[chrispedersen]

Pretender: Imprisoned Oracle. T3S3H3D3L3M3. F9W9S4 Dom 7

There are some days, JK/KO do a really great job of giving a race a really good look and feel. MA Mictlan is one of those times.

Okay, you're probably already protesting at the *horrible* scales. So how on earth can it work? Well just like in EA/LA it all boils down to the Mictlan Priest.

Your basic unit of conquest will be a MP, hanging all the way in the corner, with 7 jags a tad to the south. Bless, bless, bless hold hold... and your choice after that. Just keep him out of harms way.

This basic unit of conquest will work for almost anything except heavy cav, and deer archers. For cav, throw in a screen of slaves. For really heavy provinces - hit em with two groups.

First turn: If mountains are close, jack up taxes to 200%.
Prophetize your scout. Have your commander patrol. Leave him there, patroling. Build your first researcher. Yep, a Mictlan priest.

You'll be building your first castle on turn 3.
Your basic unit of conquest 7*25 gp +60 = 235 gp. Whenever someone takes a hit, and loses some troops, either build a fort, or bring him back to research.

That same mictlan priest- 60 gp buys ..... 5 research points. Sacred research points. Or 12/gp per rp. The cheapest research in the game, afaik.

And it has one cute little aside... If you were so lucky as to build your second castle next to your first... (Sacrilege, for most races - but perfect for mictlan.. I mean - your whole buildout takes 22 resources.).... you don't even have to build a lab. Just build a temple, and crank out your researchers. Now thats cost efficient! Run them over to your capital to research. Sure sure, someday when you have money you don't know what to do with.. build a second lab.. just not.. now.

So what do you do with those researchers. Construction-2. Somewhere in your first few turns, build a sky priest or 4. See, Mictlan loves animals. Toads, oscelots, jaguars, blood bats... Oops sorry reverted to an earlier age... oh yes.. Owl quills.

Sure, sure, everyone is going to say I've got better use for my air gems than quills. Maybe they do... but 5 research points, and 5 air gems buys you 3 rp. If you can finagle a dwarven hammer you're a better player than I..

By rapidly building a fort, (and keeping up that fort construction rate) you are essentially doubling your research rate. Sometime around turn 12 you should be around 150 rp.

So, sometime around turn 9, I like to build my first nature, fire, priests. Although if you get lucky with getting the Mictlan National dead guy, you might want to consider conjuration. I switch over to thaum for the site searching spells. Dead guy will also give you a convenient entry into blood.

It really is best to play with graphs off. You have good prospects at being tops in provinces & forts - and research will be top third. But if you are playing with graphs on - you might want to hopskotch a few territories so you can take them at your leisure.

A few other notes: Taking S5 on your pretender allows eventual rings o sorcery, rings o wizardry.