The best PD ?

[Kobal2]

I was thinking about this topic yesterday - we all know that monkey nations, Fomoria, Caelum, Machaka are locked in a bitter struggle to determine just who has the worst. PD. Ever. I'm fairly convinced Machaka doesn't even need an actual enemy for its PD to kill itself and rout.

But what of the other end of the spectrum ? Which nation(s) would you say has the best, most effective PD ?

I know Ermor's is pretty nice (tower shields, javelins, decent armour, a mage that can paralyze), Abysia as well particularly in the EA where the lack of humanbreds forces the PD to be all heat-aura Abysians plus a fireball chucker in the back. Gath has decent light infantry, plus sacreds over 20 points. Who else is in the running ?

[thejeff]

I'd add the various Jotunheim nations to the worst PD contest.

Mictlan gets a split role. Below 20 it's horrendous, mostly because the Tribal King will charge forward to throw his javelin and get killed while all the slingers stay back. Above 20 it gets slingers, Jaguar Warriors and a Priest to bless them.

[Kobal2]

Originally Posted by thejeff

I'd add the various Jotunheim nations to the worst PD contest.

They were going to make the cut, but then I remembered Fomoria's which is worse in every possible way.
Jotun's giant militia is bad and easily ganged up on but at least they have some basic gear. Fomorian militia are naked giants with horribly poor stats to begin with, but also riddled with afflictions before the battle even starts. And they're backed by slingers to boot, which are useless at damaging actual troops, but perfect to wound the militia some more. Watching them fight is like a bad comedy routine.

[Baalz]

Suaromatia and LA TC have very solid PD with a mix of good archers and heavy cavalry. EA Aby is good, but since each point of PD gets you a single guy they really only shine one you get critical mass putting them not that far ahead (IMO) of nations who's PD really rocks at 20+ (ie. Mictlan). EA Aby PD of 10 is fairly meh.

I know its standard routine to bash monkey PD, but I find they work pretty decently in some conditions because of their large numbers, good defense, and lots of projectiles. Likewise, Caelum can be effective under some conditions because they fly forward to attack turn one. Neither of these are nearly as awful as Fomoria (my personal pick for worst PD) or Machaka.

[Peter Ebbesen]

Best PD?

The standard answer would be "depends on the circumstances". There are some PD that suck without mage or priest backup due to having low morale or subaverage equipment trying, but failing, to compensate with numbers that turn moderately awesome with just a bit of backup to keep them in the fight or buff them.

LA's Bogarus' PD, the scum of the scum, is an example of this. There are just so many members of the PD (IIRC you get 3 medium infantry, 1 heavy infantry, and 1 archer in total per point over 20) and Bogarus strength lies in its exceptional mages, so you can perform amazing PD+mage defences if you have the money to plop down in a strategic location... but at the same time it is poor everywhere else and the low morale archers break for a bad word, so...

If looking at PD without any sort of backup and PD that is both nice before and after 20 is reached, then the heavily armoured human nations are probably the "best". Nations such as Ermor, Man, and T'ien Ch'i.

[Tecnócrata]

Is there any list of updated PDs for all nations?

[Natpy]

MA Ulm have very strong PD

[JonBrave]

[I know I'm a newb and haven't got a clue...]
I have been EA C'tis. My PD is full of lizard militia. The problem is, they seem to be so scared that they always rout, usually before they even contact the enemy, or at best after one round, so I never get anything out of them.

[Squirrelloid]

Man's PD is actually remarkably bad. It doesn't help that its PD is almost entirely units that aren't part of its national unit roster. (Seriously, slingers? Wtf...)

Monkey PD, otoh, isn't actually that bad. It just needs some loving from a mage.

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My vote is for Mictlan once you pass 20. Jag warriors above 20 is just amazing.

Otherwise, i seem to recall Hinnom has pretty awesome PD. They might wrap up the below 20 competition.

[Samhain]

EA Abysia has exceptional PD. Though the complete lack of missile troops proves a critical weakness as the game progresses.

As for monkey PD, even unsupported it can be useful against the right opponent. I saw it rapidly dismantle 8 earth elementals with surprisingly few losses.