Re: Bards are insane!
 

I have to admit, that in my mnd(at least)the theme for Mn has changed dramatically. In the first 3-4 game sI thought of them much like their description was. But after my wife (!)pummeled me(as marignon) as Man with a dominion + uprising blitz (taking advantage of my reluctants to attack early)this changed. The monk as cheap stealthy preacher, the bard as unrest generator... is a pretty powerfull comboin early-mid game.
However, it can be dismantled if you expect it... , but Man has just good enough troops to make that strategy NOT a necessity. IF Man gets an early sage or amazon province... they can hold up to most nation (... erm of course just about every nation can do that if they get a juicy province like that...).
Point being... I think the bard is a great unit. But not an unballanced one.

Re: Bards are insane!
 

Yeah i meant sloth instead .

That you won with 2 weak nations is not strange because 1st most of those nations have in common that they are good rusher nations like your Marignon and 2nd you like to rush and the maps are too small so i can't start lategame tactics or hoarding http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/fear.gif .

And you are a very skilled 1on1 and earlygame player .
Nevertheless i enjoy our games http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif .
But they can't be compared to the "normal" 8-12 player game on a map with 150-250 provinces .

Re: Bards are insane!
 

I wonder if there would be much interest in a slugfest game, where quite a lot of players would play on a small map (say, perhaps ten provinces per player or so). Hmm...

Re: Bards are insane!
 

That's my favorite kind of game http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Re: Bards are insane!
 

Oooh I love those!!! I don't like to play large maps... the game ceases to be fun anymore after about 80 or so turns, depending on the research rate.

Re: Bards are insane!
 

Sure, that's pretty common settings which tends to produce fun games. But if you want really aggressive game, 5-6 provinces per player make things interesting really quickly http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Bards are insane!
 

"Certainly that would be the case in, say, Dead Ermor or Jotunheim or Caelum or Abysia or Ctis or [fill in the blank], when suddenly in the capital amongst all those lizards (or ghosts or whatever) some dude with a lute pops up and starts asking funny questions about magic sites and wouldn't the king like to hear a nice story?"

Man's Bards aren't just bards - they're mages too, which could help explain their stealth 30 rating somehow.

PvK

Re: Bards are insane!
 

They've got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan. They speak a dozen languages, know every local custom. They'll blend in, disappear, you'll never see them!

Re: Bards are insane!
 

Man/Lot Marignon Tien Chi Ulm/BF are my fav Nations. I am a noob, currently in my first three MP games and another 2v2 game, and was knocked out of my fourth first mp game by vanhiem, in thirty turns.

Man is amazing. Bard+Monk+Lord Warden+Warden +N9+GoH. Bards can cast song of relief just put him near the wardens the wardens have N9 and a huge boost in hp from GoH. Cause you have already spammed temples in your provinces. And already have had your other monks preaching in your enemies provinces and bards unresting their capitals. With all your bards/monks you can find weakly defended provinces and spam call of the wild. Once you capture the province pump up taxes if you dont think you can keep.Call of the winds makes great patrollers. They also make great mage killers. With a n9 pretender you can cast lots of good Conj Spells. And you can also easily spam Hauraspex/Wind searching thing in all your provinces.

Lot. Have you ever seen Cu Sidhe(the wolf ones right?) with a n9 blessing. Early on a squad of them slice right through level 9 Independents. Research will be a problem but hopefully you will find a sage site.

Re: Bards are insane!
 

I think the Last of Tuatha Daoine Sidhe are top-notch troops, especially with a blessing. They're really good fighters -- they're an excellent target for power-ups from friendly wizards -- and the ultra-stealth is a significant strategic benefit.

I'm not so keen on the Cu Sidhe, though. In theory their high move would allow for useful flanking, but in practice they seem to die too much (even with Nature-9 blessing). I kind of think that when playing Last of Tuatha I would save all my gold (and all my precious sacred troop building points) for Daoine Sidhe.

By the way, Legacyspy, is that message you just posted effectively an outline of your strategy in the 2v2 game that is about to start? }:-)

I played against arc once and he had a single bard causing unrest in one of my provinces, and I stubbornly insisted that a high enough provincial defense would eventually oust the bard. I ended up spending thousands of gold on provincial defense, spending time patrolling, I never did catch the damn bard, and I soon lost the game.

In fact, I'm not sure *what* the proper response to bard-unrest is. Lower taxes and just suffer the income loss? Launch an all out attack on Man's capitol?

Regards,

Zooko