[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by IKerensky:
Indies were upgraded to 9 ( who played with them lower anyway ? ) as it help lower SC uberpower and Marignon and Abyssia Infamous Armies of One ( you know the 2-3 assassins that walk ahead and kill the indies leader while your follow on wizard rout their armies by himself... ).

Independents at 9 heavily favours combatant pretenders, as your normal troops will likely have too much trouble dealing the independents by themselves. Independents 9 also makes assasins more useful than normal, as commanders don't become harder to kill with higher levels of independents. 6 is a good number that makes it risky to send out your pretender alone, but doesn't make one necessary for expansion on turn 2.