User Tools

Site Tools


gath-la

LA Gath, Last of the Giants

Lore

Gath is a dry land that has only recently recovered from the devastation caused by its earlier inhabitants. For ages the land has been dominated by giants, but under constant pressure from human immigrants and the Abysian Tide of Fire, the original inhabitants of the land were forced to retreat and watch as city after city was destroyed. Now there is but one city left: Gath, the City of Giants. The Gittite descendants of the Anakim of Ashdod still dominate the surrounding land and have subjugated several human tribes. While the human tribes comprise much of the population of the kingdom, the Gittites are the undisputed rulers of the land. By keeping iron-working from the human population and through a strictly centralized cult focused around bloody sacrifices at the Great Temple, the Gittites have kept control of the land. The Gittites are small compared to the ancient Rephaim, but still large by human standards.

General Overview

Gath is a nation with a lot of variety. It has 3 different sacred troop options: cap-only Giants, recruit-anywhere humans and the powerful Se'ir blood summons, incentivising a strong bless. It also has a fantastic mage selection, with great magic diversity, having 6 of the paths at level 2, as well as many cross paths. More to come…

Notable weaknesses include a lack of any mage with level 3 in a path (except for a 3.33% chance on a slow to recruit cap-only unit), making it difficult to climb to high levels outside of combat, even with great access to rare cross path boosters. More to come…

National Features

Race Military Magic Access Priests Buildings
Prefers Heat +1
Waste Survival
Humans:
Mostly Average
Some have High Morale
Some have Fire Resistance
Gittites:
Size 3
Base 1 Protection
+14 HP vs. Humans
+5 STR vs. Humans
+2 MR & MOR vs. Humans
+1 ATT & DEF vs. Humans
Fire Resistance (3)
Gibborim:
Size 4
Base 2 Protection
Fire Resistance (4)
Gluttony (2-3)
Old Anakim:
Size 5
Base 2 Protection
3 Miscellaneous Item Slots
Fire Resistance (5)
Gluttony (5)
Sacred Giants use Magic Gear
Half-Giant Gittites use Iron
Most Humans use Bronze
Tribal Variety:
- Reuben & Naphtali: Weak but Many
- Gad & Asher: Strong but Few
- Zebulon: Formations & Standards
- Benjamin: Multi-attacking Pillagers
- Iassachar: Useful Outside Battle
- Levi: Sacred & Zealous
fire 22 (rare 3)
earth 22 (rare 3)
astral 22 (rare 3)
death 22
nature 22
blood 22
Hero:
astral 33nature 44

Summons:
nature 33
(req. astral 44nature 11)
fire 44, air 44, earth 44, astral 44
(req. astral 77fire 33)
Powerful (holy 33)
holy 22 off-capital
Free holy 22 Heroes
Temples cost Gold800
Blood Sacrifice
Temple-only Researchers
Healing Heretics
Giant Citadels

Random paths might mess with you as Gath: your Mages that can have fire 22, earth 22, and/or astral 22 have only a one-in-three chance at most of having it, while death 22 is relegated to one-in-four. At least you have more crosspaths now, compared to way back in EA & MA.

Capital Special Sites

Palace of the Sage King Template of the Sage King

Enables recruitment of Seren
* Enable recruitment of Gibbor

Enable recruitment of Kohen Gadol
Produce 2astralpearl1firegem1earthgem

Notable Units

General description of the units in the nations roster, any standouts, shared qualities aka temperature, any foreign rec, what makes a good basis to plan around.

Gath makes use of wastelands to summon troops, and is given a wasteland capital by some map generators. Most of their troops and commanders have wasteland survival to mitigate this, but care should be taken when using indy commanders for logistics, or moving units with and without wasteland survival together.

