It may be thematic but I'm not sure if making the Zmey cold-blooded is a good idea simply because the encumbrance hit you take in cold dominion is so severe (it's a sad thing seeing Agarthans fighting in cold 3). I haven't used them much but have had them used (effectively) against me and I really like this style of unit - a monster with relatively few slots but a good set of built-in abilities (shi shis also fit this description).
Also, a small thing, but thematically it would make sense for dwarven elder (monster # 2826) multiheros to also have a forge bonus.
But the real thing I want to say is how much I'm enjoying this release of CBM. This version of Eriu is by far the most fun one I've played (have a game going with the Tuatha with awe as well and of course I've played every previous version
). I'll have more detailed feedback later but I'll mention that I think Eriu is quite capable of defending itself against a rush and I don't think I'm being overly optimistic in my belief that they have a very strong midgame. Endgame the lack of native SDB access is an issue but I don't feel nations have to be equally strong in all stages of the game. The only problem is having too weak an early game such that the nation is an obvious target (Eriu used to fall in this category).
I also really like the changes to magic items and find myself considering items I would have never forged before (even with a hammer).
I think this is an excellent version of CBM. Thanks for all your work on this.