Amplifying Golem

[Lonely Tylenol]

All right, I know there is a bit of a fuss about power units being created recently (namely, that they suck and shouldn't be allowed), but I figured that, when you really look at it, the idea of increasing power isn't so bad, if planned right. So here's my attempt to thumb my nose at you naysayers: The Amplifying Golem.

Amplifying Golem:
HP: 60
Attack: --
Armor: --
Blocking: --
Recovery time: 4

Movement Range: Attack Range: Key:
0 0 X 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 = Empty space
0 X X X 0 0 X X X 0 X = Movement/attack range
X X A X X 0 X X X 0 X = Selected attack space
0 X X X 0 X X A X X X = Area of Effect space
0 0 X 0 0 0 X X X 0 A = Amplifying Golem
0 0 X 0 0

Effect:
The Amplifying Golem's attack increases the attack power by five and increases the recovery/decreases the movement range by 1 for all units within its attack range (Furgon attack range and pattern) for as long as Focus is upheld. EXAMPLE: A Scout amplified by the Amplifying Golem would have 23 attack power, but would also have a movement and recovery of 3, making it more powerful, yet also slower and more vulnerable to enemy attack (you try protecting a Scout for four turns without shrubbage).

The increase in attack power applies only to units that use direct damaging attacks. Inherently, the power increase will not effect support spells such as the Cleric's healing, Stone Golem's armor bonus, or Barrier Ward's barrier; the power increase also does not effect Furgon shrubs, paralyzing effects (Enchantress and Frost Golem), the Poison Wisp's poison ability (while it does do damage, it isn't reflective of its attack power), or any other attacks not directly influenced by the user's attack power (it does, however, effect unblockable attacks). For this reason, Mud Quake and Assassin Bomb are also not influenced by the power bonus, since neither directly applies the user's attack power. All other effects of the Amplifying Golem still apply to non-damage units.

I created this unit with many potential advantages and drawbacks--for instance, the Golem Ambusher, which would have twenty-five attack power while under this Focus ability, would be able to kill the Cleric in one hit; however, due to the slowing effect of the Amplifying Golem, the Golem Ambusher would only have a movement of one and recovery of four, meaning that unless the Amplifying Golem were in a vulnerable position, the Golem Ambusher would not be able to reach the Cleric before it was attacked by other units.

The Knight, now with 27 attack power as opposed to its original 22, would also cause considerable damage to any unit that got in its path, however, with two movement and two recovery, moving it into enemy territory would prove extremely dangerous without a force behind it, as its high recovery would make it more vulnerable. In that respect, however, the Knight and other units would make excellent defensive units, due to the fact that any unit that would get within enemy territory unguarded would face serious consequences.

The Amplifying Golem's effect would work expecially well with range attackers defensively, when applied with defensive measures such as a Furgon or a Frost Golem. The vulnerability often implied by not being able to fully escape your target is offset by the defensive capability the Furgon's shrubs or the Frost Golem's paralyzing containment bring to the field.

The Amplifying Golem's other primary use is not involving its power increase, but its slowing effect. While it could be considered a risky move, using the Amplifying Golem on an enemy unit expected to move could cause your opponent to reconsider attacking with that unit, or forcing your opponent to waste a move breaking the Focus to safely attack with the targetted unit (or using the unit at the expense of its life!). This effect could be used to slow down troublesome units in your territory, like Knights, when in a risky situation (such as cutting through Furgon shrubs).

[killer50078]

all i can say is i like it

[Lonely Tylenol]

Thank you, Killer. :bigsmile:

I forgot to mention (but don't want to edit so shortly after making the post) that special thanks go to Mithrandir for helping me name this unit--and avoid the piteously stupid decision to give this unit a 10-power increase. Thanks, man.

Also, this unit is subject to change based on popular opinion. Feel free to discuss pros and cons of this unit as you see fit.

[Soul-shadow]

i guess i could say that this is a total advantage to anyone with this unit. to powerful

[lazerslug]

i guess i could say that this is a total advantage to anyone with this unit. to powerful
....No Comment....

[killer50078]

well then how the hell did the stone golem make it in?

[kvon78]

Bravo! effective, useful, and well thought out! the best power up unit iv seen so far! very very nice LT!

[Lonely Tylenol]

i guess i could say that this is a total advantage to anyone with this unit. to powerful

Didn't you create the suicidal idiot?

