In the early stages of the game, the backbone of the Sylvan army is Elf units – Archer (shooter) and Druid (caster). Archer is the stronger of the two and the primary attacker, with Druid playing the supporting role with its healing spell, to compensate for Archer being poor in defence.
The hero symbol on the Archer unit card (a flier with a cape) indicates an ability that only becomes available in the presence of a hero, in this case an archer hero, as denoted by the bow symbol. This means that the Archer unit is able to use the Scatter Shot ability only when adjacent to an archer hero on the map.
The initial Sylvan army advances with level 1 lair, which offers Eagle, Vine or Wolf creature.
- Eagle gives the Sylvan player access to a powerful level 2 unit – Mounted Archer. Its flying mobility and no-cost shooting attack make it very difficult to contain
- Vine makes the Ranger upgrade available. It’s still a level 1 unit, but with a poison attack that enables it to take on level 2 neutrals
- Wolf also gives a level 1 unit – Forest Wolf – which is dangerous when attacking in a pack. In addition, as a Hauler, it gives the player Medicine Cart – a solid level 2 unit with superior healing ability to the Druid
With the lair carrying the army to the next level, the level 1 dwelling, with its Elf, Shadow and Siren, offers more diverse benefits.
- Elves don’t give the player anything new, but merely enable him to recruit Elf units faster due to more Elf creatures being available
- Shadow gives the Forestwalk ability, which is intended for use at a Megalith map structure, giving every allied Sylvan unit Forestwalk
- Siren upgrades the Druid to Master Druid, and also makes some powerful high-level units possible
Level 2 lair was again intended to advance the Sylvan army, with the level 2 dwelling offering other benefits.
- Bear gives Bear Rider – a stronger level 2 unit than the Mounted Archer
- Horse does the same with Unicorn Rider, which performs the function of the Druid in the level 2 Sylvan army
- Pumpkin makes powerful level 3 units available, provided that the player has access to Haulers (still need to figure out what to do when he doesn’t)
Level 2 dwelling generally tries to strengthen the Sylvan faction in non-combat areas. The only exception is Starwalker, which makes the first genuine melee unit (Forestwalker) available to the player.
Level 3 lair continues the established pattern. Forest Elephant is a tough melee unit, Chameleon a sneaky one (don’t know how yet), and Fungi a dangerous sorcerer. Apart from Roc units, I haven’t yet worked out what the level 3 dwelling will offer. It will probably be along the lines of the level 2 dwelling.
Level 4 lair and dwelling unleash the full power of the Sylvan faction. All the creatures can be trained into units, some into more powerful ones provided that the town has met their prerequisites during its earlier development.
