@Executor - Real SCs are gonna be hard. Wraithlords are an option, though they're a little light. As already mentioned poison golems are within reach, though again on the lighter side of SCs. Again already mentioned, but elemental royalty is a good bet, and you'll have lots of options for swarms of thugs and anti-SC tactics. You're not going to be using SCs as your central theme at any point though, which is a big part of why you can't let the game drag on to the point that they really dominate everything - at that point there isn't much you can do to be too competitive.
@vfb - yes, the MR on the spiders is a big problem, though it's less of a problem at 30 gold than 125 (for black hunters). The whole point of all that fancy footwork though is that you've got lots of options to switch to if your opponent is fielding anything which dominates the spiders - of which there are several. Likewise if your opponent is spamming lots of strong anti-undead stuff you'll not want to invest in kitted bane lords - use those death gems for skull staffs instead.
@Thejeff - I find the black sorcerer thugs a bit of a fun gimmick rather than a very effective thug. You don't want to equip anything other than misc items if you plan on switching to a spider (you'll lose them), which doesn't leave much that's terribly effective. I'm certainly open to someone proving me wrong, but I haven't been able to make this effective yet.
@Kissblade - yes, Machaka has probably the worst PD in the game, arguably even worse than the much maligned monkey PD. They're not *that* bad though, putting up 10 PD all over (which is not hard at all with the scales and strategy outlined here) will handily chase off birds and most remote spells, if you're talking about ghost riders, horrors etc. then it doesn't really matter what PD you have. You've also got swarms of upkeep free spiders so sprinkle them all around and if you're *still* having problems with raiders leverage your absurd number of sorcerers and sprinkle those about with small amounts of your upkeep free summons. As your research ramps up you've also got options for ritual spells to handle raiders from earth attack/manifestation to fires from afar.
@Maxwilson - yes, but also keep in mind one of the big advantages Machaka has is dwarven hammers and everything needed to start making fever fetishes as soon as the very low hurdle of construction-2 is cleared. There are a couple ways to generate gems in dominons, from bloodstones and clams to sea kings. The compelling thing to me about this strategy is the efficiency and speed with which it comes out, and thus the ability to generate a large gem income by the point in the game small amounts of gems are very valuable. EA Argatha (or anybody else really) would almost never be able to crank out fever fetishes in the first year, and if we're talking about 10-15 produced in the first year, that's hundreds of extra gems by the end of year 3. Good suggestion on the blood hunting BTW.
@Cleveland - Ok, MA Man strat next. I'll try to post it tomorrow. Kidding...
