Dominions 6 EA Marverni Simplified Part 1

Part 1 of the Early Age Marverni playthrough and discussion.
In part 1, we're going to be discussing the general nation overview, our pretender, and more importantly: all of the spells that make Marverni, well... Marverni! Stick around for part 2, and we'll dive into the actual execution of these tactics so you can pick this guide up and start winning games ;)
Timecodes:
0:00 - Piggy Intro
0:10 - Marverni quick discussion about issues and playstyles
3:19 - Nation Overview/unit discussion
10:49 - Metal interlude
10:51 - Druid trick
11:07 - National Heroes
12:23 - Pretender Creation and options
14:32 - Spell goals and national spell discussion
25:47 - How to squeeze high level Death into your communions
26:30 - Discussion about Part 2
26:47 - Outro
Outro music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

[@AOReaper]

Hey guys! After a few requests, decided to do Marverni! Let me know if you guys prefer the two part system, or if you'd rather I return to squishing it all into one ~40 minute video. And as always: thanks for everything and all of the helpful feedback and friendly comments!

[@leichenkocher]

I prefer squished but I’ll watch both 2 parters if I’m really interested in the topic. Anyways, thanks for the videos, really helpful for greenhorns, especially in this condensed form that is frankly lacking on YT.The game is hella fun once you start kinda getting it. Requesting a breakdown of ea Therodos while im here, first nation that kind of clicked with me and would love to know more. God bless.

[@AOReaper]

@@leichenkocher Sounds good, I'll make sure to put Theredos on the list. We only have 2 nations in front of it, and I'm not deadset on sticking with them in that order, so it might be sooner than you think :P I have a particular fondness for overwhelming reap... err, undead swarms, so I just might prioritize it a bit more than normal ;) And thank you for the feedback! I'm starting to lean more towards squishing them all into one video, and just leaving out more specific strategies. Maybe make a second playlist of "deep dives" for each nation or something that go way more in depth.

[@thatoneguy5856]

What are ya using for the thumbnails? I wanna use the AI for a d&d campaign

[@AOReaper]

@@thatoneguy5856 I mentioned it on your other comment, the various free ones out there are great, but mixed results. I'd recommend using 2-3 different ones for each image, and then comparing them to one another. The biggest difference I've noticed is SPECIFICALLY when I download specific LORAs or "models" for each one, and then try that out. That usually customizes it much better for you.

[@TheWayOfPencil]

Yay! Thank you!

[@AOReaper]

Of course, happy to help! Like I may have mentioned before, I put ALL requests on a list, and it takes me some time to reach them, but I'll always get 'em all :)

[@andrewcole4843]

I agree with your comment that the noble choices of units are underestimated and thought I had to choose an awake (with bad scales like yours) or having reasonable scales and that go with nobles - and as I still routinely burn through some cheap chaff units as well taking fire with commander morale bless seemed to help. Real problem with mage pool getting diverted into tattoo casting though so needed the old 1 recruit cost H1 commanders or indi clerics to help do blessing on non prophet armies.

[@AOReaper]

Yep! And as I'd mentioned to somebody else already, Marvernis biggest issue is their reliance on communions + their cap only greater druid means they need to have a plan to ultra protect those old goofballs. Makes it really scary if you don't have a preventative bless, or some kind of defensive focused script for them. Morale bless definitely helps with the boars not trampling as much, but try out "righteous wrath" instead. If boars are dying, they "inspire" one another into +6 morale, and that REALLY helps. Anything preventing mass tramples kills one: and boom - super morale pigs!

[@andrewcole4843]

@@AOReaper Thanks. I guess e.g. Imprisoned Archmage D6 O1 P2 H0 M1 M1 / F4 A4 W1 E5 D3 N4 G3/ Righteous W/Larger/SR/LLV/2UD assuming the UD helps old druids as well as human sacreds with the regen/heal available to nature mages/communions. Better than commander moral mid game but not so good Early.