...Nevermind. This unit is indeed overpowered, in the same sense that the Stone Golem is overpowered, and wouldn't you know it, both provide advantages to those who use it, HOWEVER, both provide advantages to firms with overall disadvantages in the gold game (turtles). I am somewhat taken aback that this unit would be considered too powerful, when I ran it through with Mith, he almost seemed convinced that the extra recovery and lack of movement made it not worth the power bonus.

If used unwisely, just like the Stone Golem, this unit would provide minimal benefit to its wielders, but when used properly, it could provide a crucial game advantage. Consider it this way... A Scout with 23 power is indeed an awesome fighting force, however, with only 3 movement and 3 recovery, it basically becomes a single target Mage unit, and has to be treated defensively in order to be applied long enough to provide any crucial advantage (rushing an Amplified unit means certain death for your unit). Unit preservation is key to using this unit, and would hopefully make up for the lack of damaging units most turtles apply to the game (power turtles excluded).

If you really think about it, the +30 percent armor is an extreme benefit of the Stone Golem, and without major drawbacks, however, a good 97 percent of all good turtlers will use the Stone Golem (the remaining 3 having gone delusional or started experimenting with hybrid anti rushes), and still with balancing effect, as it can make offensive use of even fragile units.

[Cross Punisher]

I must ask why the 1 extra range? Your also not going to believe this but I had a similar idea to this. I commend you for going out on a limb with a really controversial unit.

Of course we all know you got this idea after I posted my thread about power bonus being in the Unit Types and Rules page... right? :rolleyes:

[Lonely Tylenol]

I must ask why the 1 extra range?

The Stone Golem has something to benefit from being Armored, but the Amplifying Golem has nothing to benefit from his ability. Plus, this way the unit could be used in junction with the Stone Golem.

Your also not going to believe this but I had a similar idea to this.

Nice. :cool:

I commend you for going out on a limb with a really controversial unit.

Of course we all know you got this idea after I posted my thread about power bonus being in the Unit Types and Rules page... right?

Thank you, and no. I had this idea long before you created your thread, in fact, I PMed Mithrandir for a second opinion on the early stages of the idea yesterday. I still have the PM time if you want it.

[Cross Punisher]

I'll take Mith's word for it.

[Mithrandir]

It's true, he pmed me before your thread. I took notice of it actually and pmed him commenting how amusing it was considering he was planning on doing this and there was so much opposition. When he said "no comment," this is why.

I talked with LT about this unit on AIM and through PM. I was very skeptical but with the careful balance of losing movement and recovery I think the unit is without question balanced. If anything I think it isn't powerful enough but I have a hard time suggesting it gets more powerful because if it was six than the scout could kill the cleric in one turn, something I consider to be horrible.

I think the variety it offers gives it an enjoyable tactical aspect as well. Definitely a good unit which is surprising because the concept of a unit that increases other unit's power is quite simply a bad one in general. While it isn't my favorite of LT's units, I am quite impressed he was able to make this one work. :)

Edit: By the way, I chose the second option, above average. This is the first unit since slime that I like enough that it would have gotten a yes vote from me during nominations.

[Sanity]

Nice job, LT. A unit that increases attack, but isn't overpowered. I'm also enjoying the possibilities of combining this with the stony. Good job, this unit seems to have a lot of thought put into it. :)

[Cross Punisher]

an "untactical" unit getting a thumbs up from Mith, what an achievement. :swoon:

Question:
You say units like the chanty, wisp, BW, etc wouldn't get a power boost because they don't have Power, but if I used the Amplifying Golem on one of them would they still get -1 movement and +1 recovery?

Don't I ask great questions? :laugh:

[Lonely Tylenol]

It's true, he pmed me before your thread. I took notice of it actually and pmed him commenting how amusing it was considering he was planning on doing this and there was so much opposition. When he said "no comment," this is why.

:) Told you, CP.

I talked with LT about this unit on AIM and through PM. I was very skeptical but with the careful balance of losing movement and recovery I think the unit is without question balanced.

Hoorah! I knew if a power unit were to take place, it would have to decrease some other aspect of the unit to make it balanced, or make the power bonus so minimal it wouldn't be worth using anyway.

