DE AURA RATINGS
Obviously, this is biased.
Assumptions are that 4+ threats are what you would be fighting, many of which can get their wincon with a single look of a 10th Cost Eye-Equivalent.
If these were rated against 3 and less threats it would be different.
I'm also assuming that Tier 2 boosts the abilities in Tier 1.
Ranged Weapon Energy Aura
Tier 1 gives little utility outside of just ranged attacks.
Tier 2 gives you the ability to curve projectiles, which is nice, so I guess you could shoot from behind mundane cover which helps against 10th Cost Eyes? But, it's not like curving projectiles are really exclusive.
C
Binding and Sealing Power
Tier 1 has some good utility, giving good damage and a power drain.
Tier 2 is where things really kick in, giving you the unique ability to create up to Grade 2 Artifacts.
Overall, not bad, it has some really nice utility. Especially for PvP, because of the popular Power Limiter, Overwhelmed, and Weakening. But PvP isn't really what this is based on.
A
Hellfire and Explosions
Tier 1 gives Angel effectiveness, and basic projectiles.
Tier 2 is one of the few abilities that gives access to minions.
This is kinda bad. Angels are a rare enemy, so you're basically rocking normal Mage projectiles. Tier 2 is nice though, because minions are pretty hard to come across. Unfortunately, I feel like the other minion option overshadows this one completely.
C
Demon Fist Brawling
Tier 1 boosts endurance and strength.
Tier 2 gives you a "Stock" or "AP Meter" effect or whatever you would call it.
Pretty nice, but it's really not subtle, which will get you killed against 10th Cost Eyes. I would rank it S if I were ranking it against 3 threats and lower, but it's not as good with my ranking. It can still be pretty good if you use just for the endurance and to boost your other abilities with the extra energy.
B
Mysterious Aura of Stars and Space
Tier 1 gives basic projectiles and Spirit effectiveness.
Tier 2 gives portals, gravity, and time control.
This one is actually really, really good. Spirits are a popular enemy, and the support effects could be really useful. I could see using portals being used to redirect attacks and maybe Eye effects, and the time control could be used for getting away. Portals could be used for getting away, too. Portals kinda carry this ability.
S
Barriers and Shield Creation
Tier 1 gives small barriers that can defend against a lot of things.
Tier 2 gives big barriers and a stasis ability.
The best "just support" Aura, it's still not that good. You're a sitting duck when the barrier actually comes down, and you better have a reliable offensive Aura or you're useless alone. The stasis is excellent for team fights, as if you lock someone down and your side has enough fire powrr, it's game over.
B
Divination and Warding
Tier 1 gives scrying, divination, and Demon and Spirit wards.
Tier 2 lets you give mundane weapons Spirit effectiveness, and lets you disable Auras.
This one is pretty bad. Tier 2 is almost worthless except for PvP and like two total threats, and you have no way to attack living beings anyway? This just doesn't know what it wants to be. The only saving grace is the divination abilities, which could be helpful in a pinch.
C
(If D existed, it would get D)
All Devouring Soulfire
Tier 1 gives effectiveness against living beings and spirits, as well as a really jerkish effect that scars your opponent forever.
Tier 2 makes it so that you instantly give someone soul cancer forever, and you can control skeletal remains of the living beings you kill.
Ok, so this is the most evil of the abilities? Either way, it's REALLY difficult to source minions, and it's pretty bad if you accidentally hit an ally with this. I guess you can easily source your minions via Night Creepers... and prisons... without going full evil, but that's still a but of an issue. Really good against Glowies, though.
B
Ultimate Sword Arts
Tier 1 gives a speed boost, attack boost, and projectiles.
Tier 2 gives you spacial cutting and the ability to imbue you weapon with other Auras.
So, spacial cutting, projectiles, and the speed boost alone make this pretty good, for reasons already mentioned Mysterious Aura of Stars and Space. In exchange for losing utility in gravity and speed control, you get the ability to imbue your blade with Auras. I can only really see... one use for this. So, the best use is combining it with Barriers and Shield Creation in order to make a mobile shield, I guess? I don't see why you can't just... use your other Auras simultaneously, and why imbuing them into your sword would really do anything.
A
Ninjutsu Stealth Arts
Tier 1 gives stealth utility and speed.
Tier 2 gives weak cloning, weak teleportation, and more stealth utility.
So, this is pretty nice. Stealth will help you not get negged by a 10th Cost Eye, and the teleportations are pretty helpful, but not that much. Overall... this is good, but lacking offensively. It's one of the better support abilities, and stealth and speed are so strong it still gets a high rating.
A
Psychics and Telekinesis
Tier 1 gives imprecise telekinesis, mind reading, and mind breaking.
Tier 2 severely boosts the prior abilities and adds a danger aura.
