Summoning guide for dummies?

[Jarkko]

I wonder if somebody has somwewhere discussed the strengths and usage of the different summoned beings. I know the existence of "Summoned Creature Quick Reference" and I keep staring at it. The problem is, as a n00b I seldom get to a competitive position in the game (in SP I seem to do fine with just basic troops with some summons to bolster the line; while in MP it is hard to survive the lessons from the experied ones ) where I could test the thingies

Aka what I am looking for is a few "key"-summonings, that hardly never is a bad choice but usually is an excellent choice Or is the thing really self-evident, and all I need is to get more games played and eventually I won't be trampled (so badly at least) anymore?

[Edi]

Bane Lords, Air Queens, Water Queens (if underwater), Fire Kings, Anthrax especially if you can get him, the Earth Kings, Tartarians. That's the basic non-blood super combatant selection.

For blood SCs, Ice Devils, Arch Devils, Fallen Angels, Heliophagi, Demon Lords. I'm not sure if Vampire Lord is SC or thug, but you just can't go wrong with them.

Living statues are always good, so are wights, gargoyles may or may not be useful, Fire Snakes, Lamias, Lamia Queens, Faerie Court.

Almost everything is useful when you combine it with the right stuff, but of course most stuff also has countering combos, so if you guess paper when your opponent takes scissors, you get confetti...

In high magic multislayer, conventional troops play a very small role. Some might be useful throughout, but by the endgame, SCs tend to rule the map.

Edi

[Tuna]

Air Queens, ice devils, arch devils, the rest of the elemental royalties, heliophagi, demon lords, in that order, imho.
Those are ofc all unique.... And they are raced for.

Of non-unique, Wraith lord and bane lord are very good thugs.
Tartarians are quite good, but you rarely get commanders/mages.
For non-commander units, enliven statues, mechanical men, pale riders and legion of wights are always good (no lifedrain).

For sc's generally anything with suberb stats, lots of slots and preferably a few resistances. For examples, refer to air queens. All they need to be really great is some prot, fire resistance and cold resistance.

For thugs, anything with decent stats, preferably decent inherent equipment (so you only need to add few items) and low price, refer to bane lord.

For troops, anything that takes long time to kill

[Peter Ebbesen]

Jarkko said:
Aka what I am looking for is a few "key"-summonings, that hardly never is a bad choice but usually is an excellent choice Or is the thing really self-evident, and all I need is to get more games played and eventually I won't be trampled (so badly at least) anymore?

Hi Jarkko. It depends on which role you want to fill out, really, but you are never going to go wrong by getting SCs.

SCs: Queen of Elemental Air, Tartarian (with Gift of Reason and Gift of Health/Chalice)

Thug: Bane Lord, Wraith Lord

Mage, diverse: Lamia Queen, Spectre (and some Tartarians)

Mage, high level: Any Elemental Royalty, Faery Queen, Treelords, Couatls, (Arch Angel - a desperate way to reach base FFF) (and some Tartarians)

Dangerous Self Defense in own Dominion: Demilich, Wraith Lord

Diseased Wimp: Black Servant. (Primarily used to hold a fever fetish and perhaps a clam while hiding in a safe fortress protected by troops and domes)


Troops:

• Vine Men/Vine Ogres - good cannon fodder in the early game with the right cheap equipment if you have access to cheap nature mages.
• Enliven Statues - especially with a high-level earth mage for lots of tough troops. Lifeless so no health gain for nasty thugs or SCs with life drain.
• Lamias - easy to mass with the help of Lamia Queens
• Kithairionic Lions - very strong troops mid-game but do not age well
• Ghosts - deadly in large numbers
• Mandragoras - if your enemy likes flying thugs and SCs into melee without sufficient backup, Mandragoras can be a remarkably effective cheapo defense.
• Mechanical Men - useful against people who rely on elemental damage. Also lifeless.
• Pales Riders - lots of longdead cavalry (with lances) at a low cost - good to flesh out the ranks.
• Behemoth - a 104 hp trampling undead elephant can come in useful for some nations - but not a must-summon.
• Legion of Wights - 20 undead very heavy infantry with bane blades? What's not to like?
• Abominations - expensive but nasty critters. Come with MR 20, HP 266, regeneration and three life drain attacks. Perhaps too expensive - not a must summon.
• Juggernauts - they look funny.
• Iron Dragons - expensive but nasty critters. Trampling elemental immune mechanical dragons with good protection. Perhaps too expensive - not a must summon.

Those were all non-blood. For blood magic, get any and all uniques you can get your hand on - they are all worth it, and get Vampire Lords in you want to create a Vampire Realm instead of a Devil Realm. The 9 level mass troops summoning spells are also quite useful, especially the mass storm demon summon. (flying, ethereal, lightning immune)

[Gandalf Parker]

For early game:
If I have a number of low nature mages I like to put them on automatic creating vine men and vine ogres. Their moral rating is a nice boost if you put them in with other troops.

Wyvern comes in soon and cheap for a handy unit to attack mages in the rear.

Call of Wind to patrol that new province with alot of gold income so you can tax higher

Call of Wild for when you have stretched yourself abit too far and need to bolster up some forward locations. Give the wolves to another commander and set them to flank/attack-archers or flank/attack-rearmost. Have the werewolf sit and summon more allies

Summon Animals is a nice filler for early armies. Some are strong, some are fast and make good flankers.

Cross breeding also. Set the amphibs aside and only use them for invasion when you reach water. Dont waste them on land. Some of the mutants are quite useful with their unusual attacks as frontline support of indep troops.

[Jarkko]

Thank's, these Posts are exactly the kind of info I am looking for Now all I need is to practise how to use them to their best, perhaps *then* my co-players won't sweep the table so easily with me Hopefully other n00bs will find the info useful too

[Edi]

Jarkko said:
Thank's, these Posts are exactly the kind of info I am looking for Now all I need is to practise how to use them to their best, perhaps *then* my co-players won't sweep the table so easily with me Hopefully other n00bs will find the info useful too

Well, look at it this way: If they're only using you to wipe the table instead of mopping the floor, things can't be all that bad...

Edi

[Peter Ebbesen]

Edi said:
Well, look at it this way: If they're only using you to wipe the table instead of mopping the floor, things can't be all that bad...

Actually, they are treating him very, very, kindly all things considered. Offering generous borders and refraining from attacking him until after he has thrown the first punch*, and things like that - giving him time to learn the game, find the use of different spells and items, and offering helpful advice.

In fact, they are probably too nice all things considered. Hearts of gold, that's his opposition!**


* Except for the one early game where he (hopefully) learned why one should a) Not have a Divine Emperor wandering around aimlessly in the countryside, b) deploy enough scouts to warn one of what the opposition was doing, and c) fear a Vampire Queen and wind-guided Caelum archers backed by High Seraphs if one skimped on mages and focused on infantry as Pythium

** These true facts brought to you free of charge by the PE Department of Propaganda.