[Valerius]

UNIT OVERVIEW

Raven: these fueled my expansion. They are kind of like harpies ... but much better. Twice the hit points, much better morale and attack and with a strength of 12 and two attacks they can do respectable damage to lightly armored troops. With a resource cost of 1 you can mass these much quicker than any of your other melee troops. The thing that really helps them is that flight gives them the first strike against their opponents. Within the first two rounds of combat they frequently inflict enough losses to cause routing (again, against lightly armored opponents). I found though that if they don't do a lot of damage quickly their low protection will put them in a bad situation. Basically I rely on numerical superiority with these guys.

Bear Warrior - When I first looked at these I was impressed with their regeneration, two attacks per round and recuperation. If they were sacred I probably would have gone for a major bless. But as it is, I didn't use them much in expansion. On a gold basis I can get 50% more Ravens than Bear Warriors. Since I actually found resources to be a limiting factor the multiple was much larger. I think they will have a role, though - they seem like a unit that can benefit greatly from buffs like strength of giants, legions of steel and protection. During initial expansion I think they are best suited for handling higher protection opponents that might cause Ravens problems.

Sgaana Warriors - I didn't border water so I couldn't make use of their real talent. However my starting army performed respectably. The main reason I didn't make more use of them is their resource cost. I took Sloth 1 and I could just get Ravens in bulk much quicker. Having said that, I'm interested in running some more tests with them. The Atlatl's have an ammunition of 4 and decent range to boot. Tossing strength of giants on a group of these would seem to make for some powerful missile fire... I'm not sure how harpoon mechanics work but if they can handle large targets it seems like there's potential to break up trampling formations or keep elite units still long enough for melee troops to do some damage.

Raven Warriors - Stealthy and have some protection but I'd much prefer Ravens for stealth work. I don't think I'll use these.

Eagle Archers and Raven Archers - Eagle archers have good precision but I think I'd go for Raven Archers since the stealth can make for a nice surprise for an unwary opponent. If I get some fire mages then I'll definitely be using these.

Raven Scout - continuing my Raven obsession I have to say this is an awesome unit. I love flying scouts but a flying scout with Stealth 20, leadership 10, and A1 with a chance at D1 (a path you otherwise don't have access to)? Heck, yes! In addition to providing a cheap sacred researcher at 60 gold, I thought of some fun ideas to test with these guys. Give one a barkskin amulet and air gem and have them cast mistform and then try to take out very low level PD. Or maybe give them skull talismans and have a couple cast air shield and then summon skeletons to take out low level PD. Used in combination with a mage casting Storm they can cast summon storm power and then cast lightning bolts. Great unit.

Sgaana Tyee - Another excellent unit. Can lead large numbers of troops, sail, and is amphibious. Given the low leadership on most of your mages this will be your standard leader. BTW, I ran some tests trying to thug out their killer whale water form and was disappointed. I don't think they are meant for thugging.

Bear Tyee - Your only access to earth, this is a crucial unit for buffing troops and getting an initial earth gem income going. Though not solo operators they seem like they can have potential as mini-thugs inside armies. E1N1 will buff them nicely and with recuperation they can get experience without being crippled. Also are decent leaders.

Coyote Mother - As the Bear Tyee gives you your only E access, the Coyote Mother gives you your only S access. A few thoughts come to mind: communions, forging moonvine bracelets, stealthy thugging and feebleminding mind hunters who go after your thugs. Also, having them cast magic duel to take out enemy astral mages. Another very useful unit.

Kachina - This is your bread-and-butter mage. Half have A3 (thunderstrike spam!), half have N1 (thug potential). Something I didn't realize at first is that Kachina can summon one Thunderbird per round. While there's an opportunity cost in lost research it does save gems and once research is completed you can have dozens of Kachina's summoning huge numbers of Thunderbirds.

Voice of the Killer Whales - Recruit these if you want to throw down some falling frost or high level water spells. All of them can clam out of the box and if you are not in a non-gem generator game you will want to do this. 1 of 3 can cast bone melter; the others can cast it with a thistle mace. Foul vapors is also an option.

Eagle Talon - 1 of 3 will have A4 to forge A boosters. A4's are also useful for casting things like Fog Warriors without a booster.