Commanders

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Iassacharite Scout
25
6
1
Stealthy (55)
Waste Survival
Not completely generic: 5 more stealth than the typical indie scout and wasteland survival.
Benjaminite Commander
40
11
1
Waste Survival
Pillager
Ambidextrous(1)
A basic 40 leadership commander, but notable for the pillager ability, which allows this commander to lead your Benjamite slingers and use the raid action.
Gittite Commander
85
28
1
Waste Survival
Resist Fire (3)
Somewhat cheap source of 80 leadership for formations, but note that 80 leadership is easily available on your Kohen Gadols.
Iassacharite Sage
45
2
1
random010% 6
Sacred
Waste Survival
Old-Age 55 (50)
A pure researcher. As a mage with no guaranteed paths, they are unaffected by or scales. This holds even if they random a magic path. They require a temple but no lab to recruit, however Gath has expensive temples and they will still require a lab to perform research.

They cost 1 commander rec point yielding 18 RP per citadel recruitment turn regardless of scales. They are very cheap, at only 45 gold with sacred upkeep. The few that receive mage paths are very cheap item forgers.
Iassacharite Sibyl
65
2
2
astral 11nature 11 9
Waste Survival
Supply Bonus (10)
Fortune Teller (10)
Your alternative research option is cheap and also a useful combat mage. 65 gold (25 less than the Shaman of C'Tis!) means that they are very cheap to mass, although they do not have sacred upkeep. Their research with scales is very strong. Fortune teller can mitigate scales on important fort provinces.

Gath often makes use of communions/sabbaths, and sibyl masters reliably bring nature (regeneration) to them, or make cheap, although fragile slaves. Acting individually, they can point buff troops, and cast swarm. However, they have low HP (9) and very low morale (7!).
Abba
175
2
2
nature 22random1100% 11
Resist Fire (3)
Stealthy (55)
Waste Survival
Supply Bonus (20)
Heretic (1)
Healer (1)
The Abba is a very expensive upgrade on the Sibyl, but brings a lot of abilities with it. Firstly, a recruitable healer is a rare resource, and provides both the passive benefit of improving your troops, while allowing you to target heal diseased mages and injured thugs/SCs.

Stealth and a giant chassis gives Abbas raiding options, and although Heretic is mostly a downside, a raiding heretic can give a little extra value. The and randoms give the best value, for communions and Strength of Gaia respectively.
Levite Priest
45
2
1
holy 11
Sacred
Waste Survival
Cheapest way to bless your varied sacred units, but otherwise a very generic priest. Best used for when you only have a few sacreds or if you want a cheap option for Blood Sacrifice or just normal preaching. Note that they are equally cheap as an Iassacharite Sage for the purposes of sending them out to build temples.
Kohen
130
2
2
blood 11holy 22random1100% 9
Sacred
Resist Fire (3)
Waste Survival
Your blood hunter, Se'ir summoner and sabbath slave/master. Kohens are quite expensive just for blood hunting, but all have a useful crosspath allowing them to act as powerful sabbath masters as well as resilient slaves.

Their holy 22 path gives you supreme dominion control through strong preaching or blood sacrificing, as well as easy access to blessing and powerful banishment. Their crosspath, giant size and access to your bless gives them some thug potential, although you have many other options and their base stats are poor.
Yeddeoni
130
2
2
earth 11death 11random1100% 11
Resist Fire (3)
Waste Survival
Yeddeoni are your only death access and death 22 versions in particular are valuable for skull staff forging. They are also important as your only reliable source of getting and crosspath.

The 3 path versions are excellent early game site searchers, with the version forging crystal items and staying relevant as a big lategame magic caster through communion, and the version giving access to thugging items as well as the Skull of Fire booster. earth 22 versions are excellent troop buffers.

