Who is the most powerful nation and why?

[Zenzei]

Okay, I'll bite. How can Lanka possibly be viewed as the most powerful EA nation if it doesn't actually win normal-sized* games (according to the hall of honor thread)? Lanka certainly seems, and probably is, a strong nation but competitors like Caelum, Helheim and Tien Chi have some proof for their competence.

*By normal-sized I mean a game with 8+ nations, which seems to be the standard.

[Twan]

I think we have all answered to "who is the most powerful on paper / in theory ?".

But in practice, in 8+ players games several nations often gang against the most powerful ones (it's probably why Ulm has won several games, nobody think a coalition is needed to stop them).

ps : also glamour nations like Helheim were overpowered in the beginning, and scored some of the first victories, but after several nerfs are now not exceptionnally strong

[WraithLord]

My vote,
LA Caelum. For three reasons, mobility, mobility and mobility. Seriously, their raiding capabilities, options for quick retreat or quick reinforcement, cloud trapezing is unparalleled and extremely hard to stop by non flying nations (which I think covers all other nations)

MA Pythium, Top notch mages and troops, strong astral (the most powerful path) and dirty cheap communions combine to make the strongest nation in this era and one of the strongest in the game

LA Ermor, I could be wrong here since I have little MP experience with or against LA R'lyeh (Basically one MP game won by Jurri playing LA R'lyeh).

[kasnavada]

The best nation is pangaea, all ages. Because I have fun with it.

[ano]

LA R'lyeh is a splendid nation, Lingchih. And all you say about it is a matter of micromanagement. R'lyeh just requires much more of it than any other nation in the game, probably (Mictlan does require much too). But without (rather) deep micromanagement you won't do well with any nation, I think.

[Jurri]

LA Ermor, I could be wrong here since I have little MP experience with or against LA R'lyeh (Basically one MP game won by Jurri playing LA R'lyeh).

!
Hell no, must have been someone else It's such an obviously imbalanced nation that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I think that the most powerful nations without contest are those that have freespawns, that is, LA R'lyeh and Ermor (with R'lyeh better by a huge margin), and nations that have recruitable affordable reanimators, that is EA Lanka and MA Ermor. (Yomi has recruitable reanimators, but those are weak and expensive and capital only besides.) For obvious reasons, I would think.

[coobe]

i went for ea mictlan, ma ermor and la rlyeh

didnt have to think long to come up with this choice

[Reverend Zombie]

Lanka has lots of stuff they can do, but I find that they can't do it all in any given game, which detracts from their total power in my view.

You'll want to run up the Blood research ladder, for example, to get good summons, but that doesn't leave you with very good battle magic.

And running up the evocation ladder for Lanka's battle mages seems underwhelming. The really good air spells are pretty far up, and I think between a choice of Blood or Evo, you want to go Blood with Lanka.

[Kamamura]

ULM! And all who deny it must die!

[Cor2]

Ah! So the culprit is exposed.

Looks like I am the only one who voted fro LA pythdom, sacred hydras people! Comeon!