Late Phlegra is very similar to Sparta, but resembles other Greek city-states in a couple of places. There are three classes in the society; the human helotes (not dignified enough in this universe for a capitalization, much less a correct spelling) at the bottom, the Cyclopean citizen-soldiers, and the elder Mage-elites.

For some of its residents, this is actually a return to form, in a perverted sense. In the Early Ages, Phlegra was preceded by Mekone, an avaricious city-state built of Gold and Marble. The citizens and most of the elders of Mekone were Giants of Titan blood known as the Gigantes, who had elaborate governments for themselves and either vassalage or slavery for the humans. Thinking they were perfect, they became embodiments of hubris and declared War on the Gods of Mankind. Such folly cost them their city and their composure; the Elder Cyclopes who sponsored their war gave them a new city of stone in Phlegra, but they could not rebuild their reason, and the Gigantes devolved into hideous and obsessive Tyrants.

Late Phlegra exists as an island of sorts, in a sea of destruction churned by the Tyrants. The Elder Cyclopes were eaten (both figuratively and literally), the Tyrants turned to beating each other afterwards, and the helotes rebelled in every Phlegran city. Only Telepylos survived, and only because its Tyrant had one last moment of clarity; he unchained the Elder Cyclopes' descendants, and the Younger Cyclopes who idolized them, and gave them the reins. All of the Tyrants fell asleep in the earth afterwards, leaving control of Phlegra to the Cyclopean soldiers. In reality, though, Phlegra is run by whoever controls the helotes; most of them are human Mages, who were attracted by the ancient culture of Mekone and the image of its old philosopher-kings.

None in Phlegra want the Tyrants to reawaken… but alas, praying for something to not happen is not very effective.

Unlike nations with supercombatants, LA Phlegra is a supercombatant with a nation attached to it. It is the culmination of a slow descent into madness and despair that begins with the Spartan inspired Gigantes of Mekone and by the late age has become quite possibly one of the least pleasant places to be a normal human in the entire dominions universe. Sure the blood nations might sacrifice your daughters, and Lemuria might raise you as a ghost, but the Oppressors of Phlegra will literally rip your free will away and you might get eaten by an insane giant.

The Laestrygonians are the keystone of the nation and I would strongly encourage a player to begin preparations for their arrival from before the end of year one while at the same time creating a situation where your slave soldiers and elemental based communions can survive through the early and midgame. Unlike EA and MA, Phlegra’s basic (non giant) units are very resource intensive, particularly their cap only Iron Guard but, like the others they remain very gold (and upkeep) cheap. With high productivity scales you can mass armies very quickly and comfortably take casualties with very little consequence.

• Mercenaries are 25% more expensive.

Race	Military	Magic Access	Priests	Buildings
- Human Slaves - Cyclopes - Super Giants	- Light Slave Infantry - Cyclopes brutes - Cyclopes Smiths - Gigante Supercombatants - Auto-Communion Mages	3 (rare 4) 3 (rare 4) 2 (rare 3) 2 (rare 3) 1 (rare 2) The Tyrants: 4 (rare 5) 3 (rare 4) 2 (rare 3) 1 (rare)	- Cheap slaves (1) - Average but expensive (2) - Dominion causes Unrest (see below)	Giant Forts.

LA Phlegra has an event where The Burning Mountain site explodes and is replaced with The Shattered Volcano site. There is a 25% chance of the mountain exploding on turn 30, +1% per turn after that until it happens.

Telepylos		The Burning Mountain		Shattered Volcano
	Enables recruitment of: - Cyclope Smiths - Oppressor Archons - Iron Guards Produces 1 per turn.		Increases Heat Produces 3 per turn.		Enables recruitment of: - Laestrygonian Tyrants - Laestrygonians* Produces 11 per turn.

*Laestrygonian troops have a recruitment limit of zero per month. Gigantomachia is required to get them.

