Olympia: The Age of Gods PBEM (Oct 4 2000)
Many combat spells simply kill opposing units. This acts as a normal attack. Killed or wounded units remain on the field of battle (and may launch special attacks of their own) until the end of the special attacks phase.
Other combat spells have different effects, such as draining other magicians of their aura. These effects are immediate, and may affect a special attack later in the special attacks phase. For this reason, the order of attack (i.e., which side attacks first) during the special attacks phase is determined randomly.