[@AOReaper]

@@andrewcole4843 I might even urge you to skip the high dom bonuses (O1/P2) to get a better setup bless wise for yourself, or even more magic scales. That prod/order (in my humble opinion) really doesn't feel needed for these guys.

[@superresistant8041]

yeaaah

[@MrCarodan]

Great Marverni video. I was playing a lot of them last month, and struggled with early expansion so its great to see that covered. My playstyle leaned into a Dormant BloodFountain, Unaging, Larger, Blood Vengence with Stellar cascades as the target over gifts, with the option to either Earth Blood Deep Well or Mother Oak. Does prevent a cave EBDW tho. Something I found nice was that you can have the summoned Boars bootstrap you into Blood and Patrol when you arent in an active war with them. Looking forward to the next part and next nation.

[@AOReaper]

They DEFINITELY help with the patrolling aspect of it, I just hated BV because of the fact that inevitably, SOME druid is going to go off-script and Gifts From Heaven murder himself, and given that the BV/druid strat is generally "cost them more than you cost you" and elder druids are cap only, I ran into a situation where unless I gave them magic bows and told them "script + fire at rear" they would off-script themselves to death :( Have you experienced any of that yet, or have you found the stellar cascades focus to work well enough that you can handle the attrition? Either way, thanks so much for the feedback! Glad its hitting home for ya!

[@MrCarodan]

@AOReaper I have indeed experienced the unfortunate Arch Druid commits self gifts on boars. My current solution to this? Just, dont research up to Gifts of Heaven, I view it as a trap for the nation. You have such high earth and astral communion access that I play my mages as a Buffers, Fluffers, and Snipers. I do Construction, Alteration, Enchantment, and especially Thaumaturgy. Mindburn, Soul Slay, eventually Master Enslave, after dropping Weapons of Sharpness, Legion of Steel, Iron Will, Regen, and all the new Animal Buffs. Am I missing out on THE Marverni evo spell. Oh absolutely. But if I want to run BV this is the way I find myself doing it.

[@AOReaper]

@@MrCarodan 100% smart plan. I like it. As long as you replace "X spam" with "Mind burn" spam and somebody isn't capable of dropping antimagic on their troops, you're good to go. Sounds like you've got a solid plan my friend ;) Appreciate the feedback, as always! (And the new animal buffs are awesome to tinker around with!)

[@vincentvancamp9268]

oink oink 🐷

[@the_ogre1234]

Should try out either EA Mekone or LA Phlegra

[@AOReaper]

I'll throw 'em on the list! Appreciate the feedback and comment!

[@CaptScrotes]

I have a lot of fun with these guys and boar spamming the AI. Not sure how they'd contend online but online is a pretty intimidating prospect still 😅

[@AOReaper]

Hahaha, the AI sure won't know what to do with all of that crazy boar-spawn! If you're battling the AI, feel free to go crazy on the mother oak -> conj 5 rush and just spam spam spam ;) I highly HIGHLY recommend taking the death bless for "need not eat" for these guys in that case. You can handle the death scales, and the boars won't starve your whole nation like they often do otherwise that way ;)

[@CaptScrotes]

@@AOReaper that's such a good idea to IP going for the need not eat bless. I look at some of those blesses wondering why they exist but I guess they all have their purpose. Love how these games actively encourage and reward creative thinking

[@AOReaper]

@@CaptScrotes That's exactly it! The flexibility in ALL of the systems in dominions 6 is amazing. Look at the simple act of repelling? IF you take a larger bless (for example) to hit a size higher, certain units gain +1 range on their melee weapons, which SOMETIMES enables them to repel, which is based on attack skill, vs the opponent who can counter with morale boosts, or longer weapons, or... etc etc. Its an amazing game to flex your mind in, and frankly: we've got one of the GREATEST communities with this game that I've ever seen. Its amazing, and I'm glad you're here to share it with me!

[@CaptScrotes]

@@AOReaper thanks homie! Happy to be here!