A guide to the Monkey Maharaja

An in-depth guide to the Monkey Maharaja faction, its units, rituals, and magic, and some general advice that may or may not prove useful to you

Faction overview

The Monkey Maharaja is a fun and versatile faction to play as. It's probably not one of the strongest factions in Conquest of Elysium 5 and can be difficult to play as since it has a few glaring weaknesses that can be hard to get around.

Advantages

The Monkey Maharaja has lots of national troops to choose from, allowing you to adopt multiple strategies and change them on the fly depending on what you're up against. They range from inexpensive chaff swarm units to extremely expensive elite units, and everything in between. Their national mages cast spells from the Akashic Magic path, which specialize in defensive buffs for your troops and debuffing or enslaving the enemy, so a well-built Monkey Maharaja army with a crowd of mages backing them up can be difficult to defeat.

From a ritual standpoint, they consume gems, and one nice thing about them is that nearly all of them don't care what kind of gems you use, so what type of mines you have control of are less important, just that you have them. Your rituals are mostly unique national summons. Most of your summoned commanders have the ability to summon their own troops, and nearly all of your summons, both commander and troop alike have the Awe ability, making it difficult for enemies to hit them. Your summons also have access to an array of magic paths, including offensive magic that your national mages mostly lack.

Disadvantages

Monkey Maharaja players have some tough choices in their army composition. You have swarm units, typical units, and elite units. The problem is that everything that's not an elite unit is below average than what most other factions get, and the elite units are incredibly expensive and are recruited in batches of 3 instead of the more typical 5. There's also an added issue that all of your units have poor Magic Resistance.

From a mage and ritual standpoint, you have problems too. You don't start with any mages, and even if you control mines, you won't start accumulating gems until the RNG lets you hire one. Your rituals mostly don't require specific types of gems, but on the flip side are significantly more expensive than most other factions' rituals are.

Lastly, the Monkey Maharaja doesn't have much of an endgame compared to a lot of other factions. Their higher-level summons are good but not as good as many other factions. In the end game they're particularly vulnerable to factions that are heavy magic users.

Overall the critical weakness of the Monkey Maharaja is lack of resources, and lack of wiggle room in how you use them. You need lots of gold, iron, and gems to field an army, and you can't afford to waste them. You're very dependent on the RNG to give you a good map in many ways. And one fight that goes bad in the early or midgame can be extremely difficult or impossible to recover from.

Abbreviations

These are the abbreviations I use in this guide:
HP: Hit Points
STR: Strength
MO: Morale
MR: Magic Resistance
AR: Armor
IN: Initiative
RNG: Range
DAM: Damage Dealt

National Troops

Melee units

Markata
Cost: 15 for 50 gold
HP:2, STR:2, MO:2, MR:2 AR: 0
Wall Climbing
Attacks:
Mace: IN:3 RNG:1 DAM:(1-5)-2

The Markata is a swarm infantry unit; you get 15 of them at once. Their stats are worse than every other national infantry unit in the game; their sole saving grace is that they have a better weapon than most of the other swarm troops. They're very cheap and expendable, and can be useful in the earliest stages of the game for exploration forces. You can get them as freespawn in Atavi villages.


Atavi Warrior
Cost: 5 for 40 gold
HP: 6 STR: 4 MO:3 MR:3 AR:0
Shield, Forest Stealth
Attacks:
Mace: IN:3 RNG: 1 DAM:(1-5)

Atavi warriors are mediocre infantry, but they're much hardier and pack a bigger punch than Markatas. They can make a decent backbone of your early infantry, and they freespawn in Atavi villages you control.


Vanara Soldier
Cost: 5 for 40 gold, 10 iron
HP:6 STR:4 MO:4 MR:3 AR: 1
Shield
Attacks:
Mace: IN:3 RNG:1 DAM:(1-5)

With Vanara Soldiers, you're essentially paying 10 iron for an Atavi Warrior with an additional point of Morale and an additional point of Armor. This is a terrible tradeoff considering what else you can get for the same amount of Iron.


Vanara Swordsman
Cost:5 for 50 gold, 10 iron
HP:8 STR:5 MO:5 MR:3 AR:1
Shield
Attacks:
Weapon: Broadsword IN:4 RNG:1 DAM:(1-6)+1

Vanara Swordsmen are the reason that you should never buy Vanara Soldiers. For 10 more gold you get a MUCH better unit, with better HP, damage, initiative, morale, and armor. Vanara Swordsmen are a strong choice for a primary infantry unit. Still, it's hard to ignore that Vanara Swordsmen aren't really any better than most other factions' equivalent infantry.


Bandar Warrior
Cost: 3 for 50 gold, 10 iron
HP:16 STR:6 MO:5 MR:3 AR:1
Shield
Attacks:
Mace: IN:3 RNG:1 DAM:(1-5)+4

The Bandar Warrior is your cheapest "elite" infantry unit. They're very tough, strong, have high morale, do lots of damage, and can take quite a bit of punishment. They're also the most cost-effective of the Bandar troops and another strong choice for a primary infantry unit once you get a bit of iron income. They're still among the most expensive units per head in the game though.


Heavy Bandar Warrior
Cost: 3 for 50 gold, 20 iron
HP:16 STR:6 MO:5 MR:3 AR:2
Attacks:
Great Club IN:3 RNG:1 DAM:(1-7)+4 Sweeps

Heavy Bandar Warriors are devastating in close combat with their Great Clubs; they can take out multiple enemies in a single attack if they're lucky. They're not generally worth the extreme cost though as their low initiative and lack of shields make them less survivable than they appear at first glance.


Bandar Swordsman
3 for 50 gold, 20 iron
HP:16 STR:6 MO:6 MR:3 AR:2
Shield
Attacks:
Weapon: Broadsword IN:4 RNG:1 DAM:(1-6)+5

Bandar Swordsmen cost the same amount as Heavy Bandar Warriors, and in in nearly all cases are the better buy. They do the same amount of damage but have a shield, better initiative, and very good Morale. They're still extremely expensive and you most likely won't be able to afford them unless you're swimming in iron though.

