Quote:
Originally Posted by 13lackGu4rd
there is nowhere that explains in detail what to do with tarts(and other SCs, Thugs, etc for that matter) once you summon them, how to best utilize them, how to equip them, etc...
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That's because there's no detailed formula for using beasties - or any other lategame bells/whistles - to obtain victory.
The late game is very complex, as literally every option is now available. The trick is to figure out how to use your particular angle (be it SCs, uber-communions, swarms, artifacts, globals, whatever) to exploit some weakness in your enemy's defenses without exposing yourself.
So for example, why are Tartarians so powerful? First, they're cheap; 10D is almost as expensive as a Revanent, so you can summon them en masse with late-game gem incomes. Second, they have huge magic diversity; remember that part about every option being available? Well, if you summon enough Tarts, eventually you'll be able to cast/forge them all. Third, they have 0encumbrance; they'll be able to chop through waves of enemies without exposing themselves to critical hits. Fourth, they have innate poison and cold resistance; high damage spells generally can be negated with resistances, and Tarts have 2 of 4 covered naturally.
Where are they vulnerable? First, they're undead, so low level stuff like Maggots and Dust to Dust can kill them when spammed. Second, most come as feebleminded non-commanders, so to make them useful you'll need some way to heal them and to cast Gift of Reason on them. This means you'll need powerful nature mages, making those summons inherently more valuable to you, in your own personal formula. Third, many are missing valuable slots. Fourth, they've got Shattered Soul. Etc, etc, etc.
A cleaver opponent will try to exploit these weaknesses, like by spamming D1 casters rigged for Dust-to-Dust, or by trying to remote-assassinated your Nature mages, or by bringing heavy lightning to big fights, etc. So you've got to counter those counters by protecting your tarts with undead decoys, or by keeping your Tart factories stocked with scouts, or by making sure everybody wears Copper Plates, etc. It's frankly a huge game of cat-and-mouse, where everyone is trying to use what they have available to exploit their enemy's weaknesses while covering up their own. The beauty of the game is that it's simply impossible to protect against everything.
So back to the OP, the answer is as always, "It depends." Hopefully the above illustrates that the question is flawed, much like asking, "How do I win at Chess?" Well, you take all his pieces without loosing your own. Keep your queen around, she's the most versatile piece on the board. Don't let your king be check-mated. It's impossible to say "keep a rook on space C4" because that's crap advice unless there's a
reason for him to be there.