Hell sword vs Wraith sword vs Blood thorn

[En Forcer]

Hmm...so blood thorn, charcoal shield, Spirit Helm.

That leaves armor, boots, and misc.

For armor I think:

Jade Scale

Boots:

Speed or Flying? Or maybe reinvigoration... tough choice.

Misc.

Luck

Anti-magic

[CUnknown]

Just to play devil's advocate:

Hell and Wraith swords have another advantage over blood thorns: cost. Blood Thorns cost twice as much as Hell swords, they do less damage, and they have no special abilities to speak of (unless your SC has blood magic, then of course they're the best choice).

Hell Swords make you go berzerk, and give +3 attack and fire resistance. Wraith Swords give +3 defense, I believe, which is nice, although admittedly not as much as you could get from a shield. Although a decent shield at 10 gems puts the total cost at a whopping 30 gems and/or slaves for the blood thorn/shield combo, whereas it's only 10 gems for the Hell/Wraith sword.

So, I think in terms of costefit, the Hell Sword probably is the best bet. In terms of pure benefit, I agree the Blood thorn/shield combo is better.

[quantum_mechani]

En Forcer said:
Hmm...so blood thorn, charcoal shield, Spirit Helm.

That leaves armor, boots, and misc.

For armor I think:

Jade Scale

Boots:

Speed or Flying? Or maybe reinvigoration... tough choice.

Misc.

Luck

Anti-magic

If you are going jade arour, then you want boots of flying for the feet slot. Also, the starshine skull cap is cheaper than spirit helm, and provides extra MR.

[Graeme Dice]

A lucky coin is usually my first choice for a shield, as it effectively doubles the hitpoints of anything that wears it.

[Zen]

Best picks usually are:

Blood Thorn
Lucky Coin
Starshine Skullcap
Jade Armor (or Hydra Skin Armor)
Boots of Flying (or Boots of Quickness)
Ring of Regeneration (or Flying Carpet or Next)
Either Antimagic Amulet or Ring of /Resistance/

That is pretty standard on most of SC's that include Bane Lords, Devils, Titans.

If you want a life drainer and not much for magic, this is a very effective setup. If they have a decent amount of Att to overcome most normal units. Undead may pose some problems, but this can defeat most non-lifeless armies.

[Taqwus]

If you have a chassis with a high base prot, but not truly exceptional magic resistance, Armor of Souls or Rainbow Armor (less MR, but some reinvig) might make sense.

Against undead/demonic SCs, there's a triple-damage spear that could be of use. Against hordes of magical units, Elfbane / Moon Blades deserve a look.

Hordes of Pan CW undead is still a problem since you can't afford to get KO'd by mass sleep vines.

[Bummer_Duck]

So...

Anyone like the Wraith Crown or Robe of Shadows for a Earth based SC? Or a Amulet of Resilience instead of a ring of /resistance/? (if you know fatigue will be an issue).

[Cainehill]

I'm fond of using Wraith Crowns at certain points in the game - against many troops, even summoned ones, it gives twice the benefit of luck (3/4 attacks negated vice 1/2). In addition, the initial mini-swarm of undead tends to slow down flyers (aquatic and terrestial) long enough for some buffs to be successfully cast.

I've used the robe of shadows less often, because there's usually a better suit of armor for most combat chassis's; however I have used it a few times on commanders with high innate PD and water magic - since they can self-haste, they don't need the jade armor.