Ranged units

Markata Archer
Cost: 15 for 50 gold
HP:2 STR:2 MO:2 MR:2 AR:0
Wall Climbing
Attacks:
Bow: IN:2 RNG:5 DAM:(1-3)-2
Bite: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-2)

The Markata Archer is your weakest archer unit, and a swarm unit that is recruited in batches of 15. They die very quickly and even if they hit rarely do more than a point or two of damage. However they're very cheap and a horde of them can wipe out most independent units fairly well. They don't fare as well against most proper armies.


Atavi Archer
Cost: 5 for 40 gold
HP:5 STR:4 MO:3 MR:3 AR: 0
Forest Stealth
Attacks:
Bow: IN:2 RNG:5 DAM:(1-3)
Dagger: IN 2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)

Atavi archers are your most cost-effective ranged unit. For 40 gold you get a ranged unit that's cheaper and slightly worse than a vanilla Archer. They're not a terrible choice to act as the bulk of your ranged forces, though are slightly underwhelming compared to most factions' ranged units. You can get them as freespawn from any Atavi villages you control.


Vanara Archer
5 for 40 gold, 10 iron
HP:5 STR:4 MO:4 MR:3 AR:1
Attacks:
Bow: IN:2 RNG: 5 DAM:(1-3)
Mace: IN:3 RNG:1 DAM:(1-5)

Vanara Archers are a hard unit to recommend--they're better in melee than Atavi archers and have an additional point of Armor and Morale, but are not really worth the additional Iron expenditure. That said, they're your only armored ranged unit that isn't ludicrously expensive so they still have some value.


Vanara Scout
Cost: variable
HP:5 STR:4 MO:4 MR:3 AR:1
Stealth, Acute Senses
Attacks:
Bow: IN:2 RNG: 5 DAM:(1-3)
Mace: IN:3 RNG:1 DAM:(1-5)

A Vanara Archer that's a scout unit. Solely useful for seeing invisible enemies and (possibly) stealth. You definitely want one in any major army so you don't get ambushed.


Bandar Archer
Cost: 3 for 50 gold
HP:14 STR:6 MO:5 MR:3
Attacks:
Longbow: IN:2 RNG:6 DAM:(1-4)+1
Dagger: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)+3

Bandar Archers are a great unit, and are a great choice for the backbone of your ranged forces. They're expensive and you only get 3 of them for 50 gold, but they're very hardy and both do more damage and have a longer range than Markata, Atavi, or Vanara Archers. They don't cost any iron either so you can start buying them early as well.


Heavy Bandar Archer
Cost: 3 for 50 gold, 20 iron
HP:15 STR:6 MO:5 MR:3 AR:2
Attacks:
Longbow: IN:2 RNG:6 DAM:(1-4)+1
Mace: IN:3 RNG:1 DAM:(1-5)+3

With the Heavy Bandar archer you're essentially paying 20 iron for three armored Bandar Archers that are as deadly in melee as they are ranged. However unless you're going to ignore infantry entirely (probably not a good idea) then your iron is probably better spent there instead. They're extremely expensive units and not really worth the cost.


War Elephant
Cost: 1 for 50 gold, 25 iron
HP:58 STR:8 MO:4 MR:2 AR:2
Trample, Battle Fast
Attacks:
Bow x2: IN:2 RNG:5 DAM:(1-3) Can be fired in melee range
Gore: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-7)

A huge, fast sack of HP that tramples enemies and fires multiple shots a round, what's not to love? Well, besides the cost, War Elephants have some significant downsides. Should they fail a Morale check they'll turn around and trample your own troops. Their pitiful MR also means they're easily confused or charmed and turned against you. They're good units but need to be handled with care.

Siege Unit

Catapult
Cost: 1 for 50 gold, 25 iron.
HP:10 STR:4 MO:4 MR:5 AR:0
Slow, Immobile
Attacks:
Boulder: IN 1 RNG:16 DAM(1-30) Siege Weapon, Fires every other round, scatter
Shortsword: IN: 3 RNG:1 DAM:(1-5)

A catapult. Like most factions, it's the only siege engine you get. Useful for defending or attacking fortresses.

National Commanders

Bandaraja
HP:18 STR:7 MO:6 MR:3 AR:3
Enables Recruitment of Heavy Bandar Warrior, Heavy Bandar Archer, and Bandar Swordsman
Attacks:
Battle Axe: IN:3 RNG:1 DAM:(1-8)+8

The leader of your faction, the Bandaraja is your toughest commander and the only unit with Armor 3 in your entire lineup. They do fantastic damage in melee too. However they're best left at home with a garrison. If your Bandaraja gets killed you won't be able to hire any more of your elite units until you can get another.


Atavi Chief
HP:10 STR:5 MO:5 MR:3 AR:0
Shield; Forest Stealth
Attacks:
Broadsword: IN:4 RNG:1 DAM:(1-6)+1

Atavi Chiefs are a basic commander unit. They're better in combat than most of your non-Bandar troops, but as a commander they generally should be at the back away from the fray anyway. They can be good for running a full-Atavi scout troop into enemy territory since they can hide in forests with their Forest Stealth.



Vanara Captain
HP:10 STR:5 MO:5 MR:3 AR:1
Shield
Attacks:
Broadsword: IN:4 RNG:1 DAM:(1-6)+1

Vanara Captains are basically identical to Atavi Chiefs except they trade Forest Stealth for a point of armor. Their cost is random like other commanders, but they tend to be a little cheaper than Atavi Chiefs. There's not a whole lot of reason to hire a Vanara Captain unless you really need a commander somewhere and they're the only ones available. Most of the time you're better off having your armies led by your mage commanders.


Yogi
HP:5 STR:4 MO:5 MR:7 AR:0
Forest Stealth; Reincarnation
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV1
Dagger: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)


Guru
HP:5 STR:4 MO:5 MR:9 AR:0
Forest Stealth; Reincarnation
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV2
Dagger: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)


Rishi
HP:5 STR:4 MO:5 MR:10 AR:0
Forest Stealth; Reincarnation; Floating
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV3
Dagger: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)

These are your national mage units, and will be critical to your success as a Monkey Maharaja. You can only hire Yogis, but they can be upgraded to Gurus and then to Rishis. They are squishy and easily killed when attacked, and all specialize in Akashic Magic, which is a buffing/debuffing school of magic. One interesting thing about these units is their Reincarnation ability. So long as you are in control of a temple, when killed these units will immediately respawn there with all their abilities intact. However, if they have ever dealt damage to or Enslaved another unit, this will be considered an evil act and they will be reincarnated as a non-mage Monkey Maharaja commander unit instead. This is worth taking into consideration when picking the spells that they will use. So long as you hold on to a temple, your mage never enters melee range and doesn't ever cast Mind Burn or Invade Mind, they're functionally immortal. However those two spells can be extremely useful as well.

