I was just curious how people felt about the current sides, and if they preferred one over the other. Assuming someone asked you to pick the side you wanted to play that is... Is there a unit for fnu you'd give up the pl first turn advantage for? is pl just super awesome now with the new unit selection and first turn advantage? or do you really just not care?

sides became very different now...impossible to say what's better depends on your playing style and tactics...also may vary depending on planet..

Well, nobody cares what I have to say, but I perfer the Phantom League.Because of the two super-units.

Well, nobody cares what I have to say, but I perfer the Phantom League.Because of the two super-units.

After playing Domination for a little while now, I think PL has the advantage for multiple reasons:

* PL first turn advantage (reduced since MAN due to 1-country disclosure, but still present)
* Additional PL advantage of being able to move after disclosure on the first turn (the first turn is treated differently than all other turns in this respect, to further PL's advantage)
*PL has overall better unit selection:

*PL air transport is far superior to the FNU attack helicopter. The air transport opens up many new opportunities for invasion, the attack helicopters are too fragile and expensive to effectively invade a country over a barrier.
*PL bullfrog's usefulness in offense varies based on map/situation, but when it is useful in offense, it is very useful! Additionally, the bullfrog can be a great $6 guerrilla, often better than a tower + 2 LAVS. Is the bullfrog superior to the FNU battle platform? I don't know. It may vary depending on map. The battle platform + RL is the most useful unit FNU has...but it is still a close call with the bullfrog.
* PL's Leviathan is superior to FNU subs. The leviathan is much more versatile, useful for battles on land and on sea. It is difficult to mass enough subs to really get behind enemy lines to destroy a unit like a battleship or a leviathan. Even though two battleships have more total HP and firing power than one Leviathan, the versatility of the Leviathan's range plus double-firing to finish units off makes it a better choice when protected by other units.

Conclusion: Even though PL's first turn advantage has been reduced since MAN, I strongly suspect that PL's overall advantage is even greater than before with given the special units...

Still disagree while playing Domination.

FNU also will see PL disclosure at turn #0 in next MAN.

That's it! I will NOT stand by and let the FNU get slammed like that! How can you possibly say those things about how the PL is superior. I have played over 80 games and it is only with EXTEME rarity that superior usefulness of the PL special units is ever witnessed.
A Bullfrog on the enemy's side can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, and I can't Ignore the tremendous power of the Leviathan, but with those units you just don't get you're money's worth. The Bullfrog is slow and untransportable and the Leviathan's cost is obscene (the only real way to get a Leviathan is by using "Secret Army" funds, and then you don't have anything left for the rest of the "Secret Army").
The Attack Copter which you call fragile is the perfect reinforcement unit with free movement ability for 4 hexes. And of course, nothing says "Annoying" like holding onto desolate overrun countries with constant Helicopter fly ins. And you don't attack with them, there are Tanks and Bots for that.
And the RL+Platform is without doubt the most useful support unit EVER. It has a move+hit value of 7 and can move freely on all terrains (especially water). And did you ever try catching one of those? Fat chance! You'll get shot to bits before you get the opportunity! And trying to take over a country that's guarded by a few of these is a living nightmare!
And don't be so quick to diss the Subs either, you don't get anything better at that price range, they're also the best "flankers" in the game.

Placid's comments on the superior units is totally on the money....the difference in unit capabilities throws a real whammy into the game....again, i belabor the issue that winning sometimes becomes impossible with bad luck so i just have to sit my ego down in the corner....SICK!

I've looked long and hard at this game, and here's what I think:

Bullfrog: The most perfectly priced unit ever. Has the firepower and movement of Mech + Tank, but range of Mech, missing 1 HP, and can't be transported. (Or you could say power, price, range, and hit points of Mech + Arty, but movement of Mech, and not transportable.) The enemy must either focus everything on it to kill it, or it will shoot twice. Can defeat 4 Grunts by itself, and could probably defeat 4 tanks if their moves are constrained. Can defeat any unit, and most pairs. I think I'd use a lot of these as guerillas.

Leviathan: Expensive, but worth it! Fastest warship (besides sub), can kill destroyers by itself, or with a little help can kill battleships. Extreme firing range (exceeded only by a carrier's aircraft) means it has even more say on the battlefield than the battleship.

Transport chopper: You can pick up a unit and shift it across otherwise impassible terrain. Otherwise, it's almost as useful as a regular land transport. BUT, it'll be real good as a guerilla to kill nearby planes that are unprotected, able to skip over borders and barriers that a land transport would have to try to drive around.

Firing Platform: Gives any unit the mobility of a Hovercraft, plus it works in jungles. Tis a shame it doesn't work over impassible terrain, but then it might be worth too much. But it is still vulnerable to enemy transport choppers or land transport carrying Rocket Launchers, so this means the platform is best for shifting units to where they're needed. The major downside is that like every transport, if it's destroyed, so is what it's carrying, so you can't use them for front lines, except to clean up, and they can't invade.

Sub: I just don't see a use for this one. If you keep them in pairs, you might be able to protect a coast from enemy transports, but for a little more, I think a Battleship and Destroyer would do better, and have more use elsewhere. The Sub's lack of armor also concerns me, such that I feel they would be single-use items, and expensive at that.

Attack Chopper: A good answer to the transport chopper, since they can go places other units can't, but as they're so fragile, you can't really use them for attack, onl for cleanup, or in areas where their need outweighs their low survivability (similar problems with hovercraft).

So all in all, PL has 3 useful UUs, FNU has 1, and two others that're only slightly more useful than a defense tower (because at least they can move). I like the pillbox idea, but if you can't have them self-remove, or otherwise relocate, then they will be used ONLY in places you KNOW they will get destroyed; otherwise, stick with Grunts.

The DS mentions The Tower.
When it was used as guerilla unit on Emerald, it really impressed me...and if used very carefully is an excellent unit.
The new Extended Units reduce its value even more, due to greater strike ranges and copters.
Some units, maybe incl the Tower are fun to buy when victory is already in view...sometimes I see attack copters as "The Weapon for the General who already has Everything!"
Subs surely have a limited value....very handy though when the sea lanes are already bumper-to-bumper traffic...(See Midgard)

I find bullfrog hard to move from place to place (understandably) and they have a range that basically puts them in way of harm any time they have to strike. For example, a cluster of towers fires at bulfrogs twice before they can get a shot - that's 6 HP lost per turn!...
With the help of a few tanks and rocket launchers, you really need a lot of bullfrogs to overcome a good defense - blaming it of course on their low speed and short range. Once in range... goodbye opposition - but until they arrive, enough time for opponent to build good defense (provided funds exist, of course).

I am now thinking about that suggestion to use a lonely bf as guerrilla.... We'll see - gonna give it a try, but maybe more combined HP in the other combination of units?...

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