[Jourdelune]

For my little experience of dominions game, I would suggest you to always give bodyguard to your SC. Choose your bodyguard wisely, they make the perfect wall you need for your SC to don't be target of cursed or any other scary spell.

SC are generally a lot of money, gem and turn invest before they can wage war. Sending them alone for me, is a waste of resources.

I never send a SC without proper priest, spell caster (buffer) and bodyguards. Most of the time, I prefer to back them up with 50-100 indies archer.

Recruiting some bodyguard is not really costly (10-20 nice good protection unit with great shield for arrow) and will give a better time in your fight. It seems to have a bug, whe you got too many unit on guard commander. The commander simply don't move... it look like a freaking lame. I had find that having 7 bodyguard per group is nice. I can put to 3 groups of 7 troops in guard commander mode.

By the way, I am not sure a 39 hit point guy could be named SC. It's more a thug that is used around to express mini-SC. And nobody send their thug alone.

And like a lot of people said: LUCK is really important. To forge some luck item, you need 1 astral minimum for the pendant. You can put luck with either: A Short Sword, a Shield or a pendant. (depends on your construction level and astral path)

To raise survivability:

Fear (Horror Mask) - Luck - Awe (Gleaming Shield) - Petrification (Stone Sword - Aegis) - Etherability (spelling? -> Robe of Shadows - Wraith Crown) - Invulnerability (Robe of invulnerabilities) - Missile shield (depends on circumstance)

prot > 20
defense > 20

Quickness is a key of success... more attack, and speedy on combat map, so a lot more of hit made.

AoE damage to do a lot more hit. Killing 6 chaff on a square, is 6 less chance to be knock down.

Before mid game, I tend to used Bane Lord (Cheaper than wraith lord and conj 7 is long, conj 5 is possible quick) with Frost Brand or Shadow Brand or Fire Brand (depends on mage avail) - Gleaming Shield - Horror Mask - Chainmail of displacement (the best defense/protection ratio I did find on my magic path) - Boot of Quickness - Pendant of Luck - Amulet of Antimagic.

Mid game and more, Wraith Lord are really nice because of their Soul Vortex (drain life/fatigue AOE?), they are simply undestructible.

Surely construction 4 is a must and even that is not enough. Go to construction 6 and look at those nifty items. Then try to have some mage of every path possible. (indy mage recruit) In late-game, your indie mage should have been empower properly to create the items you need to outfit your SC, in the SC war.

Jourdelune