Alexander's ever-expanding Tome of Knowledge

[apoger]

FLYING DWARVEN THUGS


One tactic that I use extensively in multiplayer is getting small raiding forces behind the front lines and harrassing my enemy.

One of my favorite ways to do this is with "Flying Dwarven Thugs".
There are numerous ways to raid, but I find the sheer absudity of this method to be entertaining.

Play Ulm.

Make Master Smiths.

Arm them with Winged Shoes and a pair of Axes of Sharpness. If possible I also make them a Pendent of Luck. Yes the shoes and pendent take effort to develop. It's worth it.

Fly them into enemy territory against lightly defended provinces.

Upon arrival, have the dwarf cast Summon Earth Power, Invulnerability and Fire Shield. Then dive in for some two axe action! This should be enough to crack the low province defense that most players use.

If you know that the province defense is pumped, add in more dwarves.

For large battles have a squad of these guys in the back, power up, and attack the rear. Very few players anticipate a squad of dangerous flyers from Ulm.


I don't know what it is, but the idea of a super-armored flaming dwarf dropping out of the sky and going to town on surprised defenders is enough to make me smile for hours.

[apoger]

POISON AND THE DEAD

Undead troops and poison generating effects go togeher like peanut butter and chocolate.
After all, the undead are immune to the poison that would normally make life hard on your own living troops.

The basic technique is to clog up the battlefield with the unliving and then expose the enemy to various poison effects.

Most commonly death mages use reanimations and nature mages use vine men/ogres. For those with both skills try manikins/mandragoras.

If playing C'tis place poison slingers behind the undead.

If you have nature mages cast Breath of the Dragon or Poison Cloud.

If you have creatures that exude clouds of poison (hydra/bog beast) then mix them in with the undead near the front.

If you have nature/water mages (Jade Amazons. Sometimes Man, C'tis, Pangaea) then consider casting Foul Vapors. This spell will strike the whole battlefield with poison clousds. Make sure your mages are posion immune first!


This is best used when applied too a large/living enemy army. Delay with the undead, kill with the poison. With a bit of skill/luck this sort of engagement can cause horrific losses to the opponent.

[apoger]

GIRLFRIENDS FROM HELL


Sometimes I find myeslf in a dire situation and have a few death mages to spare. It is during those times that I consider the very risky tactic of using the spell Summon Lammashtas.

Each casting gets you two Lammashtas. They are ethereal, hard to hit, and carry wraith swords. These are some scary women!

The spell description says that they will probably not attack the caster at the start of the battle. This is a load of hooey. They will disembowel your mages first chance they get. Anytime you use this spell it's a suicide mission. Count on it.

If you are just sending in mages, give them one death gem and cast. The girls will slay your mages and then go to work on the enemy. Each Lammashta seems tough enough to kill about 5-20 infantry. A lot depends on the quality of the opposition and if they have magic.

The Lammashtas are not under your control and go back from whence they came at the battles end.

If you can put your mages inside packs of junk troops, it's possible to get a second casting while hoping that the troops will delay the Lammashtas for the turn needed. Possible and hope being the key words here. If you attempt a second casting your death-3 mages will need another gem, and death-2 mages will need two more.

I have tried sending in mages casting Lammashtas at the front of my army with real troops holding in the rear. The idea being that perhaps the girls will become involved with the advancing enemy and soften things up for my troops . I've had about as many disasters as I've had successes with this. Use it at your own risk.

I always keep this tactic in mind when I find "raptor" provinces that produce Harab Seraphs. Since these are flying death-2 mages, I can use them as a fast reaction suicide squad. It's not the cheapest defense (by a longshot) but it's saved my bacon a few times.

[apoger]

FOLLOWING THE LIGHT


Anytime I have many astral mages on the battlefield I always try to have a character holding a Banner of the Northern Star, or I have a mage cast Light of the Northern Star. Either way all my astral mages get an extra point of astral skill.

Extra skill means that astral spells cause less fatigue, and that means more casting. Yummy.

Also this is often important in order to get easy access to better quality spells.
With the "light" in effect:
Astral-1 mages can cast Paralyze
Astral-2 mages can cast Soul Slay
Astral-3 mages can cast Enslave Mind

This also enables Marignons Grand Masters to cast Astral Fires.

[apoger]

FEEL THE BURN

Fire magic in Dom2 is fairly weak. Many of the fun sounding spells just don't hit often, and it's very hard to use fire magic during rain or a storm (which many nations bring to battle). There are very few fire spells that I find worthwhile, however there is one worth writing about... Incinerate!


Why do I like incinerate?
1 - Precision 100
2 - 18 damage
3 - Armor Negating

That's enough to blow away most conventional troops in a shot. It hits and it hurts! That's my kind of spell.

As long as your enemies aren't fire immune, incinerate is a great way to guarantee that you mages hand out a beating.
If your mages are fire-2, have them cast Phoenix Power first in order to bring them up to the skill level needed. In fact always use Phoenix Power as it will lower the fatigue for more skilled mages.
Line up a bunch of fire mages and it's a vertible "Firing Squad".
It's not as flashy as some other spells, but the fact that you're drilling in armor negating damage with precision is a wonderful thing.


Note: Also check out the magic item Rod of the Phoenix. This item allows any commander to cast (you guessed it) incinerate! The 20 fire gem cost seems high, but I assure you that it's a great effect. Don't think of it as a rod, think of it as a sniper rifle. Give it to a low encumberance commander and flame away!

[apoger]

CHILLING

Everything I said about incinerate pretty much goes for the spell Frozen Heart as well.

This is the cold Version of incinerate. It does less damage, however it has less fatigue cost and requires much less skill.

You only need water-1 for frozen heart!

This is a great way to make any water-1 mage very useful.

Playing Atlantis? Those Initiates of the Deep are Frozen Heart casters for a mere 60 gold!

Playing Caelum and your enemy has lightning protection? Show them that you have another way to make them cry.

Hey! Any mage that can cast Frozen Heart can also cast quickness. Why not spread the pain even faster?

Yes getting to Alteration-6 is a pain... but it's worth it.

[apoger]

THE ARCHERS BEST FRIEND


The only offensive fire spell besides incinerate that I really like is Flaming Arrows.

It takes a gem, and researching Enchantment-4 might not be very synergistic with your other needs, however this is a fantastic way to crank up your damage potential.

This makes any archers/crossbows you have into death dealing machines. They'll carve swaths straight through armored enemy ranks.

Your enemies will stare dumbfounded as they mumble "I just got my *** kicked... by shortbow".

If you are playing Abysia, Marignon, Machaka, or Mictlan I suggest that you consider making a research beeline for this spell. Yes, this spell also works on sling bullets and javelins.

Be careful of enemies using storms, as this will ruin your day.