Ah ha, a MA Pythium question...

[Karlem]

Try an awake Cyclops with earth 9 Dom 5, O3 S2 Heat 1 Mis1 Mag1.

I think that angels are sacred, isn't it? this way you have a late game bless for thugs/Scs an early SC for indies and expansion and a wondefrul bless for mages. Use original army plus some turn 0 recruits and Pretender to expand. Third expansion army is just 3 hydras and early fort to overcome sloth 3 and then just forts. If you need troops fast use hydras.

Don't use this on aquarium pls

[Xietor]

Hydras are good at 2 things-killing elephants and discouraging a rush. In my present mp game, i bought 5 hydras early since i had a sleeping pretender. They are good for expansion, and give me peace of mind from aggressive neighbors before my pretender awakes.

4n is crucial, as it prevents your 380 gold mages from dying of old age.

It is my 1st mp game playing pythium, but my Mother of Serpents, sleeping with nature, earth, death, and air worked well. Went early for mother oak, then later goh.

The Mother of Serpents with these paths and decebt gear is a beast, and killed a gor tartarian fairly easily that ported in next to my capital. And at the time, she was my only unit that could fight tartarians. And i think she could have killed 3-4 of them alone.

[Aezeal]

Xietor.. what was your whole pretender set-up then...

I figure a lot of sloth for else I don't see how you bought all that magic..

if you go all hydra at start you can do sloth-3 I figure but 5 hydra's means either no mages first turns or only a 2nd expansion army around turn 4-5

and dormant or imprisoned?

[Xietor]

Sleeping-I did not trust evilhomer, Velusion, and other aggressive players enough to take an imprisoned pretender!

My scales were 3 order, 1 sloth, 2 heat, 2 growth, 1 magic.

4n,4e, 1d, 2a. But I traded for gems and by the time i had researched soul vortex had empowered to 3d. Eventually empowered air as well, as I like at least 3a for mirror image.

[Aezeal]

so all that air magic just to make your mage cast alteration spells as SC? Quite expensive just for that... and then empowering...

and empower when you can cast the spell just for lower fatigue?

no other options to get a SC? or to do stuff with gear instead of empowering en get spells and stuff?

[Aezeal]

hmmm and dom 8 mis 2 or dom 7 mis 1?

and you prefer 2 growth/ 2 heat above 1 growth/ 1 heat?

well going hydra seems a bit making for a slow start but it allows for a dormant pretender and sloth. The mother of serpents is the first pretender I'd choose from the titan.. healing 100 is very nice... but does she beat the cyclops I wonder. A N4 E4 cyclops allows for better scales too, Magic 3 for example...

[Aezeal]

btw do you think 5 hydra's can take

heavy cav?
barbs?
more than 50 enemies in general?

and did you just buy hydra's or did you still buy mages (so a late 2nd army?)

[Xietor]

my game is still ongoing, so i cannot tell you much more. Suffice to say i always want my pretender to be able to travel, so that means air or s magic. 6 dominion.

I do not like misfortune, so i actually never take it. Though many good players do.

I tend to mix my hydras with slingers, so that takes care of barbarians. And as long as i position my hydras right, so that they get the 1st attack on mounted units, i have good success.

I buy mages and hydras, but i do not expand until turn 2. i take 2 growth because to afford my hydras i set taxes high and patrol. And I like my capital to recover the lost population.