If anything I think it isn't powerful enough but I have a hard time suggesting it gets more powerful because if it was six than the scout could kill the cleric in one turn, something I consider to be horrible.

Well, it's just not the Cleric.

Six power would allow a Knight to kill a DMW...

A DMW to kill a Pyro...

And a Dragon to kill a Poison Wisp, all in one hit.

This way, it doesn't do QUITE enough to provide many one hit kills, but enough to make a considerable difference.

(However, DMW will still be able to kill an opposing DMW, as a Dragon will be able to kill a Pyro.)

Now, the only problem with this last statement is...

Edit: By the way, I chose the second option, above average. This is the first unit since slime that I like enough that it would have gotten a yes vote from me during nominations.

I don't know if that's a compliment to me or an insult to everyone who's created a unit since the Slime. :p

EDIT:

an "untactical" unit getting a thumbs up from Mith, what an achievement.

The concept of increasing your units' power is untactical. However, decreasing movement and recovery puts the emphasis on your own unit preservation WHILE trying to do damage, which adds tactical conflict to this unit. :cool:

Question:
You say units like the chanty, wisp, BW, etc wouldn't get a power boost because they don't have Power, but if I used the Amplifying Golem on one of them would they still get -1 movement and +1 recovery?

CP, look closely at this paragraph and let me know if you see anything in bold.

The increase in attack power applies only to units that use direct damaging attacks. Inherently, the power increase will not effect support spells such as the Cleric's healing, Stone Golem's armor bonus, or Barrier Ward's barrier; the power increase also does not effect Furgon shrubs, paralyzing effects (Enchantress and Frost Golem), the Poison Wisp's poison ability (while it does do damage, it isn't reflective of its attack power), or any other attacks not directly influenced by the user's attack power (it does, however, effect unblockable attacks). For this reason, Mud Quake and Assassin Bomb are also not influenced by the power bonus, since neither directly applies the user's attack power. All other effects of the Amplifying Golem still apply to non-damage units.

Nice try though. :cool: Mith asked the same question, so I knew what to say when I wrote it down.

[Cross Punisher]

Well it's easier to see now that you've bolded it.
:dry:
EDIT: I'm torn in the poll between 5 and the No. 2 :D underneath it because I think it's good all around, but it would change the game a lot.

[Lonely Tylenol]

Hahah, I was afraid someone would comment on that two.

Hope nobody notices the horrible misspelling of the word "beneficial" in the OTHER 2 option. :)

[Sanity]

Hahah, I was afraid someone would comment on that two.

Hope nobody notices the horrible misspelling of the word "beneficial" in the OTHER 2 option. :)
i was wondering why you made two #2 options. i expect you meant one of them as a 4? :)

[Lonely Tylenol]

Yeah. I guess I kinda got confused and thought for a second that I was going in order from one to five, not the other way around. :wacko: At least the unit turned out okay. Figures, I can't edit the POLL...

[Duffman]

I sorry but my objection to a power amplifier was not simply that it can't be balanced it's that it takes away the tactics of the game. It makes the game simpler. I mean the more powerful the units are the less they need to work together. Yes there are tactics in taking away a units versitility but there are more complex tactis in weaker units. It becomes a slog fest. Who can land the most hits not who can manoeuver their units such that they get the upper hand.

As well as this the more damage blockable units do the more frustration there will be in the blocking system. Instead of 40% chance the unit will be critically damaged it'll be 40% chance the unit will be dead.

[/2 cents]

That said i think your unit is underpowered. Say you position your golem in the back row taking away movement and adding recovery is going to double the time it takes for your units to even reach your opponents and if you put the golem up the front it's too easily LOS'ed. So it doesn't benefit turtles or rushes.

[Lonely Tylenol]

As well as this the more damage blockable units do the more frustration there will be in the blocking system. Instead of 40% chance the unit will be critically damaged it'll be 40% chance the unit will be dead.

That's a flawed statement. 40 percent is 40 percent, regardless of the damage. Doing extra damage isn't going to change that, it's like getting more upset if a Knight hits than if a Scout hits.

That said i think your unit is underpowered. Say you position your golem in the back row taking away movement and adding recovery is going to double the time it takes for your units to even reach your opponents and if you put the golem up the front it's too easily LOS'ed. So it doesn't benefit turtles or rushes.

