Re: Machaka
Machaka is quite well balanced nation. It has no weaknesses, but its strengths aren't very visible either.
The Hunter Spiders, which are sacred, stay even after their rider dies. Their magic resistance drops into "too low", but AI doesn't know how to use that, so you can try a bless strategy. Fire 9 will make the spiders deadly, and that should be enough for a first try.
Machaka Archers can be massed in insane numbers. Flaming Arrows at Enchantment 4 is deadly. Enchantment also has: Fire Shield, Reanimation, Raise Dead/Skeletons, etc. You might want to try how to make a Fire 9 Moloch into an early-game combatant, OR how to make him early-game magic killer (hint: you get more Fire Darts if you are more powerful caster), and reanimation battle tactics. I'm not sure if your Black Sorcerers are sacred or not. If they are, you might want to try to get Earth 4 into the bless somehow. Earth Power would also give them reinvigoration, so that they can cast Raise Dead a bit longer. The idea is to have many of them and let them raise enough undead that the enemy army routs. When you get Relief, this becomes even more powerful.
As for infantry, Machaka Hoplites are good, but the LI is even worse than usually.
Spider Archers and Knights are a bit hard to use, but they can fire webs, and can be useful in many ways even if they are more expensive than normal cavalry.
|