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

intro

Image	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Phlegran Commander 45 26 1	Taskmaster (2) Slave	Not as skilled as the Trophimos Commander of old but still helps out with helotes.
	Phlegran Priest 65 1 1	1 Sacred Reduces Unrest (2) Taskmaster (1) Slave	Priest slaves who improve the economy thanks to passively counteracting the dominion effect while costing roughly the same as one Mouflon Cataphract in upkeep. Does priestly jobs and can also move troops between forts while improving their income. In combat they'll die easily to stray arrows.
	Phlegran Cataphract Commander 90 47 2	Taskmaster (3) Supply Bonus (3) Slave Mounted Mountain Survival	Usually only 120 leadership commanders are 2 points to recruit, but the cataphract commander gives +4 morale to slaves and is tough for the enemy to snipe. Cheap upkeep, fast and self-reliant with supplies on the field.
	Shackled Mage 70 1 2	1100% 5 Start Affliction (50%) Slave Communion Slave	Automatic communion slaves, research monkeys and low level forgers.
	Phlegran Oppressor 115 1 2	111100% 11 Taskmaster (2) Communion Master	Faster researchers and decent leaders to both troops and communions.
	Oppressor General 135 21 2	11100% 9 Taskmaster (2) Communion Master	Armoured and skilled mage-leaders for magic beings such as the Iron Guard and Iron Bound, leading 50 at a time and allowing formations for them.
	Cyclope Commander 75 83 1	Gluttony (1) Taskmaster (2) Eyes (1)	Relatively cheap giant commander, required for leading the cyclope troops unless you are using a cyclope smith or a pretender.
	Cyclope Smith 240 3 2 Capital Only	111100% 10% 11 Resist Fire (15) Resource Bonus (20) Master Smith (1) Eyes (1) Mountain Survival
	Oppressor Archon 335 1 4 Capital Only	11111 22100% 100% 10% 19 Sacred Communion Master Taskmaster (2)	Strong mages for rituals and forging but extremely vulnerable to Magic Duel since Phlegra has no other Astral mages to cover for it. Still useful to have them searching for magic sites.

The Laestrygonian Tyrant may only be recruited once the Shattered Volcano capital site has appeared.

Image	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Laestrygonian Tyrant 600 8 6 Capital Only	432010% 13 Resist Fire (17) Resist Poison (10) Berserker (4) Gluttony (10) Cause Unrest (+10/month) Taskmaster (4) Combat Caster Fear (8) Siege Bonus (15) Heretic (1) Population Killer (70) Unsurroundable (2) Shattered soul (5%) Poor Amphibian Recuperation	The final form of the Gigante giants that only grew bigger across the ages. Scary Super-combatants, but Phlegra has to survive a large chunk of the game before they arrive. Brings Death magic to the table, if they aren't too busy destroying your lands.

Cheap. That’s the word to describe Phlegra’s troops. All of your basic units apart from the Cyclopes are slaves. This makes them incredibly cheap when it comes to gold and upkeep, but it does cause moral problems particularly in the early game. It is important to note that you have exactly zero sacred troops, though the Iron Guard fill a similar role in some respects being cap only and useful for dealing with Phlegra's perpetual moral problems. You lack the resource cheap Helote Peltasts or Helote Warriors of Early and Middle age respectively in exchange for the increased durability of your Helote Soldiers.

Image	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Helote Archer 8 5 4	Slave	Cheaply-hired-and-equipped Archers, made worse than Indie Archers by their frightening Morale of 6. Fortunately Phlegra has access to spells that can make their arrows more effective later on, such as Flaming Arrows and Weapons of Sharpness, though the former also works on the Crossbowmen.
	Helote Crossbowman 8 26 4	Slave	Compared to Indie Plate Crossbowmen, Phlegra's wear Full Helmets, which reduce their overall Defense in exchange for a much-better chance to survive a hit to the head. Their Morale being 6 is still a concern, however; significant damage to your infantrymen may stir thoughts of an HP rout, and units with low Morale will be more eager to entertain them.
	Helote Soldier 8 26 4	Promotion (50 XP → Iron Bound) Slave	Medium-Heavy (for the Age) infantry that "upgrades" into the heavier Iron Bound at 50 experience, in a perversion of Mekonean tradition. The Iron Bound have reliable ATT and functionally have 14 Morale, but they can only be led by Mages, and routing does 5 internal damage to them. Their Magic Resistance is reduced from 10 to 9, too.
	Iron Guard 15 35 16 Capital Only	Bodyguard (2) Slave Magic Being	Heavy Infantry with Sacred-like stats (aside from their Magic Resistance) and Iron Bound problems. They functionally have 17 Morale, but they still require Mage overlords.
	Mouflon Cataphract 30 47 39	Supply Bonus (3) Slave Mounted Mountain survival	These Knights (if you can call them that) are a bit worse than the Knights found in the Middle Ages, but they're also better-priced. Supply-wise, each of them can support themselves (eating 2 Supplies per month) and a Helote infantryman (who would eat one).
	Cyclope Soldier 40 67 17 Limited Recrutment: 3	Gluttony (1) Minimum Leader Size (4) Eyes (1)	Making up for your lack of Sacred troops, these guys have Magic 26-DMG melee attacks, and 24-DMG Javelins that can take the Archer-improving spells mentioned above, though the Javelins are very inaccurate without a Precision-increasing spell like Wind Guide. Due to their Gluttony, they consume 4 Supplies per month, so it would take four of your sheep-riders to support a Cyclope in a Supply-poor area. Only your Cyclope Commanders, your Laestrygonians, and your Pretender can lead them; which is annoying, yeah, but what are you gonna do about that?