No, this unit is DEFINITELY not to be meant for the sake of a rush, just like the Stone Golem is not well used for rushes. However, this unit has effective defensive capabilities due to its extreme effectiveness on your side of the field. Long range attackers would especially benefit from this, although other units could potentially benefit from this.

I'd love to give a more detailed response, but I have to go now, have important things to do. Respond with some concerns and I'll respond in kind.

[Duffman]

No man it's not a flawed statement. When you have more riding on a hit/block inevitably it's going to be worth more. Hence more frustation when the outcome doesn't go your way.

Other than that you didn't really reply to my post at all.

[Hellblazer]

i guess i could say that this is a total advantage to anyone with this unit. to powerful
Shutup you n00b. None of your units even came close to this one.
Very well-done, tylenol. I like it alot.

[Mithrandir]

CP: “an "untactical" unit getting a thumbs up from Mith, what an achievement.”

I don’t consider this an untactical unit. It isn’t on the level of the grapnel warrior of course but it’s balanced enough that I think it would make things interesting. Duffman has good points but it is a unit that would affect tactics in an interesting way.

LT: “I don't know if that's a compliment to me or an insult to everyone who's created a unit since the Slime.”

It’s both. :)

[Cross Punisher]

an "untactical" unit getting a thumbs up from Mith, what an achievement.
This was a joke to Mith's tendency to like only really tactical units as said by Mith here:
They would add variety to the game but like my Hastening Golem, utilizing it effectively would not be an immense challenge and thus is not the most interesting in my opinion.
To make this game more interesting, we need more units like the furgon, the enchantress and the poison wisp; units that are incredibly effective when utilized to the fullest of their capabilities but no more than a liability when used by someone that doesn’t understand them.
All 3 of our focusing golems, LT's Amplifying Golem, Mith's Hastening Golem, and my Shard Golem, fit this quality of being easy to use but still able to change the game.

[Lonely Tylenol]

No man it's not a flawed statement. When you have more riding on a hit/block inevitably it's going to be worth more. Hence more frustation when the outcome doesn't go your way.

Like I just said, it's comparing a Knight hit to a Scout hit. If you get MORE pissed based on the damage of the attack, it might be wise to better protect your units instead of rushing them to an untimely death. Due to the slowing effect of the Amplifying Golem's nature, the only way this would really be a point of the same validity that you percieve it as is if the enemy brought his units into your territory without backup.

Other than that you didn't really reply to my post at all.

I believe I did say that I had important things to do. Contrary to rumors that have circled around the Great Lakes Server that I am sub human and do not require basic bodily maintenance, I am human, and once in awhile, I DO go to sleep, which at my timezone, was about where I was heading when I cut my post short.

Sorry for any inconvenience, next time you post, I'll try not to sleep. ;)

The point I was trying to make before I cut my post short was that this was intended to be used in defense of your own territory, not on an offensive front. Teamed with a Furgon, this unit could be extremely effective with range attackers on your own turf, because the high power is offset by the vulnerability of high recovery, and the shrubs make up for the low movement and that same vulnerability. This unit was meant to primarily benefit defensive turtling and the likes, in the sense that the unit is best applied when you are not moving your units over an especially large amount of space. Catch my drift?

While it is true that the power bonus of five is a rather large benefit of the Amplifying Golem, trying to move the units over a large span of territory with the decreased movement and increased recovery would be more of a liability than a benefit. This is indeed a rather legitimate concern, and I'm not going to try and fully argue against that, except to point out that if you are bringing Amplified units into enemy territory, expect an uphill battle, as this was best meant to use your own units as a better deterrence on the defensive front.

In that sense, this does indeed benefit you. Ironically, I managed to make a power bonus a defensive aspect instead of a rushing one (the less movement and higher defensive capabilities in your form with this unit, the better), but in terms of overall efficiency it seems to check out okay.

[Mithrandir]

CP, all three of those units are good ones because they all change tactics around in a good way. However, I find units more interesting and generally better if they are hard to use. That's one reason I like my Minelayer more than my Hastening Golem.

[Cross Punisher]

Didn't I say just that Mith? Each one is easy to use.

