MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

I play Pangaea a good bit. Typically I raise an army of hoplites and centaur longbow men to take provinces near my castle. The war minotaurs seem a bit pricey at 50 gold each.
The revelers have low protection, and cause unrest, which i try to keep down to avoid getting hordes of free troops that i do not want to pay upkeep costs for.

After i build up some income, i tend to use more centaur cataphracts since they cost 40 gold, have good armor, defense, and movement. I do not usually use the blessed white centaurs,
as their low protection and need to be blessed is a pain.

Also, I use the gorgon, but only take 5 e 4n 3 air, so my bless is not a strong one. I really like air with the gorgon for silver hauberk chest piece. Light and stops arrows. Air is nice for mistform, mirror image as well. Plus early in game, air shield is nice for gorgon with only 30 hp.

I also like having arrow stopping item on my pretender to keep calaum and others from killing with that magical arrow spell(seeking heart).

Typically i also take 3 order 2 prod, 1 growth so that prevents giving the gorgon a ton of magic. I sleep the gorgon, but do not imprison(also take 2 heat or cold for some extra points).

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Centaur warriors are very good. Lowish protection is their only real weakness, but berserking and high hitpoints make up for that most of the time. Their resource cost is so low they can produced in great numbers even with Sloth scale. I'd never take Production with MA Pangaea.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Maenads don't cost upkeep at all. Gold cost 0. Even a gold cost of 1 would utterly bankrupt EA Pangaea. They'll eat all of your supplies and then some, though.

Edi

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Pangaea starting castle only has 30 admin. and if you like using the hoplites and centaur cathaphracts you need a prod bonus. Hoplites at 13 gold 16 prot form the backbone of my army, with longbow centaurs sitting behind them shotting down stuff.

I guess not taking 2 prod would give me 80 more points, but low protection troops tend to die fast to ulm ranged troops, the eineire for vanaheim, giants etc. For 40 gold i like troops with 19 armor, even though they do not berserk, with a blessing of courage they do not rout often. And they live longer.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Yes, if you plan to use Hoplites and Cataphracts then Production is needed. However, I think Centaur Warriors are better, and when using them you'll also get design points from being able to take Sloth.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

For the first turn I get all centaur longbows (unless the longbow mercs are available). I tend to put some maenads in the frontline to boost the morale, and a couple of minotaurs for extra punch. Once I take the nearby provinces then I concentrate more on anything with stealth so I can quickly get my stealth armies over to my nearest enemies. It works much better to pick one to harrass during their growth period when they cant march a retributing army back at you.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

I'm with Teraswaerto here. Forget Hoplites and Cataphracts, take sloth 3 and spend the points elsewhere. Centaurs are great units - somewhat expensive in gold (and upkeep), especially if you go the turmoil route for the Maenads, but definitely worth it. The archers are great and will win most arrow duels. The warriors are also great - put them at fire closest so they throw their javelins. They have > 20 hps, can berserk and have recup (= staying power). And they are stealthy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/evil.gif Some people even go a heavy bless route with the White Centaurs, but they are expensive (70g) and capital-only so I prefer to just hand them a few minor blesses. Once you get your magic rolling, boost them with Mass Protection, Legions of Steel, Weapons of Sharpness, Strength of Giants, etc.

Disclaimer: I have little mp experience and I'm not fond of bless strats, so take the above with a rock of salt. Besides, out of principle, I do not blood-hunt, use blood summons, etc. which is another card that Pangaea can play.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

There is also two very strong strategy lines that can impact Pangaea, the maenads route or the vine-creature route. Both of those can affect pretender choice, and scales quite abit. But since he said he uses Gorgon most of my usual suggesitons dont apply as much. The only thing I could think of there is maybe giving up one of the earth points for another air point so he can get arrow defence on bless.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

One interesting thing i read in the manual last night was that the effectiveness of Tangle Vines increaes in Growth dominions...

