"Xibalba is a nation inspired by Mayan mythological concepts as expressed in the Mayan texts Popol Vuh and Chilam Balam. The Popol Vuh describes the creation of the world and other mythological concepts. It also tells of the hero twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué and their travels to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld, through which the sun travels during the night. Ever since high school, when I first came across the pen-and-paper RPG Chill, and found a creature named Camazotz, I've been intrigued by batgods and Mesoamerican myth. The bat-god was actually the first god made for Mictlan, when that nation appeared in Dominions 2. When I started to work on Xibalba it was clear from the beginning that it would be a Mayan nation of bat-people.

Xibalba was also one of the first nations to get a national global spell based on its national backstory. The concept had been used when we remade the themes and carrion woods into a national spell, but we were never fond of how that worked out. The Xibalban Theft of the Sun along with the Agarthan Unleash Imprisoned Ones reintroduced the national global enchantments."
- Illwinter

Xibalba is a vast realm of dark water-filled caverns beneath the forests of Mictlan. According to legend, the sun and the moon passed through the cavernous realm on their daily journey to the eastern horizon. On this journey they were guarded by the bat people, Zotz, that dwelled in the dark reaches of the Xibalban underworld. But the cavernous realm was struck by a great disaster. A star fell into the ocean and a great deluge flooded the caves of Xibalba. The bat people drowned or fled the caves, but other inhabitants soon emerged. The Zotz were replaced by refugees from the shattered Atlantis. The fallen star, or possibly the dark magic of Xibalba, changed the Atlantians. The Atlantians of Xibalba developed more toadlike traits and different broods emerged. They called themselves Muuch, toad people. Their kings, the Bacabs, mighty mages of the deluge, conquered the last Xibalban city and built a Muuch kingdom in the caves underneath the forests of Mictlan. After a while the Muuch began to settle the forests above their caverns and a new brood of Muuch appeared. A brittle alliance of Muuch and Zotz has formed in the forests. Meanwhile the Bacabs hunted down the remaining Zotz hiding in dried-out caves and forced them into servitude. Now Xibalba is a Muuch kingdom with a small subjugated Zotz population.

Xibalba joins the Middle Age fad of sidelining Blood in favor of being stronger and/or more consistent in other areas. Your start definitely impacts how well you'll do, however, since a ton of your troops prefer certain terrains and either settle them without forts or are only available in them, not to mention the base Atlantian desire of ruling the ocean. You could still do some Blood hijinks, since the Zotz you have are still decent Blood searchers and you now have better base troops, but the higher-level stuff (the stuff that makes Blood strong) is a bit further out-of-reach due to the low levels.

Warning: MA Xibalba is considered one of the weaker nations by the community. The reason is the lack of a decent early game expansion unit (despite having three Sacreds) and good counter-offensive strategy when being rushed. Being reliant on province types (especially Forests) for Scouts and cheaper units is rough, too. You still scale exponentially as the game goes on, due to having some Blood in a mostly-dry Age, but the main problem is getting big in the early game and breaking your image as a pushover.

Race	Military	Magic Access	Priests	Buildings
Prefers +1 Heat Muuch: Toadbros ( ) Base 2 PROT +4 HP vs. Humans +2 STR vs. Humans -1 DEF vs. Humans -2 PRE vs. Humans Size 3 variants Zotz: Cheap Bat Bros () Size 2 w/ Wings +1 MR vs. Humans -1 DEF vs. Humans Weak, Frail, and Blind	Light-to-Medium Infantry Assassins Various Cap-Only Sacreds with Magic Weapons	4 (rare 5) 3 (rare 4) 2 (rare 3) 2 (rare 3) 2 1 (uncommon) 1 (rare) National Summons (2 or 2 for 4) (2 for 4)	Average (2) National Summons (3 for 4 or 4)	Primitive (Fortresses) Can build Underwater Forts Underwater Fort Recruits

• Xibalba is weighted towards starting in a FOREST province. It's like Patala, where the cave part is minor.
• Xibalba receives 25% extra Resources & Income from Cave provinces.
• 311 per month from the capital.

The MA is dominated by the muuch, Atlantian refugees turned frogmen. They get bigger with age. The Grunts are a bit tougher and stronger than normal humans. You could expand with them by outnumbering but will take statistically more casualties in the latter game because of insufficient head protection (having a hat can make a difference between a good or trash melee unit).

Xibalba is also home to the Zotz, which are Size 1, Cold-blooded, Stealthy Bats. Zotz are easy to kill, meaning they need to use surprise attacks, dropping on the enemy commander as divebombing cannon fodder. Typical Xibalban armies are massive, comprising of weak but easily replaceable troops.

Your commanders, in addition to the normal Zotz trait, also all receive a bonus to blood hunting. This is an especially great trait on a blood nation. However, their units have a below-average Patrol value despite being a flying nation. This is countered by their ability to easily amass cheap troops to patrol out unrest.

When it comes to recruitment, hope the map remembers you need a forest, else the early game will be rough.

• Summon Jaguar Toads: 2 Conj 1.11 ( Jaguar Toadx2) they are small tramplers (only running over common infantry) and spit armor negating mortal poison, while also fatigue poisoning anyone that don't use spears. Most indie shamans can summon them. They are easy to kill and Undisciplined makes them hard to buff.

• Summon Jade Serpent: 3 Conj 4.2 ( Jade Serpentx1) a big bag of hit points that's a sacred standard and a high strength poison bit. Mix some into troops to improve their morale and way to kill high armored enemies.

• Summon Monster Toads: 2 Conj 5 8 (summon 3 Monster Toad). Sacred tramplers that spread poison with their Poison Skin and Poison Cloud. Likely to Die, but will kill formation as the toads will suicidally trample to the middle of it to spread the poison cloud.

