[Shangrila00]

Originally Posted by Nightfall

It's nice that you took the time to confirm the original point I was making, that all of those are limited to 4 paths.

What's with this ridiculous backpedaling? This is what you claimed before:

Originally Posted by Nightfall

It's worth noting that of those only Vanheim has definitively better access to magic; with both wider and higher paths than Man.

Mictlan and Vanheim have greater breadth in magic. Indeed, Mictlan has access to every path except earth, with death and blood available on semi-dependable randoms from turkeys, heros, and all else failing, its national Tlaloque summon.

Those nations noted all have greater depth in their 4 paths. Again, Man can natively forge only 2 out of 9 boosters in its 4 paths, and no astral rings. None of the others are that limited. Bandar's not even really limited to 4 paths, with its wide range of national summons that provide access to paths outside those needed to summon them. Ashdod can forge all the boosters in its paths plus the astral rings, and again, Eriu is just Man, but better.

As for battlemagic from recruit everywheres, they have the some of the best early-mid game evos, the lightning spells, and one of the best late game evos, storm of thorns. They can also self buff precision. Exactly how much more do you want them to be able to do.

What in the world are you talking about? Only 1/4 Mothers can cast lighning bolt. For more serious evocations, Man has to wait for Evo 5 and getting orb lightning. For better than piddling range, it needs to cast storm with a slow, fragile, and ridiculously old crone, and simultaneously render useless its excellent archers, so the 1/4 A2 Mothers can cast thunderstrike.

Bandar Log has massive communion potential, and so does Mictlan. Vanheim and Eriu can seriously pull off lightning evocations. Ashdod post CBM nerf is the only one with worse battlemagic than Man...but at least it still has early SCs.

The whole point of a bless strategy is to win or generate a large lead quickly.

You don't do that by just taking indies.

Due to lack of blessers, Man can't even translate a high bless into notably faster indy expansion the way Mictlan can, unless it wastes half its year 1 capital recruitment on otherwise worthless priests. And the point of a bless strategy is to gain a lead quickly, and use that to translate into a victory. With excellent troops bless or no bless, it's that second part that Man has a problem at.