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

That's in the spell description, too, unless I am mistaken.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

here are some thoughts:

1. if you play Pangaea and like having a super contender, there is none better in the entire game then the Gorgon, properly equipped. My gorgon starts 5e 4n 3 a, sleeping.
By the time she awakes, I will have 4 construction and 4 alteration. if i have no air gems, i search for them(typically i will hire mercenary mages to hunt for astral and air games early on. Gorgon wears silver hauberk chest, regeneration ring, eye shield, some revig items, and 5 earth helm.

Now properly protected from arrows, and with a 25 armor class unbuffed, she goes into battle. she casts mistform, mirror image, and elemental fortitude, then attacks closest enemy. I try toi keep her at my end battlefield to avoid smites, and some other caster spells. She is devasting.

later in the game with haunted forest, she is unbeatable in her own dominion.

2. Production is good to take.

I always take 2 production 3 order, 1 growth. I take 2 heat to get extra points, as well as sleeping the gorgon. Having 2 production makes the armored pangaea troops a viable option. Hoplites are dirt cheap 13 gold infantry. 16 prot, 14 hp, 14 defense, 11 str 11 attack, heal afflictions. best infantry in the game for the cost.

Centaur cataphact is a bargain calvary unit at 40 gold. 19 prot plus high defense, plus heals afflictions! No comparison between these and the 9 protection centaur warrior. If you want berserk troops get the minotaur warrior with 17 protection and plus 4 berserk and trample for just 10 gold more.

Plus with 350 gold a pop mages, taking 3 sloth cuts into your income(: I find 3 order, 2 prod, 1 growth gives me income and ability to purchase well armored troops(i can still get centaur warrior, i just have more options with 2 prod v 3 sloth).

In short, i cannot imagine playing pangaea without the gorgon or with sloth. If you have not tried the gorgon with 5e 4n 3 air, give it a try. research 4 construction right off the bat so she can get silver hauberk, which is a key for her. If dagan can find 5 astral gems, have him make a luck charm to go with her ring of regeneration. she is very tough with no luck, but with it she will not die in her own dominion, and typically not even in -5 enemy dominion, but that is risky. She is virtually immune to melee and ranged damage, though if unlucky she can be smited etc.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Some other Pangaea musings:

1. 6 slings as a castle defense when their ranged troops have longbow? What is up with that?

2. Summoned troops: I like going conj 4 and have 2 mages summon kithaironic lions the whole game after i get mother oak up. A popular choice seems be vine ogres, but since they require magical leadership, and they basically suck with 5 protection, I think it is not worth the effort. sure you can say legion steel, protection blah blah blah, but id rather buff up tougher troops like the regular great lions that have great speed and a good attack. Plus the regular lions do not require magical leadership and you can have a ton of them in an army. I do think the nature summons at 4 is not as good as fire, earth and water summons. you get 5 ethereal with those summons, though the cost is higher in gems.

3. casting mother oak/gift of health: i use a bought mage to cast these. rarely 1 will come with 5 nature, but 4 nature is common. With 4 nature and 4 construction(thistle mace)
the mage can cast these with small effort. Since I use the Gorgon as a battle sc, there is no reason to risk a double loss of your pretender and 2 globals as well. I usually have my gorgon make a robe of missile protection for the mage so he cannot die to a seeking arrow.

4. another pet peeve, Pangaea's starting castle has only 30 admin. So it is doubly nice to snag another pretender's home castle early so you can have a 50 or 60 admin castle to crank out huge numbers of hoplites, war minotaurs, and armored centaurs. Especially if you took 2 prod!

5. my ultimate "i win" spell with the gorgon is the haunted forest. Flying around in friendly dominion and fighting with this spell up is a blast. petrify and you have 5-10 allies fighting with you each turn.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Interesting. Most of my Pangaea writeups involved either the Lord of the Wild (more maenads) or Carrion Dragon (more vine creatures). Usually with -3 on both order and productivity, possible +3 on luck. Going with the lower armored units of course, and more stealth.

Slings instead of crossbows? Sounds like a bug. Is that the defense from PD?

