crackie
Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
They have similar specs with same movement (3) and range (1), but Axe Barbs hit almost twice as hard as Sword Dancer. For all the effort, Sword Dancers really just to go up to an enemy to fan the sweat off their brows when they swing, if they can reach someone at all. They are prone to terrain already as a melee unit, but their movement is very lousy at overcoming that handicap. Pair that with a wimpy swing, they are better equipped for winning dance offs.I will say I only play one human city and you keep bringing up sword dancers and I only shoot at them and hack with them.
Initiative, movement, and change do not change as those properties are fixed. Therefore, the map shows the max movement and range the unit can ever hope to achieve on opening turn. Any terrain combinations means it will still fall within that range and is accounted for with 100% certainty. Knowing that allows players to make smarter decisions. For example, on paper, Heavy Range vs Heavy Range is a fair pairing. In practice though, a Golem or Orc Strat will never reach a Cannoneer on opening turn regardless of what the terrain looks like with 100% certainty. If you select them to handle the Cannoneer, they MUST walk on their first turn unless there is an enemy unit that moves towards them close enough, which again, is still determined by Initiative, movement, and range of the enemies. Therefore, if you want to make the most of each battle round by not having your unit waste a turn taking scenic tours, then you can pivot and say, "Ok, maybe a mage or a Frog might work better in this situation to take care of that Cannoneer." Otherwise, in a 5 vs 5 battle like in Spire/Tourneys, the side that gets more shots off will obviously have a more favorable advantage. In the upper provinces where they already grossly outnumber you, giving them more free pot shots outside Mist Walkers is setting oneself up for failure more than success. In autofighting, you only get to select the troops and which slots they can go in. You want to be in the position to make better, informed decisions.We both have been painting with broad strokes here. You with your map and me with my troop selection.
I can also paint with broad strokes as to the enemy will do based on Initiative, movement and range. I know an Orc General will ALWAYS be contained within a 4-hex (starting position+2 movement + 1 range) area from the right side after their first move regardless of what the terrain looks like, which means I generally don't need to worry about him on opening round. Therefore, you don't need to know the exact movement details or terrain. Autofighters cannot see either, but the Orc General's location is still equally predictable to autofighters. This info can be applied by both the manual fighter or the autofighter.
They are available in MA, which means it is a unit available to most players since even early chap players have access to MA. Whether they choose to build them or not is same as whether people train all the units available to them in each military building. They don't have to exercise it, but the option is there.If you have a couple vallorian valor buildings then you might choose valorian valors but if you don't
If they don't want to know a ton about fighting, they probably don't want to read a tutorial that spent 6 pages on Starting PositionIn my opinion the simple "use 3* troops when you can" is good advice for players who don't want to know a ton about fighting.