[Duffman]

Like I just said, it's comparing a Knight hit to a Scout hit. If you get MORE pissed based on the damage of the attack, it might be wise to better protect your units instead of rushing them to an untimely death. Due to the slowing effect of the Amplifying Golem's nature, the only way this would really be a point of the same validity that you percieve it as is if the enemy brought his units into your territory without backup.
Yes, getting a block on a knight is more important than getting a block on a scout. I'm sorry but if you don't see that then you are a fool.

Let me give you are quick scenario. A unit with no armour at 20 HP. Knight does 22 damage and Scout does 18. Getting which block is more important?
And expanding on this, say one unit that does 20 damamge and one unit does 10 damage. The 20 damage represents using powered up units and the ten damage represents not using powered up units. The powered up unit attacks a knight side. 60% it'll hit 40% it'll miss. Plain and simple. But lets say the normal unit attacks twice, thus dealing the same power(which is understandable because powered up units also have a logner recovery). There is 36% chance of doing 20 damage. 48% chance of doing 10 damage and 16% change of doing no damage.

You see the potential difference is that you are raising the highest blockable power from 22 to 27. So 27 HP is what can ride on a block which can go either way. 27HP is huge compared to 22HP and can be the difference as to whether a unit dies or a unit lives. Thus games will be more dependant on getting blocks and people will get more frustrated.

QED.

I believe I did say that I had important things to do. Contrary to rumors that have circled around the Great Lakes Server that I am sub human and do not require basic bodily maintenance, I am human, and once in awhile, I DO go to sleep, which at my timezone, was about where I was heading when I cut my post short.

Sorry for any inconvenience, next time you post, I'll try not to sleep. ;)

Don't patronize me tubby.

The reason I said that is becuse you quoted what I wrote yet responded about something completely different.

[Mithrandir]

CP, there seemed to be something we disagreed on, I was just clarifying my position.

[Lonely Tylenol]

Yes, getting a block on a knight is more important than getting a block on a scout. I'm sorry but if you don't see that then you are a fool.

I see that, it's abundantly clear that a Knight does more damage than a Scout. However, an attack is an attack all the same.

Listen, I'm not trying to defend the concept of powering up units on its own (five power without consequence is INDEED overpowered and ludicrus and I am not going to argue against that), I'm defending the concept of the Amplifying Golem, which is to power up units at the expense of their movement capabilities. They are both two very real and two very different situations.

Here, let me put it this way...

A Scout attacks an unarmored Scout with 2 recovery time. It does 17 damage, and since it does not move, has only 1 recovery.

Another Scout, powered up with the Golem Amplifier, hits the same Scout and does 21 damage. While this is a considerable amount more damage than the 17 your other Scout just did, the recovery for the Scout if it doesn't move is 2, because of the increased recovery. This makes the Scout as vulnerable as it would have been should it have been attacked AND moved, because it can only act once in every three turns, four if it moves. So while attacks do more DAMAGE, they also occur less OFTEN, meaning you have to both make the best use of your offensive capabilities with the units you're using as well as unit preservation, because that Scout you hit has the potential to hit you twice before you can act with yours again, and although it's likely to only hit on 40 percent odds, since the Amplified Scout would most likely be facing the other Scout, being able to swap two blows for your enemies' one is something you should consider as a sort of counterbalance, see?

Say you have two Knights, one unamplified and one Amplified. The unamplified one can only do 22 damage in its attack, but has no recovery when it moves, so it can completely flank the back. The Amplified one can do 27 damage, a much greater amount of damage, but it only has a movement of two, and when it only moves, it has a recovery of 1 even when moving, which means that the Amplified Knight would only get a side shot at best, whereas the other Knight can easily flank the Amplified one. THIS is where proper application of preserving your own units comes into place. While your units can do more damage, they also attack less often, and require careful action in order to stay alive. While the Knight would make the highest blockable damage in the game, it would still be less powerful than the Dragonspeaker Mage's unblockable 27, because even the Dragonspeaker has better mobility. (I don't see an Amplified Knight killing too much unless it was brought to him.)

And for your information, any person who has to rely on the assumption that they'll get a block for their unit to live is not a very good player in the first place. Any decent turtler and even some decent rushers operate their units with a backup strategy for preserving their own units, instead of putting them in a position where they will face imminent doom. Because, let's face it, you're not going to get an army of Scouts with three movement and three recovery killing units on your opponent's side of the field, too vulnerable. So the only way a Scout would be near death and facing Amplified units was if it was put in your territory, with little assistance. There's many ways to save a Scout from dying in the open, I'll list a few.

