Dormancy?

[Graeme Dice]

Gandalf Parker said:
Id have to look at it but Im sure there is some strategy. If for no other reason than to make use of other people expecting the usual tactics.

If you take only D2 on your pretender, you'll be waiting for three turns for enough gems to empower to D3, probably putting you at an unrecoverable disadvantage. If you don't have a pretender at all, you'll be waiting for 9 turns before you can even start to summon more than your starting commanders. Sitting around for 10 turns before you start to research or expand is a sure way to lose.

I expected you of all people to say that a large stomping god would be an advantage on small maps. Particularly with many players where the bidding for mercs is so fierce. A stomping god can be very useful for early growth.

That would have been the case in Dominions 2, where you could have starting equipment built and alteration 3 researched by about turn three to actually use your pretender. Now, the only pretender that are likely to help you expand in the very early game are the monstrous types. Those are great against independent provinces, but hopeless against other nations without buff spells. A wyrm will kill about three or four F9W9 helhirdings before it gets killed. A red dragon can survive longer thanks to fire immunity, but will likely run and get slaughtered during the rout before defeating a sizable force.

[Meglobob]

Grame says:-
You'd play Late Age Ermor with an imprisoned pretender?

Gandalf says:-
Id have to look at it but Im sure there is some strategy. If for no other reason than to make use of other people expecting the usual tactics

I say:-
It is a no-brainer to play LA Ermor, Ashen Empire, with a awake pretender with D3. I think there is no other way to go MP or SP. If u did'nt u would be toast vs difficult lvl AI's in SP and utterly doomed in MP. I am playing with Turmoil 3, Sloth 3, Cold 3, Death 3, Luck 3, Magic 3 and Dominion 10. My Prince of death has D9 and 1 in various other magic skills. U have so many points to play with its hard to spend them. By turn 10 against difficult AI, I was sieging 2 enemy capitals, Caelum and Pangaea. It's great fun...

[Frostmourne27]

Well, I just played vs AI with a dormant Ashen Ermor pretender. Seems quite do-able. No a great choice but possible. On a huge map, you MIGHT be able to get away with imprisoned. If you take luck, and can get 20 non death gems by turn 6, you can cast commander summons on turn 7. Not great, but since you can recruit and hire mercs fairly normally for the first few turns, it might work. And the points you can get!

[Gandalf Parker]

You could super-push some powerful scales. Im not sure what size map or what settings for things like indepts such a tactic would work best on though.

[thejeff]

I'm not sure what to do with those points.
What scales actually help AE Ermor anyway? Luck, maybe magic?

I played with something of a bless and an imprisoned Prince of Death. I was able to handle indies and even defeat Atlantis, just using Mercs, freespawns and reanimated Longdead Horse and Lictors. Didn't empower or do any summons. Racked up a ton of gems to use when he finally broke free.

This really just proves the AI cannot begin to handle AE Ermor. It would be sure death in MP.

[Taqwus]

Luck, yes; free gems and money are very, very good when you have very few taxpayers and a dependence on magic.

Magic... I've been inclined towards drain, for +1 MR to protect the masses, with an eye towards Skull Mentors at cons 4 for helping with the research penalty.

Mega-bless Wailing Ladies might be entertaining, if not exactly all that common in the early game. KotUS are more common but fragile.

[thejeff]

My second pass at it went with D9E9W9, Luck 3, everything else -3. I think the drain ME does help. I couldn't get dominion 10 with that set up though.

KotUS with that bless aren't too fragile. It's hard to get them blessed with only H1 priests available. (Prophet is reanimating.)

Temples everywhere, indy priests as the only useful commanders.
I'm hoping some of the heroes show up soon. They helped a lot in my first try.

Once I break free, Skull Mentors will be a high priority.