MA Ulm Pretender

[HoneyBadger]

Yeah, MA Ulm, once it gets rolling, seems quite powerful. All those individual units have good synergy with each other, and they can build up some serious experience. 3 stars on an arbelaster is more precision than you'd get with sacred Kailasan archers, and in a cheap, armour-piercing unit, with great armour.

Ofcourse, it takes a lot of time to get to 3 stars, but, used wisely, they have potential to last long enough to get there.

And, MA Ulm's units aren't hard to use. It's relatively straightforward to create a line of shield+morningstar infantry out front, calvalry to the side, arbelasters in back of the infantry. You can play around with the other units, adding in pike, flailers, battle-axers, etc. but the basics are almost built in.

Another cog in their engine is that you can instantly use their mage-smiths in combat. You'll want them researching, ofcourse, but when you're first establishing your empire, having 3-4 mage-smiths casting rain of stones or fire flies in the back does a lot against independents. And they're one of the few units Ulm has, that don't take a monstrous amount of resources to build.

That said, their sappers-armed with lighter crossbows-are actually a pretty good support unit. You can build them quickly, for sheer missle superiority, and use them later on in the game to break castles.

[Endoperez]

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

You'll want them researching, ofcourse, but when you're first establishing your empire, having 3-4 mage-smiths casting rain of stones or fire flies in the back does a lot against independents. And they're one of the few units Ulm has, that don't take a monstrous amount of resources to build.

I hope you meant Stone Shards. If you didn't, could you PM me the details?

EDIT: I like using magic bows and Sceptres of Authority on my support commanders, very early if I get the chance. In fact, as I tend to research Construction 1 for Legions of Steel first, if I get a Fire gem event early I go for Constr 2 instead of Evocation. 5 fatigue Flame Bolts for 3 gems is hard to beat in the early game (from Sceptre of authority). Now if only Fire Bolas were an effective counter to elephants...

[Baalz]

Originally Posted by Endoperez

I hope you meant Stone Shards. If you didn't, could you PM me the details?

Rain of stones is actually a really powerful move for Ulm. You should end up with a couple smiths who get an air random, and with your forge bonus you can cheaply slap black steel plate on your combat mages (2 earth gems apiece with a hammer). Have your mages cast stone/iron skin round one and they (along with all your black plate troops) will be functionally immune to the rain of stones. Anybody tough enough to shrug off the stones now gets the joy of charging into magma eruptions. Anybody too tough for *that* will probably face destruction. Hmmm, come to think of it, a sadistic person might wait until after a couple turns of destruction to land the stones. >

Or, just empower your air random smith cheaply with 30 gems, stick some black steel full plate on him and a pair of earth boots, cloud trapeze into the path of an attacking army to drop a first round rain of stones which your PD will mostly ignore (not so much the enemy mages). Retreat, rinse, and repeat. Probably worthwhile to invest a few extra items on that guy, but you don't need anything expensive.

[SlipperyJim]

Originally Posted by Baalz

Rain of stones is actually a really powerful move for Ulm. You should end up with a couple smiths who get an air random, and with your forge bonus you can cheaply slap black steel plate on your combat mages (2 earth gems apiece with a hammer). Have your mages cast stone/iron skin round one and they (along with all your black plate troops) will be functionally immune to the rain of stones. Anybody tough enough to shrug off the stones now gets the joy of charging into magma eruptions. Anybody too tough for *that* will probably face destruction. Hmmm, come to think of it, a sadistic person might wait until after a couple turns of destruction to land the stones.

You're a very evil man, and I appreciate that. After I finish my current Lanka game, I'm thinking I should play as MA Ulm. Ulm was my first choice back in the Dom:PPP days, and it's about time to revisit those glory days.