This is alright. Telekinesis is a good ranged power and it has good utility options, and the mind reading has some good utility. Honestly, it kinda feels like a "plot" power. You can read minds for info... if there's available witnesses/captured enemies. Mental attacks are especially strong... if you're opponent is mentally unstable to begin with. Focus breaking is still nice when you're going up against 10th Cost Eyes, though.
B
4 Elemental Combat Forms
Tier 1 lets you control fire, water, earth, and air.
Tier 2 lets you control combinations of the elements, including lightning, metal, and others.
This is a really strong ability with good utility if you're smart. Ignoring the cringe "I bloodbend you gg lol", being able to control mundane items and create dust storms really cramps 10th Cost Eyes, and being able to actually make good fortifications along with it is the icing on the cake. With cover, clouds, and surprise attacks from any angle, this is an incredibly effective ability.
S
Aura Energy Lightning
Tier 1 gives you lightning attacks.
Tier 2 gives you armor piercing lighting attacks.
This one is meh. It's just firepower, with no supportive abilities in sight, other than clever use of the lightning storms. I mean, if you really hate people with barriers, go crazy. Maybe you can oneshot Glowies with this? If you miss, you'll die...
C
Weaponry Summoning
Tier 1 lets you summon spectral weapons and non-complex objects.
Tier 2 lets you summon massive and complex objects.
It has nice utility, like making a car, or cover, but this honestly feels like a worse version of 4 Elemental Combat Forms. In exchange for creating non-mundane cover and clouds (aka liable to be negged or turned against you with certain Eyes), you get... less angles to attack from? I guess you can hand out phones and cars to your friends, so it has some utility there for coordination and comfort... and mines could be useful. It's not bad, it just seems like a sidegrade at best.
A
Mage's Magical Circles
Tier 1 gives useful cantrips.
Tier 2 gives you the ability to replicate any Mage Aura with focus.
This one is great. Healing, artifact creation through binding, minion creation, technology creation, mind reading... you have an incredible amount of abilities to use! The only thing is... they require focus, or you blow up. So they really aren't the best idea to use in combat, without a really good opening, which is really hard to get. Overall, the best utility outside of combat, but in combat it's lacking.
A
Holy Light and Healing
Tier 1 gives projectiles, demon and spirt effectiveness, and healing.
Tier 2 gives crazy healing and makes your entire being "anathema to evil".
This is a really good ability. Mage's Magical Circles is good out of combat, but due to in combat use, this is the best healing option. Demons and spirits are really common as well, and evil is incredibly common. Although, it is vague on what being "anathema to evil" does. Either way, I feel torn on this ability. On one hand, it keeps your team in the fight for longer than any other ability, and still has some decent combat ability. On the other hand, it does almost nothing to actually prevent damage and gimmicky 10th Cost Eyes. I could give it S, but...
A
Shadows and Dark Energy
Tier 1 gives dark energy attacks, draining, and effectiveness against angels.
Tier 2 gives the ability to attack from more angles, teleportation, invisibility, and animal minions.
This Aura is spectacular. Along with 4 Elemental Combat Forms and Mysterious Aura of Time and Space, I'm of the opinion that it's the best of the best. With the ability to harry your opponent with minions and other attacks while you keep out of harms way via teleportation, jerks with 10th Cost Eye-Equivalents will have a really hard time targeting you. By the power of being cheap, you can really deal with a lot of enemies. The draining also makes it so you can easily outlast your opponents, as well.
S
Cursed Demon Arm Weapon
Tier 1 gives you a close-range weapon.
Tier 2 gives you resistance to 5th Cost Eyes and immunity to 3rd Cost Eyes.
So, this is weird. Only close-range attacks, little defence, no speed boost, and immunity to Eyes? This is a trap option. Ultimate Sword Arts completely and utterly demolishes this ability in comparison.
C
Vampiric Blood Manipulation
Tier 1 gives armor, weapons, and regeneration.
Tier 2 gives slight bloodbending and the ability to turn others into Vampires.
This is also a weird ability. Has some nice defenses and some gimmicks, and a really unique support ability in turning others into Vampires, giving them Tier 2 Vampiric Blood Manipulation and unique Eyes. Uh... this ability is actually the worst one. If you have 1 other person, using Mage's Magical Circles will let you copy the ability to turn others into Vampires, and then they can just turn YOU into a Vampire... The only way this is better is if you don't want the vulnerability to fire and holy, which you don't technically have without being turned into one.
C
(If D existed, it would get D)
Advanced Technology
Tier 1 gives access low-tech technology... including robots.
Tier 2 gives access to high-tech technology.
Basically this boils down to minions, projectiles, speed, and scouting. I guess AI analysis utility as well? Overall, this is pretty good. I wonder if you can get cloaking technology as well? If you can, this ability gets a lot better. Overally, really nice. But, if everything it can do can be done by Mage's Magical Circles... oof.
A/C depending on your view.