Carrion Woods ideas please

Saxon · #1 July 19th, 2006, 05:03 AM

All,

Thank you for all the good information. I fired up something pretty similar to Cainehill�s plan and have got off to a decent start. Mass Protection makes an incredible difference to a carrion critter army! Also, my SC Carrion Dragon makes a real mess of armies once Invulnerability, Soul Vortex and Fire Shield are cast�

Any good suggestions on a helmet for him? He only has three slots available and all the helmets seem a bit weak. Horror Helm when he already has fear? Black Iron helmet when he is going to case Invulnerability? Flaming helmet when he is going to fight, not cast spells?

Thanks again!

Cainehill · #2 July 19th, 2006, 10:26 AM

I'd choose the horror helm - sure, the CD has fear, but adding +5 fear makes the fear affect a much larger area (something like 1 hex for every + to fear above 0) and makes the fear more difficult to resist. One of the other possibilities is the starshine skullcap, mostly for the bonus to magic resistance.

Gandalf Parker · #3 July 19th, 2006, 10:37 AM

Isnt there one that gets a free cast? Basically an added action every round of combat.

Oversway · #4 July 19th, 2006, 10:59 AM

Yeah, the one that casts lighting. But its 20 air gems, right? I'm not sure its worth it, since your carrion dragon is probably doing enough damage by itself.

Agrajag · #5 July 19th, 2006, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Oversway said:
Yeah, the one that casts lighting. But its 20 air gems, right? I'm not sure its worth it, since your carrion dragon is probably doing enough damage by itself.

Think of it like this, if a normal battle is going to last 5 turns, the hat is probably going to kill 4 people (thanks to uber precision) after 20 battles that's 80 people. Since most will probably be weakling indies I'll say an average cost of 10 gold apiece, that comes to 800 gold worth of kills. 20 gems => 800 gold is better than alchemy IIRC (but not by much)
I'd say this makes the hat a decent investment if you haven't got anything better (and were going for the required research anyway).
However, if you find that your battles last longer than that changes things.
I think you should just make a test game and see how effective the hat works with your pretender and chosen spells and work out if its worth it.

Cainehill · #6 July 19th, 2006, 02:51 PM

But something like the Starshine Skullcap or Wraith Crown will help keep your expensive pretender alive. As Oversway said, the carrion dragon is going to kill a lot of units, especially if it has water or fire for BoW / Fire Shield. That is, of course, as long as it stays alive : I've lost CDs to a sleep spell (which the SS might have prevented) and to mass XBow fire, which the WC probably would've prevented.

shovah · #7 July 19th, 2006, 04:49 PM

starshine if you will be facing mages, wraithcrown for (expensive) all purpose and horror helm for routing (horror helm gives+5 fear, carrion dragon has good fear base AND death magic adds fear). for the misc's give him luck and something (maybe reinvig)

Saxon · #8 July 23rd, 2006, 05:23 AM

Thank you again, I have been able to drag myself out of the hole and am moving forward again. As you say, the mass of carrion critters are impressive, except against mechanical men... However, once they were out of the way, the green tide is rolling again.

The map is relativly small and gems are a bit short, so I have not been able to boost my units too much. However, more conservative play has helped me ensure that each attack is a win.

The AI is doing something interesting with Desert Tombs. It is holding some 1500 undead at the C'tis capital. Not quite sure what to do about them! I can eventually win the map if they stay passive, as I can win with provinces. However, I may see what a battle that big looks like. With Mass Protection, I know I am far more than a match for them with equal numbers, but 1500 is a fair bit.

shovah · #9 July 23rd, 2006, 10:53 AM

get a fairly strong commander (banelord/carrion lord/tartarian/pretender) and give them regen, reinvig and very high regen. Aslong as the enemy mages dont cast decay he will plow through undead armies like nothing you've ever seen and regenerating any wounds he takes due to godo hp, prot and regen.

Saxon · #10 July 21st, 2006, 01:46 AM

Cainehill has hit the situation on the mark, I did not have anyone attached to the CD.

At least I have lots of units who can call the god. That way I get it back in two turns. Then, I have it attack a province at the same time C'tis has Orion's Knights attack the same province. Those Flambeau make very short work of an undead dragon, buff spells or not...

Three deaths now, his magic is going to be nearly wiped out and his absence has allwed Vanheim to start eating into my heartland. Once you start losing temples and dominion, it can be tough to recover. Wish me luck!