Note that Yeddeoni are your only native source of significant undead leadership to lead Se'ir, and also have wasteland survival to move them from their summoning province quickly.
Seren
200
79
2
Capital Only
random020%
Sacred
Resist Fire (4)
Waste Survival
Gluttony (3)
The mighty Melqarts of Hinnom and Anakim of Ashdod are reduced to a guy who usually can't do magic. The Seren looks like a SC at a glance, but 4/5 of the time you are paying 200 and a cap turn for 120 leadership and a slightly better Gibbor. When you get a path of magic, you are getting a giant with solid base stats and access to 1 decent thug path, but Seren are competing for valuable capital recruitment turns with Kohen gadol, and capital resources with Gibbors.
Kohen Gadol
370
31
4
Capital Only
blood 22holy 33random2200%
10%

Sacred
Resist Fire(5)
Waste Survival
Gluttony (5)
The true descendants of the Anakim, Kohen Gadols are powerful combat casters and capable thugs/SCs with gear. Comes with 3 miscellaneous slots.

With 80 leadership and access to divine blessing, they can lead your armies, enter communions and use powerful battlefield spells from their random school or blood. Their high HP pool can make a suitable turbo communion slave chassis through regeneration. Although their base stats are good rather than great, Kohen Gadols making use of or buffs, Phoenix Pyre or their bless can become strong SCs with gear and/or fluffing, both of which Gath has plenty of access to.

Watch out for the 1/30 chance to get fire 33, earth 33 or astral 33 as these mages are very valuable for rituals and forging.

Troops

As Gath has recruit-anywhere sacred troops, all other troops value will scale depending on the investment you place in your bless. Gaths human troops are varied, but none excel in any particular role and there is a lack of high damage attacks.

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Naphtali Spearman
10
11
9
Waste Survival These troops have identical stats to indie light infantry. They are resource cheap, and thus prime troops to help with early expansion, especially if you do not have a bless.
Reubenite Archer
10
7
9
Waste Survival A basic short bow unit. Also your lowest resource unit, massable for sieges. Flaming arrows is very accessible for Gath, but short bows are comparatively weaker in LA. Additionally this archer is not particularly cheap, has bad armour for missile wars and also has only 8 morale.
Benjaminite Slinger
11
11
12
Waste Survival
Pillager
Ambidextrous(1)
A duel sword infantry with solid attack density but low damage. They have almost no protection and no shield, but have reasonable defense skill. Their low price and similar combat speed to Gibbors make them suitable for filling the gaps between size 4 Gibbors to improve their dps and hp density. Their low resources cost and decent quality makes them a viable option for the very early expansion. With Strength of Giants they are pretty killy, though very squishy.
Gadite Swordsman
12
28
14
Resist Fire (3)
Waste Survival
The first of your higher protection units, this one brings above average strength and HP, fire resistance, and a Javelin. Could be helpful if you are fighting a fire nation, but your giant troops present another option with fire resistance. Note that the presence of these troops in a province opens 2 bad events, one of which will destroy your 800g temple!
Zebulunite Soldier
13
15
16
Waste Survival
Formation Fighter (2)
This hoplite has better than average Att/Def/Morale but a disappointing 12 protection and normal human HP and Strength. Gath has good access to point buffing magic such as Body Ethereal through Sibyls, that can take advantage of tightly packed hoplites. The resource cost of these soldiers is also quite low, so they can be massed.
Asherite Soldier
15
27
21

