[ywl]

Originally posted by Nerfix:
In Dominions I there is some Pretenders that just aren't wortwhile. Lord of the Nigth, Mother of Lions, Dragons and (from what i have read) Nagas, and "Rainbow Mages" to some extent. What have you done to make these Pretenders worthwhile.
I am also concerned that will the RB Mages become even less usefull, even if their cost has been reduced, because bless effect is now dependant on your starting magic, and it requires minium 4 to get an effect from a magic path.

Dragons of Dom 1 are perfectly fine in their current form and cost.

I think that the trick is to use them in dragon form during early expansion and mid-game. A dragon staying far back, with the "Hold and Attack Commander" can take out indies far better than a Wyrm. You can even enhance some of them with spells ("Regeneration", "Fireshield") during the first two turns before enemies arrive. Later in the game, he will be a low level mages giving you access to otherwise an unaccessible path, or an expensible physical basher.

Green Dragon is the best for because a slightly boost up Green Dragon can cast "Lamia Queen" and other Nature summoning spells, giving you even more access to other schools. Red and Blue Dragons are not as nice as their spells are mostly useful only in combat. If dominion strength is not too important, a boost up Green Dragon will be about 80 to 100 points, comparable to a Balrog and not significanlty more expensive than a raw Wyrm.

Nagas are *slightly* too expensive. If the cost is about 25 to 50 points lower, a Golden Naga can be reasonably used as a high-hitpoint rainbow mage. Her large hitpoints can help her survive a battle. The normal Naga is (IMHO) not particular useful because Nature magic is non-offensive in battle. Her large hitpoint won't be much a bonus over your normal Arch-druids.

Lord of the Night is usable for Ermor, who has numerous nation points to waste . His stealth can give you some very interesting tactics. But since Ermor is in general hard to play, I don't know how well he can be played.

But I guess, the problem for most other pretenders is more because the MP game has been optimized to the point that only the best pretenders are now being used. As in the this stage, the game mechanisms and dynamics favor towards early expansion, everybody needs a cheap (enough) pretender to stay in the game.