Vanheim is a land of misty moors and bitter forests inhabited by a tall and innately magical race known as the Vanir. The Vanir are mortal enemies of the giants of Jotunheim and since the beginning of time they have waged a great war upon each other. They are masters of illusions and are able to trick mortals with their glamour. In halls under the mountains of Vanheim live Dwarves, smiths capable of crafting fabulous items. Vanheim is a land of magic and even the horses are enchanted and exceptionally fast. Vanir are skilled shipwrights and navigators and can sail the oceans. Lesser beings are not held in high regard and their blood is sacrificed to sate the Awakening God.

"These are all nations sprung from old Norse myth. The Poetic Edda and some later tales, combined with general conceptions of Iron Age Scandinavia, are the main sources. Vanir, Aesir and Giants are ancient antagonists in these myths. The Aesir, being perceived as gods, have been made pretenders in Dominions. Not that Vanir weren't, but they seem less so than the Aesir in most instances. As with most nations of supernatural origin, it seems fitting that their magic fades with each passing age as humans become more and more numerous. Niefelheim, Jotunheim, and Utgård are part of the history of a single nation through the ages. Vanheim, Helheim and Midgård also share a common ancestry and development. In the middle era Helheim merges with Vanheim and disappears as an independent nation. Only the valkyries remain as reminders of the legacy of Helheim." -Illwinter

If you are considering picking this nation to play, what should you know?

Magic Access	Alt. Access	Unit Summary	Core Abilities	Buildings
3 (Rare 4) 3 (Rare 4) 3 (Rare 4) 2 (Rare 3) 1 (Rare 2) 1 (Rare 2) 2	Hero 32222 2221 Summons 423 243 432 432 (req. 43)	Sailing Elf Vikings Strong Thugs No Cheap Mages Berserking Vanhere Sacreds	Stealthy Sailing Glamour	Standard Forts Trace income across oceans

Capitol Gems: 231

Cold Limit + 1
Magic Limit + 1

Prefers Cold Scale + 1

Blood Sacrifice: Priests can sacrifice a blood slave at a temple to help extend the dominion.

Andvarian Dwarves: Vanheim has recruitable Master Smiths who can forge equipment one level higher than comparable mages, though only for magic paths they have. The smiths are slow to recruit, and not quite as flexible as the other mages of the nation, but they raise Vanheim's effective magic access for the purpose of getting items:

• 4 (rare 5) ← There are only a few Earth items Vanheim can't make
• 2 (rare 3)
• 2 (rare 3)

All of the smiths will at least have 3 in terms of forging, and the crosspaths they can get in conjunction with their smithing skill lets Vanheim make a wide variety of things… just not cheaply.

The nation is made up of mostly Elves, long-lived and glamoured beings with high defense skill. The majority of your armies will be invisible on the strategic maps of other players, making you an ever-elusive threat that can steal land at any moment.

EA Vanheim's mage lineup largely lacks "efficient" spellcasters; all mages aside from the cap-only Dwarven Smith are skilled elves on horses and thus cost a heavy premium.

Image	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Van Scout 55 15 1	Stealthy (75) Glamour Mountain Survival Forest Survival	Commentary here.
	Vanherse 235 17 2	1119 Sacred Stealthy (65) Sailing (Max Size 5) Skilled Rider (4) Glamour	Commentary here.
	Vanjarl 440 19 2	211211 Sacred Stealthy (65) Sailing (Max Size 5) Skilled Rider (5) Glamour	Commentary here.
	Fay Horse	Sacred Poison Resistance (10) Disease Resistance (100%) Stealthy (65) Smart Mount (100) Animal Glamour True Sight	Commentary here.
	Dwarven Smith 195 2 4 Capital Only	21100% 10%11 Darkvision (50%) Master Smith (1) Mountain Survival Prophet Shape: Dwarf Elder	Commentary here.
	Vanadrott 595 20 4 Capital Only	22121100% 10%17 Sacred Stealthy (65) Sailing (Max Size 5) Skilled Rider (5) Glamour	Commentary here.

