Re: More praise for Baalz
 

I concur!

You make impressive guides.
You also make them deep enough for people to learn and understand other aspects of the game and not just the nation they read about.

Hats off! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: sauromantia
 

Thanks for the help.
i have on last question: if i use gift of reason on my hydras how much head slot they will have? one or nine?

Re: sauromantia
 

I'm sorry, but the Hydra, as I just tested, has no head slot. Both the Hydra, and the much fiercer Daughter of Typhon both have 2 miscellaneous slots and thats all.

Re: More praise for Baalz
 

Very good points Baalz.

While Sauromatia is not the strongest nation in EA, I would say it is in the top 5 (number 4-5 I think), if played correctly.

The interesting thing about it, as you have pointed out in your guide, is that rather than have one big advantage, it has a lot of smaller ones, plus flexibility to adopt its strategy to their opponents. (Personally I consider flexibility to be Sauromatia's strongest advantage)

I am currently playing Sauromatia in Figment game, with good results so far. So here are my two cents to add to Baals' analysis.

1. Several good strategies that were mentioned earlier do contradict each other. For example, Hydras should not be used with poison archers, or with PD. Friendly fire from composite bows would annihilate 6hp hydra's lesser heads very quickly, and once they are gone 250gp hydra will not last more than 1-2 turns in heavy melee. Same goes for using PD and hydras.

2. Sauromatia do have reasonably good sacred. I've considered playing bless strategy in my current Figment game as Sauromatia, but I have decided against it. The reason for it is that while Sauromatia's sacred are better than average sacred for EA, they are certainly not the best. Many other EA nations have far superior sacreds, and I've decided that I don't want to compete with them in their own field. Plus if you are going to rely heavily on sacred you won't be able to produce a lot of adrophag archers, which may be better counter against some sacred nations.

That being said you can still play efficient sacred strategy with Sauromatia, but it is certainly not a no-brainer, unlike with nations such as Lanka, Niefel, Helheim, Tien Chi, et cetera.

Anyway, these are relatively small points. I've agree with 95% of what you have said in your guide Blaaz. Very well written.

Re: More praise for Baalz
 

Ah yes, my dirty little secret is I actually haven't recruited a single hydra as Sauromatia due to the aforementioned wealth of options, but I can certainly see a situation where they'd be exactly what you'd want. I will say that you haven't convinced me that they wouldn't be quite effective for the role I suggested though - kamikaze poison bombs to soften up large enemy armies for major confrontations. Particularly since they're practically resource free you can throw them in at the last minute if something nasty threatens your capital. If you're facing a large army, from lets say a dual blessed Vanheim, placing 3 hydras spread out on the front row will have them die to be sure, before you've even got to worry about friendly fire most likely. Now those Vans have used up their first strike though and are poisoned (does this cancel the glamour? I don't remember) and the clock is ticking as they now contemplate your most excellent PD, and behind that your real forces which consist of more than just androphag archers (who are very hard to target because all your PD is archers). The enemy is drastically weakened before they even engage your army - you practically only need skellispam to tie up those super elite enemy troops and give the poison (which the androphag arches continue to pile on) time to work.

WRT the sacreds, I agree with you that though you could hang an effective strategy around your sacred cavalry other nations do that better. To my mind though the sacred cavalry is just a very big bonus to the real reason you'd go dual bless - warrior sorceresses.

One more thing
 

Sauromatia also has really good hero units. Not, take over the world good, but wow look at that magic diversity good. Hmmm... I should run some odds on getting hero units.

Re: One more thing
 

yes thei hero is good: 1 good healer; 1 good mage tha give air magic+ some good allies and 1 good commander

Re: More praise for Baalz
 

Original post updated with section 2

Re: More praise for Baalz
 

When you say "frost father" under the Pretender section, did you mean Father of Winters? One is a rainbow chasis, the other an SC.

Re: More praise for Baalz
 

Yes, that is what I meant. Updating now.