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

I did not type correctly, longbows, not crossbows. The castle defense, logically, should have longbows, since they have ranged troops with longbows and none with slings.

PD has no ranged troops at all until 25, when they get some centaur longbows.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Another advantage of 3 air, is you can get the lightning helm at construction 6 and the pills of breathing to get the gorgon into the water at construction 4. the barrel of air, at construction 6, gets a mage and an army into the water.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Eeek.

With -3 on both order and productivity.

How do you afford to buy anything?

Jazzepi

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

I have it in the game I'm playing with Pangaea (multiplayer), and it is working fine. You just have to take luck 3 and you will get a lot of money anyway. It combines well with order -3 (turmoil).

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Order -3 boosts the effects of luck +3 realy REALLY well. Yes, the initial start is abit slow. I also tend to take low dominion so once you get a few farmlands out past your dominion push then things get better. Its not a good small-map tactic, and I think that Pangaea is about the only one Id consider it with.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Sometimes the cataphact is better than the warrior, but sometimes the warrior's 3 higher defence means it lasts a lot longer.

I prefer centaur warriors over War minotaurs against most foes, even for the same gold cost. Minotaurs have trample and enc6, so they trample into the middle of the enemy infantry, get tired fast, then get hit a lot with their 7 def. And no shield to help against xbows. They only use their battleaxes against size3 and bigger, but with attack9 they cant hit much.

A strong bless makes the White centaurs really fearsome. Add two points of defence and glamour and they'd be Vans.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Best MA pan troops = White Centaurs

Followed by harpies for mass patrolling tricks.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Some great tactics are available for using Pans. Especially with Black Heart.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

There is no doubt the white centaurs are the best, the question is are they worth 2 armored centaurs since they cost almost twice as much? Especially if you have a weak bless.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

I have to disagree on the war minotaur. They have 18 protection and a lot hps, so they do not go quietly. Also, you claim they get exhausted and sit there.

I usually use war minotaurs in packs of at least 10. So they cannot be picked on. Trampling causes enemy to flee in many cases, and my army is not made up mainly of war minotaurs, but hoplites and longbows. So the enemy has plenty to worry about besides the war minotaurs.

The minotaurs do not have a low attack because they have berserk 5, which allows for a good attack and it hurts a lot. They are particularly useful against elephants, as their size allows them to survive longer, they do not retreat, and a couple hits of low defense elephants will kill them. A group of war minotaurs is also my troop of choice to charge a castle. They trample through the logjam at the gate and do not retreat.

Centaur warriors are vulnerable to ranged troops with their low protection. While they certainly have their uses, you can see a pack of them vanish after a volley from ulm crossbowmen. So in most cases, i like the 19 armor centaurs for the same price. While they do not have berserk, they have high defense and good morale.

I am certainly not an expert on Pangaea, and there are many ways to play them. But I prefer the gorgon + armored troops path. Going the armored route, they are Ulm, but have, trampling units, flying scouts, better infantry because of more hps, defense, recuperation, morale, magic resistance.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

11 morale is good?

Enemy archers can be countered by harpies, and arbalests are not particularly terrifying. Longbows or Blade Wind would have me worried though.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

I do not carry harpies in my army, as they die too quick. Enemy archers are dealt with by my centaur longbows and my armored cavalry units.

You got me on the 11 morale. It is above average, but not good. But they rarely retreat. Why? because they get a divine boost to 13, and with recuperation and armor, they live a long time resulting in a star or 2 experience which also boosts heir morale.

I am not bashing your warriors or your play style. Just giving my preference.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

If you want to keep your harpies for when you need to use them set them to guard a commander who is placed at the back of the battlefield then, if your going to fight alot of archers, take some of them off guard duty.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

In the game i am presently playing, in the winter of 1st year, with 3 order, 2 prod, 1 growth, 2 heat, as the scales, i have great income, 246 resources, and i can buy 10.5 hoplites a turn, or 7.5 cataphracts, or 8 war minotaurs. That is quite a bit of armor to throw at my nearest neighbor, who happens to be Ulm.

