Best level 5 unit

[danhvo]

Really? They're not that bad IMO, especially because of No Retaliation and the ability to hit multiple opponents.

I LOVE hydras ... when they're neutral stacks guarding mines. For the experience you get from them, they must be among the easiest creatures to fight. In the hands of human players though, they might be much more dangerous.

[KiOwA]

I LOVE hydras ... when they're neutral stacks guarding mines. For the experience you get from them, they must be among the easiest creatures to fight. In the hands of human players though, they might be much more dangerous.

I second that. It's also easy to block their way with 1-unit stacks and pincushion them with your archers.

Hydras are tough to kill in melee though, because the usual tactic of ganging up on them becomes dangerous as they retaliate on ALL your melee stacks. Then when their turn comes they hit all your melee stacks AGAIN.

[ShadowLiberal]

A hard decision, lets see...

Zealot / Inqusitor: Can only ever hit one unit, unlike the other archers in this tier. Plus their spells don't make them super worth while.

Djinn Sultan / Djinn Vezier: Some useful abilities, though except during a siege you're usually better off just attacking then casting spells ith them. And they can fly, and have good initiative, but are quite fragile, and have no good abilities to boost their attack, which makes them too weak.

Nightmare / Hell Stallion: Very fast, and have a good fear effect, which makes up some for them being so fragile, though it is a gamble if it works or not.

Silver Unicorn / Pristine Unicorn: Nothing wrong with Unicorn's, they've got pretty good stats, and magic resistance. They also have a chance to blind enemies, which makes them a less fragile version of Nightmares.

Archlich / Lich Master: An archer that can hit multiple stacks close together, great against the living. Definitely in the top 4.

Rune Patriarch / Rune Keeper: Firewall is an awesome ability, plus they can deal damage to multiple stacks at times, and fire immunity makes them compatible with an Armageddon strategy if you actually have the spell and are willing to just field Rune Patriarch's. Definitely in the top 2 of tier 5 units.

Deep Hydra / Foul Hydra: I prefer deep hydras for their regeneration ability, which in combination with the regeneration spell can let you escape battles with zero causalities at times. Plus Hydras are VERY tough units for tier 5 creatures, having more HP then a lot of tier 6 units. Hydras work great in combination with a magic heavy Warlock who can protect them. Plus Hydras have no retaliation and hit multiple stacks at once, which makes vampirism really good. The one big flaw to Hydras is low initiative, well below average speed also hurts them, but not much usually. Definitely in the top 2 of tier 5 creatures.

Executioner / Chieftain: I prefer executioners, for cleave, which almost always means two attacks instead of one, an ability no one else in this tier has. This makes them very deadly, plus they have blood rage in the hands of a Barbarian to reduce damage they take. Definitely in the top 4 of tier 5 units.

So... I'd have to go with the Deep Hydras being the best Tier 5 units. Hydras are more like a tier 6 unit in so many ways.

[Zenithale]

For me, if there are a lot of creatures (big fight between 2 full armies) :
1) Unicorns
2) Hell Chargers
3) Slayers
4) Djinnes
5) Rune Priests
6) Hydras
7) Liches
8) Priests

...and if there are only few creatures (skirmish or fight against neutrals):
1) Liches
2) Rune Priests
3) Priests
4) Djinnes
5) Unicorns
6) Hell Chargers
7) Hydras
8) Slayers

Overall my vote goes for Unicorns.