Your highest protection troop, the Asherite soldier also has a kite shield, making it an efficient arrow catcher. It boasts better than average all-around stats, with the drawbacks of being expensive in gold, resources and recruitment points, and having only map move 8 and no wasteland survival, making them slower than all your other troops.
Zebulunite Horn Blower
20
16
21
Standard (1)
Waste Survival
Formation Fighter (2)
A standard unit for boosting your troops morale. Its low combat speed will keep it behind your front line and relatively safe. It can fit 4 to a square with the other hoplite units for additional safety. Most of your troops tend to already have good morale, making these more of a situational choice than a must-have.
Gittite Soldier
25
25
15
Resist Fire (3)
Waste Survival
Your only non-sacred giant troop, the Gittite soldiers have solid combat stats and, with their 18 piercing damage spear, are your only massable access to a hard hitting attack. They have a 1 to 1 gold to resource ratio and a lethal javelin, making them a good candidate for scales expansion. With Strength of Giants and Flaming Arrows, their javelins become a frightening threat against unshielded troops. Their protection of 14 is mediocre, but can be easily raised with buffs. With innate fire resistance they might still have their place in the mid game. They are arguably Gath's strongest non-sacred troops.
Levite Zealot
15
17
14
Sacred
Waste Survival
Patrol bonus (2)
Your recruit anywhere sacred is, on the face of it, an unexceptional unit, being quite similar to an indie heavy infantry unit with lower protection but 1 additional HP and excellent morale. Their patrol bonus and sacred upkeep gives them great value as patrollers for your blood hunters. In combat, having a size 2 troop to fill squares with your Gibbors is important for attack density and Zealots will rarely break. However, there is competition from your other sacred units to be the focus of bless design and designing a cost efficient bless to make Zealots significantly strong is challenging. Note they only have Map move 10, so will slow down all your giant units and summons.
Gibbor
70
43
23
Capital Only
Sacred
Resist Fire(4)
Waste Survival
Gluttony (2)
Gibbors are much weaker than their MA counterparts, the Anakim, losing their second attack, a point of size, and some skill. They are accordingly half the price, and still boast giant HP, good defense and in-built magic weapons. Their main weakness is their low attack density, which, when combined with only 14 protection, will lead to them killing their opponents slowly and being whittled down. It is important to note their gluttony: Abbas or supply items are sometimes necessary to prevent starvation and disease.

Heroes

Vanilla

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Nabi
Multihero
holy 22
Sacred
Waste Survival
A Nabi appears once in a while. They are useful for preaching and blood sacrifice, and can lead some troops when needed.
Sabba - Sibyl of Hermon
Minimum hero arrival turn: 5
astral 33nature 44 19
Sacred
Resist Poison (7)
Healer (2)
Supply Bonus
Fortune Teller (20)
Waste Survival
Female
Spirit Sight
Sabba is your highest mage apart from a 1% cap-only random, and your highest mage by 2 whole levels. Landing her will crank you up to nature 77 with a Treelords Staff and Moonvine Bracelet, which is helpful for nature rituals if you don't take a regeneration bless. The cross-path makes Call Arel casting simple, if desired.

Worthy Heroes

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Nabi Multihero
holy 33
Spreads Dominion (1)
Summons 1 Levite Zealot per month
Summons 4 Levite Zealot in battle
In addition to the vanilla game where Nabi are useful for preaching and blood sacrifice, a Levite Zealot every month is a decent bonus, especially if you have a strong bless. They are also increased to Holy 3, but you already had other options for that.
Goliath - Champion Unique
Sacred
Fire Resist (10)
Waste survival
Fear (5)
Halt Heretic (3)
(1)
Watch out for slingers :P
Cain - Kinslayer Unique
death 22nature 22 13
Immortal
Cause Unrest(+5 per month)
Bringer of Misfortune (10)
Kills Population (50)
Brings misfortune, raises unrest and kills population, but he is immortal and gives you a new crosspath in magic.

Magic

Magic Access

Gath's magic can be described as wide but shallow, as they have access to 6 paths at level 2, but non at level 3 (except for Holy, and very rare randoms). In combat, the shallow path problem is greatly alleviated by communions/sabbaths, in which you have access to all your 6 paths and can easily boost to high levels for big spells. You also have many and varied cross-paths, which give access to many path boosting items. However, for the bigger rituals help from a pretender can be needed.

Fire: Max:fire 22 X-paths: earth 11astral 11death 11nature 22blood 22

Your Kohen Gadols can cast big fire spells () in sabbaths, and fire 11death 11 Yeddeonis can forge the Skull of Fire to make that easier. Summon Flame Spirit or Bind Arch Devil can boost you further.

Air: No native access

Water: No native access

Earth: Max:earth 22 X-paths: fire 11astral 11death 22nature 22blood 22

Your Kohen Gadols can cast big earth spells () in sabbaths, forge both Earth Boots and Blood Stones and use earth buff spells to Thug/SC. Yeddeonis and Kohens can cast earth buffs, with the earth 22 Yeddeonis being valuable for this. Your Se'ir love Strength of Giants!

