Marverni

[Baalz]

Zenzei said:
I agree with DC & Aezeal. Baalz you have to post something, tempting us like this is just cruel.

Just convince everyone in the game kill me and I won't have any more state secrets. As it is, we're just hitting mid game and my best stuff hasn't surfaced yet.

[VedalkenBear]

Well, if you're just hitting midgame, wouldn't that mean the early game information is available?

And Druids are _scary_ good battlemages, IMO.

[triqui]

VedalkenBear said:
And Druids are _scary_ good battlemages, IMO.

Druids are awesome evocation mages with bladewinds, gift of heavens and later enslavemind and soul slay. That is the *only* good thing i can say for Marverni. That alone, however, does not make them any competitive. However, i like Baalz guides so far, so i would bve eager to read this new one as well. I'm pretty sure there is something about this nation i'm not seeing. It cannot be THAT bad as it seems.

[DonCorazon]

Baalz said:
As it is, we're just hitting mid game and my best stuff hasn't surfaced yet.

Now you're scaring me!

[Endoperez]

I know! Mass slingers! They'll never expect THAT!

Then, evolve into Middle Marignon, and all the slingers will automatically upgrade into Crossbowmen! If you do during the first turn of battle, the crossbowmen will start with volley of slingstones fired from crossbows in addition to their normal quarrel shot!



Somehow I feel that whatever strategy he is using, slingers are only mentioned in the "do not use" category.

[Renojustin]

Don't be TOO hasty to discount slingers entirely, especially Fir Bolgs (ESPECIALLY Fir Bolgs), Marverni, and Mictlan slingers who wield shields.

Slingers can be a pretty nice chassis for battlefield enchantments like Flame Arrows, Wind Guide, etc. Slingers with shields, especially, can run right up to opposing archers and start laying down the law, without having to deal with their intervening screen. Added to this, they're cheap both in resources and gold... they can be an effective counter to a lot of things, and put out some pretty nice dpt.

[Dedas]

I agree, slingers are great if used properly.

[fantasma]

ok, I just play Marverni in my first MP game and heve played them a lot in SP. They got my love on day 1 of my dominions career.

As with Baalz, I cannot reveal all that they have going for them, but some things are really nice about.

First, their troops have shields. Second, they may lack armor but they have high defense. The troops have map move 2, the cavalry 3. The Slingers are really nice with the protection you face in EA for their cost.

In short games, or when you fear rushes, use E9N9 boar warriors. They cost 30gp, have 14hp, regen 3, 20 prot, 17 attack when they go berserk and a shield. Send a dozen with a gutuator and take whatever indies. Even heavy cavalry is no problem. A forest father is the cheapest for that, I think. The N9 is also nice on the boars you can summon. I don't know how fatal

But you do not really need to go bless with Marverni. What you need regardless how you play them are ridiculous amounts of gold. Use order 3! Patrol with your starting army. They are excellent for that, at 170% taxes unrest stays at 0. If you need, alchemise the earth gems.

Research like mad! Take magic 1, at least.

If you do not bless, recruit a lot of the ambitate nobles, they are decent fighters. For 14/17 you have a mobile, prot 12, att 12, def 15, 13hp unit. Did I mention that the troops have shields?

What you need to do is expand fast! I had like 15 provinces at turn 10 and 3 fortresses (maybe the third was still in construction, I don't remember). But then I found an iron mine on the first conquered province.

Recruit as many mages as you can and research!
Thaumaturgy is the most important for early mind hunt, sleep, panic, site search. Then go evocation. Then construction. At what level you switch depends on what you face.

I use hornblowers to boost morale of the unarmored troops (9), sometimes. I place then in the squad and set them to guard commander. Maybe that isn't the most efficient way but they die too easily otherwise.

I haven't been rushed myself, so I don't know if it really works out.
Elephants are best countered by hordes of javelin throwers (def 14) and slingers and mindhunt/panic.
Against vans, poison, mind hunt, sleep and bladewind when available.
Against niefel, you may rush for soul slay, maybe.
Always field chaff with slings and javelins in the numbers! They lack in protection but not in combat skills. Divide them into small squads because they break easily.

Use the best of diplomacy to demonstrate that you are not the easy target they mey think. The point is that you may still lose but that it will be a costly and drawn out defeat. Especially having at least two forts deters the rusher, hopefully. Forts are cheap, a big plus for the nation.

Later, use communions to their best! The stargazers unfortunately are very slow, so you may rely on the 1/4 gutuator as reinforcement slaves.

[Sombre]

You don't get the parry based def bonus against trampling afaik.

[Foodstamp]

I was messing around with various nations the other day trying to look for tactics that people normally don't consider.

One thing I tried with Marverni was a fire9/earth9 bless. The blessed sacreds are pretty much godmode against indies even in ridiculously small numbers. 4 Boar warriors and 1 blesser can rip most common independents to shreds. You can crank these armies out 1 per turn at the start of the game too.

I am thinking about trying them out in a longer game and tweaking the bless with a little less earth for better scales. Probably not the greatest strategy in the world, but it sure does entertain me .