Life:
Both the ballista and pikemen are good for their levels. I will pick the ballista in a smaller map, or when I intend to leave them behind, as they are clearly superior for castle defence, perched atop one of the towers.
Pre-eq, I picked the monks much more often because firing at the enemy from afar is always good. After equilibris, I pick the crusaders about 40% of the time, since they gained HP and speed and are actually excellent units.
Angels seem to be most people's favourite, and while I agree they are solid, I still prefer the champions, whose first strike + jousting is an excellent combo that really ensures their duration on the battlefield. So I'd say it's about 70% in favour of the champs.
Order:
Both are great. The magi are more diverse though, what with the ability to cast poison on enemies who tend to lurk behind castle walls with no intention of coming out. 55% - 45%: Magi - Gold Golems
Pre-equilibris: 90% genies - 10% naga
Post-eq: 50% - 50%
The genies were way overpowered before. After Eq. the nagas gained a much needed boost in speed and a three-headed attack to boot. Both are great units.
60% Titan - 40% Dragon Golem; Precision is too easily accesible to be ignored...
Death:
80% Ghosts - 20% Cerberi; Not that cerberi are bad units, they have two very good specials, but they have low hp and the AI tends to make a target of them often. The ghosts are probably the only unit (barring level 1s) whose death I don't regret, i.e. I split them up and send them to harass and cripple the enemy with their kickass special. Then it's open season with your level 3 and 4 units.
Even a few vampires in your army will help you fight against huge odds, due to their life drain ability. Objectively, I think the vampire is a better unit than the venom spawn, probably the best level 3, but I will still pick them roughly equally, cause the venom spawn ain't bad and Death badly needs a shooter anyway. Plus it's fun to target enemies with poison and just watch them slowly die away.
60% Bone Dragon - 40% Devil: I prefer the dragon for its physical prowess and limited no-retaliation ability. The devil makes up for it with greater maneuverability and the ability to summon sturdy reinforcements.
Chaos:
While the minotaur has an annoying special that kicks in a lot of the time (though, truth be told, seems to happen far more often for the computer than for you
), the medusa as the only shooter and with great abilities to boot is just too good to pass by. 80% - 20% in favour of the medusa.
As an animal lover, I've always been biased towards the nightmare, with its 110 hp and terror ability. The efreet is better in one aspect IMHO, and that is fighting shooters/casters, since you can bring it over in two, sometimes one move. Their fire shield ability stinks, as far as I'm concerned, because you have to take damage for it to work, which isn't something I'm mad about.
60% Hydra - 40% Blackie: Knowing that the blackie's magic immunity is a double-edged sword, I am still more annoyed at the fact that I can't cast beneficial spells on it, than I am pleased about the enemy's inability to cast harmful spells on it. If only there was a way of putting first strike on the dragons I'd pick them over the hydras anytime, but this way, when even a single one dies, it's bang-head-against-wall time. On the other hand, bloodlust, haste, slayer, cat reflexes, first strike...sit so well on the hydra. And if you can get your hands on bless somehow...
Nature:
Comparing them in isolation, I prefer the tiger by leaps and bounds. However, the battlefield usually gets crowded with walkers/flyers who all need to get in to those first rows of combat to reach the enemy, so the elves are more thankful in this respect, sitting in the back rows shooting away. So the ratio is something like 55% Elves - 45% White Tigers.
I'm a bit biased towards the unicorn, but I actually pick both of them the same amount of times. Putting snake strike on those griffins, and a couple other offensive boosters like bless or bloodlust is one of the finest tactics out there, just send them headlong into battle and kick back from there on out...
I prefer the phoenix, because nature has some great booster spells, but I will pick the faerie just as often cause its dwelling is relatively easily accessible. The dragons are better at sieges as their spells ignore the defense bonuses of those troops on towers.
Might:
55% Nomads - 45% Harpies: The harpies are more durable due to no retaliation, but I sometimes get too impatient at how little damage they actually do and will pick the nomads just a little more often.
Pre-eq: 100% Cyclopes - 0% Ogre Magi
Post-eq: 70% - 30%
Picking the one-eyed monstrosities pre-eq was a no-brainer, but the ogre magi recruited some fine spells into their arsenal after the add on. Casting snake strike + bloodlust on those behemoths/thunderbirds is just too good to pass by (though the cyclops still wins).
I tend to pick the behemoths just cause noone seems to like the poor fellas. Objectively, I guess the t-birds are better, so all in all, I pick the two equally.
Jesus saves, Allah forgives, Cthulhu thinks you'd make a nice sandwich.
