CBM MA Races Rankings - Voted by the community!

[BigDaddy]

Obviously with 3 attacks per 2 area or whatever average jags end up with, and a Fire bless these sacreds are going to hit a lot. But Ulms units have protection 20, and 6ap is not great against that, in fact most hits it won't do any damage at all. A death bless would be much more effective. Banefire blessing is the shizzle too. I think water is overestimated for quickness, because, obviously both fire and death double your attacks... whereas water only increases them 50%. It does keep them out of midfield taking arrows though.

[KissBlade]

Am I the only one who thinks MA Mictlan cannot possibly be mediocre late game with flying recruitable astral mages who are also sacred and blessable? Also eagle warriors do rock.

[SlipperyJim]

Originally Posted by BigDaddy

Banefire blessing is the shizzle too. I think water is overestimated for quickness, because, obviously both fire and death double your attacks... whereas water only increases them 50%. It does keep them out of midfield taking arrows though.

What in Tartarus is a "banefire" blessing?

Also, fire & death blessings don't actually double your attacks. They add additional attacks which (depending on a lot of factors) might or might not be as useful as the original attacks. As one example, F9 blessing won't help your Jags kill Abysians....

[BigDaddy]

I think it's funny that Mictlan is susceptible to slingers until it gets (mass) protect.

[DeSangre]

Just a quick note to all:
I read all the comments so far and I updated the list to reflect what I read.

Ermor is not 100 100 100 anymore due to more than 1 person pointing out pythium strength.

Other various changes. If you comment from now on PLEASE RECHECK THE LIST, thanks.

[BigDaddy]

I'd kick Vanheim up past 100 for early game, Vans are just about impossible to kill in the early game and you can't invade them very well, because you can't see the Vans. Fighting Vanheim is a huge pain in the butt, and even if the Vans don't do that much damage. They're definitely over 100 in the early game. I'd say 120, maybe more. If there is someone who can crush you early in the game without taking many losses, it's ussually Vanheim.

[LumenPlacidum]

Originally Posted by DeSangre

Ermor is not 100 100 100 anymore due to more than 1 person pointing out pythium strength.

Didn't you define 100 in each of those things to be Ermor's strength and that everything else would be measured by that bar?

Also, isn't all the bickering about how each kind of rush can be countered by other early troops meaningless? Any strategy, when predicted, can be countered by a selection of research, mages, and troops. The player-player interactions in the early game should probably not greatly influence such a ranking because it's so dependent on circumstance. Expansion efficiency is far more suited to a relatively-unbiased measurement for early game.

[KissBlade]

I don't really like a numerical value so I would rank via letters, S being highest, D behind lowest.

Early Mid Late
Ashdod B S A <= this is incorrect. Ashdod's main strength is it's mid and late game. It has a very good early game but recruitable SC/thug chassis really come into it's own mid game and late game summons are ridiculous by Ashdod.
Pythium A A A <= Pythium is likely the best all around MA nation.
Jotunheim A B A <= Jotun occasionally has trouble midgame before gyjjas really come online and when it's giants don't work well enough.
Ermor A A A <= Ermor has no real flaws when played well.
R'lyeh B S A <= Rlyeh's early game is actually quite solid between it's troopline. If played properly (aka GO ON LAND ASAP) Rlyeh is easily one of the strongest MA nations with a scarier mid game than Pythium with water control.
Vanheim A A A Baalz has addressed most of what makes vanheim good. They are Eriu version 1293018236899.0
Shinuyama B S A Above average troopline and an archer nation with only slight weaknesses to heavy rush. Once mages come online, Shinuyama gets running (often with the game if done well) only slowing down once hitting late game and other late game nations can tie up.
Mictlan A A A EAgle Warriors. Flying sacred mages. Astral access. Enough said.
T'ien Chi B B B Above average in most categories but nothing will stand out about them. Requires quite a bit of player ability to really make them good.
Marignon A B B Great early game. Good mages but old age and fairly predictable mid to late game hampers it.
Pangaea S A B Anyone who's played a GOOD pan will know about this.
Abysia A A A One of the best MA blood nations. Severely underestimated.
C'tis C A B C'tis actually has a very good early game. However, it gets a low rating for one main reason. Players HATE MA C'tis dominion and often tries to contain you or outright wipe you out. Midgame C'tis is fearsome with relief spam and death magic. Natural tart trees is win too.
Arcoscephale B B B They're much like TC with more strength early game due to priestess healing your combat pretender. However it's not enough to merit them an A.
Caelum A A C Mammoth and temple guards for early game is the well known Caelum combo. One of the strongest midgame nations due to raiding, mage power, etc. Unfortunately, their late game requires a lot of forward planning as their paths aren't spectacular for it. Arguably a B in late game if mid game is good enough. Another reason why these rankings are so tough.
Bandar Log B C A Ethereal ELEPHANTS??? Unfortunately, Bandar log is rather vulnerable right after the expansion phase and pre their mages really getting ready. Bandar PD is joked about but honestly, it isnt' too great. At the same time, they're not amazing raiders either despite having stealthed archers since those don't do too well against most MA PD's. Once past that stage, their astral access is obviously a plus.
Machaka B A B No idea why Machaka is underestimated. It's early game is decent and it's midgame is spectacular. Their late game isn't bad either since they have nature, death and earth access.
Ulm B C C Ulm's main problem is it's early to midgame is an awful transition. And from midgame to late game is a sluggish transition as well. It's not unplayable but you really have to play well and have a rainbow pretender.
Man B B C They're like Ulm but has a better transition to midgame. Old age cripples them for late game UNLESS you manage to take advantage of nature for Gift of health and keep it.
Eriu A S C Most of Eriu is already mentioned. The main problem is they need something beyond making a paper empire for late game. Nature gives them better midgame than Van but Van's dwarves >>> Eriu later on
Atlantis C A B Thuggable kings but they need to get lucky early game. The other ocean power trumps them though spearmen flood isn't an awful strat. Midgame they're in water and if they can keep it, they'll have a decent late as well.
Oceania A C D Clam nerf destroyed this nation. Hope you enjoy kythnid flooding. If they can keep waters, they'll be decent late game but too bad they WILL get destroyed by Rlyeh of equal calibur.
Agartha C A B Argatha would've got a D for early game except for one reason. Risen Oracle. Possibly the best SC chassis in cbm may allow them to get lucky. Once it gets GoR Umbrals, MA Argatha is quite good. Abuse summons for a sturdy late game.


Honestly, as you can see, I think most nations have some hope. It's very difficult to rank how well a nation holds from phase to phase because how it does from an earlier phase drastically effects it's later phases.

[sector24]

Totally off topic: Why is S rank above A rank in JRPGs? I've always wondered this. Does it stand for something?

[Frozen Lama]

I think kissblade just wanted to make the whole thing even more confusing by using letters instead of numbers which have the same effect