[Nagot Gick Fel]

Originally posted by apoger:
I avoid Vine men/ogres as they eat up too much mage-time to cast.

I tend to agree, although with drain I still forge an Ivy Crown or two and use idle bards or druids to summon vine things occasionally. My main use for the low nature mages is still to give relief to my battle mages though.

Don't invest in wardens, they are not very worthwhile as "bless effect" troops (IMHO).

Hmmm, I won't agree with you on this. Warden may have lost their +3 to strength and attack in Doms 2, but I think air shielding and lightning protection would more than make up for this. My air-9 Virtue example (still untested, I admit) should have an econ as strong as yours with the same drain setting, despite having growth+2 only, due to her dominion spreading faster. You could argue that raising Wizard Towers in rich provinces would help you keeping the edge, but I won't buy it - the ROI is way too slow to justify their building as a purely economical decision.

Of course I'd lost the impact of a strong supercombattant, but now the Wardens are worth building (and consequently the Fortified City also is) and an air-9 Virtue isn't useless in the battlefield either. Eek, depending on who you're up against, and with minimal equipment and buff spells, she can even be used as a meleer. Have you ever tried what a lucky/ethereal/air shielded/mistformed/mirrored air-9 Virtue (needs one astral mage obviously, but you'll get one eventually) can do if you have her fly in the rear of the enemy to wreak havoc with showers of shockwaves? I'd say it's as impressive as what an astral Manticore can do.