Dealing with Hydras

[Omnirizon]

Scenario:

20 - 40 Hydras on your doorstep. The bless is open, but only one strong and one weak bless (Think of the worst combination you can).

What are some possible solutions to this problem. Give me several: SC setups, army compositions, magic, combinations of all those. Give me an array of solutions, covering both high and mid level research.

[HoneyBadger]

What nation are you playing?

[HoneyBadger]

Nation basically aside, the first thing that comes to my mind is curse-spamming the hydras themselves, and then mass producing Bow of Botulf, and sending in cheapo flyers equipped with medallion of vengeance. Attack the rear ranks enough, and the whole army might retreat.

Remember too, each hydra is a 250 gold, non-sacred, gold suck, so hit them in the pocketbook by instilling unrest.

[Omnirizon]

Argatha.

E9 cyclops available. E9 blessed blindfighters on standby (I'm afraid using them against Hydras is wasteful, since their high prot is meaningless.)

[Omnirizon]

Hydras, to my understanding, can only take as much damage as their current form has available; making medallion of vengeance rather underwhelming against them.

[K]

Hydras are wicked weak to archers.

For Argartha specific tactics, you should be using Marble Statues backed-up by guys casting Petrify and/or Earth Meld.

[Omnirizon]

This is LA Argatha, BTW.

What are these marble statues of which you speak? MA troops?

I figured they are weak to archers. I just need something to keep them from reaching archers.

chaff like militia or cheap troops dies way too quickly. Hydras mow through a hundred of them in a few turns. I was thinking I need something robust, or something ethereal.

Crushers would work, but I can't summon tons of them and they are susceptible to Soul Slay. I was actually wondering if Spirit Mastery would be a good idea. Ethereal, 100 PR, and they paralyze! 1 HP doesn't matter, because Hydras do enough damage per head to kill any chaff in one hit anyway. They might be able to hold back a mass of Hydras while archers tore them down.

[HoneyBadger]

The Medallion was more for taking out the human commanders in back of the hydra-thus, why they're on flying troops.

[Omnirizon]

I sorry. my mistake.

I have things capable of flying to the rear and beating down anything they might have back there, but they don't do it predictably enough. I've run several simulations, and many times a unit I equip with intention to fly to the back and take out commanders, instead flys to the back of the troop of Hydras. Therefore, I wasn't going to try and depend on such a strategy.

[K]

Enchantment 6 has a spell, Enliven Statues that creates Marble Statues. As an earth power, its should be one of the spells you cast often considering that they have high protection, high HPs, shields, decent other stats, and lifeless and unbreakable morale.

Undead spamming is also a decent tactic, but you'll need a lot of undead.