Image	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Steropes - Elder Cyclops Minimum hero arrival turn: 15	22319 Resist Fire (15) Resource Bonus (20) Master Smith (1) Eyes (1) Old Age (1337/990) Mountain Survival

In addition to that swell one-eyed guy, you have two national "Villains" who arise from events, one of whom must be hunted for:

Image	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Enkelados - First of the Gigantes Minimum "hero" arrival turn: 30	44215 Resist Fire (17) Resist Poison (10) Fear (7) Berserker (4) Gluttony (15) Cause Unrest (+12/month) Taskmaster (4) Combat Caster Siege Bonus (20) Heretic (1) Population Killer (100) Unsurroundable (2) Shattered soul (5%) Poor Amphibian Recuperation Gem Generator (+)	Enkelados comes with the explosion of the Burning Mountain. Yay! Note that the Mountain will explode even if you lost it, but that he'll be Independent if you did.
	Polybotes - King of the Gigantes Minimum "hero" arrival turn: 20	43315 Resist Fire (17) Resist Poison (10) Fear (8) Berserker (4) Gluttony (15) Cause Unrest (+12/month) Taskmaster (4) Combat Caster Siege Bonus (20) Heretic (1) Population Killer (100) Unsurroundable (2) Shattered soul (5%) Poor Amphibian Recuperation Gem Generator (+)	Polybotes will come from any Volcano. Yay! He makes his home a Shattered Volcano, too!

Phlegra's Magic Access has two phases, the Human Phase and the Tyrant Phase. As alluded to before, the Tyrant Phase is more likely than not to start for Phlegra by Turn 32; just in time for the culling of the helotes in Mekonean days, but a bit late in terms of the game itself.

Phlegra's pre-Tyrant Magic Access can be characterized as mostly thin; what depth exists is found in the capital, or in brutal Communions cobbled together with mismatched Slaves. There is no Death, and there are no Fire Boosters (unless you're quite lucky).

• Earth is Phlegra's biggest path in this stage, if only due to the Earth Boots and the fact that your Oppressor Generals have it. Your highest Earth access is not on the Cyclopes, but on the Oppressor Archons; each has a 49.6875% chance of just having 2, a 13.4375% chance of just having 3, and a 0.3125% chance (1-in-320) of having 4. The odds aren't great on a capital-only, two-turn-requiring Mage, but Earth Boots will bump you up a level (to "realistically" 4 but possibly 5).
• Fire is just a hair beneath Earth, but it's guaranteed on the Phlegran Oppressors and has the same path relevance on the Oppressor Archons: a 49.6875% chance of just having 2, a 13.4375% chance of just having 3, and a 0.3125% chance (1-in-320) of just having 4. If you're hoping for an early Flame Helmet, then your Cyclope Smiths are exactly twice as likely to have the necessary paths, with a 1-in-160 chance of 3 and the Master Smith trait.
• Astral, the secret passion of the Pythian outcast who started Phlegra's Communion horror show, has become a minor for the new Archons. The odds of getting an Oppressor Archon with 2 is 26.875%, and the odds of getting one with at least 22 are around 14%. Both have their own boosters, so getting both will bring you to 4. 1-in-160 of your Oppressor Archons will have 3 without boosters; but again, it's a two-turn Mage bound to your capital.
• Air, without boosters (since you're just out of reach for them), is capped at around 2. It can also be found at 1 outside the capital, and on the cheaper (and far stronger) Cyclope Smiths, but the lack of boosters stings a bit. The odds of 2 are the same as the odds of 2, and there's the same minute chance of having 3.
• Water was sidelined by the Archons in favor of Astral, but they still practice 1 to respect the old tradition of Mekone's Mage-Priest-Kings having it. 1 can be found on the other Mages, of course, as a minor. Cyclope Smiths have a 1-in-160 chance of having 2; even without it, though, they can make use of a Water Bracelet to craft a Robe of the Sea, bringing Phlegra's Water access up to 3 (or occasionally 4). Then you can summon Sea Kings, who can climb the rest of the ladder, but those guys are ludicrously expensive.