How you use and upgrade these mage units is going to be the linchpin of your strategy as a Monkey Maharaja. They're strictly support casters, and individually they can't do very much as they don't have anything in the way of spells that affect more than small chunks (5x5 squares at most) of the battlefield. However, large numbers of them working in concert can make a huge difference, blanketing your entire army with powerful buffs while spamming phantom monkey summons and confusing/paralyzing your enemies. It's to your advantage to hire Gurus whenever you have the opportunity and afford them. How and when to upgrade them can be a difficult decision and will depend on your strategy. Upgrading these mages is expensive, and the more you upgrade, the less gems you'll have for national summons.

National Summons - Troops

Angiri
HP:12 STR:5 MO:8 MR:7 AR:0
Awe; Berserker; Shield; Fire Resistance (50)
Attacks:
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:1-7(+3)
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

Angiris can be summoned using Lesser Akashic Summoning or Ruby Summoning. They're nice melee units, as their magic swords pack a punch, but what really sets them apart is their Berserker ability, which lets them wreak havoc and temporarily fight on after being "killed." Whether they're worth the 30 gems is debatable.


Apsara
HP: 11 STR:5 MO:8 MR:8 AR:0
Awe
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV1
Fist: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-1)+1
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

Apsaras can be summoned using Diamond Summoning. Apsaras are weird infantry units in that they're pure mage units but not commanders, so you can't really teach them any spells beyond those they start with. By themselves Apsaras won't do much with LV1 Akashic Magic, but in large numbers they can provide some solid buffs/debuffs in battle.


Gandharva
HP:17 STR:6 MO:8 MR:8 AR: 2
Shield; Awe; Local Leadership
Attacks:
Magic Sword IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:1-7(+3)
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

Gandharvas can be summoned using Emerald Summoning, and are really what you probably hope to get when you cast it. They're significantly better melee units than anything you can buy, with high stats, heavy armor, a shield and good weapons, and they provide a morale boost to adjacent friendly units. They're one of the few lesser summons worth the gem cost.


Garuda
HP:15 STR:6 MO:8 MR:8 AR:2
Poison Res 50; Shield; Awe; Snake hate; Flying
Attacks:
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:1-7(+3)
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

Garudas can be summoned using Diamond Summoning. They're among your better infantry summons, though a little on the frail side. Their primary advantage is that they're your only flying infantry unit other than Maruts, which are prohibitively expensive. If fielding Garudas, you have to be careful what troops you have with them, as they're prone to straight-up killing your Naga troops, including Naga generals.


Guhyaka
HP: 12 STR:5 MO:6 MR:6 AR:0
Awe
Attacks:
Spear: IN:6 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)+2
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

Guhyakas can be summoned using Lesser Akashic Summoning. They seem to be the most common result from the ritual, and also pretty much the worst result you can get from it. They're not terrible units--they have high initiative and two melee attacks, and their Awe ability makes it harder to attack them in melee, but they're decidedly not worth the 30 gem cost it takes to summon them.


Kimpurusha
HP:17 STR:7 MO:8 MR:8 AR:2
Awe; Shield; Forest Stealth
Attacks:
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:(1-7)+3
Bite: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-5)

Kimpurushas can be summoned using Ruby Summoning, and the unit you probably want from that ritual rather than Angiris. They're basically slightly stronger Gandharvas with Forest Stealth rather than Local Leadership. Local Leadership is a better ability overall, but the Kimpurusha is still one of the best infantry units available to you.


Marut
HP:17 STR:6 MO:10 MR:8 AR:2
Awe; Flying, Shock Resistance (50), Fire Resistance (100)
Attacks:
Storm Magic LV1
Lightning Strike: IN:8 RNG:10 DAM:(1-6)
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:1-7(+5)
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

Maruts can only be summoned using the Rudra's Horde of Maruts ritual. They're the best infantry units that the Monkey Maharaja can field; they have high stats across the board, can fly, shoot lightning at their enemies and can cast basic storm magic to boot. The catch is that Horde of Maruts costs a whopping 100 rubies to cast and a handful of Maruts are usually not worth that expenditure.


Naga
HP:15 STR:5 MO:6 MR:7 AR:0
Poison Resistance (50); Cold Blood; Shield; Amphibian
Attacks:
Poison Spit IN:2 RNG:3 DAM:(1-5)
Mesmerize: IN:1 RNG:4 DAM:Confusion
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:1-7(+3)

Nagas can be summoned using Lesser Akashic Summoning or Sapphire Summoning. They're one of the most versatile lesser summons--their ranged Poison Spit and Mesmerize attacks are great, and they do quite a lot of damage when they close ranks. Plus they've got a shield to protect against ranged attacks and can go underwater. Their one downside is their Cold Blood--keep them out of snowy provinces in winter. Also Naga-type don't get the benefit of Awe, which all your other summoned troops have.


Naga Warrior
HP:17 STR:5 MO:6 MR:7 AR:2
Poison Resistance (50); Cold Blood; Shield; Amphibian
Attacks:
Poison Spit: IN:2 RNG:3 DAM:(1-5)
Mesmerize: IN:1 RNG:4 DAM:Confusion
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:(1-7)+3

Naga Warriors can be summoned using Sapphire Summoning. They're basically superior Nagas--nearly identical to that unit, but with a few more HP and much heavier armor.


Vidyadhara
HP:13 STR:5 MO:8 MR:8 AR:0
Awe; Etheral; Flying
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV1
Magic Dagger: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)+2
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

Vidyadharas can be summoned using Diamond Summoning and are basically better Apsaras in that they're Ethereal and Flying, and are mostly useless in melee instead of totally useless. They're mage units that are primarily there to provide buffs to your army when in large numbers.