• Summon Balam: 60 Conj 7.4 ( one: Balam of the North, Balam of the South, Balam of the East, or Balam of the West). Jaquar shape shifters with a Onaqui and Zotz form(so 3 HP pools). All are 42 mages + a 2 in another path. Handy for late game rituals and battle magic. Also throne claimers

• Summon Chaac: 75 Conj 8.4 ( one: Chaac of the North, Chaac of the South, Chaac of the East, or Chaac of the West) Like the Balam. The ability for a Pretender with air path to creating more high-level air magics can be an important rescores. Chaac are in the category of 42 mages that increase a nation's air power. their passive Natural Storm spell is actually antithetical to the Xibalbian strategy as they turn off your flyers, so better to run alone, or running a grounded army with non-flying summoned troops.

Unique Xibalba combat spells. Break spells are Very good cripple an important single enemy model. Gift spells are good on thugs and the accompanying fluffers.

• Break the Second Soul: Thaum 2. 1 Give one target a limp affliction. Not as good as First Soul, but can impede a thug's map move in a harassing attack, and may result in lowering an expensive unit's melee stats and may eventually die if forced to move around a lot.
• Break the Third Soul: Thaum 2. 1 Deal fatigue damage. it's a weaker version of Steal Breath but the target can't use MR to resist.
• Break the Fourth Soul: Thaum 2.1 Give the Target a curse.
• Break the First Soul: Blood 2. 1 Getting Bleeding and a Disease on a commander is fatal in this game and your "that" nation that can spam it.

• Gift of the Second Soul: Thaum 3. 1 Give blunt resistance to the guy that can't cast Temper Flesh, a situational buff to protect a single guy from rocks falling from the sky.
• Gift of the Third Soul: Thaum 3. 1 Gives Reinvigoration, a bonus in a blood communion or active thug.
• Gift of the Fourth Soul: Thaum 3.1 Gives luck, a strong protection buff.
• Gift of the First Soul: Blood 3. 1 Regen for blood mages. Zotz doesn't have enough HP to properly use it, but Onaqui and any blood Super-combatant will abuse it (it's not even restricted to national units, you get it if you play Xibalba).

You can spam Zotz mages with lots of 2s in Death and Nature.

Muuch holds the water getting 3 from Muuch K'uhuls or 4 if fishing with Bacab, one booster way from Water Queens.

with climbing a Bacab can get a Troll King and with Earth Boots and Blood Stone gets 5 for Earth Kings to go 6.

with some blood empowerment and boosters a Way can cast Summon Balams for 42, taking a Armor of Twisting Thorns and Treelord's Staff to get 732200%. Naiads and Ivy Kings are on the table.

your get 3 on your mages with Skull Staff. With some empowerment, you can get a Camozotz to be a Vampire Lord Summoner as a strong end goal.

Spectral Mage can also break you into Astral for the purposes of forging.

As the majority of your nation good units are flyers, your sabbaths can safely spam Earthquake without hurting your own troops(as you need a Blood communion to cast, you may want to cast Gift of Flight or Mass Flight on your Blood Slaves if your not finished with casting blood spells).

Camazotz are good at death, its crosspaths with Air and earth and skelispam, and Ways provide nature and spamable blood mage.

The main problem with Muuch magic is being good at booth Water and Earth don't synergy well with only Rust Mist. The Death randoms are ok with the access to Stygian Rain and Fields of the Dead. that is still not an efficient mage, paying more for extra paths (like that 1 in 4 chance to get a vestigial path in nature) without good cross spells, you would had been better of with wizards that dedicate themselves to purely one path of magic.

Should also consider Legions of Steel, Strength of Giants, Marble Warriors, Wave Warriors, Quickening, Wooden Warriors, Stygian Rains as it will fix many problems with your current troops and improve your summoned one but will come later in the game but your real problem is not being eaten during expansion and early game.

as Swamp Frogs your one of the rare nations to benefit from Quagmire.

All this water makes you good at cold spells when in the , assuming your don't mind your zotz quickly falling unconscious from the fatigue, Apparently, the Muuch's Atlantean heritage prevent these frogs from hibernating during the winter. Grip of Winter, Frozen Heart.

The main concern for Xibalba is how quickly they can reliably swap over to better-summoned troops. What a mage muuch is good at is creating lots of Claymen(Clayman 5+[lv1/2]), also set to summon Naiad and Kokythiad (3 with 3 or 3). Clayman, Your national Toad summons, and Crossbreeding, can fill out your armies, including your Death bats that summon longdead hoards.

good Idea to twiceborn your Camazotz for that chance when they die and come back as a 3.

Ways casting Blood Fecundity improves your gold and Blood Slave economy.

Curse of Blood is part of your late game. Mound Fiends are an option if you want to spam more undead. Summon Balam gives strong mage thugs.

Gets Blight and Rain of Toads as ways of disrupting the long game of another player's production.

Is another Earth death nation to make Shademail Haubergeon and Shadow Brand.

the Water, Death, Blood, nature, and earth paths are really good at making thug and communion items. Lots of Regen, Hp boost, Reinvigoration, QUickness, and alternative damage options.

Sanguine Dowsing Rods boot your slave harvests.

Armor of Twisting Thorns is a good fit on a Way as a boosting item

You need lots of research fast so Skull Mentors

Badab make the most use of Ring of Regeneration and Coral Blade. especially if they get a nature random and gems with Personal Regeneration.

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.

If you survive to Mid game, you likely in place to start your blood economy and transition to summed troops.

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.

this is your most weakest as you lack many decent early eapanction and repellent options, making you tempting to elemitate before you become a problem.

by Baalz a more charitable Cold scale strategy Baalz's The Frozen Bayou

National Overview by LucidTactics (2021)

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