And my get out of jail card(gorgon with5 e 4 n 3 a)will be available soon. The air magic will insure no untimely demise to arbalests.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Though it is rare, if you get the harpy hero, she generates harpies, so that is sweet! She travels with my main army, but i take no luck so she does not appear often.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

If your playing against MA Ulm you might like to consider making a big group of regular minotaurs using all 246 of your resources for 1 or 2 turns, if you can shield them from missile weapons like arbalests you will destroy ulm-they have no real counter to tramplers that early in the game other than SC pretenders (and you should probably just swarm them with chaff), while troglodytes would probably be preferable minotaurs should do the job just fine(with the added bonus of being able to put the hurt on any large pretenders with a defence under 20)

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

I also think the White Centaur is the best Pan unit. Heavily blessed, of course. I have to yet to win in MP, though, so I'm not exactly sure I'm correct here http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

At the moment several large Mictlan devil armies are wiping the floor with me.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

great, I've found a thread of expert Pangea players.

Someone experienced using of tune spells? Someone has been able to use the tunes in some way with some good effect?

Thanks

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Nope. Found no use for the tunes.

*disclaimer* Not an expert Pangaea player! Never claimed that.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Nobody taking death on their pretender for Lamias and the Carrion summons?

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Like i said earlier, mages in the castle are what i use to cast mother oak and gift of health. Many of them come with 1 death already, so if you can find 30 death gems you could set up one of your mages to summon.

I like using that weapon with my gorgon that create an aoe poison effect. That combined with petrification clears out most troops pretty fast. Especially early in the game when access to other magic gems is limited.

I may experiment with trample boots, but the gorgon can win most fights with petrification, and i fear trampling may exhaust her.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Right. Sorry, was thinking of EA Pangea there.

People seem to be going either turmoil/luck/sloth or order/production. Any reason people aren't pushing a turmoil/luck/production/growth scenario for the best of both worlds - mass maenads backed up with incredibly heavy troops for MA?

I'm not at all an experienced Pangea player, even in SP, but it seems to me that MA Pangea has pretty decent magical versatility out of the box. Do you really need anything from your pretender but amazing scales?

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Only access to magic for MA Pangaea is earth, nature and death. And yes i like air. The gorgon requires air to be a proficient sc. low hps make her vulnerable to ranged attacks.

Also air gives her the silver hauberk, a light chest piece that gives a 80 air shield. Mistform and mirror image, along with regen ring, make her the best sc there is inside her own dominion.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

For 56 points more than that E5N4A3 Gorgon you can get a E9N4 Gorgon who has great resistance to ranged weapons(18 prot unequipped) and can fight well unbuffed. She also makes a nasty bladewind caster and gives your centaurs a good survivability bless but she lacks the ability to broaden your magic access with air magic.

Just another option.

For a completely different pretender and bless an imprisoned, dom6 W9N9 lady of love can be fun as your sacreds get berserk +5, 21(17 without shield) defence not berserking, a respectable 16(12) defence berserking, 15 attack when berserking averaging 3 attacks per round(50% chance to act twice), regen, 14 prot berserking, 18 strength berserking and amazing speed(above 30, possibly in the low 40's) due to the W9 bless. You can also make some Hierophant thugs with that bless(personally i like gloves of the gladiator, horned helm and blacksteel full plate with that bless-the chance of a centaur with fairly minor equipment getting on average 9 strength 19(after berserk, before weapon strength is added) attacks and being able to reach rear troops/archers at the start of the battle is fun.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Natural Disaster
pretender: Lord of the Wild
4 death, 4 nature, 4 blood
blesses are: Affliction chance +100%, Regeneration +5%, Strength +2
Dominion: 6
Turmoil 3 (order -3)
Sloth 3 (production -3)
Heat 1
Growth 0
Luck 3
Magic 3

=========================

Mulch Happens
pretender: Carrion Dragon/Carrion Lord
2 death, 3 nature, 2 blood
Dominion: 9
Turmoil 3 (order -3)
Sloth 3 (production -3)
Heat 1
Growth 3
Luck 1
Magic 1

2d3n are needed for Carrion spells, 2 blood added gives Dark Vines, Crossbreeding, Blood Rite

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

I have tried the e94n gorgon. I like the air set up better. Her survival skills are markedly better with earth/air forged items. I do not like sending her naked into fights, even with 18 prot. Mistform is really nice buff as well.