Yavana
HP: 14 STR:5 MO:7 MR:7 AR:0
Awe; Shield
Attacks:
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:1-7(+3)
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

Yavanas can be summoned using Lesser Akashic Summoning or Emerald Summoning. As lesser summons go they're not one of the better ones; basically beefier Guhyakas with a shield. Not really worth the 30 gems but better than some of the other options.


Yavana Archer
HP:13 STR:5 MO:7 MR:7 AR:0
Awe
Attacks:
Magic Bow: IN:2 RNG:6 DAM:(1-4)+2
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

Yavana Archers can be summoned using Lesser Akashic Summoning or Emerald Summoning. Yavana Archers are the sole ranged lesser summon for the Monkey Maharaja, and pretty good ones too. They've got good HP, better damage than any other ranged unit and have Awe if the enemy manages to close to melee range (though in this event you're probably in trouble anyway.)

National Summons - Commanders

These commanders are (mostly) summoned by the Akashic Summoning ritual. While none of them are fantastic mages, they all give you access to magic schools that aren't Akashic Magic without an exorbitant expense. (except for Siddhas) They all can summon troops of their own, including troops that you can't get from Lesser Akashic summoning.


Yakshini
HP:15 STR:5 MO:9 MR:8 AR:0
Awe; Amphibian; Lucky
Attacks:
Forest Magic LV2
Hydromancy LV1
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)

Yakshini are decent but not spectacular mage commanders. They're somewhat unremarkable but have a few interesting abilities. First, they can cast Sapphire Summoning, which is a ritual used to summon Naga troops, including some nice Naga commanders. Secondly, they can cast "Inhabit Lake" for 20 sapphires when on a lake. This removes their ability to move, and so long as they remain alive, the lake will act as a Sapphire source. The utility of this ability is somewhat dubious since it'll take 10 game years to earn back the 120 gem cost for summoning the Yakshini plus casting the ritual.


Yaksha
HP:16 STR:6 MO:8 MR:9 AR:0
Awe
Attacks:
Forest Magic LV1
Geomancy LV2
Magic Dagger: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)+2
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)

Yakshas are similar to Yakshinis; they have slightly more useful magic and are slightly less defenseless if the enemy gets close to them. They have some similar abilities to Yakshinis, only with Emeralds instead of Sapphires--they can use the "Inhabit Jungle" ritual for 20 emeralds to turn a jungle (not forest, jungle only) into an Emerald source, at the cost of losing their ability to move. They're also the only unit capable of using the Emerald Summoning ritual, so if you want to summon Gandharvas, Yakshas are the only way to get them.


Nagaraja
HP:21 STR:6 MO:8 MR:8 AR:2
Shield; Amphibian; Poison Res
Attacks:
Serpent Magic LV1
Hydromancy LV1
Poison Spit: IN:2 RNG:3 DAM:(1-5)
Mesmerize: IN:1 RNG:4 DAM:Special
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:1-7(+3)

Nagarajas are decent commanders that are weak mages. They can cast Sapphire Summoning to summon more Naga type units, and don't go down easily in a fight if the enemy manages to close ranks with them.


Nagarishi
HP:14 STR:5 MO:6 MR:9 AR:0
Poison Res 50; Cold Blood; Amphibian
Serpent Magic LV2
Hydromancy LV2
Attacks:
Poison Spit: IN:2 RNG:3 DAM:(1-5)
Mesmerize: IN:1 RNG:4 DAM:Confusion
Magic Dagger: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:1-4(+2)

Nagarishis can be summoned using Sapphire Summoning. Like Naginis, they're commanders, and very good ones! They're quite effective mages, have very high MR and are almost as good in melee as dedicated Naga infantry. They can also cast Sapphire Summoning themselves to summon more Nagas. They're very effective in leading groups of Naga units to conquer underwater gem deposits.


Nagini
HP:13 STR:5 MO:6 MR:8 AR:0
Poison Res 50; Cold Blood; Amphibian; Awe
Attacks:
Serpent Magic LV1
Poison Spit: IN:2 RNG:3 DAM:(1-5)
Mesmerize: IN:1 RNG:4 DAM:Confusion
Fist: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-1)+2
Seduction: IN:4

Naginis can be summoned using Sapphire Summoning. Unlike most other lesser summons, Naginis are commanders. They're not as tough as Naga infantry and while they're mages they're not great. Their true strength is their Seduction ability, which is great at converting enemy troops onto your own side. They're also the only Naga-type unit to have an Awe ability, though if they get into melee range, they're probably not going to survive long.


Marut General
HP:19 STR:6 MO:10 MR:8 AR:2
Fire Resistance (100); Shock Resistance (50), Awe, Flying
Attacks:
Storm Magic LV1
Lightning Strike: IN:8 RNG:10 DAM:(1-6)
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:1-7(+5)
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4)

The Marut General is one of your better summoned commanders--they fly, they can cast spells, and they're not easy to kill if the enemy manages to close ranks. They can also cast Ruby Summoning, which gets you access to Kimpurushas. (unless you go straight for Greater Akashic Summoning/Avatara summons)


Kinnara
HP:18 STR:6 MO:8 MR:9 AR:0
Awe; Flying
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV2
Storm Magic LV1
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)

Kinnaras are pure mage commanders with high stats and good magic. They're your best access into the Cloud plane; while you have other flying commanders, only the Kinnara has Diamond Summoning which is your source of Garudas and Vidyadharas, your only two flying units other than Maruts, which are difficult to field in large numbers.


Siddha
HP:18 STR:6 MO:8 MR:9 AR:0
Spirit Sight; Awe; Floating
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV2
Fist: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-1)+1
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)

Siddhas are an odd commander--they're not particularly strong, and are OK mages. They can't fly but they can float, so they can be used to get over bodies of water. Having Spirit Sight allows them to see hidden units too, which is useful since your scouts can't fly or float. Siddhas also have access to Diamond Summoning which can be used to summon flying units to come with them. Keep in mind that any flying units that end in their turns over water twice in a row will drown, though.

