Posts from Necropolis discussions.

If you don't want to constantly lose, then on fast maps, only those heroes are discussed who are very likely to get the "Marksmanship" skill as their first upgrade: Kaspar, Zoltan, Lucretia, Orson, and Vlad. For them, this probability is 2/3. Ravenna and Naadir have a 1/3 chance; Deidra cannot get it as her first upgrade; she is a late-game hero, especially with the prospect of her ultimate ability. On small maps, Kaspar is one of the strongest heroes among all factions; if engineers are allowed, the choice is almost obvious; otherwise, there are other options. There is a whole army of Orson fans, but, in my humble opinion, he is not strong on all maps; it is very desirable to know the map well. Zoltan is a universally excellent hero: he gets "Marksmanship" early, levels up faster, gains "Magic Affinity," and the much-needed +1 to Knowledge. Moreover, on such maps, there is often no opportunity to return to the city for spells, and Zoltan can learn in battle and also acquire a "Scholar." It is especially pleasant to learn "Plague" from neutral Archliches on the way to the enemy, so it is worth having a living stack from a non-native hero with you. Lucretia has her own advantages, but they are fully realized only on maps where you can, with a high probability (8-9 during the day), send all your troops into vampires. Vlad does not impress me; his reign ended back with patch 1.3.

Zoltan is a universally great hero:

Personally, I have never played as Zoltan, and I don't even know why. Maybe someone can tell me in detail how to best develop him?

Personally, I've never played as Zoltan, and I don't even know why. Maybe someone can tell me in as much detail as possible how to best develop him?

Zoltan starts with Education, which makes him a very flexible hero, adapting well to the map and the opponent. Typically, you quickly acquire Mark and Magic Attraction; if your mana reaches 30 in the early days, things will start to improve. Education is developed in parallel with a new skill; we don't rush with Necromancy, as the current level is sufficient. Now, regarding the new skill, you should choose it based on the situation, and you can easily wait a few levels for it to appear, as there are other skills to develop in the meantime. Most often, Chaos (if you see an artifact for Knowledge, or you're preparing for a Cold Wave against ballistae) is considered, as well as Defense (it's useful anyway, and it also provides bonus damage and +2 HP), Darkness (if you plan to quickly acquire high-level spells, especially Unholy Word, which is incredibly effective in the 2nd-3rd week, or if you're aiming for Plague, which is also good), and less often, Attack for Battle Balance and Mass Haste. As you progress, the number of options only increases; it's impossible to describe everything, you need to know the map and the opponent.

In a quick game, you can certainly level up the Dungeon faction, but it's unlikely you'll be able to fully develop it. Summoning will be more effective, especially if you manage to build the Dungeon to its full potential! Maybe you'll get a Phoenix, or maybe it will be a tough challenge!

In a quick game, you can certainly upgrade the Dark faction, but it's unlikely you'll be able to fully upgrade the guild! Summoning will be more effective, especially since you might be able to build the guild to the end! You might get a Phoenix, which would be great.

90% of players are clearly fixated on the Phoenix, but it's not always that great:
1. It requires 35 mana, meaning in many cases it can only be summoned once (we're talking about a quick game).
2. Even if you ban the Engineers, you're not immune to the Rapid Fire Ballista and Fire Arrows, which can take down the Phoenix or the entire army in 2-3 turns.
3. Opponent mages can easily have Deadly Cold or Chaos, which can wipe out the army while the Phoenix is being summoned and takes 2 turns to fly in.

Summoning can be a good upgrade for the Mines, Hive, Elementals (if you have a rough idea of the terrain where the battle will take place), etc.
But in many cases, the combination of Mass Plague and Unholy Word is clearly better. 2 basic Curses with 15 Witchcraft and Pain Lord = 744 damage for 30 mana to all enemy stacks. And how many armies can survive that for 3 weeks? And if something does remain, it's immediately visible and you can weaken it with troops from the start. Even against Inferno, Darkness works, as Mass Curse and Weakness turn demons into weaklings; only the potential Ballista and Imps pose a threat, but they are even worse for Summoning.
By the way, emergency guild upgrades sometimes happen, but it's more of an exception. High-level spells are obtained when you take the corresponding buildings, but they might not give you what you need. And if you're building an army, the guild will be at most level 2-3, but that's enough for Plague.

the phoenix is blinded
so you don't necessarily have to kill it, but you can blind it
if the Necropolis doesn't have a spell to remove enchantments (which is rare in its guild of mages), then the phoenix will become useless, and the mages can defeat the rest of the army, after which the summoned phoenix will disappear.

And which army can survive that for 3 weeks? And if something remains, it will be immediately visible and you can initially damage it with troops.

And if you are playing against the Elves, will you curse the invisible scouts and Nightblades with unholy words?

And if you're playing against the Dungeon faction, will you use unholy words to curse the invisible scouts and Nightblades?

Yes, with great pleasure. Here's a little trick: if Matyuk casts Warlock, it hits even combat machines with a percentage chance based on the Undead skill.

Phoenix isn't that great, but when you're low on mana and need to cast it again, it can be useful. Even if the Phoenix trick doesn't work, Crystal is a very good spell. Elementals are generally excellent; if you take the fire skill, they'll take out everyone from a distance, and they're summoned 40% more often. Mines are generally considered a cheat spell in the League. So, even without Phoenix, there's plenty to explore with Summoning.

regarding the Phoenix... if a Necromancer, for example, is playing against another Necromancer or a Demon... and also, where would you even find it on a small map?

if a Necropolis plays against another Necropolis, it will lose its Phoenix after two attacks from the Death Herald.

That's exactly what I mean... I think the summoning ability shouldn't be necessary for resurrecting the dead... and instead of hives and crystals, it should be used to cast something more useful. Only, don't tell me that crystals deal amazing damage... I know that perfectly well... it's just that the AI has gotten smarter and now it knows how to skip turns when surrounded by them (and even more so, the player will figure it out).

Sorry... And what is creating a phantom on vampires? And what about the Celestial Shield?...And the abilities in the summoning branch are quite good – for example, I once managed to remove 70 ghosts for free with Nadirim...

Firstly, I didn't mention either the Shield skill or the Phantom skill. Secondly, I think Dark Magic suits Necromancers better, at least that's what I believe.

Let's take Orson, level up his summoning skill, and in battle, we'll raise even more incredibly strong zombies! And make a Phantom that's really effective against vampires! Valhalla is right! And it will require considerable effort to kill those zombies! 2. Not a hero. As for the Death Knight, you probably won't survive long enough in a quick game to build that.