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EA Arcoscephale Golden Era
Lore
"Arcoscephale is together with Pythium the first nation conceived in the creation of Dominions. After having played GMT's Great Battles of Alexander and S.P.Q.R. I got fascinated by ancient warfare, and the hoplites were among the first units to appear in Dominions. At first the two nations were one, with a troop roster of ancient units, while Man and later on Ulm had troop rosters with a more medieval touch. Soon, however, it became clear that Pythium and Arcoscephale should be two distinct nations. Arcoscephale is heavily influenced by ancient Greek city-states and Hellas. The Golden Age is influenced by the mythical past and the archaic age." - Illwinter
General Overview
This is the beginning of the well-known Hoplite nation, with communions. EA Arcoscephale is more focused on chariots, flying raids, and masters of siege attacks and defenses, rather than heavy armored formations of later ages.
The area they struggle with is that, like other humans, they're likely to die from unanticipated army wipes. They also lack the lineup and native magic to produce good thugs or counter thugs. The second anything goes wrong, Arcoscephale is prone to complete collapse, especially when handled by the AI in singleplayer.
National Features
| Race | Military | Magic Access | Priests | Buildings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Humans | Heavy Infantry Chariots  Flyers Engineers |  4 (rare 5) 3 (rare 4) 2 (rare 3)  2  2 (uncommon)  2 (uncommon) Hero: 1113Summons: requires 4 or 5* 1 21 (requires 3) * 1 1 (requires 2) | Weak ( 1) Great HealersStealthy  HereticsScry: Dominion gives very accurate Scouting Reports. (Reports are also available to this nation's Disciples) |  Standard Forts (  Can be upgraded into Castles by Engineers) Labs cost  250 |
Capital Sites
| Lykeion | Mount Cephalos | Akademeia |
|---|---|---|
Recruit: Mage EngineerProduce 2  per turn | Recruit: Oreiad Wind Lord Wind RiderProduce 2  2 per turn | Recruit: Philosopher |
Units
Commanders
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Scout  25  5  1 |  Stealthy(50) Mountain Survival Forest Survival | A standard scout. Funny how all default scouts have Greek names. |
 | Engineer 40 3 1 |  siege bonus(25) castle defence bonus(25)  Old Age(60/50) Mason | For 40 gold each, you can produce a ludicrous amount of siege power that won't eat up supplies. Breaking into forts should never be a problem, and you can use spare engineers to build your own forts. |
 | Sceptic 50 1 1 | heretic(3) Old Age Stealthy(50) | Not just a scout, but also a heretic. Bunch a couple of them together to remove enemy Dominion from provinces. They can cause big setbacks for nations that rely on their scales or their Pretender, and you can push your Dominion and Pretender into the vacant spots. |
 | Icarid Champion 50 21 1 |  fire vulnerability(5) flying | Flying 60 leadership commander. The cheapest thing you have that could serve as a counter-thug chassis. |
 | Philosopher 65 1 2  Capital Only |  10 Old Age  philosopher(2) | Most Arcoscephale pretenders would prefer  for troops, making this Cap-only researcher a rare pick. If you do go with  (and  ), these guys will blitz through most of your research goals with ease. |
 | Myrmidon Champion 70 21 1 |  Formation Fighter(2) | Commander with 80 leadership. |
 | Chariot Commander 70 29 1 |  tramplemounted | A trampling commander. Is very situational, could be used in a thugging tactic that requires trampling over size 3 or smaller enemies. |
 | Mystic 100 1 2 | 1 3100%    +50%+50%+50% 12 | A primary Researcher and secondary mage. Can be lab rats, Communion Slaves and Communion Masters. |
| | Mage Engineer 125 3 2 Capital Only | 111100% 11 siege bonus(25) castle defence bonus(25) Old Age(60/50) Mason | A leader that combines the traits of engineers and wizards. If you're lucky you might get an Astral random so you can add Earth and Air to your communions. |
 | Wind Lord 130 27 1 Capital Only | 1  sacred  Combat Caster Flying mounted | Leader of the Wind Riders. Pegasi cavalry can fly to a distant province, get blessed, and then attack rear. |
 | Melissa 200 1 2 + rec Foreign | 111100% 9  supply bonus(10) Healer (3) | Cheap Nature & Air Magic outside of the capital. Their most important role, however, is being a true healer, able to remove any affliction from units. Very helpful since most your commanders are old men. |
| | Oreiad 400 1 4 Capital Only | 2131100%+10% 19 supply bonus(30)  Awe (6) stealthy (60)  seduction (9) mountain Survival recuperationFemale | your big super mage that grants high nature, some air and earth, and occasional water. Can cast big spells like Foul Vapors, Gaia's Blessing and Rain of Stones and stealthy lets them do it when the enemy isn't expecting it. Although expensive for the job, they can also steal enemy commanders if a opportune moment arises. Do note that the Awe(6) is for emergencies, it doesn't make them survivable in protracted melee. |
Troops
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Slinger 7 2 3 | Inexpensive ranged weapons. Sadly not very useful, as slings are low damage and limited range. Could be deployed as in great numbers swiftly as siege chaff or in combination with Flaming Arrows. | |