National Summons - Greater Commanders

These commanders all are summoned using Greater Akashic Summoning. They're all very expensive but also pretty powerful. Like the other summoned commanders they can summon their own troops. However all of them except the Rudra use Diamond summoning, which summons either other mages or Garudas, which are kind of weak, so they can't really field an army on their own.


Devala
HP:17 STR:5 MO:6 MR:10 AR:0
Ethereal; Awe; Seduction; Floating
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV3
Fist: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-1)+1
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)

Devalas are a fantastic commander; they're one of your most powerful mages, they can float over water, and are hard to hit with non-magical attacks since they're ethereal. They're near-useless in melee, but their true power is their powerful Seduction ability, which is really good at converting enemy units. An army lead by a Devala or two may see its size increase rather than decrease after a few battles. They can cast the Diamond Summoning ritual.


Devata
HP:24 STR:7 MO:10 MR:10 AR:2
Shield; Awe; Combat Caster; Flying; Shock Resistance (50)
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV2
Storm Magic LV2
Magic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:(1-7)+5
Magic Spear: IN:7 RNG:1 DAM:(1-6)+5
Magic Axe: IN:4 RNG:1 DAM:(1-8)+5
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)

Devatas are powerful fighters and magics that have a lot going for them. High Stats, heavy armor, Shields, Flying, Awe, and a series of devastating attacks. They can wreak havoc on enemy front lines, especially against weaker troops. They also can use the Diamond Summoning ritual. The Devata's primary drawback is that they're front-rank commanders, and while they're powerful and hardy, they have a tendency to charge into the enemy and get swarmed. If you're going to field a Devata in your army, you should make sure that another commander comes along, as the Devatas themselves don't have a great life expectancy.


Immortal Siddha
HP:18 STR:6 MO:8 MR:10 AR:0
Spirit Sight, Immortal, Awe, Teleporting, Floating
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV3
Fist: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-1)+1
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-3)

Immortal Siddhas are a mage commander with powerful Akashic magic that can float and see hidden units. They're also immortal, and will respawn in their home (usually your main citadel) a few months after being killed. They're nice units to have since you can't lose them permanently unless they die in another plane. Immortal Siddhas can use the Diamond Summoning Ritual.


Rudra
HP:27 STR:7 MO:10 MR:10 AR:2
Shield; Awe; Flying; Fire Resistance (100), Shock Resistance (100)
Storm Magic LV2
Attacks:
Magic Bow: IN:2 RNG:6 DAM:(1-4)+3
Lightning Strike: IN:8 RNG:10 DAM:(1-13)
Magic Sword: IN:5
Kick: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-5)

Rudras are one of the most useful units you'll get out of Greater Akashic Summoning; they're good casters, good archers, and they can fry enemies from the back ranks with their Lightning Strikes. They also get two summoning rituals; first, they can use Ruby Summoning. More importantly they can use the unique ritual Host of Maruts, a very expensive ritual which summons 2-6 Maruts.

National Summons - Avataras

Avataras are your uber-units, and there are only four of them. They're all native to the Primal Plane and have planar immortality, so as long as they don't die there, you can always resummon them (presuming you have the gems). Despite their strengths, the Avatara are squishier than a lot of other factions' uber-units so you can't rely on them to win tougher battles--you have to have an army to back them up.


Kamadhenu the Cow of Plenty
HP:168 STR:10 MO:8 MR:10 AR:2
Planar Immortality; Bringer of Plenty; Trample; Giant; Flying
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV2
Forest Magic Lv2
Hoof: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-19)

Kamadhenu is the least useful of the Avataras in battle, and certainly not up to par with most factions' endgame summons. She's more mage than fighter, though is only an OK at it. That said, she's the hardest of the Avataras to kill, as she's a giant sack of HP with good armor, and has very high value as a support unit. Her ability to fly makes her the only Avatara that can get over bodies of water easily. More importantly, she can cast any of the Yogi/Guru/Rishi rituals. She also adds bonuses to your farm production if you end a turn with her standing on one, which is nice but probably not strictly necessary by the time you have the resources to summon her.


Kali the Devi of Darkness
HP:155 STR:11 MO:15 MR:10 AR:1
Planar Immortality; Combat Caster; Giant Sized
Attacks:
Blood Magic LV3
Akashic Magic LV2
Magic Trident: IN:6 RNG:1 DAM:(1-9)+18
Apotropaic Sword: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:(1-7)+18

Kali is one of the Monkey Maharaja's two supercombatants. She's deadly as both a spellcaster and in melee. However she's primarily a spellcaster and is often reluctant to get in melee range (which can be deadly against the wrong opponents). She can also use the Ruby Summoning ritual. One niche downside is that as a giant-sized non-flying unit she has no easy way to get across water as she can't ride boats.


Parvati the Devi of Harmony
HP:142 STR:10 MO:15 MR:11 AR:1
Awe; Planar Immortality; Giant
Attacks:
Akashic Magic LV3
Sage Magic LV3
Fist: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-1)+14

Parvati is a pure mage Avatara summon, with extremely powerful support magic. She's not going to win many battles on her own, but she can mass buff your army or debuff the enemy to great effect. Parvati can use the Diamond Summoning ritual. Parvati is one of potentially one of your best units to convert enemies. Like Kali, she can't get over bodies of water easily.


Shiva the Nataraja
HP:149 STR:10 MO:15 MR:11 AR:1
Spirit Sight, Fire Resistance (100), Poison Resistance (100), Awe, Planar Immortality, Combat Caster, Fire Shield, Giant
Attacks:
Dance of Delight: Prebattle, puts all enemies to sleep
Akashic Magic LV3
Command LV2
Trishula: IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:(1-15)+16 Paralyzes
Flaming Fist: IN:2 RNG:1 DAM:(1-1)+16, 1-10 burst 5 fire
Snake IN:5 RNG:1 DAM:(1-4) 1-20 poison

Shiva is your most powerful unit. However like Kali, despite being devastating in melee he's often reluctant to close ranks which can be a real problem if he's on his own since his magic is not directly geared toward killing. Also he can't get over bodies of water easily like the other Avataras. Shiva can use the Diamond Summoning ritual. He also can use the Turn the Wheel ritual, though why you'd want to spend 500 gems to deliberately turn your most powerful unit into one that's actively trying to kill you I don't know.

