Dominions 2 Power Rankings

[Peter Ebbesen]

CUnknown said:
What is so bad about Tien Chi? Their mages rock and their units are good too..

Mind Duel. Celestial Masters go poof, thus rendering T'ien C'hi's most formidable mages nearly useless for battle against any nation with access to cheap astral mages either national or independent (e.g. shamans)... Leaving you with the puny Master of the Way as your reliable battle mage. As for units, they are decent but definitely not first class. (Though the Red Guard is an excellent blessable cavalry unit due to low cost)

Mind you, T'ien C'hi S&A is a different proposition, as the Master of the 5 Elements can to some degree compensate when facing astral nations and as the Master of the Dead gives access to low level death magic, which has many useful spells. Additionally, the extra random pick on the Celestial Master can make him a much better ritual caster. The tradeoff is that the units are even worse and the theme specific summon is very mage-intensive. While probably the most versatile magical theme of any nation, it can be difficult to really exploit your magical strength.