[Valerius]

Executor, I played Haida Gwaii in the Tourmaline game a couple of years ago. Below is a troop summary I sent over to Foodstamp as early feedback when I was testing builds (didn't post it in the forums since the game was in progress and then I forgot to post it later).

Though I didn't take a heavy bless I did become too distracted with focusing on Thunderbirds. Like you say, they aren't nearly as good as vampires. I never considered summoning them as they are too expensive but Kachinas can summon one per turn. Of course there's an opportunity cost so you'll have to choose how many you want summoning Thunderbirds. Once you finish research you can easily summons dozens per turn but at that stage there's plenty of counters to them.

Offhand I'd say it might be good to remove the Kachina's ability to summon Thunderbirds but make the summon Thunderbird spell a better deal and also make them more effective in battle.

Btw, probably the easiest way to boost leadership on Haida Gwaii's commanders is a whip of command.

Foodstamp, I really like the theme of this nation and it would be great to see it fine-tuned.