And while the white centaur is great with e9n4 bless, they are capital only, can be a pain to bless without divine blessing, and cost 70 gold. Even blessed i am not sure they are better than 2 19 protection centaur cathaphracts, which you do not have to bless and can buy at any fort for 40 gold.

On pure survivorbility of the gorgon, there is no comparison. the 3 air goes a long way, and also adds 3 precision for her spells in the event she is actually casting. 99 percent of the time she scripts "summon earthpower, mistform, mirror image, elemental fortitude,
personal regeneration, attack closest enemy."

She wears silver hauberk chest, black steel helmet, snake bladder stick, eye shield, boots of the messenger, amulet of resilience, ring of regeneration.

Obviously later in the game she upgrades equipment.

Equipped in this manner, in a friendly dominion, she is pretty much unbeatable. Though, like all sc's she is vulnerable to smites, and certain instant kill spells.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

There are surely many ways to play Pangaea, and if this strategy works out for you, great. I will just add the following points.

1. The Gorgon is a great SC pretenter, surely one of the best available. But just getting Air 1 on him is 80 points extra, the price of 2 positive scales.

2. You are playing Pangaea like it was Ulm. Sure, the hoplites and cataphracts have higher protection and that can be nice. But neither are stealthy and hoplites have strat move 1 (2 for the cataphracts) so, for higher protection, you lose stealth, berserkng (= they rout) and mobility and the design points for paying production scales. Is this worth it? Protection eventually loses importance when magic starts ruling the battlefield, stealth, berserking, mobility, etc. *never* go obsolete.

3. Centaur warrior have low prot, sure. Having >20 they can take the occasional arrow hit (and having recup will eventually heal afflictions) besides they go berserk (never rout and higher prot). And there are ways to boost their protection. And why would a volley of crossbowman be especially deadly? XBows half the protection, but CW have little protection to begin with!! so what's the worry? If anything, their low rate of fire is better for Pangaea. And remember, defence means nothing against missile fire, while having a shield does (and CW do have a shield).

4. Kithaironic lions instead of Vine ogres? For *6N* you get *1* lion instead of 2 vine ogres for 2N (with ivy crowns - better ratios with treelord staff and/or ivy kings). And what have kithaironic lions better than Vine Ogres? protection and higher mr. Everything else is more or less the same, and they can rout. And Vine Ogres are poison resistant so you can pull some deadly poison combos. Plus you need a pan to summon them, while for vine ogres a boosted nature mage or an ivy king does the job. Oh according to the manual a Kithaironic Lion is also a magic being.


As Aleph mentioned another very good pretender for Pangaea is, IMHO, the mother of monsters. Not only you get lamias galore from mid-game onwards, but since it is 20 extra points for extra magic path she can add a much needed magical versatility to Pangaea. Being naturally an ND mage, she can also cast the national summons, etc.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Good points all. The lions offer a good troops to use as calvary, they do require magic leadership, but you get 1 per summon so getting more than a pan can lead happens seldom.

What do you spend your extra points on exactly? I have max order 2 prod 1 growth even with the 3 air and 6 dominion. And I sleep the gorgon, do not imprison her as she is often needed by me early on, but i do not need her right off because i like to get 4 construction researched before sending her into battle solo.

I have excellent research and production with my scales. I do take 2 heat, but with 3 order 2 prod 1 growth my income is still very good. When I take another pretender's castle early in the game, with the 2 production i can crank out huge armies of hoplites, cataphracts, and war minos.

I still have the option the use other units, when i do want to use a stealth army. But if stealth was my theme, id likely use the ghost king, give him a bit fire magic so he could lead bigger armies.

