Four Armed Pretenders and EA Kailasa
I'm messing around EA Monkeys, and am trying to put together a viable MP strategy for them. Hoping to get other people's experience and input. This isn't meant to be a guide, though the thread may very well become one. Just my own observations and thoughts...
Troops:
Three castes for three types: Chaff, stealth, hp heavy infantry. Except for Bandar swordsmen, they are all resource light. Atavi Archers (9g,3r) can be easily massed to beat up on low protection indies right off the bat. Unfotunately, for such an archer heavy nation it lacks easy access to the best buffs for archers: wind guide and flaming arrows. Stealth units are weak, and the stealth commander only has +0, meaning he can only pick on weak PD. An OK use, and giving your +50 scout a crown of command strikes me as maybe worthwhile for larger stealth forces. Meanwhile, they're sacred units have all sorts of problems. OK HP (20+), but despite a recruitable everywhere sacred they're priests are capitol only... and only H1. That, and the sacreds have really low protection. Two attacks and reasonable defense, so maybe W9 might work, but then again they're all magic units making using them even tougher. Long story short, I think you need an awake SC.
Pretender Design:
Right now I'm experimenting with the four armed pretenders. 3 weapons and a shield strikes me as the way to go, and with 2N2S2E income natural, they'll have the gems to build some good equipment after a few turns. However, only 1 of the 3 four armed chasises comes with fear and reasonable protection, so using them to attack right off the bat appears problematic.
Scales:
With a 80 gold sacred mage, magic seems like a good pick as these guys can become the engine for your reasearch economy. As a bonus, they're astral amd can be used in communes later on. No reason not to take Order 3 and Hot 2. If you want to amass Bandar Swordsmen (r17), than maybe breaking even on the production seems to be the sweet spot. Otherwise, sloth-3 for sure. With no old age mages, death 3 is an option, but then you start detracting from your gold scales and supplying your large armies of monkeys becomes a problem. Also, you'll pretty much have to take luck if you take death, which isn't the best synergy with order.
Mages:
The 3E1N1? and 3W1N1? mages are expensive and capitol only, but can provide some nice path diversity with their randoms. Unfotunately, no fire or air. Blade Wind, Gifts from Heaven, and Falling Frosts are achievable. To make best use of the lesser, astral mages you'll need Light of the Northern star. Then spamming Stellar Casscade and Paralyze becomes an option.
Summons:
I haven't tried out any of their later summons, though they seem thuggable, especially with air and astral magic for mobility purposes.
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