Advice for MA Man

[ano]

I like the idea of taking a cyclops, however you will be able to take neither growth or prod, nor magic. Your mages will get diseased too often, you won't be able to expand really fast due to lack of units and you will never win the research race. Yes, each of these can be thought of as "minor disadvantage", but put together they form a major one, I think. What do you get in return? A very good combat pretender, maybe an SC and access to air boosters. Not a good trade, as for me.
However, teleportable combat mage casting Rain of Stones can be really fine if not aiming for E9 bless for sacreds (which could be very good sacreds if they had faster feet. Actually it seems strange to me that they are so slow).
Titan E4A4 seems a better choice to me.

Titan (Body 602, 90 hits)
Magic: Air 4 Earth 4
Dominion 6
Scales: Order 3 Productivity 2 Growth 2 Misfortune 2 Magic 1
Dormant

[Zeldor]

With Growth 2-3 even N4 mages get old and diseased really really fast. It looks like they would get the old age at 30-50. I have no idea why crones can't get it at 100-150. That would make that weak nation just a bit better.

[Agema]

If you've got N4 mages, you can surely cast Gift of Health, which removes afflictions and so should save a lot of your crones, shouldn't it? Or does it not stop age afflictions?

[llamabeast]

I don't think Man is a weak nation, Zeldor.

[Nikolai]

I'm with Zeldor. MA is good in short game, or in duel, but long term it is too limitted. Bards are great for shutting down first victim, but once armies stop working, and they at some time do... and once enemy gets patrollers, real magic, etc... it's all over.

In small games, against no nature nations, and especially with predefined teams, where bards can be fifth collumn and crones rely on air booster trade, MA Man is great. That I'll give (Got my *** kicked a few times)

And, Agema: Yes, Gift of Health is nice if you can hold it. In serious game, there is little chance. Many nature nations, and some serious astral nations in MA.

[Zeldor]

llamabeast:

MA Man would be much better if Crones got old age at 100 or 150 years and if they had small chance of 1S, even 10% would be great. It would give at least some defence against astral nations and let them use few more items and spells. Or make wardens and warden lords recruitable in every castle, even if they would be no longer sacred.

[Twan]

IMO giving S1 to crones would mostly make astral nations use magic duel.

Personnally I think Man is fine on most maps (Man need to find indie mages sites to diversify, and in nearly all games find some before it's needed). I remember hard war against Man in several games (but Man always managed to have access to earth or fire magic).

Also air magic is very hard to counter with non air nations (when fire has counter spells in water and water/earth, astral is countered by earth MR spell/items, etc...). So if you are a one trick poney you have a good trick at least (compare with fire against any nation able to cast rain or just boost troops armor). Most nations, even with an air random, will never have air 2 with the crazy level of the boosters, so won't be able to protect their troops against shock and arrows ; and most shock spells are AN in addition, making earth buffs useless.

[Don_Seba]

Air magic is nice, no argument... But in MA, there are quite a few nations with solid air magic: Caelum, Pythium, Eriu, Vanheim, T'ien Ch'i, Mictlan. All these have an easy level 2, and at least a chance of level 3.

And then, there are a Hell of a lot of Astral nations, against which Man is totally and utterly vulnerable. Pythium, Arcoscephale, R'lyeh, Abysia, Marignon, Ermor, Bandar Log, yada, yada, yada...

Nature is hardly Man's monopoly - Pangaea, Eriu, Bandar Log, Oceania... The luck of the roll will not do much for Man's chances to keep a Gift of Health up.

So in order to be relevant in late game, Man needs indies. I am sure that a Man player who get both earth and fire will do well, but with Crystal Mages and Golden Adepts Ulm will do great as well :-)

I am firmly in the 'MA Man is underpowered' group.

[Zeldor]

Don_Seba:

TC may have powerful Air but with communions. As well as other magic paths.

Non-capitol mages of Man can do only research, I do not see really any much use for them in battle. They can of course spam sleep, panic etc, but nothing great.

And crones need GoH to survive long enough and be useful on battlefield [though with their prot, hp etc it is quite hard]. And there will be many nations able and wanting to get GoH too.

[Nikolai]

Zeldor, I think you are agreed with Don_Seba. I read what he wrote to mean that Man is inferrior than listed nations, not stronger.

By the way, is that a play on "Don Reba" from "It's hard to be a God"? Strange choice, if yes.