Astral: Max:astral 22 X-paths: fire 11earth 11death 11nature 22blood 22

Your Kohen Gadols can cast big astral spells () in sabbaths, and use astral buff spells to Thug/SC. Massing Iassacharite Sibyls is cheap, and they can then point buff large quantities of troops with Body Ethereal and other astral buffs. You can forge Starshine Skullcaps and Crystal Coins natively to boost to astral 44 for mind hunt and gateway, which give a lot of utility.

Death: Max:death 22 X-paths: fire 11earth 11astral 11

Death only comes on your Yeddeonis, which you will likely not be recruiting en masse. Your death 22s are important for forging Skull Staffs and you can't boost higher until Summon Mound Fiend at Conj 7. However, your / mages can communion to cast any particular big death spell. Be careful of straining a communion with a lot of off path skelli-spam.

Nature: Max:nature 22 X-paths: fire 11earth 11astral 11

Abbas with or and access to both nature boosters means big nature spells are a breeze. Hordes of cheap Iassacharite Sibyls allow swarm spam and point buffing of troops or SCs with wooden warriors or enlarge.

Blood: Max:blood 22 X-paths: fire 22earth 22astral 22

Boosting to higher blood requires pretender help or an empower for the first blood thorn. Researching blood 4 to get access to Se'ir and bloodlust is recommended once your blood economy gets rolling. Later, you can easily cast Father Illearth and Bind Archdevil

National Spells

Gath has 11 national spells, most of which lie in Conjuration. The nation's most defining national spell is Scapegoats, but some of the Conjuration summons provide useful utility.

Combat

  • Evocation 4 astral 22fire 11: Strange Fire
    Strangely, this battlefield spell is exclusive to Ashdod and Gath, despite the fact that both nations struggle to cast it. The only mage that can for Gath is a 10% random Kohen Gadol who gets the crosspath, which is a 2% chance. If you do luck into mages who can cast this, it is essentially a Falling Fires that does more 7 more untyped damage to undead or demons with better range and comes a research level earlier, making it quite powerful. However, as all your Kohens and Kohen Gadols can cast Banishment and Smite Demon effectively, you do not lack counters to demons or undead anyway.

Ritual

Resurgent Demons

  • Conjuration 3 nature 11 for 3naturegem: Summon Mazzikim ( Mazzik×8)
    A Mazzik is statistically almost identical to the Imp summoned in battle with Summon Imps. These are effective at jumping into the enemy back lines and messing with enemy mages and troop formations. This spell allows you to get 2.66 Imp-type units per naturegem, without using mage turns in combat. Furthermore, these flyers can be summoned in large numbers pre-battle and then attack rear en masse. As demons, their strength can be boosted with Blood Lust allowing them to actually do damage. This could be a powerful disruptive strategy in an early war and this spell can be used as an early-mid game "panic button", cast in volume by Iassacharite Sibyls to win a key battle. However, naturegem are valuable for many purposes, so it is important to get value from any Mazziks summoned.
  • Conjuration 5 nature 44 for 15naturegem: Summon Lilot ( Lilot×1)
    Lilots are dream seducers, which is unfortunately the less effective kind of seduction due to the extra MR check involved before the morale check for the seduction itself. Lilots are also not mages, limiting their options in an assassination battle. However, like any assassin, a Lifelong Protection or other retinue items can make them a dangerous threat to most enemy commanders.
  • Blood 3 blood 11 for 8bloodslave: Scapegoats. Wasteland Only ( Se'ir×2)
    Se'irim are size 3, sacred, berserking goat demons with 3(!) attacks, each hitting at 17 attack and 24 damage once they go berserk and Blood Lust has been cast. They are also quite tough, with good hp, MR and OK natural protection once berserk. These troops are vital to your armies, as your main source of high damage along with good attack density. The spell comes early at research level Blood 3 but the Blood 4 spell Blood Lust greatly increases their value. A wasteland is required to cast this spell, so is a vital strategic objective if you do not use a map generator that guarantees one for Gath. An aggressive bless for Se'irim would include +strength, +attack and blood surge, all of which are minor blesses that can be combined with an imprisoned pretender.
  • Blood 4 blood 33air 11 for 28bloodslave: Summon Shedim Wasteland Only ( Shed×3)
    Gath has no native access to magic, making the Se'ir a much more natural choice for summoning than the Shed. If you are able to obtain air mages, Shedim make a strong source of AN damage that can be produced en masse and transported easily due to being able to fly.

