So recebtly ive noticed that i rely on dwarven mortar crew a lot especially on certain maps. I kind of dont like it and i was curious if anyone else ever has had or has this problem? I may run too much ranged in my is is what im thinking and that i rely ob my ranged units the more i play my bg. Any input is greatly appreciated.
IS doesn't have a powerturn spell like mobi or quickening to break things once they are settled, so you have to start to accumulate threat range with things like battle drum, rallying cries, drive, warcry, haste, invigorate, or setup kills with disables like hammer strike, stun, knockout and such, or rely on the often subpar (compared to things other factions have) IS powerturns: macadamize, glorius charge, instill panic, that require some setup to work. So, if you are not doing any of the above, your game wil be about how you can hold against your opponent that may or may not be taking advantage of his faction's strenght and who has the best long range champions, and you'll lose against many options out there if you rely on your mortar.
i see, i do battledrum and drive in pseudo powerturns and i do hammerstrike setup stuff. idk i just seem to lately be playing maps like "Firk no mortar crew no win"
On Powerturns Our powerturns are pretty crushing if done right. Problem is, I really don't need a power turn per se. I get many less oportunities to get a double or tripple kill than in yesteryears. The standard powerturn used to be drum, maca and strip armor. That was roughly global +7 dmg and 1 AP for 70 nora (when attacking with primarily physical champions, which we did). Most BGs also encorporated DKing which would make that 11 dmg on all applicable targets. The devs started pumping out physical hate and champions that gained resistances (1wn, void shield) and dmg type stacking kinda went away. With the current meta, there's no reason not to run it. The great thing about Minister power turns is that they cost way less nora and/or give way more dmg than DB/Quick. We are also fairly resitant to AOE spam, which cuts out KF and ST's main power play strategies. We had a very slim set of AP (meta) support champions. Then Sarg was revamped, Monk was released, haste found it's way in via a couple avenues and we're sitting in a very good spot for both single target and multi target power turns. The way the meta plays is pretty strict. Mostly its cat and mouse, avoid and reposition until someone presents an opportunity for a single target kill without high chance of return kill. So big power plays have lost some momentum. With as much dmg as champions do, you can effectively kill at the same rate that your opponent deploys (every 1.6 rounds or so) disallowing a large scale powerturn. On ranged champions: DMC is a very good unit. He has a very high level of offensive power and a very low level of retreat/mobility. In short, you need to be able to support that unit. I would recommend the scarlet wing. That champion is currently OP, moreso than the DMC. It's IS's best ranged unit at this time. Aside from that, the Roughneck is one I've always played but rarely see anyone else play. That unit, if played correctly, forces your opponent to detect or likely lose the game. If you are going to continue to run DMC, make sure to include at least one Instil Panic. This is a get out of jail free card. If your DMC is engaged you can use that spell to remove the champion to 5 spaces away then retreat one space (or more) and attack. Another great ranged unit that I like to run is the Griffon Rider. Barrage and sunder are great as is global mobility. With Griffon Rider, Roughneck and Scarlet Wing as my main ranged champs, I'm finding that the strip armor has a place in my BG once again. I also rely heavily on Magnates, they are mainly support champs but once you have two out they start hitting like a truck as well.
I tend to rely on stealthed units to slow down my opponent until I can setup a nice powerturn. I like to have my Sharpshooters out and stealthed as quickly as possible, as they setup amazing powerturns with Strip Armor + Piercing Shot. Ironfist Agent also does a great job, and even Nightwatch can be a valuable addition to your BG. As Baskit mentioned, DMC is a great unit, but needs babysitting; while in the other hand Sharpshooter/Roughneck/Griffin rider are more of stand alone units thanks to Mobility/Stealth.
Forget range... Run a catapult and melee. I can't run scarlet wing and if I do, its especially after the crew has died. Mortar crew is one of those units you can feed ap into and as long as you play him to the best of your ability with positioning and counter attacks(mostly through mortar strikes on careless rushers) you can allow him to do quite some damage output. Sharp shooters add the most utility while being high powered range, griffon riders can demolish high defense tanks for your army,rough necks are rough necks... Just play one and you will see what I mean, Scarlet wings are, to me, the poor mans mortar crew. But if I need a "basic" ranged set up, Angel of mercy and Angel of protection hands down. Angel of mercy can cover your phalanx and once she is intensified, she becomes the "carry" healer She just needs time to survive long enough and you have to play carefully otherwise your enemy will capitalize on her wit the quickness. Angel of protection is IS'es best stand alone ranged unit. Anything that can cleanse and heal itself at the same time being a 7 speed flying unit with turn by turn amazing range, with power turn preventer.
My personal favorite is the Dwarven Windfury, but a lot of people don't like him for the simple reason that Roughnecks and Sharpshooters provide more utility for a similar cost. However, I feel that Sweep in particular is an extremely underrated ability. It can let you disengage safely from units with Assault, provide enough damage to finish off a unit, push things into range of your other champs, knock units through lava or chasms, etc. Windfury can also get 8 speed first turn through Berserker and the IS font bonus, allowing him to easily cap other fonts or double attack encroaching threats. He comes with a bit of anti-range as well, and Stun is very useful, as always. They're my go-to range options after Scarlet Wing.
