[jutetrea]

Ok, played Aran with 4 AI (normal)

The non-stealth lord of the hunt makes for a great thug, mine got toughness so he's even extra beefy - moo!

Rainbow pretender seems useful, order is definitely a plus, sloth doesn't hurt too bad, and took luck so got the air hero.

The air hero seems pretty weak, although he does bring air into the mix. IMO I'd bring him up to 3A.

I also got the gygja hero from vaet/jot...not sure if its supposed to be in there.

I've got 2 priestess provinces (1N1W 25%WDNE, have about 20 trying to get 2W for sites) Other than those and a few ferrying commanders I've been trying not to recruit indy's, going to try on a NI map next I think.

I took the essence/orb and brought it up to 4 in each of its paths, been working out ok.

Since the essence/orb thingy was there as a purchasable commander for 120 I've been using it. If its NOT supposed to be there, might need a research boost and a magic leader boost on something else.

Ants and Bees aren't that bad, rarely use the bees and I use the ants but I need one of the orbs with 160 magic leader to really make them worthwhile. Possibly the sloth, but I find once I build the units I want I don't ahve a lot of resources left over.

Bear is really nice, pricey but the rejuv and berserk are key. Initially I thought the berserk value was too high, but for the price I think it works out.

Spiders - great, pricey but worth it mixed with others.
Lions - so so
dogs > boars. Boars morale necesitates a follow up commander to pick up the routed boars.
Tangler - havent used much, but the magicbeing is a bit tough

The ant commander 0g 1 res 2N actually isn't that bad. They die off pretty quick it seems. So its great when low on cash and nothing else to do to toss one up there for the few turns it survives.

Fun nation, straightforward except the fun of trying to get into new paths.