Teleportig armies

[MaxWilson]

Originally Posted by NTJedi

Stygian Path.... was the spell ever fixed? Last time I casted the spell it only my commander arrived barely alive and the 100+ troops were gone... also the report read that I lost 9 million units. The report made it clear the spell was broken.

I recall reading it was also a spell which worked better for stealthy units.

Yes, the spell has been fixed and now works as described in the manual. Thus making Death magic just that little bit more awesome.

-Max

[Lingchih]

Originally Posted by NTJedi

Stygian Path.... was the spell ever fixed? Last time I casted the spell it only my commander arrived barely alive and the 100+ troops were gone... also the report read that I lost 9 million units. The report made it clear the spell was broken.

I recall reading it was also a spell which worked better for stealthy units.

I've used it fairly recently in MP. It does work, but it's kind of spottish. I would only use it as MA or LA Ermor, transporting a lot of undead. A few times, my armies came through almost intact. Other times, they were decimated.

[chrispedersen]

Or for a sphinx.

[MaxWilson]

Originally Posted by Lingchih

I've used it fairly recently in MP. It does work, but it's kind of spottish. I would only use it as MA or LA Ermor, transporting a lot of undead. A few times, my armies came through almost intact. Other times, they were decimated.

Remember there's a minor damaging effect (2 AN?) PLUS an MR-resisted death check. Stygian Paths is less preferable than Gateway if you've got it (just land an SC, have him build a lab on the next round). However, if you don't have Astral access and you have a lot of capital-dependent troops (e.g. you're Helheim) it can be very nice for moving troops to the front and/or on top of enemy SCs.

-Max

[Ishamoridin]

Something to note with Stygian Paths, however, is that the movement is processed in the Movement Phase rather than the Magic Phase. It is strictly inferior to Astral Travel in this way.

[Gregstrom]

I don't know that it makes the spell inferior - just different. For a start, it means you can spam off a couple of Ghost Riders at an enemy province and then walk in with your own army. The defenders may well have burnt their gems on the Ghost Riders, leaving you an easier fight.

[Agema]

2AN is an average of 3.5 damage per unit: it will kill 10% of 10HP units and many left will be in pretty bad shape. With 10MR you'll lose nearly 50% of the remainder from the MR Death Attack.

You wouldn't even want to take more elite recruitables like giants, Van, or Assartut: whilst you'll lose negligible numbers from damage, you'll still lose a quarter to a third with only 12 or so MR and they're very expensive troops. Good options would be demons and some types of magic beings, as they'd have 16MR (<13% lost) or more, and usually plenty of HP.

[Tolkien]

Originally Posted by llamabeast

We just have to assume that all commanders are far too arrogant to accept help from other commanders.

Van: Quick, hop in my boat so we can attack that island over there!
Human: No, I'm a leader, not a follower.
Van: How do you propose to get across the ocean then?
Human: I'll swim!

[Ishamoridin]

Originally Posted by Gregstrom

I don't know that it makes the spell inferior - just different. For a start, it means you can spam off a couple of Ghost Riders at an enemy province and then walk in with your own army. The defenders may well have burnt their gems on the Ghost Riders, leaving you an easier fight.

Agreed, but it's a pretty niche use considering the kind of army composition you need to have to make the spell viable.

[MaxWilson]

Originally Posted by Ishamoridin

Something to note with Stygian Paths, however, is that the movement is processed in the Movement Phase rather than the Magic Phase. It is strictly inferior to Astral Travel in this way.

Really? I had no idea. I wonder if that means you can use it to attack a sieging army (Teleport will just end with you inside the fort).

-Max