Guide: Yet Another Hinnom Guide

[Baalz]

So question, what specifically was nerfed? Let me fully qualify this by saying I haven't played Hinnom post-nerf, and am curious as I had written them off as being too overpowered to be fun playing in general pick up games. I'm wondering at the choice to go with a blessing over good scales, it seemed like the nerfs made better scales even more important. Looks like you're sacrificing 3 production scales, one order scale, 4 luck scales and some dominion in order to gain a blessing for commanders who, frankly, don't need it. Don't get me wrong, obviously it's a nice bonus, but you're adding it to a unit who can quite capably kick most stuff's butt barehanded and can easily be fully kitted out with magic items at the same rate you're recruiting them. I guess it might let you thug out Kohen, but it seems like a steep opportunity cost to gain light thugs when you've got heavy duty SCs coming out the ears. 45% less dawn guard (because of production), 20+% less gold (figuring some gold loss from the luck swing), hard to estimate loss from lower dominion and luck (gems, items, heroes, etc.).

[P3D]

Average blood hunting yield for a Kohen with SDRs is 5. For a Melqart (B3, dousing bonus of 3) with SDR it is 10, and I'd rather have that Melqart in combat. See further
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showp...2&postcount=34

The sacrifice bonus is also 3, will update my guide accordingly.

Baalz,

the main nerfs were cut down starting army to 12, size 5 (instead of 6) tramplers and eating 30 pop per giant present (Rephaite, Kohen, Melqart and Ba'al), and 50 for the heroes. The dissent increase appears to be in the order of 1-8 per unit per turn, increasing in the order listed, with some randomness. This means recruiting your giants will force you set tax in the capital at 80 (-70 gold/turn) or assume a pop loss of 430 a turn with patrolling.
This also means that patrolling while blood hunting will quickly exhaust your population even with G3, thus one can afford only 2 Kohen a province with 0 tax, i.e. a 33% decrease of blood income per province.

About Bless vs. ultimate scales:
In the game Betelgeuse I had an O3P0L1 build
with minor blesses. My initial expansion rate was on the same level as EA Mictlan (top two) with mainly Chariots and Dawn Guards. In that game I had problems recruiting research magi because my army had just damned too big upkeep.
So P3 will be superfluous after the first 10 turns, as you have to limit your army upkeep cost (non-sacred 30-45g troops) and it won't speed up you expansion noticably. So to offset it you need cost-efficient troops, that means sacreds with the best bless for them. Your best sacred is the Melqart, and for soloing they can really use that extra reinvigoration. 22 protection with bless, equip with amulets for cold/lightning/poison immunity according to whom you face. I was at the receiving end of such.

Late gem with your Blood Stone factory there are the Construction summons as a complement - but one will have to get there.