[Jarkko]

Mardagg, it might be a good idea to test your Machaka in MP. From the way it looks to me, it would be very apparent to any human player you rely heavily on capital only sacreds. The AI is not capable of doing the remote attacks, but you can be guaranteed humans will use things like Rain of Toads, Hurricane, Locust Swarms, Blight, Baleful Star on your capital; expect the raiders to land in your capital to wreak even more havoc (Machaka PD sucks donkey balls, so even half-witted raiders will rout the PD). Worse, your mages in the capital will be mindhunted if it is apparent you have zero astral mages there (there will be an Astral projection cast on your capital, and if it succeeds, next turn lots machakan brains will fry).

Those are not late-game strategies, they are the midgame ones; of course you can rely on luck and hope you find a site with astral shamans/amazons, but that would be quite a gamble. Besides, having somebody who can forge Crystal shield and crystal matrixes would be quite a big boon (with the chronical need for firegems Machaka has, one should not forget the possibility of Power of the Spheres and the artifical communions, which save firegems for more urgent needs).