Malleus Maleficarum

[Gandalf Parker]

Please continue work on this.
And others can chime in any suggestions also.

If we do not have a guide for this nation then no matter what is in it, it fills a niche and the effort should be praised (then corrected).

I would also add as a note that eventually it would be nice if all of the suggested pretender builds in all of the guides could be gathered together and put into the SemiRand program.
Yes I know, its a note to myself also.

[Aezeal]

hmm it's a nice start when beginning with this nation IMHO, a nice quick review of the troops and advice on which to pick, a pretender advice, start advice for research aims, and a general strat for the start of the game. All I need really.. certainly some other guides are longer but when I'm playing a nation I only need some hints so I can get started quickly.. when playing I'll find out the rest myself.

Good job, personally I think that with that bless you mentioned and high dom flagellants aren't a real bad choice. You also might want to give your opinion on wether diversivication (?) of magic through a rainbow pretender might be worth it.
A thing I like to be stated more clearly is exactly which paths you can get with your mages (as a reference for site searching etc.)
unluck = misfortune btw
Also you migh want to give an advice on what to use as tugs and how you'd kit them out (is a recruitable thugable, and so what would be worth to give it, or is it better to use summons as thugs and sc only?)

And then what endo said.. saying something is usefull in communion without s magic is a very very wrong thing to have in a guide though, strats can be discussed, but facts should be correct.

Calchet, your point is taken, but as with all threads, if you don't like it don't come back after you read it first... enough to do on the forum

[Calchet]

Ah, but see, it's not that I don't like the thread as such, I just don't like to see a potentially good and worthwhile thread wasted by the sub-par "guide" as originally presented.
While my methods may be a bit (or a lot) blunt, I believe I did manage to get my important point across. (That is, the ones regarding content, rather than language.)

You'll also note that I never went out of my way to attack any person, such as the topic creator, but instead funnelled my annoyance at the problems I found with the post. Sure, this might be hurtful if it's a guide lovingly crafted over lengths of time unjustly assaulted, but this one was, as a guide, shall we say... less than excellent.

A guide is usually something one spends a little time on, and I'm sure even the original poster did this, if nothing else by actually playing the nation. Letting this work and experience go to waste by attempting to bash it out in five seconds flat, cutting the Ys and Os out of whatever words you can, is really quite a pity.

[KissBlade]

I'll admit I laughed at Calchet's posts here and I commend Swan for taking the critiques in good humor. (Which is better than what I can say for myself if it were to happen to me, hehe) The author did post to say it's really just a SP guide. For SP victories, you really don't need a whole lot. =) Maybe post a research path etc to spice it up a bit.

[WraithLord]

Its not a state of the art guide for sure but I appreciate the effort and it does have some not too bad substance (though I disagree with some of the suggestions from MP prespective).
Anyway there was this thread about MA marignon in which I posted some ideas that worked for me.

[Sombre]

I don't think it actually required any effort. I've hardly played Marignon and I could have bashed that out in under five minutes just from generalisations across the forums and irc.

Edit: Ah, sorry, he's improved it since I last read. 15 minutes.

[Swan]

actually it took me 14 minutes ti improve it.

Initiates are F1, so they can't be used in communion

I was thinking about crystal matrix and slave for the comunion

[Swan]

improved Pretender and commander part

[Endoperez]

Originally Posted by Swan

I was thinking about crystal matrix and slave for the comunion

All of your Witch Hunters are S1 for 150gp halved upkeep. That's much more easy to afford than Crystal Matrixes. You're also short on Earth gems (only one in four capital-only mages get even E1) and want to stockpile Astral gems for the angels.

Crystal Matrix might be useful if you want to cast a high-level spell on the first round of battle, but I don't think Marignon needs Slave Matrixes.

[SlipperyJim]

If you're open to suggestions, there's a nice synergy with spies and Fire magic. Of course, I'm talking about Raging Hearts.

Basic strategy:

1. Scout out your potential enemy with your spies (or spam Astral Window if you're lazy)
2. Find the capital and any other major resource sites
3. Use spies & Raging Hearts to increase unrest as high as it will go
4. Once their unrest is over 100, they can't recruit any more troops or commanders

The best part about this strategy is that it's completely anonymous unless your spies get caught. Therefore, you can do all of it before declaring war! This strategy isn't my own original idea; I'm sure I've seen it before. But it would make a nice addition to your guide.

"No one expects the Marignon Inqusition!"

Hmmmmm ... that makes me wonder if I should try writing my own guide for MA Marignon, themed on the Spanish Inquisition sketch.

"Our main weapon is fire magic and our powerful priests. Our two main weapons are fire magic, powerful priests, and spies. Wait, our three main weapons are fire magic, powerful priests, spies ... and swarms of crossbowmen. Okay, among our main weapons are these: fire magic, powerful priests, spies, swarms of crossbowmen, sacred heavy cavalry, and spammy flagellants. And angelic summons. Can I start over?"

Nah, not worth the trouble.