Whoah theres a lot of micro management in this game

[Knai]

Originally Posted by Question

My understanding is that going deep into a path of magic is mostly for the bless right? Which seems to work best with a nation that has recruit everywhere sacred troops, at least average priests (for divine blessing) and decent sacred troops. Also best taken dormant/imprisoned since you are mainly using them for the bless anyway.

Rainbow mages seem to be mostly there for vesatility, but i dont understand how this versatility works. Obviously your pretender can cast a wider variety of spells and help in site searching...but is that all?

Getting deeper in paths can also work when one is trying to get to specific items or spells. For instance, one might want S6 on their pretender for Wish access, or they might want W2N1 for several Clams of Pearls and Naiad access, or they might want D4 to get Bane Lords out quickly, and move to Wraith Lords easily. So on and so forth.

Research is a big aspect as well. An awake Rainbow Mage can easily add 20-30 research points per turn, from turn one. That has the potential to be huge - for instance, assume you are playing Sauromatia. A few turns in, and you have access to the Raise Skeleton and Raise Dead spells, which can provide a constant screen that is absolutely brutal against independent provinces with even marginal archer support. Getting this early can be useful for the initial expansion phase. Moreover, that initial manual site searching is far more useful than it sounds. A decent chance to find every site in a province with two turns expended (one getting there, one searching) and no gems used is a major advantage. Gem economies win games.