[Mardagg]

Originally posted by Boron:
[that is not too good i think because of this you wrote
iirc you lose lots of population through higher taxes then 100% , more population through patrolling and finally :
your patrollers most likely have upkeep .

so even in the short run you get more money most likely without patrollers and taxes simply at 100%.


hm i think the phönixes niche where he shines is for marignon : e.g. f9 bless effect + he can be risked on indy provinces hopefully conquering them through holy pyre / fire darts .

but 80 new path costs , base hp of 12 and only 2 misc + 1 headslot look too limiting to me to use him as an sc .


[/QB]

Well,I was serious,even though it was only a small point.
The standard patrollers for Tien Chi cost upkeep,right,but its less than the gold you get at taxes 120.
Its a small gold boost,only to get a slightly faster start.
You dont lose that much population at growth 3 if you patrol the first 3-4 turns.After it,you sacrifice your starting troops and try to look for upkeep free patrollers,whenever you have some summonings in your home castle.I usually stop patrolling (which I do only from time to time) at around turn 30 or whenever I feel I earn enough money.

I play the phoenix much different.
With Air/Fire magic alone you get lots of nice spell combos.
Getting 1 expensive other path is also ok,but not necessary.
Also dont forget AWE on the Phoenix,as I said,dont underestimate it.
Its nice to see those Infantries get to my phoenix,after suffering from several damage spells
,just to do nearly no damage against my Mistformed,Mirror Imaged ,Fire Shielded and AWE Phoenix.
Usually this is the case,when my scripted spells are finished and then the AI starts casting those short range mass damage spells...
If there are archers,you have air shield,too.
And this are only the basic spell combos.
You die a hell of a lot,but you also kill huge amounts of troops.
The key to play the phoenix ,expecially in MP,is to know how to script him correctly against certain enemies AND to know what the AI casts in certain situations.