I believe this stemmed from the way we played the game whereby stacks could be ordered for casualties by their owner, and that the casualties were applied from the top of the stack down. So sticking a superhero on the top of the stack for magic made the entire stack invulnerable to normal magic (chaotic and nuclear blasts were different of course - usual saves-3-and-themselves applied then). The typical use of the bronto was to put them on top of everything else for selecting casualties of magic; the attacker then had to get more than 10 to get past them. We played both ways after that, in that either they died or stampeded. The second was more fun :-)
Note that this was on deciding casualties may not be how it was originally intended, but the results are really playable and work very well IMHO - this after probably 40-50 games over the years.
> I am just starting game 7 again as Sartar using Cyberboard.I was flipping
> through teh special rules and noted the option of the South Soldier Reserve.
> I have never really seen the point: they have to enter on turn one, and
> don't have much advantage where they appear! Anyone ever found a cunning
> tactic for them?
Heh heh heh. There's at least four possibilities. First, you want to hide a unit so the lunars *can't* kill it off in their first turn. This is often of use when the lunars are massing *right* on the glowline, (near) fullmoon has been chosen, and you decide to make a real stand in Northern Sartar instead of waiting patiently a long way away from the magicians. Typically stormwalkers are a good bet here :-).
Second is that you've decided to essentially gift the Exiles to the enemy and concentrate on some other(s) exclusively. Some really tough south soliders, and perhaps a magician, can get into exile territory fast and in an unexpected (except now I've told you :-) way. Not often used, but can swing a precarious balance and create a problem.
Thirdly is that you would like another dragon. There's one below Ethilrist. Who will get there first? Make a south soldier with a DT runner and couple of cavalry and you'll probably win. Sometimes. :-)
Fourthly, you want to stop the lunar player from getting the dragon, so you put in stormwalkers and/or the wind children into the south soldier and blat any troops the lunars send to ally it. Dangerous since although you can "hide" under the dinosaur so it's not clear who's there (peek-a-boo :-), wind children have to cross grazelands which gives a DP or two, and stormwalkers don't (but the fact they don't gives away is there).
I'm sure there's more, but that's a snapshot of the main ways they've been used in our play.
> Also, anyone got any thoughts on best assignment of DP for Sartar or Lunars
> in this scenario? Last game I was Sartar and went for Ethilrist - he and
> the Dragonnewts never entered play in 14 turns, and I got the Exiles and
> CragSpider while the Lunars got the Grazelaners, Androgeus and Beast Valley.
> Delecti however was amazingly useful to me as Sartar player in this
> situation. Anyway enough whittering - I've assigned my points now anyway!
No best assignment of DP IMHO. This, and the wonderfully eclectic and diverse units and methods, make the game replayable for a long time. We had a huge variety of DP situations, all of which are fun and work in one situation and not another (players, aggressiveness, moon phase, specials, etc). I will say that every game I've been in where a person has, eventually, the dragonnewts, has won. They are game enders IMHO. It may take another 5 turns, but as long as you station a superhero (if you have one left :-) in the eye, and use the newts as a re-newable resource, you *will* win.
Rob
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