Holpites do break, but if they do, i am likely going to lose the battle anyway. My army usually has about 50 hoplites up front. 40 centaur long bows focusing on enemy archers. 10-20 cataphracts going for enemy archers, and 10-20 war minotaurs starting behind the hoplites, so they break the enemies initial charge and then move in.

Hoplites hold their own even against acrosaphale's hoplites.
they do not have that high morale, but they have good protection coupled with good hps and defense. Most infantry with 16 protection do not have that 14 defense the Pangaea hoplites have.

Of course i have a pan or 2 buffing the armies and dryads doing sermon courage.

By mid game, i will have some bane lords and sleepers in the army. Sleepers help prevent routing, and with a couple nature artifacts, can do well in melee battle. The bane lords can be devastating with artifacts, and they of course do not rout. A bargain for the cheap cost!

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

And blood - and not just any blood, but blood backed up by nature magic for rains of toads to presage your sneak/dryads. Drive up unrest for more protective coloration for your stealth unrest/preacher combo.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

I refuse to use blood for rp purposes.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Deleted.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Xietor - you can definitely do so, but Pangea still has it.

Frank - I often have trouble keeping up with these conversations since I'm not playing highly competitive MP games (and have no desire to do so). Here's my thoughts on your response.

A Pandemoniac can be empowered to Blood 3 for 45 blood slaves - that same Pandemoniac can now make Armor of Twisting Thorns, including for himself to unlock Blood 4 boosters. To my mind, given how sure a thing blood slaves are compared to other magical gem types, a one time cost of 45 blood slaves (compared to either 20 blood slaves for a booster item or 15 with an additional 10 nature) is a pittance against four levels of blood picks for your pretender god (which, granted, can be offset by the right pretender, but that's even more critical a choice).

I've gotten a fairly critical take on splashing Astral into your god from the forum at large for fear of duels. Is that just for combat pretenders?

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

In the one MP where I'm Pangaea I have Order/Sloth. Money for Centaur Warriors and Pans. Maenads aren't that great.

Kitharaionic Lion has much more offensive power than a Vine Ogre, but I don't think they are worth the gems and mage time.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Actually, my god starts with 3 air not 2. actually my troops of choice late in the game are bane lords, decked out with fire brand, boots quickness, ring regen, lucky pendant, etc.

But after i take a few castles, i get access to other magics.
I really do not need much astral. I keep gift health, haunted forest, mother oak, and mechanical militia up at all times later in the game and that only leaves 1 slot for everyone else. if something like burden of time is cast, i typically find some way to get rid of it. either kill the caster, or dispel it by casting another spell.

I hire every mercenary that can search for magical gems, so i typically have access to all paths. Dagan usually is up early so i use him to search for astral. then later in the game i use other wizards.

because mages for Pangaea have no age issues, i use a mage in my capital to cast all of my global enchantments, and another mage in my capital to build up astral powers when i get access them(to avoid getting my god killed in a duel).

i use the gorgon to fight frequently, so i do not want the gorgon casting my global enchantments.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

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Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Gorgon with air magic, construction 4 items, which you can get early in game, will not die in her own dominion unless very unlucky(smite). Late in game with more casters, it is a risk, but i like the option of having a flying combat god for those "oh [censored]" situations.

Late in game, against ermor with 35 or so smiters and a huge undead army, i have killed them all with the gorgon, sitting back and casting blade wind until they all were dead. of course tons got to her, but they petrify as well. late in game, i will have fire magic on her, and she has a pretty good fire shield going as a caster.

Also, in my own dominion, late in the game, gorgon as a caster is not beatable with haunted forest up.

Re: MA Pangaea-best starting troops?
 

Blood armor is nice, and your hero can make it right off the bat if you get him. But i do not use blood at all, as i role play and consider my pretender and people "good." Consider not using blood a bigger challenge!


My gorgon makes great mage armor. Silver hauberk. also Pangaea mages cast earthpower, then invulnerability, so they have very good armor in a fight.