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Old May 16th, 2008, 01:48 PM

Ironhawk Ironhawk is offline
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Default Re: A Poisoner\'s Guide to LA Pythium

[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/icon12.gif[/img] NATION DESIGN
On the subject of blessings, you might think that the Hydra needs a strong bless, right? Surprisingly not! The power of the Hydra does not come from its ability to inflict damage (tho it certainly can), but rather its ability to absorb it and project fear in an extended battle. As a result, its far more efficient to employ a cheaper light bless than to go for the level nines. An Earth blessing of some level is a no-brainer since LA Pyth is rife with sacred mages and you also dont want your Hydras to fatigue out. I'd also recommend a light W4 blessing for the slight defense boost - even at size 6 it improves thier survivability significantly. Beyond that its up to you: a light air bless can be helpful early on for the air shield and later to summon AQs.

Since LA Pythium has such a strong early-game unit, the Hydra, it is not really needed to have a strong awake pretender to help them defend. Instead they need something that will carry them through thier spot of weakness in the mid-game and allow them to access greater depths in the elemental paths where they will have trouble boosting. To this end I'd recommend a Sleeping Titan of some variety, the Titan, Cyclops, Mother of Rivers, and the Forge Lord are all possible choices. They all have good slots, are competent on the battlefield, and have paths which are conducive to the above blesses.

For scales you will absolutely want Order 3. The Serpent Cult, especially early in the game when you are funding the Hydra expansion machine, is a gold hog! You'll need as much of it as you can get. Balance the order by taking Misfortune 3 - there is a nominal chance it will cripple you in the early game but after that its free points. Worth the risk because it allows you to invest in Production, say 1 or 2 points. Normally I wouldnt suggest using the Prod scale but you need big money and the extra resources will come in very handy producing all your heavy inf. Lastly, spend whatever remaining points your have on Magic. The more the better, although if you are strapped for points you can settle for Magic 1 since you have such fine researchers.

As for dominion - you wont need more than 4 points specifically for Hydra production (thats 1000gp a round max!). You can take another point if you are worried about having neighbors with strong dom. But overall you will be building many temples to produce your Renatus so its not that big of a deal.
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