Summon Spell	Unit	Special Attributes	Comments
Sloth of Bears (Conjuration 3) 2 and 6	Great Bear x 15+	Undisciplined Animal Mountain Survival Forest Survival	Summons high strength blobs of hitpoints. Can work as evocation bait, as the bears have more HP than your troops and even lower MR, but otherwise unremarkable.
Awaken Draugar (Conjuration 4) 2 and 12	Draug x 4	Resist Cold (25) Resist Poison (25) Cold Aura (3) Fear (+5) Undead Amphibious Need Not Eat Spirit Sight Shapechanger Below HP (20) (Draug)	Commentary here.
Summon Dwarf of the Four Directions (Conjuration 8) 43 and 62	Dwarf of the North or Dwarf of the South or Dwarf of the East or Dwarf of the West	42323 or 24323 or 43223 or 43223 Common Attributes: Unique Shock Resistance (22) Darkvision (50%) Master Smith (1) Mountain Survival Dwarf of the South has: Master Smith (2) Dwarf of the East has: Supply Bonus (+20) Master Smith (2)	Summons one of the four Dwarves of the Four Directions, powerful mages who have significant combat, ritual-casting and forging capabilities (432200% and Master Smith 1-2 (1: Water, Death. 2: Fire, Nature). Also increases the likelihood of Hurricanes ravaging the world for each dwarf summoned. If all four dwarves are alive at once, the world is plunged into a Perpetual Storm and all battles will have Darkness over them; this is a somewhat roundabout manner to apply what amounts to two Global Enchantments at once, but the only way to dispel them is to kill one of the dwarves.

Note that only the Draug Ritual and the Valkyrie Combat Spell are natively available to Vanheim.

Your recruitable thugs are mounted mages that are really hard to hit. They probably don't need much extra prot and shouldn't have much more encumbrance as they will be casting spells, so armor isn't a priority. It's better to give them improved stabbing weapons (Fire Brand, or Frost Brand for AOE, Flesh Eater for anti thugging).

Vanheim can make Earth, Blood, and even the hard to make Air boosters. (Some rare Dwarven Smiths can forge Skull of Fire.) Vanhiem can even make a Robe of the Magi for late-game magic boosting.

• Dwarven Hammer (Construction 3)
  3 and 15
  A quintessential item for forging. Having a Forge Discount on an item that gives you a Forge discount is an economic win.
• Lightweight Scale Mail (Construction 3)
  1 and 4
  Commentary here.
• Cauldron of the Elven Halls (Construction 5)
  3 and 15
  If your glamoured army does get reported by a scout or contains non-glamoured units, only a fraction will be reported. If you are into mind-game strategies, having a massive army mistaken as a small raiding party grants you a greater level of surprise.
• Weightless Scale Mail (Construction 7)
  1 and 4
  Commentary here.

See Magic Access. These guides supplement the summaries at the top.

• 1 on one-in-five Dwarven Smiths (capital-only)
• 3 on one-in-five Vanadrotts (capital-only), 2 on Vanjarls off-capital
• No Water magic
• 3 on one-in-five Dwarven Smiths (capital-only)

• No Astral magic
• 1 on one-in-five Vanadrotts and Dwarven Smiths (capital-only)
• No Nature magic
• 3 on one-in-five Vanadrotts (capital-only), 1 on Vanherses off-capital

• 2 on one-in-five Vanadrotts (capital-only), 1 on Vanjarls off-capital
• 2 on Vanjarls

• 321/231/222: Storm Demons, Soul Transaction, Wailing Winds, Cloud of Dreamless Slumber, Wrath of Pazuzu
• 2121/12/21: Cave Kobolds (and Bluecaps), Mirage Crystal, Flying Shield, Shroud of Flying Shards
• 2121: Dread spells, Bone Fiends, Corpse Constructs, Vampires
• 12: Magma spells, The Copper Arm, various neat combat items
• 21: Blight, Eye Pendant (provides Disease Healer and protects against Assassins), Hidden summons

Summon Dwarf of the Four Directions gives dwarves which are useful to EA Vanheim's path access. If all four enter the game though, the world is plunged into Perpetual Storm and all battles will have Darkness. To get a 43 to do the summoning, an 1 Vanadrott needs two Air and Earth boosters.

8 can Bind Demon Lord. While most reliable at getting Death and Glamour, the demons it summons may be strong in any path except for Water and, (unnecessarily,) Blood.

With two Air boosters and one Earth booster, an 1 Dwarven Smith (1 in 5) can forge a Staff of Elemental Mastery, which can ease the way up the elemental paths.

