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Dom3 SauromatiaWitchKing.jpg

Sauromatia, a group of nomadic tribes ruled by amazon queens, is a predecessor of Pythium and exists only in the Early Age. The cannibalistic tribe of Androphags ride beasts taken from the swamps of Pythia and wave banners of human skin.

Overview[edit]

You have:

  • good archers (good morale, good precision, composite bows, and even poison arrows)
  • good medium infantry (amazons with above average morale)
  • good and cheap medium cavalry (sauromatian lancer with above average stats)
  • very good sacred cavalry, if you try a bless strategy
  • powerful but dangerous Hydras
  • free slaves right off the bat, and all priests can perform sacrifices.

You lack:

  • base heavy infantry
  • a fair spread of magic
  • high-level priests
  • a scout in your starting army

Pretender[edit]

Most units are good but quite expensive: Order is a necessity for Sauromatia. Order makes Luck less attractive but the available heroes are really interesting and I suggest to keep a neutral Luck scale to try to get them. You don't have a huge reliance on resources so you don't need high Production, but I suggest to keep a neutral scale too, to be able to produce medium units in good numbers.

The lack of heavy units initially seems to suggest a SC pretender approach. Even a Wyrm or a Manticore without magic could be a good choice, especially on a small map (and they can lead poisonous hydras without problems). An immortal pretender is interesting too, since even independent priests can sacrifice the free slaves to improve your dominion where and when necessary.

Units[edit]

The Amazons are good and you can build a lot of them, but they are vulnerable to missiles. Ask your composite archers to target the enemy archers as "counter-artillery" to protect the amazons when you have a chance.

Raiders are not that useful, Lancer are better as a cavalry choice. Foot archers are cheaper if you need archery.

Cataphracts are only marginally better than Lancers but much more expensive, both in gold and resources.

Androphag Archers are really good, especially in a counter-artillery role and against troops with a weak morale (poison arrows kill slowly but their effect stacks and they are disastrous for morale). Unfortunately, they are limited to your capital for recruitment.

Oioropata and Androphags are very similar but Oioropata are slightly cheaper. Very interesting units for a bless strategy (Fire 9 and Astral 9 come to mind).

Hydras are powerful: they get 9 attacks per round on up to 3 different targets (all in the same square), poison nearby troops with their foul odors, have great HP, high MR and regenerate. However, your own troops will become poisoned when fighting around them so learn how to use them effectively or they will hurt you more than the enemy. Mix hydras with undead units or Vine Men as they are immune to poison, or use them in defense, as local militia is expendable.

Magic[edit]

The Soothsayer and the Spirit Guides are cheap and can be used both on the battlefield (to cast Body Ethereal and Call Ancestor, respectively) and in labs to do research (especially in a Magic dominion).

Body Ethereal is very nice and Enaries can even cast it on hydras (but should cast resist Poison first, of course). Enaries can cast Protection too, to make your lancers almost invulnerable (prot 20) against ordinary troops, and later Nether Darts. Raise Dead is important to get early, too.

With the Soothsayer you have a good Communion slave. Bear in mind that with four soothsayers (for instance) instantly give any Enarie (with Communion) or Witch King (with Sabbath) +2 in all their magic paths on the battlefield (and the spell Power of the Sphere gives one more level)... which enables Mass Protection, Antimagic, Doom, Battle Fortune, Relief, Rigor Mortis, Undead Horde, Darkness, Foul Vapors (for a Witch King with water magic) etc...

One Enarie leading a Communion with two Soothsayers can cast 10x Raise Dead before the Soothsayers collapse.

With the Witch King you can reach Death 3 or 4. They are useful to get an undead army (Behemoth, Arouse Hunger, Pale Riders, Carrion Reanimation, Manikins etc). Behemoth is specially good with Body Ethereal!

The Witch Kings are your only blood mage but are so expensive that I don't think that a blood strategy is possible for Sauromatia. Your few slaves are probably better invested to improve your dominion or to forge some rare items, like the Black Heart or the Twin Spear.

National Features[edit]

Units[edit]

Sauromatian Archer
Gold 10, Resources 5
Description
Sauromatian Amazon
Gold 13, Resources 12
Description
Raider
Gold 20, Resources 12
Description
Lancer
Gold 20, Resources 14
Description
Sauromatian Raider
Gold 25, Resources 18
Description
Sauromatian Lancer
Gold 25, Resources 23
Description
Sauromatian Cataphract
Gold 40, Resources 34
Description
Androphag Archer
Gold 12, Resources 6
Description
Androphag
Gold 60, Resources 14
Sacred
Description
Oiorpata
Gold 50, Resources 16
Sacred
Description
Hydra Hatchling
Gold 35, Resources 1
Description
Hydra
Gold 250, Resources 1
Description

Commanders[edit]

Scout
Gold 20, Resources 3
Description
Chieftain
Gold 60, Resources 14
Description
Sauromatian Manflayer
Gold 80, Resources 37
Description
Warrior Priestess
Gold 110, Resources 34
Sacred
Description
Warrior Queen
Gold 90, Resources 34
Sacred
Description
Soothsayer
Gold 60, Resources 4
Description
Spirit Guide
Gold 60, Resources 1
Description
Enarie
Gold 150, Resources 1
Description
Warrior Sorceress
Gold 160, Resources 16
Sacred
Description
Manflayer
Gold 100, Resources 14
Sacred
Description
Witch King
Gold 300, Resources 13
Sacred
Description
Hydra Tamer
Gold 40, Resources 3
Description

Heroes[edit]

Kirke
Air 2 / Astral 2 / Death 4 / Nature 4 / Research 14
Shogu the Man Eater
Death 4 / Nature 1 / Blood 3 / Research 10
Delgnat the Partholonian Sorceress
Air 3 / Water 2 / Death 4 / Research 11
Undead / Immortal

Starting Sites[edit]

The Bitter Stream
Enables recruitment of Oirpata
+3 Death gems
+1 Water gem
The Great Cauldron
Enables recruitment of Androphag Archer
Enables recruitment of Androphag
Enables recruitment of Manflayer
Enables recruitment of Witch King
+2 Blood slaves
The Enchanced Isle
+1 Nature gem
Swamps of Pythia
Enables recruitment of Hydra Hatchling
Enables recruitment of Hydra
Enables recruitment of Hydra Tamer

National Spells[edit]

National Summons[edit]

Unit
Gems z
Description

Strategies[edit]

Strategy A[edit]

Scale Design[edit]

Pretender Design[edit]

Expansion[edit]

Research Order[edit]