Your Favorite Nation/Theme

[Japher]

Too lazy to make a poll, but what is your favorite nation/theme and why?

I haven't played a whole lot, really only 4. Yet, I still don't have a favorite.

Discuss.

[diamondspider]

Originally posted by Japher:
Too lazy to make a poll, but what is your favorite nation/theme and why?

I haven't played a whole lot, really only 4. Yet, I still don't have a favorite.

Discuss.

C'tis : Miasma.

Why?

-I love to play defensively and spread dominion as my main goal. Seems to be what sets Dominions apart.
-Cheap priests to spread dominion.
-Always enjoyed poison/disease stuff.
-Lizards are cute.
-Cool to have an Empoisoner Prophet to preach while stealthed.
-The City Guards are nice units for defensive play.
-It is challenging to play and unusual.
-It has great flavor with other similar poison spells/creatures.

[ January 26, 2004, 18:48: Message edited by: diamondspider ]

Favorite 'Power' Nation: Arcosephale

Favorite Theme Nation: T'ien Ch'i

[Gandalf Parker]

Man, Pangaea, Ulm (with Black Forest)
Hmm something psychological in that list. All underdogs with heavy capability toward sneaking armies.
I guess I just like being a surprise.

--
If you cant beat 'em, then join 'em.
If you cant beat em or join em, then at least try to surprise them.

[ January 26, 2004, 19:44: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[EternalSpearman]

Jotunheim: Niefelheim. Niefel Jarls are the main reason why I like it. With this theme and nation I generally go for a green dragon with nature bless effects, though a Arch Druid, green Naga or other nature-oriented pretender would also work fine for this, the dragon is a very good early game supercombatant (you can take whole provinces with just one dragon!).

In fact, after playing Niefelheim, normal Jotunheim seems weak, comparatively.

[ January 26, 2004, 20:00: Message edited by: EternalSpearman ]

[quantum_mechani]

It's hard to say, though Vanhiem I find to be a nice balance of fun and powerful. Another fun (if not as powerfull) one is Man's Last of the Tuantha theme. Mictlan can also be interesting, but it is usaully considered the weakest nation.

On a related note I find Machaka the hardest nation to 'get into'. It also has some of the weakest national heroes.

[PvK]

I like all the ones I've played, perhaps with personal favor in this order:

Ulm (standard or Iron Faith)
Mictlan (having a really fun game right now - 'tis more tricky than weak, I think)
Ermor (Ashen)
Man (only tried with my first Doms I demo game)
Vanheim
Pangaea
Ulm (Black Forest)
Arcoscephale

Very much looking forward to trying Ry'leh...

PvK

[ January 26, 2004, 19:56: Message edited by: PvK ]

[Lord_Devi]

I have a necro fetish myself I have a thing for undead, so I'm pretty much held to having Ermor (Ashen) as my fav.. heh heh, but Ulm is a close second. Those plate armoured infantry are just cool (I hate those arbalests though).

What I'm curious about though is if anyone has tried Ermor much in multiplayer? I'm really curious how they fare.

[Keir Maxwell]

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:
Man, Pangaea, Ulm (with Black Forest)
Hmm something psychological in that list. All underdogs with heavy capability toward sneaking armies.

Though I would seriously question describing Pangaea as an underdog.

My favourite race/theme to play so far is Pangaea. Centaur Warriors rock - fast, quick to build, sneaky, powerful, enough HP's to survive zap bangs, and berserk!! You have all the commanders you need to make things work (fast ones, stealthy ones, troop producing ones , Mass Protection casting ones) and the ability to easily produce lots of supply items and cast Mass Protection to turn your army into a nightmare. As the game goes on use your increased resource base to produce Centaur Cataphracts for extra crunch to deploy in the middle of the battle.

I know alot of people rate Minatours and Satyrs but I think they just slow down your expansion and make life complicated - go for lotsa fast troops and forget the slow ones. Speed and power - hard to beat.

I also think that the Pan are widely misunderstood as there seems a commenly held view they arn't much worth playing in an order race (what you need to use Centaur Warriors - must have gold). In practice you go for a weak dominion with Pangaea, its easy to boost with cheap temples, and your Pani spend most of their time in others dominion. They produce a steady flow of Maenads to deploy in the center on hold and attack to take archery while your Centaur Warriors ride in from the flanks. Add to this the Pani are stealthy, give a healthy suppply bonus, can cast Mass Protection later and Panic earlier.

So for me it has to be Pangaea. While the magic may be a bit weak as the game goes on its very useable early and the combination of power, stealth, and speed has the ability to challenge the best and suits my style even better than Vanheim.

Cheers

Keir

[undead dolphin hacker]

I generally play AE Ermor and R'lyeh. I do want to give Dark Forest Ulm a try sometime, though.