Shield is perhaps one of the most useful combat Rune spells out there. For each 1 Rune point stacked with Shield, you get 2 points of AP AND 2 points of Countermagic. Shield 3 is an amazing thing to see in action, as it will block such dreaded spells as Sever Spirit, Sunspear, or Thunderbolt. And that extra 6 AP is pretty amazing as well.
However, it has a pretty limited number of sources, including:
I use the presence of Shield on a cult’s spell list as evidence that the the cult is one dedicated to combat. No serious warrior’s cult lacks the Shield spell.
Plenty of warrior’s cult lacks the Shield spell. Starting with Storm Bull (although Berserker sure helps there). Storm Bull has access to Shield through Orlanth, which is a reason for the Storm Bull to stay close to his brother!
Meanwhile Wachaza does not provide Shield, and Wachaza was one of the most serious warrior cults in the Second Age. Wachaza gets Shield as associate magic from Manthi.
It might be better to say no serious war cult lacks access to Shield (if only through an associate).
Zorak Zoran does not provide Shield and didn’t in Trollpak.
Aldrya and Waha have had Shield since Cults of Prax.
