triple blessed jaguar warrior

[K]

Ethereal, Berserking Elephants are the birthright of the "good" monkey nations. It takes a couple of mages, but the research requirements are low.

With a screen of markata and archers, I think a triple bless rush is doable. The etherealness won't help against the fire bless, but it will help against the regular damage.

Other than that, a Falling Frost or Bladewind spam (with Precision boost) is key.

Remember also that while they can generally school you in the battlefield, you can keep them from massing enough troops to take a fortresses with wise archer use (they take fortress with slaves, which are the worse chaff in the game).

Also, every bless strategy is dependent on Bless. If you can kill their priest one the first turn while defending, you can massacre them rather than them slaughtering you. Considering that they will most likely be using a King of Rain to Bless their troops, a mass of archers on Fire Large Monster or a Gift from Heaven(with precision boost) can remove him pretty well.

[Aezeal]

I saw no large monster in our first encounter

I will think about researching to either ethereal/berserk or bladewind (óf course my research is already going somewhere but can't let my opponent know to much.

[Baalz]

If you do head for ethereal, iron warriors isn't too much higher.

[K]

Baalz said:
If you do head for ethereal, iron warriors isn't too much higher.

Tossing that on markata might not be a bad idea. Remember, they can kill five markata before you are even in terms of gold cost, and with Iron Warriors on elephants and markata they will have a lot of trouble doing damage. Archers and elephants can clean them up. Also,remember to make your elephants attack later in the combat because after mowing through chaff they will be fatigued and have lower Def, thus your tramples will work more often. Also, their Twist Fate will be gone by then.

Small numbers of jaguar warriors mean that you should focus on archers with cheap screening troops.

Remember that a triple bless means that their empire is on fire. Hit them hard and they will crumple because right now they have no money, blood, or castles. At best, they have 5 jaguars per turn of play. Give them some time to get blood, territory, or just massed troops and they can overwhelm you.

[Xietor]

ethereal with all due respect to k, is not the way to go against fire blessed jags. those 100 gold elephants will die just as fast.

I would focus on spells and cheap troops to slow them down for the spells to work.

[Aezeal]

K I realise he much have the worst scales imaginable.. then again it's a team game so who knows what happens there.

Anyway before I can retaliate I'll first need to defeat the first 20 jags.

Maybe he'll want peace though, I'm sure it's all one big misunderstanding

[K]

Xietor said:
ethereal with all due respect to k, is not the way to go against fire blessed jags. those 100 gold elephants will die just as fast.

I would focus on spells and cheap troops to slow them down for the spells to work.

I agree that using them in absence of other strategies is a bad idea. I think that as part of a mixed strategy, they have a place. If he's sending ten or twenty jags and you are sending sixty (good) archers, some chaff, and five elephants who come in ethereal when the jags are spread out you will clean up.

If he's massing 60 or 70 jags, pray you have evocations, because there is no other way you are coming out clean. Elephants at that point are disposable fire and forget missiles.

[K]

PS. Communion up your evokers if possible.

[Baalz]

Yeah, my own preference is to skip the elephants - in general for this situation, but as pointed out it depends on what else is being fielded. You counter his jaguars with archers, he counters your archers with eagle warriors, you counter his eagle warriors with elephants posted by your archers, etc., etc., etc. This can be a near infinitely complicated discussion.

More to the point, specifically against a group of 20 triple blessed jaguar warriors with no applicable magic support on either side: One solid group of 40-50 (cheap!) atavi shortbows positioned behind 20 PD, with a priest for sermon of courage should do it with no losses on your side. Note, haven't actually tested this and with full humility may be very wrong.