[Xietor]

You opinion is well reasoned, but Acrosphale with a f9 4n bless, with the Solar as the pretender(imprisoned), still has very good scales. With a few heart companions and elephants, you do not need any help with early expansion from your pretender.

The fire bless turns the heart companion from a good blocking unit, to one that takes down giants, ethereals, and any other tough units with relative ease. The 4 nature is something I find useful on a pretender anyway. Solar starts with 3 fire, so getting to 9 is not too bad.

So I actually agree with you that the heart companions may not be worthy of a bless strategy, if you had to sacrifice scales. But it still allows 3 growth, 3 order(with 2 heat).

Also, similar to pangaea's infantry, since afflictions are healed, by midgame they have 3 stars which makes them even tougher. Since astrologers are brutal with paralyze, having a solid wall of these troops shielding them, while cutting other players elites to ribbons, makes a good combo.

Now a heart companion is not going to catch a KOA or Van, but that is what flanking elephants mixed with the quicker hyperists (high morale) are for. And for 25 gold, you can have tons of these guys and not notice if a few are fireballed etc.

At 75 gold a pop, and no way to heal afflictions, you have to wince when 20-30 vans are destroyed by some nasty spells.

And someone said above, he would pit 50 vans against 50 Heart companions. at 3 times the cost, you would have to pit 15 vans against 45 heart companions. With no simulator handy, my money would be on the 45 heart companions, who with the fire bless, would hit those vans.

I like the vans, but they can be killed or get afflictions from 10 gold ind archers quite easily.