1. Furgon Wall/Unit Wall.
2. Barrier Ward.
3. Proper Healing.
4. Don't put your Scout in a stupid position where it's screwed in the first place.

If anyone was ever absolutely dependant on a lucky side block to save a vital unit, then they don't deserve to be called tacticians in the first place.

Don't patronize me tubby.

The reason I said that is becuse you quoted what I wrote yet responded about something completely different.

That wasn't patronizing, that was sarcasm. Big difference. :bigsmile: Besides, where do you get off calling me tubby anyway? I happen to be rather slim, though none of you would know, since nobody knows what I look like. :p

Not kidding about the rumors, by the way, some people actually think I'm some other form of life, based on the amount of time they see me on in TAO. Just thought it would be funny to mention it.

Oh, and on a last note, my response did apply to what you wrote, in an odd sort of way. You said it would benefit neither turtlers nor rushers because it would take forever to move units across, and I stated that it would benefit defensive strategies, because the units would be best applied on your side of the field. The Amplifying Golem goes in the back two ranks, same as the Stone Golem, where it is better protected (I even gave it a range of two so it could be used with it), and the units you use it with would be best applied on your side of the field, since it's obvious that the units you Amplify won't be traveling very far for very long, but their capabilities when the enemy is near is excellent.

[Duffman]

What you don't seem to get is that i'm not arguing your unit isn't balanced. I said that in my first post. I'm arguing that altering power in such a way changes the game in a bad way. The game outcomes depends more on blocks. If you get a block on a powered unit the your unit more likely to live and because of the recovery time theirs is more likely to die. You may call that tactics but I call that luck.

[Serge]

I agree with Duffy on this one.

[monkus]

I came to the same conclusion duffy came to without even reading his post.

More damage does mean more bomb-type tactics of rushing in for max damage. If I have 5 units amplified, then I get to use each one per turn, regardless of extra wait time. Basically, I just "amplify up", then rush in and bomb. Less work for me.
Plus, what I think duffy is trying to say is this: if a unit does more damage, then there will be more instances where it comes down to a life-or-death block. How much does it piss you off when you lose a scout, knight, dragon, etc. to a front shot. Well, if knights deal 25 to scouts instead of 22, then there are a lot more instances where it'll come down to that, and thus, a lot more blocking rants.


Plus, overall, the unit is underpowered. Every single unit loses everything that makes it good when you introduce the amplifier. The only possible exception is mages; they lose some ability, but less than the rest.

Knights lose speed and mobility. If he can't get to your side, extra damage means nothing. If he can't move from place to place, he's just like a wall that bites.

Assassins lose that wonderful mobility, but can still move pretty well. However, 2 wait is going to really suck. Sure, they're like a knight that hits more than one, but moving three and waiting two won't make it worthwile.

Scouts are totally screwed. Their ability to find the little holes in a defense is totally gone with a lack of mobility, and their recovery takes a shot in the leg. They're just like half an lward. Twice the range, half the wait. The 23 blockable damage isn't worth that.

Dragons are a one time thing. If you think that 68 hp will last long during a 4 turn period, think again. At most 2 shots if you don't pull off some amazing retreat. Which will be difficult when you can only move every third turn and can't jump very far. Killing a few pyros isn't worth it.

Beast rider: Basically same as assassin.

Muddy: If it only improves the punch, then you're just cutting its legs off and giving it nothing in return.

Ambusher: Surprisingly, you're actually helping his main use: killing clerics. I can imagine many sick forms developing from this, but any actual strategic use of busher is done for.

Mages: Mages get a nice big power boost, so bombing becomes easy. But they're a 1 time thing instantly, because 28 or 30 hp isn't lasting 5 turns.

[Lonely Tylenol]

:( Well, the naysayers grouped at the most inopportune time.

I just noticed earlier today that the Cleric's twelve healing is reflective of its attack power, so I was just coming to ask if Amplifying a Cleric should reap benefits as well, but I'll let that matter sit for now.

Basically, I just "amplify up", then rush in and bomb. Less work for me.

I hope you realize how easily manipulted a cluster of weak units is.

