Is MA ulm really for experts?
Disclaimer: I play a lot of online games, and in most of them I see a pattern in which a very few but vocal players defend a weak power/class/whatever by saying "well, obviously you are not an expert like me" or "this class requires real skill, perhaps you can't handle it" and so on. It comes off sounding very arrogant, to me at least. Therefore, I will try to backup my statement and keep it very narrow in focus so it doesn't sound like I'm great (which I most assuredly am not).
Ulm has been hashed to death in this forum, so I won't belabor the points. In theory, Ulm has the heaviest infantry/cavalry/archers and strong battle-mages who can make items very cheaply. This is to balance out a general lack of flexibility in arms and magic, along with absolutely pathetic priests (no better than indies).
The general consensus appears to be that new players would do well to take Ulm, as its narrow focus will allow a player to get into the game rather quickly; you can't go that far wrong building more infantry, cavalry, and arbalests early on.
I think this is misguided in two ways:
1) I think many other nations have very familiar opening games as well, e.g. Marignon or Tien Chi. They both have strong infantry, cavalry, and archer choices. Also, even some of the more exotic races are pretty easy to start, e.g. Jotunheim; build a mass of giants and party.
2) Using the item advantage to the fullest takes a lot of familiarity with the game. It's hard from the outside looking in to see the value in 1 or 2 pearl amulets of anti-magic, or to know that you shouldn't waste a 40-gem artifact on a 10-hp commander, and so on.
I think #2 is very telling. It is very, very hard to learn which magic items are worthwhile in which situations without a large number of games under your belt. I think with battle magic spells and conjures/rituals you can go a long way with just a little reading and few trial games "to get a feel", but items seem to be so situational (and so diverse) that it's hard to figure it out without having played a long time.
Anybody else agree?
-Jeff
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