Abrahamic Angels

Most of the Abrahamic Angels are quite difficult for Gath to summon due to their crosspath requirements. They are all sacred, so will benefit from your bless.

  • Conjuration 4 astral 22 for 9astralpearl: Call Malakh ( Malakh×1)
    The Malakh's chief qualities are its stealth, mobility and low cost. It can function as a very light thug due to its natural invulnerability and awe, as long as it is given some gear before being sent out. A cheap and accessible way to screen your armies from an early tech level.
  • Conjuration 6 astral 33fire 11 for 21astralpearl: Call Hashmal ( Hashmal×1)
    A Hashmal is a much upgraded version of the Malakh, gaining ethereal, a strong fire shield and an aoe 1 fire attack, as well as improved Awe (5), invulnerability 20 and double the HP. However, its magic is not much better and it only has hand and misc slots. Outside of combat, Hashmal provide 120 leadership and inquisitor for utility. 21astralpearl in the Late Ages is a fairly tall ask for a PD raider, however.
  • Conjuration 7 astral 44nature 11 for 39astralpearl: Call Arel ( Arel×1)
    The Arel can be directly compared to the Ivy King, coming at the same research level and both being nature 33 mages. Costing 39astralpearl instead of 30naturegem, Arelim are also strong healers and holy 33 mages as well as having the typical Angel attributes. However, Awaken Ivy King can be cast by any Abba with a Thistle Mace and Moonvine Bracelet, while Call Arel requires empowerment, multipath boosters or Pretender intervention to cast. Even if you can cast it, Arelim do not provide much additional utility to Gath. As battlefield casters, Iassacharite Sibyls and Abbas can use communions to get to nature 33 and beyond. Abbas also already take their role as healers, and Kohen Gadols can cast Divine Blessing.
  • Conjuration 8 astral 55fire 22 for 49astralpearl: Call Ophan ( Ophan×1)
    A bigger Hashmal with trample and holy 33, allowing it to be a highly mobile throne-claimer (perhaps not so useful for Gath given its cap-recruitable holy 33). Replaces invulnerability with natural protection. Also only has misc slots.
  • Conjuration 9 astral 77fire 33 for 222astralpearl: Call Merkavah ( Chayot×1 + Ophan(units)×4)
    The Chayot is an extremely powerful holy 44 mage-angel that alternates between four forms: astral 44, air 44, fire 44 and earth 44. It is also incredibly, astoundingly expensive, costing more pearls than two Wishes, and comes at a high research level.

Spooky Scary Skeletons

  • Enchantment 5 death 22earth 11 for 10deathgem: Memories of Stone ( Fossil Warrior×5+[1/2 lv])
    The Fossil Warrior is very good among skeletons, coming with a whopping 25 protection and a high damage attack (though it lacks attack density and has relatively low hitpoints). Its high magic resistance make it less susceptible to holy magic. However, Fossil Warriors are also rather expensive at a default 2deathgem per.

Notable Generic Magic

Discuss the top few generic spells that most increase a nation's combat power or synergize with national strategies. These will generally be early-to-mid game spells since individual spells matter much more during those periods of the game. Some examples are Foul Vapors for MA C'tis, Horde of Skeletons + Sabbath Master/Sabbath Slave for the Niefelheim line of nations, Mother Oak for the Pangaeas, Wailing Winds access, etc. For broader advice on magic use, link to Not-Lola's Basic Magic Use Guide.