Akashic Magic

The Monkey Maharaja has access to a number of magic paths via their summons, but they're heavily focused on the Akashic Magic path. It's the only magic path your national mages can cast, and many of your summoned commanders focus on it too. It's a path that is unique to the Monkey Maharaja faction so is worth going over in a little extra detail as it's going to be important to your strategy.

Level 1 Akashic Magic

Luck
Applies Luck to a friendly unit at range 8. Luck gives units about a 50% chance to dodge any attack. If you can get this applied to most or all of your army it will give them a huge edge in battle.

Lure of Maya
Your basic Confusion spell, it confuses a single enemy at range 8. It doesn't effect mindless beings and can be resisted normally. Confused enemies wander aimlessly, with a slight chance of turning to your side.

Mind Burn
Mind burn does 1-11 armor ignoring magic damage to an enemy at range 10. It doesn't work on mindless beings and can be resisted to negate all damage, but is a difficult spell to resist. Casting this spell counts as an evil act for your national mages.

Paralyzation
Your basic paralyzation spell, it paralyzes a single enemy at range 10. Standard resistance applies. Lifeless beings can't be paralyzed.

Resist Magic
Adds MR+2 to a single friendly unit. A very important spell, considering how all your national troops have low MR. The Level 2 spell Antimagic is a lot better though.

Toughness
Applies slash, blunt, and piercing resistance to a single friendly unit at range 8. It doesn't work on ethereal units . Very useful when spammed by multiple high-level mages

Twist Fate
Applies Twist Fate to a friendly unit at Range 8. Twist Fate negates the first attack that would otherwise hit a unit. Very powerful when combined with Luck.

Level 2 Akashic Magic

Antimagic
A big boost to the Resist Magic spell, this applies a +2 MR bonus to a burst 25 radius (a 5x5 square). Very useful given how your troops' MR tends to be pretty low.

Fortune
This is the Luck spell, but applied in a burst 9 radius instead of single-target.

Indomitability
This spell applies slash, blunt, and piercing resistance to friendly units in a burst 5 radius at range 8.

Invade Mind
Enslaves a single non-mindless target at range 10. Standard resistance applies to negate the effect. Enslaved enemies join your side. However, if the enslaved enemy was a commander, they lose their ability to act independently. (ie they can't lead troops, use rituals, learn new spells at a library, etc) Extremely useful, but casting this spell counts as an evil act for your national mages.

Manifest Maya (slow casting)
Summons a Manifestation of Maya for the duration of the battle. Manifestations of Maya have the following stats:

HP:8 STR:5 MO:5 MR:3 AR:1
Spirit Sight, Poison Resist (100), Sleep/Charm immune, Ethereal, Shield, Mindless, Floating
Attacks:
Weapon: Phantasmal Sword IN:4 RNG:1 DAM:(1-6)+1

Rewrite Fate (slow casting)
This spell is the Twist Fate spell, but applied in a burst 9 radius instead of affecting a single target.

Veil of Maya
Veil of Maya is the same as Lure of Maya except it's a burst 9 radius spell instead of single target.

Level 3 Akashic Magic

Akashic Prediction
This spell applies the Luck buff to a 25-square block of friendly units. It's one of the best buffs available to your mages.

Invulnerability
Applies non-magical Invulnerabilty to the caster. This is a powerful buff, to be sure, but you probably shouldn't be getting your mages into combat range anyway. Not a bad spell if you're facing a bunch of ranged units though.

World of Lies
This spell attempts to confuse 8 targets at range 8. While this technically can hit less targets than Veil of Maya (which affects a 3x3 tile block of enemies) it's much harder to resist and is in most aspects is a better spell. Like all confusion spells, this doesn't affect mindless targets.

Rituals

Core Rituals

Lesser Ritual of Mastery (10 gems)
This ritual will give your unit an additional Level 1 ritual. I don't think you can actually cast this as there's only one Level 1 ritual.

Ritual of Mastery (60 for Yogis, 30 for others)
This ritual will give your unit an additional Level 2 ritual. It will also upgrade a Yogi into a Guru.

Ritual of Grand Mastery (180 for Gurus, 90 for others)
This ritual will give your unit an additional Level 3 ritual. It will also upgrada a Guru into a Rishi.

Level 1 ritual

Lesser Akashic Summoning (30 gems)
This ritual summons Angiris, Apsaras, Guhyakas, Nagas, Yavanas, or Yavana Archers. What you get is completely random. Usually you get 2-4, though occasionally you'll get 5 Guhyakas.

Level 2 rituals

Akashic Summoning (100 gems)
This ritual will summon a single commander: a Kinnara, a Marut General, a Nagaraja, a Siddha, a Yaksha, or a Yakshini.

Akashic Records (2 gems)
This ritual will reveal a chunk of unrevealed tiles (37 max). Usually it will reveal an area on the caster's current plane, but can also reveal areas of other planes instead, except Hades. Note that revealing the Void will drive the caster insane. At its super cheap cost, this is a great spell to cast if you have leftover action points at the end of a turn.

Level 3 rituals

Greater Akashic Summoning (250 gems)
This ritual will summon a Devala, Devata, Immortal Siddha, or Rudra. They're all powerful units, though Devatas have the tendency to get themselves killed.

Avatara (500 gems)
This ritual will summon one of the four Avatara, god-type units that are all very powerful. However despite the exorbitant gem cost, an Avatara is probably not going to be enough to turn the tide if things are going very badly for you.+

Rituals used by National Summons

Ruby Summoning (30 sapphires)
This ritual summons 1-4 Angiris or Kimpurushas. Kimpurushas are pretty good, whereas Angiris are pretty niche.

Sapphire Summoning (30 sapphires)
This ritual summons 2-5 Nagas or Naga Warriors, or a single Nagarishi or Nagini. All are amphibious and Nagarishi and Naginis are useful commanders. This is a very useful ritual if you need to conquer the oceans.

Inhabit Lake (20 emeralds)
This ritual turns the Yakshini caster into a Stewardess of the Lake which isn't really different except it renders her immobile. It can only be cast on a lake tile, and turns the tile into an Sapphire resource. A debatable use of the gems since it will take quite a while to recoup the cost--although Sapphiers are a useful resource given the utility of Naga-type units.

