Re: Tien Chi
I've only played once as Mictlan (so far) so I'm not exactly expert on them, but they are very cool. Their Tribal Kings can raise slave armies very quickly and their Blood magic is very potent. I quite liked their special troops, although they do require a bit more planning to use properly. They are more versatile but have less raw power then some of the other nations' special units, such as Marignon's Knights of the Chalice.
Machaka is another very interesting race. They have tribal warriors (rather Zulu-like in feel, I think) but are augmented with several varieties of spider-riding troops.
Their backstory tells of the corpse of a giant spider that lies deep within their sacred mountain. The swamps around their home are filled with giant spiders, and these spiders are trained as mounts in place of horses. Like the Atlantean War Lobsters, the spiders remain a danger even after their riders have been slain.
They have many magical units available as well. There are tribal shaman, plus a cult of dark priestesses who worship the giant spider corpse deep within the mountain. They are capable of transforming into spiders themselves as well as having powerful magic abilities.
|