This is also a good place to point out notable magic weaknesses, such as a lack of nature access making a nation vulnerable to Foul Vapors.

Magic Items

List and describe any unique national items or discounts in this section, discuss and compare with similar generic items. Also discuss generic items that are useful and accessible for the nation. These may include:

  • Thug gear (if the nation has good thugs)
  • Research boosters (particularly if the nation needs help researching or is already very good at researching)
  • Other items that synergize with the nation (e.g. Dwarven Hammers for MA Ulm)

National Items

National Discount Items

Generic Items

Strategy

Power Curve

This is probably the most difficult section to get consensus for. Describe how strong the nation is during expansion, the early, mid and late game, and what makes it strong/weak at each of those points. This should give readers an idea of where the weaknesses of a nation lie (if they have not been shown already) and when to take advantage of a nation's strengths.

Expansion Strategies

Without a strong bless, Gittite Soldiers are your best expansion unit. Gibbors will be better with a strong defensive bless (regen) but consider alternating recruitment with size 2 infantry in order to fill their squares in combat. You may want to recruit Naphtali Spearman on turn one, for more numbers and javelins in your first party. Avoid heavy cav until you have enough Gibbors/Gittites and some chaff to catch lances (perhaps the remains of your first expansion party?). An early Yeddeoni can bring reinforcements to an expansion party and then start death site searching while kohens can lead and bless Gibbors. Recruiting Iassacharite sages can cheaply jump-start your research and make use of any spare commander points. From the end of year 1, you should aim to recruit as many Kohen Gadols as possible from your cap.

Your blessed Gibbors are your strongest early game threat, and defence against rushes, so make sure you produce them in decent numbers. It is not essential to go to war early, but if you have invested a bless into your Gibbors you should look for an opportunity to make use of it on a vulnerable neighbour before they research counters!

Example Pretenders

Gath has excellent mages, but most are expensive, including the primary blood hunter. It is therefore extremely gold hungry, and benefits from good income scales. The troops are not that resource intensive, and Gath is a blood nation, so Order takes priority over Productivity.
Gath also has many sacred troops, including the exceptional Se'ir, suggesting a strong bless. However, Gibbors are not that strong, so investing in an awake bless in order to rush a neighbour could be a fragile strategy. Strong troop options, fast earlygame research and recruitable SC chassis provide some insurance against early aggression.
The mages have wide but shallow paths, encouraging a pretender with fewer deeper paths. The troops are strong enough to expand reasonably easily without help from a bless.

Pretender Ideas:

- Imprisoned F6E6B6 Golden Idol, Dom6, O3P2H3G3M1M1, Attack Skill x 2, Strength x 4:
This pretender combines great scales with a bless which makes your Se'ir hit 3 times for 28 damage with Attack 17, before they berserk, which adds +4 to attack and strength. Unleash your first army of Se'irs onto a neighbour in the mid-game and watch even heavily armoured troops be annihilated, all without much cost to your income. This is also a great lategame bless for your zealots, as there are many spells to help them survive but far fewer to make them able to do damage. The scales can be tweaked to your preference, e.g. Magic 3 for more sibyls and research but less gold. B7 gives blood surge but costs a whole scale and Dominion point. High blood magic is helpful for lategame summoning and boosters.

- Dormant N7B5 Fountain of Blood, Dom7, O3P2H3G3M1D3, Regen + Blood Bond:
The classic defensive bless option is powerful for your gibbors and se'ir, particularly as it ensures your Se'ir are always berserk, and even gives your zealots something to do. Going dormant pays for good scales; gives you a huge power spike at the end of year 1 as long as you make sure you have a force of Gibbors ready; and lets you forge your first blood thorns on time. The scales combination sacrifices long term research for income. In the earlygame your Iassacharite Sages can jump start your research, but do not overproduce them! It is essential you site search Fire and research construction 6 for Lightless Lanterns early enough so that your research does not fall too far behind.

Have another suggestion? Add it here!

See More

gath-la.txt · Last modified: 2024/07/09 05:10 by johnnydown