Vanheim themes?

[FarAway Pretender]

Yeah, if you're into the SC route, I think the Dwarves EEE make an awesome combo with mounted heros. Since Mounted heroes don't get the Defense penalty from Armor, a full suit of Black Steel Plate Armor can give one of the best combos of High Defense (somewhat glamor-dependent, admittedly) and High Protection in the early game.

The lack of Lifedrain is challenging, admittedly.

[quantum_mechani]

Nagot Gick Fel said:
(awesome versatility, you can eventually forge everything without having to spend much on your pretender's magic paths).

Actually, not quite. One random is elemental, the other is sorcery. So some combos (like earth and fire) will never come up.