It should be noted that Phlegra's Communion Slaves never have Astral; you can pick out specific Communion Slaves for the Elemental Paths if you wish to reduce burnout, but Astral will be very expensive, until you find some Sages or Shamans or Crystal Sorceresses.

Then there are the Tyrants; ignoring that you get a free 442 guy from the Mountain exploding, each Tyrant has 4, 3, and 2. They also have a 10% random, producing either 5, 4, 3, or 12 (for Wailing Winds). Ignoring the 10%, the implications are as follows:

• You can now craft both common Fire boosters, bringing you up to 6 (or occasionally 7),
• You now have Death, and can go up to 3 in it (or 4 with Mound Fiends),
• And your capital may be completely occupied with producing these guys.

Having the Tyrants sit still to make items or do rituals will cost more than just Gems, of course, due to their violent tendencies.

You're missing Nature and Blood; Blood can at least be obtained through using Gift of Reason on a Ker, but lack of Nature might be a problem. At least your Tyrants have enough Poison Resistance to stomach Foul Vapors; no one else in your army does, and certainly not your Communions.

Combat

• Enchantment 6 2 for 1: Sow Dragon Teeth ( Spartae×10)
  Spartoi are very well-statted for infantry that can be dumped into combat en masse for relatively cheap, and come with magic gear to counter ethereal or mistform. Competes with Summon Earth Elemental for earth gem use.

Rituals

• Conjuration 5 3 for 13: Procession of the Underworld ( Lampad×12)
  If made into a commander via Gift of Reason or Divine Name, Lampades gain 121. They are humanoids with only invulnerability for protection. Despite this, they can ruin thugs they hit with Decay when buffed.
• Conjuration 5 21 for 4: Summon Hound of Twilight ( Hound of Twilight×1)
  A big scary monster with a patrol bonus of 20. How good are monsters like this is in Combat?
• Conjuration 6 2 for 12: Bind Keres ( Ker×3)
  Similar to Lampades, Keres gain 11 when commanderified. Keres are ethereal, invisible, scary flyers with two attacks. Tears up weak backline units, especially when they are able to paralyze enemy undead mages.

• Construction 7 33 for 30: Forge Brass Bull ( Khalkotauros×1) A big, beefy trampler that breathes fire.

• Thaumaturgy 7 44 for 60: Gigantomachia
  An expensive late-game global that boosts giant production and outmuscles enemy dominion. The Tyrants can cast this with ease.

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.

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)

• Construction 0 3 for 15: Oppressors Headband
  A national Crystal Matrix. Of course, you now have 11 Mages, and the Crystal Matrix still costs the same as the Headband if you don't have Astral Pearls (thanks to Alchemy). The Headband can still be worn by almost anything (since it's a Crown) in case you want to put something else in the Miscellaneous slots, but its -2 Magic Resistance penalty should not be ignored.

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.

List some example expansion strategies here. If a strong bless or pretender is required then leave the specifics for the pretender section.

List some example pretender builds. Try to use the following format to keep authorship and pretender design rationale clear.

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.

Nations
Early Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Ulm • Marverni • Sauromatia • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Mictlan • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Agartha • Tir na n'Og • Fomoria • Vanheim • Helheim • Niefelheim • 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 • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Asphodel • Vanheim • Jotunheim • 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 • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Erytheia