The New Hinnom Nation

[thejeff]

I haven't played with them, but it seems to me as long as you're actively expanding with them, they shouldn't be a problem.
Don't let them sit at home eating your people. Keep them invading your enemies. Eat them.

I don't think it's a nation suited to turtling.

[JimMorrison]

Well right, I wasn't trying to imply turtling per se, but their research capacity is rather mediocre, so as I said, it just seemed to me they aren't too well suited to the late game in MP. Basically looks like they either just bulldoze through and go for the mid game win, or they get countered or suffer ill luck, and stall out and eat themselves while other people start their endgame summons.

Anyway, just saying that's what I see in my SP test, that a dual bless leaves you with scales that are tailored for only one thing - a bless rush. Honestly I don't think Melqarts are the way to go for MP. The test I am doing with chariots had me expanding nearly as quickly, but able to actually get research moving, and having pretty strong scales since I wasn't using a strong bless, and could get by just fine with an imprisoned pretender. The problem with that being that their chariots, while stronger than elephants, are still easier to counter than Melqarts, so you are still ultimately taking a risk if you intend to go for a late game strategy with 3G and otherwise good scales, to push for Lords. Even with a Fountain of Blood, blood hunting is a bit cumbersome since your blood mages eat pop. It's a complicated set of checks and balances that seems far easier to manipulate in a sterile SP setting, than it actually will turn out to be in MP.

[chrispedersen]

Thats what I said all along Jim... = ) The chariots are the critical early game expansion.

I think you actually have to take a somewhat balanced approach here.

I do something like a 496 bless, with an oricle, leaving dominion at 4 - you can't afford to build more than 3 sacred anyway until way late at any location until well into the mid game.

The 496 build is cheaper than a 99 dual bless, and it lets you have good enough scales for both a + on growth and a positive on research.

With only a few commanders etc - and with a positive growth scale, I haven't seen any eating. But I happen to think this might be a cool new empower method.. so thats what I'm going to be experimenting with.

Sadly, I just resigned out of my test MP game, for personal reasons rather than game ones - but the giants were able to beat Vanheim bless rush even up.

Chris