What's the best 100 gold National mage?

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Blitz:
All of them are good communion slaves and mind deulers

Communion slaves? Yes. Mind duellers.....well, not unless you're duelling somebody really important and are prepared to sacrifice scads of capitol-only units that are difficult to replace, and are communioned up for such a task. If you really wanted to perform sacrificial duelling with an S1/2 mage, I'd recommend the more readily available Illuminati. They're easier to replace when they inevitably die trying to duel somebody's hapless S4 pretender to death.

And, of course, capitol-onlyness severely hampers your ability to deploy them.

[Blitz]

Communion slaves? Yes. Mind duellers.....well, not unless you're duelling somebody really important and are prepared to sacrifice scads of capitol-only units that are difficult to replace, and are communioned up for such a task. If you really wanted to perform sacrificial duelling with an S1/2 mage, I'd recommend the more readily available Illuminati. They're easier to replace when they inevitably die trying to duel somebody's hapless S4 pretender to death.

And, of course, capitol-onlyness severely hampers your ability to deploy them

Well I was looking more to a pure stats based analysis, but even in the Black Forest context, I don't mind using them to deul. I usually make one every turn throughout the game, so the capitol-only restriction isn't really a problem. It's not like the BF Ulm has any other leaders you are going to want to build before you have a second fort going anyway. As for getting them to the front lines... that's what winged boots are for =).

[ June 04, 2004, 08:42: Message edited by: Blitz ]

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Blitz:
Well I was looking more to a pure stats based analysis, but even in the Black Forest context, I don't mind using them to deul.

I'm not really sure you can divorce Fortune Tellers from their Black Forest context: They're an exclusive national unit: Capitol-only status *IS* a factor that must be considered in a unit as a negative element, since it will severely limit your production bandwidth if you can never produce them outside your home province, especially when the unit in question tends to have relatively poor mobility.

[Scott Hebert]

I voted Other, and I voted for the Daughter of Avalon. If you're looking for a mage, she's hands-down better than the Bard.

An 80g NN Sacred mage is very hard to scoff at. I'm appalled she's not listed.

Scott

[PvK]

Other: there is no best. It depends on how you are going to play them, and how you play the rest of your forces. So there is no level field upon which they can be compared for "best-ness".

For example, Mictlan Priest is unbeatable as a blood hunter, and serves as an efficient and needed leader of FoD's into battle in Mictlan's early game, and a great sabbath slave, and other purposes, and it is 80 gold and holy.

PvK

[ June 04, 2004, 17:00: Message edited by: PvK ]

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Originally posted by Bayushi Tasogare:
I voted Other, and I voted for the Daughter of Avalon. If you're looking for a mage, she's hands-down better than the Bard.

An 80g NN Sacred mage is very hard to scoff at. I'm appalled she's not listed.

I find Bards much more useful. Awesome stealth, spying, can instill unrest, standard effect, better stats. In battle I'd use both of these mages for the same thing: reinvigorate their colleagues with spell songs, or cast Tangle Vines, for which the +3 more precision on the Bard comes handy. All this for less than 3 extra gold in upkeep. When I need powerful nature magic I use Crones.

Besides Daughters of Avalon are capital-only, and I prefer to stick to recruiting Crones here. Although I may recruit a Mother occasionally for her specials skills, it's extremely rare. OTOH I really can't see a use in the Daughter.

[PhilD]

Originally posted by Nagot Gick Fel:
OTOH I really can't see a use in the Daughter.

As Man's best researcher, they're what I use most of the time in early game - when there's no chance of being able to buy a Crone each turn.