Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

Omniziron, you keep being an enigma to me.

How come BL has better blessing options? Kailasa has much better sacreds and thus can afford to take any bless it wants to and still have an easier time expanding.
To back up my words, I just started a test game with str. 6 indies as Kailasa and had no problem expanding with A4S4D4 bless. I can repeat the same with E4N4, E4W9 or no bless at all. So about Kailasa that '_must_ make pretenders that makes these initial units viable' - its just nonsense. If anything, Kailasa has more freedom when choosing pretender.

Astral and nature are very powerful indeed, but astral/nature is a rather bad combination of paths for a single mage. Astral/earth opens you gifts from heaven, astral/fire means astral fire, astral/air can lead to a thunderstikers communion, for expample, I'm rather fond of Bogarus astrapelagists... astral/nature makes a noncombatant mage.

Also, Kailasa has enough astral and nature. Yakshas can reliably have nature 2, which is enough to craft important items. Later you can forge thistle mace for N3 and a moonvine bracelet for N4, etc.
Guru can make a Starshine skullcap, astral yaksha then crafts you a crystal coin, voila - you've got S4 to summon Siddha.

BL's problem are sub-optimal troops that only do their job if you use them as a scalpel. Yes, you can kill somebody with a scalpel, but it doesnt make scalpel a good weapon. So far you are saying that scalpel takes finesse to use - but nobody makes you use broadsword as a pinch-bar.

Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

Kailasa's recruitable sacreds have high defence and neglible protection, therefore benefiting from WS-like blessing (which will be made near obsolete by Thau6). Summons have high protection and staying power, therefore benefiting from NE, for example. BL recruitables are also of high prot-variety, therefore benefiting from similar blessings as summons instead of asymmetric ones like Kailasan recruits.

Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

These guys make me think of Journey to the West. Sanzang cowers in fear or faints while demons are running around, and then Sun Wukong has to save him.

Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

Sigh. What do you call 'high prot'?!! Scale mail with prot 12? Gosh.
Kailasa's recruitable sacreds can do with any bless you like, as long as you place and buff them properly.

Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

This is not right. sure placement tricks work agaist the AI. But any player willing to put an equal amount of time into micro-managing placement will cancel out any amount of decoying and placement tricks you might be able to use as Kailasa. With as little as A7, it becomes cheaper to kill a Yavana with a slinger than with a cavalry, and an Apsara would probably remain more efficient to kill with a slinger up to A8 or 9...

Additionally, you gain alot of benefits as Kailasa from a strong Air bless. You can team your sacreds with as many Markata archers as you please and don't have to worry about friendly fire. You can place Yaksha surrounded by Apsaras/Yavanas right on the front line to spam Destruction and Panic. Apsaras are VERY defense oriented and can hold out, the Air bless ensures your mage is protected there... The armor less and feared foes will wilt under the pelting of 1000's of little arrows... You never have to worry about stray blades from your Yaksha spamming Blade Wind. In late game you can unleash Shimmering Fields and Wrathful Skies with impunity. Your own mages (who will be acting as battle mages for Kailasa, rarely as thugs) benefit greatly from the Air sheild. Kailasa has alot of big time AoE missile and artillery support to offer, and it becomes most usable with a strong Air bless.

BL's sacreds do not have phenomenal prot, but it's high enough (and with their sheilds) that they benefit enough from an Earth Bless. The important thing is that they don't need an air bless, and can choose blesses that are optimal for Gandharvas and higher end summons

Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

"Benefits from Air Bless" does not translate to "needs an Air Bless to work".

Bandar Log's sacreds might sync better with blesses designed for their late game, but that doesn't mean anything if Kailasa can expand as fast with the same bless.

Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

perhaps not...

but I have a heuristic I use when designing nation strategies:
"don't do anything anyone else can do better. do something you can do better than anyone else."

for Kailasa, that translates to strong Air bless. Without you're simply disregarding what they have available at every fort. And expansion is only half the story; because when you meet a real opponent if you can't defend it then it is just that much more free land for them. I don't mean to imply that "mid-late game" stuff is better than what Kailasa has available off the bat; because it isn't unconditionally. You have to take everything in context. Kailasa with an Air bless doesn't need those higher end summons, and will do splendid with Apsaras/Yavanas/Guhyakas (well, they want to get Kinnaras eventually for battle magic). They have extra research options that BL will not. They have extra research options many nations will not, for that point. The strong Air bless with Kailasa is simply equal to flexibility and options, in research, strategy, and battlefields.

Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

Air bless gets obsolete, as soon as you can cast arrow fend. I would use a bless that stays useful until the end of the game. Especially with Kailasa when you are usually fielding all sacred armyes.

Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

But with Kailasa you have more important things to research if you have an air bless

Re: Bandar Log - you whipped me with what?!?
 

Also, you get the 75% SR (which has more relevance in the late game), and without native access to Air magic at all, it's a bit foolhardy to make an Air spell become a pivotal part of your strategy.