EA Vanheim has a difficult time getting 11 for Skull of Fire and 24 for Bind Arch Devil. A 1 Dwarven Smith (1 in 5) effectively has 2 because of Master Smith. It still needs a level of empowerment to maybe create the unique The Ruby Eye. If it can't, it will need another level of empowerment for a Flame Helmet.

43 can Summon Dwarf of the Four Directions with a 1 in 4 chance of 2 and Master Smith. It can create the unique The Ruby Eye.

5 can Bind Heliophagus for a 1 in 4 chance of 4.

A 3 Vanadrott (1 in 5), needs one level of empowerment to reach the key level of 4; or they can cast Lore of Legends with a Gossamer Veil and a Mirage Crystal.

No native access. 43 can Summon Dwarf of the Four Directions with a 1 in 4 chance of 2 and Master Smith.

3 can Summon Spectre for a 7 in 16 chance of at least 1.

A 3 Dwarven Smith (1 in 5) is effectively 4 for making items. This is not as helpful as might be thought. It can make Earth Boots and maybe the unique Orb of Elemental Earth. A 1 Vanadrott (1 in 5) can be given Earth Boots and Blood boosters to create Blood Stones and maybe a unique Pebble Skin Suit. The Blood boosters can be hard to get.

No native access. 31 can cast Hidden in Sand and Hidden Wasteland for at least 1.

3 can Summon Spectre for a 7 in 16 chance of at least 1.

With The Silver Arms, Skull Staff, and the unique The Flailing Hands, all forged by Dwarven Smiths, and the unique The Black Book of Secrets created by a 1 Vanadrott (1 in 5) with boosters, a 1 Dwarven Smith (1 in 5) can reach 4. Master Smith makes it effectively , allowing the creation of Skullface and the unique Sceptre of Dark Regency. Without all the unique boosters, empowerment is needed.

43 can Summon Dwarf of the Four Directions with a 1 in 4 chance of 2 and Master Smith. This means one less level of empowerment is needed.

Vanlade - Vanadrott, the hero, can create the unique The Black Book of Secrets without boosters.

5 can Bind Heliophagus for a 1 in 4 chance of at least 3.

EA Vanheim can forge The Copper Arm and The Silver Arms to hold extra Death boosters.

No recruitable access. 43 can Summon Dwarf of the Four Directions with a 1 in 4 chance of 2 and Master Smith.

23 can cast Summon Gnome for 2.

EA Vanheim can forge The Copper Arm and The Silver Arms to hold extra Nature boosters.

3 Vanadrott (1 in 5) can create a Gossamer Veil. Given to a 1 Dwarven Smith (1 in 5), the Smith can forge a Mirage Crystal. A level of empowerment is still need to create the unique Tome of Legends.

Sölvis - Vanadis and Vanlade - Vanadrott, heroes, with two Glamour boosters, can each potentially forge the unique The Sword of Many Colors.

Getting a 1 Vanadrott (1 in 5) to 2 is surprisingly difficult. Empowered in Blood and with a Skull Staff, it can create the unique The Black Book of Secrets. With that, a 2 Vanadrott (1 in 5) hits the key 3.

Vanlade - Vanadrott, hero, can create the unique The Black Book of Secrets with no boosters.

How to win as the nation. Feel free to use the following sections, or delete them, or change them.

Different expansion options.

Early game options.

Mid game options.

Late game options.

What are the nation's weaknesses?

Add links to guides or other overviews for this nation here.

Nations
Early Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Ulm • Pyrène, • Marverni • Sauromatia • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Mictlan • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Agartha • Tir na n'Og • Fomoria • Vanheim • Helheim • Niefelheim • Muspelheim • Rus • Kailasa • Lanka • Yomi • Hinnom • Ur • Berytos • Xibalba • Mekone • Ubar • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Therodos
Middle Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Sceleria • Pythium • Man • Eriu • Ulm • Pyrène • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Asphodel • Vanheim • Jotunheim • Nidavangr • Vanarus • Bandar Log • Shinuyama • Ashdod • Uruk • Nazca • Xibalba • Phlegra • Phaeacia • Ind • Na'ba • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Ys
Late Ages	Arcoscephale • Pythium • Lemuria • Man • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Jomon • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Midgård • Utgård • Bogarus • Patala • Gath • Ragha • Xibalba • Phlegra • Vaettiheim • Feminie • Piconye • Andramania • Pyrène • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Erytheia