Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

Some that I like in CBM1.6:

1) Bane with flying shoes and Heroic Blade with orders to attack rear. A few will take out any Size3+ SC, and as a bonus they will also rip apart small PD's (so they double up as raiders and SC hunters). With a hammer available those cost 4D, 3A and 3E gems per one, so a few won't make you go bankrupt on anything.

2) The light cavalry commanders (Horse Brothers being the best choice) with spell-casting item or a magic bow (depending on the targets and gems available for crafting). Very affordable, very mobile (terrain permitting), and especially after a couple exp stars they are deadly shots (the magic bows usually improve precisssion too); they are usually where you want them to be, and they are fast enough to outrun anything if things go to poo

3) Sleepers are just plain good. Good overall stats, high precission (15), and lets not forget the Standard 15; sadly they cost 8 nature gems so not as affordable as the Banes. If facing fear causing undead or demons these guys just shine; give him a Herald Lance and Horn of Valor and nobody will care about that fear the enemy has, while the Sleeper can go into town hand to hand or spell-casting to deal some proper demon/undead killing.


Also notice that many nations can either recruit or use national summons to get very affordable and yet nice thug-chassises.

Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

You must be getting some great discounts in those sacred Pangaean groves Jarkko :) Since Flying Boots are 10 Air and if by Heroic Blade you mean the new Hero's Blade in CBM 1.6, then that comes in at 10 Earth as well. (both 7 with a Hammer of course)

All of which sadly puts the price of your thug up by quite a bit :( (not that I wanted to ruin Mr.Thug's day in any way)

Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

If you're going for an archer-type deal, Crystal Amazons come to mind with just the raw amount of precision they can bring to the table for their cost. Yes, there are some that can reach higher precision values, but these girls don't cost any gems to recruit.

With an Eye of Aiming and self buffing Aim, a Crystal Sorceress in CBM gets to 23 Precision (over the Scout's 15 with just an Eye and 20 with Wind Guide on top.). Add Boots of Quickness (Shroud of the Battle Saint optional if you have a D4+ or W9+ bless.) and stick on whatever bow seems appropriate. Bows of War are great for general use and the Sorceresses can forge the things themselves. In larger armies, they make good communion slaves, since they don't need to cast any other spells.

Crystal Priestesses are usually a cheaper alternative to the sorceresses in larger armies with existing mage support. They don't have the stealthiness or obscenely cheap pricetag that Scouts do, but they have their uses. Since they're all priests, they can bless themselves without needing a Shroud and are much cheaper in the long run than Sorceresses thanks to their Sacred status. In addition to the aforementioned D4+ and W9+ that will directly affect their archery, they can also benefit from an Earth bless so they can be better communion slaves, and an Astral bless of any strength, since extra MR is always a plus and the Twist Fate can be a lifesaver in certain instances. Like all humans though, they are very fragile. Beware of Earthquake, Rain of Stones and, in the case of Sorceresses and 50% of Priestesses, Mind Duel as well.

Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

Try a sleeper with two fire bolas, boots of strenght and bear claw. 4 shots per turn at 18 prec, each with range and damage of 27 plus fire bond. Put three of those behind your frontline and put on your evil grin.

Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

Oops, you are correct. Checked the things in-game, but didn't notice there was a Steel-oven where I crafted the test items in an old save-game (and even then I failed to count to three properly... them are hard numbers after two, I tell you that).

Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

Would boots of quickness make sleeper fire more then 4 shots?

Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

And fire bolas..do they fire damage?

Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

Boots of quickness (any quickness spells/blesses in general) do allow to cast item spell twice, but do not allow to fire ranged weapon twice.

Fire bolas do fire damage, so 100% fire resistance units are immune.

But really, don't equip unit with fire bolas with any other items - it's just a waste of gems.

Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

Even with forge of ancients?
As for bolas - it's treated as a ranged weapon, not a wand?
If boots can turn 4 shots to 8 it doesn't sound bad.

Re: cheapest summonable thug
 

They will not fire their bow if the communion master casts. Slaves do nothing after a master casts, and since firing a bow happens after spellcasting, you can't take advantage of unit orders like you could if they were spellcasting.