So what is Pythium's weakness?

[Taqwus]

Philosopher's a Golden Era-specific unit, from the Akademia magic site. That same site also allows you to recruit stealth+0 Sceptics for tearing down dominion (including yours!).

[Huzurdaddi]

But if you go golden era you lose two of your principle advanatges: great mages and elephants. You also lose the very efficient Hypaspist. In return you get ... uhm ... a good research and some flying units.

Uhm. Ok.

So maybe I can sort of out research him with this setup, but uhm I have no casters. That's worth something I guess. I just don't know what.

I'll stick with plain vanilla Arco, thanks.

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by Huzurdaddi:
But if you go golden era you lose two of your principle advanatges: great mages and elephants.

I suggest you look more closely. You still have mystics.

[archaeolept]

Pythium is a very well-balanced nation, due to it's strong and reasonably versatile mages, it's solid principes, and having the option of going w/ a bless effects unit or w/ giant poisonous monsters.

However, if it has a weakness I would say it is its slower early expansion. Principes by themselves are not that optimal at taking out independents, esp. w/ high indep settings. As well, it takes a while for it to ramp up magery to any sort of potent threat. Arcos elephants help it quite a bit in the early game expansion, thus hopefully giving it a moderate economic edge for the mid-game.

However, Pythium can deal w/ this (if it doesn't go for super vestals) by getting a strong fighting pretender. But those tend to rack up afflictions, as opposed to an Arcos SC, and become less valuable as the game progresses.

[Psitticine]

One thing I like about Golden Age Arco a lot is the Skeptic. It's fun to tear down other people's dominion, especially when it is an especially dangerous one like Carrion Woods or either of the two toxic Ermor themes.

Uhm. Pythium expands as fast as a Elephant nation. Principes along with Theurg/Arch-Theurgs with their javelins and tower shields make for strong expanders that have good reinforcement capability because of the Stratmove of 2, the only thing they are not good at taking out are HCav/Knights, which is just fine.