And but more silence from my teammates. It is Saturday here, so I suppose sid has an excuse by doing weekend things. I would have still preferred to talk this over a bit more anway.
On with the analysis, to completely refute my own points and arrive at our original plan.
Hart Wrote:Consider the Sheaim:- Pyre Zombies fit with our proposed tech lines, also gives us a possible horseman + PZ rush!

- Their palace mana is Fire, Death and Chaos, some of the most offensively inclined in the game! Our current mana types are a bit lacking... (Earth, Law, Air, Nature)
Given how easy it's going to be to find mana in this game (I assume), we should totally give the arcane line some thought. With that in mind....
HART, Y U SO STUPID?


The reason you're not going to go down the arcane line is because you have one of the only Civs with specific bonuses to mounted units. PZ's are awesome for an early rush, but Horsemen with those Hippus bonuses are surely better.
Another thing is the Leaders: ARC/SUM or SPI/SUM are great for the arcane line, but anything else - not so much (this seems to be a bit of a problem with Sheaim in general...). Oh, and of course - effectively no worldspell thanks to the game settings.
Quote:Consider Amurites:- GOVANNON!
Can he teach units on the same team as him? Or is it restricted to just his own civ?
- Wizards. They come earlier than the Sheaim's Eaters of Dreams and are arguably more useful (starts with spellstaff instead of being able to cast again by SACRIFICING POPULATION.)
- Mana types: Fire, Metamagic, and Body Mana. Offensive power, recon without going into the recon line, and Haste.
Thing is, Govannon isn't accessible until Sorcery. As stated previously, the arcane tree isn't really supposed to be on the books. Other UU's: Chanter - Assassins? Again, down the wrong path.
Leaders again: ORG/ARC/ING is interesting, but it's still geared towards the arcane line. Same with Dain's PHI/ARC.
Quote:Problem with Sidar is that DS's and Ghosts are all down the recon line, which we probably don't really need to dive into anyway - we can get Stirrups via Archery (assuming it's even necessary). Also, it appear TheBold was mistaken in his assumption of how the Sidar wane/ghost mechanic works.
Ah, but if we're not getting recon from the Amurite's metamagic mana (via Floating Eye), then we might have to go down this line for some recon and Divided Souls are pretty sweet recon units. Other than that, they don't seem to have any particular bias for units.
Other good points include their Worldspell, Into the Mist. (Do these spells work ALL team units, or just the Sidar?)
PHI/IND makes for some fantastic builder style play, which is just what we need. The proposed synergy with Arete's +20% to GPP also looks promising.
The Hippus are our early-to-mid game stomping force.
The Khazad are our mid-to-late game war machine.
The Sidar will be the economic heart that keeps it all running smoothly. I hope.
If my teammates don't respond, I'll just post this pick in the morning.
PS. Can I get a dedlurker?

I'd like someone's input other than my own.
I'm a bit amazed that most of the other spoiler threads are at 900+ page views, when ours is only 200~. I'll make an effort to post more often.