare item "surprise".  

I am all for customization during the game set up (at the start of game crating sovereign and making your faction and units choosing what spells to commit to what custom summons you will be allowed to research etc. But once the game has started and all the game play "switches" have been set to what all the players have agreed to it should be all about strategy and how you play your game choices(made before the game started. If not then say you made a nice creative custom faction and your opponent has no clue what he/she is up against once the game is on the way and the "cat is out of the box" he/she can rest assured the tide can change in there favor buy creating items to compensate thus the other side does the same and in the end you end up with two uber factions that one only looses to because of human error or fatigue and not so much strategy and uniqueness to its custom content.

I would not love AoW so much if it did not have all the switches to turn on/off city building, magic, population growth,telephoning, forge, etc.

Frogboy said he wanted to make a "world class AI" well I say let him put lots of effort in that and have him give us the tools to put that AI to the test instead of him  trying to spread himself to thin (with dead lines and such trying to put to much pre made content like factions and tech trees, spells, tech trees etc) If he works on giving us the tools to choose all this from the get go, a base selection and allow us to create our own he can focus on making the AI and game engine balance and "World class" He can always release expansions of pre made high lore game content if he is successful at the latter we will all buy them to add to our own ideas and creation and for the fun of playing using someone else' s ideas but confident when purchasing such expansions that the game itself is solid and flexible enough to fix anything that is not to our own personal liking.

P.S. with that said please do not make things so thin that things like the Dynasty system are removed or severely hampered Randomness is also fun and essential for re playability.