success with Mictlan in MP?

[Mardagg]

just a hint:

NEVER use Spells like Protection/Mass Protection on units with Heat Aura(like Devils ).
These units lose there 100% Fire Resistance and afterwards they hurt themselves with their own Aura

I had this Problem with Abysia some days ago,because I mistakenly sent a Warlock with 1 Nature together with my army,who then happily casted Protection on all my Abysian Infantries and Spell Casters...this was very,very ugly and I lost some important commanders because of this

[PvK]

Originally posted by Norfleet:
...
A force of 5 FoDs can do more damage than an entire commander's worth of your regular troops, and costs no upkeep.

Well, they "can", but it can also happen that you lose some FoD's if they go in alone.

If you send 10-15 blessed Eagle Warriors with the 5 FoD's, then you are much less likely to lose any FoD's, and much more likely to win the battle with only a few Eagle Warriors lost.

Moreover, if you include some slave decoy fodder and a group of regular troops with slings and/or javelins who are just starting to engage the enemy main body when you fliers hit, you have an almost guaranteed chance of defeating a computer-led force in detail, with minimal losses. In my Mictlan SP game, my Mictlan human troops have been quite long-lived, as have my demons, because the humans almost never have to fight a pitched battle to the end, although they do participate and help.

Blessed Sun Warriors can fight pretty well, too, especially after they have experience.

PvK

[djtool]

mictlan is one of my favorite nations, but of course i'm not the great dom2 scientist and struggle with them as well

I'm wondering if y'all start right out the gates trying to produce fiends/spine devils quick as possible? it seems that would paralyze your production with the blood-hunting, or killing it off with heavy patrolling. Maybe growth 3 counteracts that???

...or do you make a slow transition from standard units to blood summons?

[PvK]

I do a mixed/balanced approach, rather than going all out for anything. The troops are good enough to handle weak independents. I use FoD's early, but not "as soon as possible".

The pre-research though is wasted if you don't use it before you research the spell anyway.

There isn't really much conflict between blood hunting and FoD production, though, at least in the sense that basic Mictlan Priests can't summon FoD without a power boost, and they're the most efficient ones to do blood hunting anyway.

The question about how much hunting and patrolling to do is a seperate issue and has a little to do with your general style/approach, and a little to do with what provinces are available and what the situation is like.

I'm not saying it's the best approach, but what I did in my SP game was, since provinces were mostly pretty sparsely populated, I would have one Mictlan Priest with a dousing rod in many provinces, and I just turned the tax down to 80% when and if the unrest occasionally started to rise. No patrollers.

The other approach, of course, may likely be more effective, and that is to go all out for blood slaves. Crank out priests with dousing rods and patrol with slaves to maximize blood income. Eventually the blood power will make the lack of population not so meaningful, hopefully.

PvK

[ May 17, 2004, 01:19: Message edited by: PvK ]

[HotNifeThruButr]

I can't get a "build order" for typical games of indy strength 5+. In recent tests, even weaker indy provinces repelled my Warriors and early demons (FoD and Spine Devils) I can't seem to work the Mictlan dominion-spreading system, and I find myself unable to make enough Mictlan priests fast enough and have not enough cash for enough of the 2 blood priests to get a decent army generator going.

Anyone have a build order they'd like to share?

[PvK]

Sounds like maybe the battlefield orders are the problem. Against indies, you should be able to win if you set up your army so your main body peppers the enemy with slings and javelins and then only has to fight for zero-to-two turns before the enemy routs because Fiends of Darkness and Eagle Warriors (on Hold and Attack Rearmost) have flown over and hit them and/or their leaders in the rear, causing panic and rout. The priest who leads the demons into battle and blesses the eagle warriors can also cast a juicy blood spell or two to help with tougher indies. Summon Imp on turn 3 is a well-timed accompanyment to the above, for instance.

PvK

[HotNifeThruButr]

I've always viewed gem expenditure in minor battles as a serious waste, especially for a spell like Bleed. You've also lost 2 turns waiting for enough slaves to get a fiend (even though the first turn is wasted anyways getting recon on neighbors). But thanks, I'll try that.

BTW, what scales do you usually get? What type of Pretender? I'm guessing a Wyrm or Nataraja (smurf) for an early game powerhouse to help you get over this roadblock.