Emerald Summoning (30 emeralds)
Emerald Summoning summons 2-4 Yavanas, Yavana Archers, or Gandharvas. Not the best summoning ritual, although Gandharvas are pretty great units to have.

Inhabit Jungle (20 emeralds)
This ritual turns the Yaksha caster into a Steward of the Earth which isn't really different except it renders him immobile. It can only be cast in a jungle tile, and turns the tile into an Emerald resource. Not really worth the cost, especially given the limited utility of Emeralds compared to other gem types

Diamond Summoning (30 diamonds)
This summons 2-4 Garudas, Apsaras, or Vidyadharas. This is probably the least useful of the gem summon rituals, as Apsaras and Vidyadharas are merely OK mage units, and Garudas are somewhat frail for a summon (though they can fly)

Host of Maruts (100 rubies)
This summons 2-7 Maruts, which are one of the best units available to you. 100 rubies is a LOT, though, and rarely worth the cost. If you can afford to cast this you probably are already close to winning the game already.

Turning of the Wheel (500 gems)
This extremely expensive and bizarre ritual can only be cast by Shiva the Nataraja. It turns Shiva the Nataraja into Shiva into the Destroyer of Worlds. As Destroyer of Worlds, Shiva is MUCH more powerful than in his Nataraja form. However the Destroyer of Worlds is a Doom Horror, meaning he wants to kill you just as much as he wants to kill the other factions. He'll rampage around the map, killing everything he can, destroying settlements, setting fire to forests and jungle, and slowly turning the land into desert. Even if you somehow managed to charm or enslave him, he's Stupid so you wouldn't be able to control him. I don't think there's any real practical reason to use this ritual, it's just for fun.

General Advice

I don't claim to be the best CoE player out there--far from it actually--but here's some general advice on how to play the Monkey Maharaja faction that's worked for me.

Early Game

You start with your Bandaraja, one Vanara Captain, 5 Vanara Archers, 5 Vanara Soldiers, 10 Markatas, and 10 Markata Archers. You want your Vanara Captain to lead as many of these as you can, leaving behind only what's necessary to protect your Bandaraja. If you're surrounded at the start by independents you'll want to leave behind more.

Your Vanara Captain's army should serve as your scouting troop. Spend the first year or so trying to scout as much territory as possible, conquering soft targets of opportunity as you go, paying special attention to mines. You want to take as many mines as possible, but only if it's safe to do without too many losses (e.g. if there's a troll guarding a mine, pass it by). Any trade points are also highly desirable. Your goal with this troop is to get a sense of your surroundings, and hopefully an idea of what opponents you're up against.

The first unit you want to buy is a Yogi. Don't spend any money until you get one. Until you hire your first Yogi you won't accumulate any gems. Your first Yogi will serve as the commander for your first real offensive army. Once you have a Yogi, you'll want to start filling out your army. Early on when you don't have much income Markatas and Atavis will do. Put most of your focus on archer units. Try to have a lot of archers with an infantry screen. By sheer numbers Markata Archers can be effective, but at some point you're going to want to switch to Bandar Archers for the bulk of your forces. They're very expensive, but the additional range of their longbows makes a huge difference.

Keep buying troops and more Yogis until you have a force you're satisfied, and then go out to conquer some of the more heavily protected independent targets. Always try to keep your losses at a minimum, and keep churning out Yogi-led armies as you are able to.

Mid-Game

Once you have a solid gem and iron income it's time to pick a midgame strategy. Midgame is what makes or breaks the Monkey Maharaja. What you pick will depend a lot on your opponents, the layout of the map, your gem income, and your iron income. You have to decide whether or not you want to focus your gem income on upgrading your national mages, or whether you want to focus on using your gems for summons.

Strategy 1: Upgrade your national mages
With this strategy, you use most of your gems to upgrade your Yogis to Gurus and then Rishis, as many as possible. Your army will consist primarily of your national troops, which you will buff using multiple mages.

This is generally a safer strategy, especially if you don't have a good gem income, since iron is usually easier to come by. If your troops die you can just hire more. Your mages are less likely to die unless you have a complete army wipe, and if you are in control of a temple, they'll just respawn so long as they haven't committed any evil acts. You'll need to focus on more damaging units like Bandars or Vanara Swordsmen since your buffs are defensive in nature. Especially if you can muster a medium to large-sized army of elite Bandara troops, you're near unstoppable with a full complement of upgraded mages backing you up.

However, depending on your opponents and how well they're doing, this can be a risky strategy. If you're facing off against factions good with status ailments or factions that focus mindless units or both, (e.g. Necromancer, Illusionist, High Cultist) you can be in trouble. Your national units don't have great magic resistance even with buffed, and your own debuffs don't work against mindless units.

Strategy 2: Focus on summons
With this strategy, you focus on upgrading only a handful of your Yogis, and use your gems to perform summons that fill out the bulk of your army.

This is usually a riskier strategy, as you need quite a high gem income to be able to use your summons in any numbers. It's also highly RNG-dependent as you never know what you're going to get with a summon ritual. That being said, your summons nearly all have Awe and very high Magic Resistance, so they excel against the types of opponents that Strategy 1 is weak to. You will still need to supplement your army with archers as summoned ranged units are rare. If you buff your summoned melee troops with Akashic Magic from your national mages they're usually even more effective than your own elites. Plus you get access to abilities (flying, amphibious, other schools of magic) with your summons that you can't with your national troops.

The downside to this strategy is that it's very hard to field a large army this way, and very difficult if not impossible to recover from if an important battle goes badly. Not only that, you're rolling the dice a lot on your army composition. Rely primarily on Lesser Akashic Summoning and you're liable to be stuck with crappy units like Guhyakas. The gem-specific summons are more useful, but you'll have to hope the 100+ gems you blow on a commander give you the one you want.


Once you've got an idea of your strategy, you can start thinking about taking on some of your opponents. It's best to first focus on factions that have better endgames than you, which unfortunately is most of them. Mage factions are generally more threatening to you than ones that focus on strong traditional troops so they're prime targets to take out first.

Endgame

The main goal for the endgame is to get there before your opponents do. If you have, say, an opposing Necromancer or Demonologist reach the endgame first, there's not a whole lot you can do.