 | Peltast 10 5 9 | Lighly infatry with a javlin. A flexable chaff unit. |
|
 | Cardaces 10 8 9 | formation fighter(2) | A cheap line unit that you can fit 4 in a square. Takes point buffs well but suffers more casualtys from evocations. |
 | Icarid 14 21 18 | fire vulnerability(5) Flying | out clased by Wind Riders but they are still flying infantry that can deal a decent amount of damage that can be recruited from any fort. |
 | Myrmidon 15 29 21 | formation fighter(2) | Nearly a Super heavy infanty for the EA with good stats, damage, and you can have 4 in a square. Thier weekness are thier speed (on and off the battlefield), Easy to fatigue out, and cost alot of Recorses and Rec points. |
 | Chariot 40 29 46 | trample mounted | Is a decent trampler. You can use them for expantion by running over indies. |
 | Chariot Archer 50 20 46 | trample  unsurroundable(1)mounted Dying Shape: Archerless Chariot | Less port, but slightly higher Defence, takes less harassment penalty, and has effectly double the HP before dying. |
 | Wind Rider 55 27 46 Capital Only | sacredFlying mounted | a reson make EA Arco so good. are like elf calvary, but have flying insead of glamour. Decent stats, high prot, Defence(including benifits of being Mounted), mobility, and a powerful lance charge. Cost Alot but will quicly expand your territory. During war they are very good rear attackers and raiders. |
Heroes
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Pathos - Son of Titans | awe(1) inspirational(1) invulnerability(20) | 120ld hard to kill leader. |
 | Asterios - Monster in the Maze |  berserker(6) invulnerability(20) trample blunt resistant Slash resistant | A much-appreciated thug in an otherwise thug-less nation. |
 | Daidalos - Maker of the Maze | 1113 17 siege bonus(50) castle defence bonus(50) Old Age(60/48) Mason Clockwork Lord(2) | a Imporved Mage Engeneer with the highest national Eath path and has a spread of paths. He is especaly efficent at summoning Clockwork troop. Specifcits?. Are a stay at home mage can cast rituals. |
Magic
Research Priorities
National Magic & Summons
Monster Boar Conjure 5, 3 10
: an annoyance spell. forces the enemy to send forces to their money-making province to stop the unrest the boar is producing.
Procession of the Underworld Conjure 5, 3 13
, (summon 12 
Lampad). Can't nativly cast. Get alot of them for thier price. A nicie anti-thugging unit that inficts decay. If Gift of Reasoned they add 121 to your communions.
Summon Hound of Twilight Conjure 5, 21 4, (summon a 
Hound of Twilight). Can't nativly cast. Decent patroler and Spirit-sight can catch elves.
Bind Keres Conjure 6, 2 12, (summon 
Kerx3). Can't natively cast. Summon hard to hit flyers that can paralyze the undead. Can be effective in conjunction with your flying units late game as many nations will have undead mages. If Gift of Reasoned they add 11. Not look like much but you can still get useful spells and gear with only a 1 (do need to collect slaves and you can empower).
Craft Keledone Construction 7, 22 5, (summon 1 
Keledone) Situational, Summon a Hard to kill immobile communion slave in case a fort gets besieged.
Forge Brass Bull Construction 7, 33 30
, (summon a 
Khalkotauros) A high prot trampler.
Awaken Hamadryad Enchantment 5, 4 25, (summon 1 
Hamadryad) A immobile 3 mage. Sutuational as a defence implacment.
Sow Dragon Teeth Enchantment 6, 2 1, (summon 
Spartaex12 during Combat). A Decent in battle troop summon. Can get the same amount of value as a full sized earth elemental without going too deep into Conjuration.
Magic Access
Mystics grant cross paths of Astral, Fire, Water, and earth. With Mage, engineers can add Air to the mix (can forge a Crystal Matrix if he doesn't random astral) Can't random above a level two. Most of its mass mage power comes from communions.
Melissa is an expensive way to have 2.
Major Ritual power comes from Oreiad, EA Arcosephale a nature power (5 in combat with a Thistle Mace) to an extent, with strong Wind (can random 3, and has Earth/Air/Water/Nature Crosspaths.
Combat Magic
Mage power comes from Communions and Oreiads.
Communions can put out a large variety of buffs and evocations. (ex: Magma Eruption, Freezing Mist, Acid Rain, Gifts from Heaven, Mind burn).
Oreiads are stealthy big casters, able to surprise the opponent.
Ritual Magic
Magic Items
National Dicount
- Stymphalian Wings: 20 4. Grants Fly, Trample, and Fear but at a significant penalty in melee. Normally you would have to use 3 item slots for all three. If put on a proper Thug chassis with other items, he can clear out a lot of providences.
Strategy
Early Game
How to expand, potential pitfalls and how to get around them, obvious weakness strength, how much do you have to focus on war/infrastructure
Expand with Wind lords and chariots.
Mid Game
what is the first big research rush, what is the first big powerspike, where do you shift recruitment to? what are the big magic diversity issues, are there particular globals you should gun for
Late Game
How do you close out the game if you are in it, is the high level research stuff you can do uniquely well, does your nation fall off, aka do you have to force things to conclude swiftly
Strategy Guides
Link here to guides for the nation, on and off(?) the wiki. This should likely include things like suggested pretender designs as well as strategy guides.