Creating a bomb form with five mage units, CLUSTERED, with no armor, could be mauled in two turns, by any player capable of grasping the ability to counter it, and skillful enough to utilize this. Completely wasted. Not to mention the placement of these mages and the Amplifier are vital, as if you placed it in a corner, back rank, and ended up against an opp side turtler... Have you ever heard of the term "genocide"?

Well, if knights deal 25 to scouts instead of 22, then there are a lot more instances where it'll come down to that, and thus, a lot more blocking rants.

If luck wasn't intended to be a part of the game, Seed would never have added it in the first place.

People who have nothing better to do in TAO than complain about blocking should learn to work around bad luck.

Knights lose speed and mobility. If he can't get to your side, extra damage means nothing. If he can't move from place to place, he's just like a wall that bites.

That was the potential benefit in Amplifying Knights. Not doing so still grants it its versatility.

Scouts are totally screwed. Their ability to find the little holes in a defense is totally gone with a lack of mobility, and their recovery takes a shot in the leg. They're just like half an lward. Twice the range, half the wait. The 23 blockable damage isn't worth that.

This is true, to some extent.

The Scout in its current use in a turtle would not benefit from this exceptionally well. However, the unit might create some interesting new strategies that could give the Scout a pivotal advantage. It might force players to think outside the box, or to create a whole new box altogether.

Dragons are a one time thing. If you think that 68 hp will last long during a 4 turn period, think again. At most 2 shots if you don't pull off some amazing retreat. Which will be difficult when you can only move every third turn and can't jump very far. Killing a few pyros isn't worth it.

It should be noted that both in the case of the Scout and the Dragon that the reason I gave it two range is so it could be used in conjunction with a Stone Golem. This is where the unit preservation I've been stressing all this time comes into key--you can more effectively use Amplified units if you can better preserve your units. Which is what makes this a defensive unit--pivotal defensive units which can be used on your own territory, with a Stone Golem, to provide defensive to make up for the vulnerability of an increased recovery.

Muddy: If it only improves the punch, then you're just cutting its legs off and giving it nothing in return.

I was considering flipping a coin on this one. On one hand, the Mud Quake does not actually utilize the unit's attack strength (20) and instead uses three separate attack powers based on unit squares (15, 10, 5); on the other hand, the damage is armor-deductible, just like any normal attack.

I figured choosing the latter would not only be inconsistent, but it would make this a very twisted rush unit (moreso than you depict it).

Ambusher: Surprisingly, you're actually helping his main use: killing clerics. I can imagine many sick forms developing from this, but any actual strategic use of busher is done for.

The Amplifier Golem requires a turn to cast, and gives the Ambusher only 1 movement, and four recovery. That one turn can give you MANY ways to counter the opponent's Amplification, by either de Focusing it (which can be done quite easily unless they have the Amplifier, the Ambusher, and 7-8 units protecting the Focus), Stoning your own Cleric (not exceptionally hard) or even just a simple Furgon shrub. I'm sure you noticed that when it moves, it's recovery is 2, which just so happens to be double its movement. It becomes a long-range tank, which could easily be countered the same way you would counter an amplified Knight, by not letting it reach its target.

Putting this unit in anything but the front rank gives the Ambusher a 9.09% chance of hitting a backrank Cleric by the rusher's SECOND turn (if it's put on the second rank), provided there is absolutely no intervention, whatsoever. Putting it on the front two ranks will leave the Amplifier Golem exceptionally vulnerable, defeating the purpose of casting it.

Mages: Mages get a nice big power boost, so bombing becomes easy. But they're a 1 time thing instantly, because 28 or 30 hp isn't lasting 5 turns.

All right, you put five Pyromancers in a cross-shaped pattern and jump any random gold capable of Mud Quaking. Amplifier or not. Let me know how many of your stats drop. :p

While it would possibly make the mage bomb stronger in power, it would be hard not to find a way to counter it. A simple Mud Golem and Dragon Tyrant combo would waste two or three of these mages, all the while NOT allowing them to be Amplified.

By the way, about being able to use a mage every turn with 5 Amplified ones... While this is indeed true... Put five mages in a cross pattern with area effect, and even assuming the person in question is too stupid/unable to Quake this fragile mage cluster, 5 mages with 2 movement would undoubtedly end up causing problems, not with killing enemy units, but with NOT killing their own.

[phoenixofflames]

its good LT, but like monkus said no matter how much wait time, they all are powered up giving a big advantage.