That being said, you have a few aces up your sleeves. While not comparable to the endgame summons of a lot of other factions, your Avataras can be good for turning the tide against others. If the endgame is you vs. say, a Baron or a Plague Lord and they've got the upper hand, they don't have great counters to a Shiva or a Kali backing even a modest army.

More often than not, though, by the time you reach the endgame the game will have been more or less decided.

Exploring the Planes

This isn't something you can usually do in earnest until you've essentially won the game. The Monkey Maharaja faction is well-suited for exploring other planes, especially with your summons. You've got amphibious units, flying units, and units immune to fire. What the Monkey Maharaja is not good at is getting to those planes in the first place. For nearly all of them you have no way of getting there on your own. You either have to hope the RNG gives you a portal on your map or spawns the Shovel of the Mole King for you as a buyable item, so that you can dig to Agartha and then the Elemental Planes/Inferno. Teleport scrolls work too, though those are one-way.

The one exception is the Sky Plane. The Monkey Maharaja is well-suited for conquering the Sky Plane with its flying summons, particularly Rudras and Maruts. There's even strategic reasons to conquer the plane; most factions have trouble getting there in numbers, and if you find yourself outclassed in Elysium you can conquer the sky and turtle there until you can muster enough units to claw back some ground on the surface.

The two planes most difficult for you to explore are Hades and the Void, unless you're really lucky and get enough Hades Immunity/Void Sanity artifacts to bring your more powerful units in. For Hades, you can't get any undead units unless you luck out and conquer a citadel in there before your army dies. For the Void, if you conquer the Nexus you can buy Ether Lords/Warriors, though not likely in enough numbers to really explore.

[Draken]

Atavi Tribe Village are a bonus, not an actual main class feature. You get a few bonus troops, which can be nice at the start of the game, but nothing that breaks the bank either way.

Yes, you do start the game in the south, so that means either Jungles or Deserts. Or both. Neither class is location bound in any way, so you can just migrate somewhere else. How dense the Jungles are depends on the map generation. I had good starts in the south, and bad starts in the north, and vice versa. Starting in permanently snowed Mountains or Swamps is also not nice and most classes can't use those either. :D

You do have Forest Stealth on quite a few troops and commanders, so hiding in Forests is an option. But yeah, they don't really do much for you.

[Draken]

Yeah, the Monkey Maharaja isn't a pure summoning class. You got some summoning support, but also really good troops.
The Warlock in comparison depends on his summons and his troops options are just there to buy him time to get those summon online.

I would try fishing for a Nagaraja as soon as possible and buying Sapphires for him to use. Even a small number of Nagas can deal with anything in the water and pick up those gems for you.

[Genpei Turtle]

Yeah, I agree--mundane is generally a better strategy, but if summons snowball they can really snowball. If you can get easy early access to alternate planes it starts to become a lot more viable since they tend to be much more gem-rich than Elysium itself.

[Undying is F U N]

Thank you for the guide. I have consistently stuck with the Mundane troop strat because the game has across hundreds of hours decided that I will never be rich enough to field armies of Gem Summons and by the time I can the game is already over. The mixed gem summons and Marut summons are far too expensive for their cost and in a battle between them and Warlocks, well, the Warlock tends to win unless I get lucky enough to rush them before they summon Elemental Royalty and paste me. Overall a fun class with interesting abilities but seems a bit weak. A major issue I have is that vatara villages are anemic in free spawn and them consistently being in forests despite the fact that they can't use any forest resources including spending 10 turns being stuck in a jungle tends to make one reconsider their life choices.

[Genpei Turtle]

Also I love the tip about Markatas and trolls. Hadn't thought to use them like that!

[Genpei Turtle]

So it's worth mentioning that I didn't say that normal infantry is mediocre per se, just that they're not as good as equivalent units for other factions, which is true. Running the numbers, Atavi and Vanara archers are worse ranged units than any other factions except the ones that only get slingers, or have swarm archers (which have the advantage of being, well, swarm archers) Infantry-wise, even Vanara Swordsmen, as good as they are, are usually at best about the same as other factions' equivalent infantry, though more often than not worse when you take abilities and cost into account.

Basically with the mid-range monkey troops, in almost all cases you're not going to get something better than another faction's equivalent troop, but you very may well have something worse.

[freshwaterSubmarine]

I generally like your guide but disagree with the assessment of normal-sized infantry being mediocre. Vanara swordsmen have more hp, damage, strength and morale than swordsmen for the same cost and are about a match for Heavy Infantry, Dwarf Warriors, Barbarian Swordsmen, and Princeps. Atavi archers are cheaper than archers for the same health and shooting ability, so you can get them in greater numbers. I would highly recommend the mod that replaces the Bandaraja you start with with a Yogi to make the start less restricted by the randomness of waiting for a Guru (but the guru is actually less expensive than the Bandaraja so I don’t think it’s unfair).

[Draken]

3. Planar shenanigans are actually one thing the Monkey Maharaja is pretty decent at. While they do indeed lack a native way to get to another plane, they can access all four of the random entrances to the Elemental Planes that can spawn. They have fire immune troops for the Volcano that leads into the Elemental Plane of Fire. They have flying and floating to get to the connection point to the Elemental Plane of Air that can spawn in the Sky, and they have amphibious troops to make use of the Maelstrom or the underwater citadel, both of which lead to the Elemental Plane of Water. From those planes you can always reach the Nexus, which means Primal, Heaven, Aztlan and the other Elemental Planes are open to you. Maybe even Inferno and Hades if the connections spawn. Another bonus is that your commanders can summon replenishments for casualties off plane, which is something quite a few classes struggle with.

[Draken]

Nice guide.

I have three things to add:

1. Melee Markata having wall climb makes them actually pretty good against fortified positions. Archers and crossbows have a hard time shooting your important units when getting whacked in the shin by a small monkey. This can allow you to take better income location without any, important, losses.

2. Trolls are also a good opportunity. Using melee Markatas again to keep the Troll busy and alive allows your Yogis and other confusion casters to confuse the Troll until they switch side. Trolls are a great addition to your armies. They love the support buff you can give them.

[Cai]

Great guide, thanks