4 units cost 10 or more gold… and therefore are worth 10 or more victory points for your opponent. Which of these high-risk high reward units are worth spending the gold on and which ones are better left on the sidelines?

(As usual- I’ll put in my disclaimer- all of these units can be very good in the right situations, so don’t take a “not worth it” as a total dismissal of ever using the unit!)

10 Gold: GRAND BAKUNAWA (IHALABAN)

• 10 Gold
• 3 Rank/ 2 Movement/ 7 Attack / 9 Health
• Amphibious (Amphibious units can move through water spaces and attack while on water spaces without penalty)
• Maelstorm (6 mana spell) (2 damage to all enemies adjacent to an unoccupied water space on the battleground)

The Grand Bakuwana is an outstanding unit- with great attack and defense as well as solid mobility thanks to Amphibious. It is among the best of the best in multiple strategies as it can overwhelm enemy melee units in direct combat, but also can control the battleground with Maelstorm (one of the most underrated spells in the game). In my opinion, 10 gold is actually a bargain for this level of versatility. Faction fit is the only slight drawback, as Ihalaban has a lot of high-end units that require large amounts of both gold and mana in order to thrive, but the Grand Bakunawa is by far the best unit in the faction and among the best in the game. VERDICT: WORTH IT!!!

12 Gold: ROYAL TITAN (ZYAN)

• 12 Gold
• 3 Rank/ 2 Movement/ 7 Attack/ 7 Health
• Captain
• Overpower (This unit’s melee attack ignores Parry, Natural Toughness, and Spikeskin)
• Parry 4 (Your opponent must roll a 6-sided die when targeting this unit with any melee attack.If the roll is less than or equal to the Parry number, the attack or spell has no effect.)

When you combine the abilities with the attack and health, Royal Titan proves to be the absolute best pure melee fighter in the game. Overpower wipes out any defensive advantages of enemies, while the high Parry number makes the Royal Titan a major challenge for enemy melee attacks. If they get into enemy zones near the opposition’s basecamp with a good amount of health left, it’s pretty much game over. Being a Captain is helpful for tie-breaking, but in most cases, the Titan is not going to command. At 12 gold, however, this unit is too expensive despite being the best in one facet of the game. If the Royal Titan costed about 9 gold, I’d say it’s a top 10, or maybe even top 5 unit overall. However, the RT has 0 protection of any kind against spells or ranged attacks, and with average movement it is an extremely juicy target. This major drawback makes the steep gold price not worth it, as shooters and spellcasters can really limit the Royal Titan’s effectiveness. VERDICT: NOT WORTH IT!!!

12 Gold: REGAL MINOKAWA (IHALABAN)

• 12 Gold
• 2 Rank/ 2 Movement/ 10 Attack/ 10 Health
• Flying

Ihalaban’s strategy is having the biggest and best of everything, with the drawback being an extreme cost, so it is no surprise that they are the only faction with 2 units that cost 10+ gold. The Regal Minokawa is the only unit out of the 10+ group without an ability or spell. It has very average rank and movement, and is overall a very “basic” unit. However, it’s BIG and can fly, and that is enough to completely dominate. There are not a lot of factions that have the aerial units to take out the Regal Minokawa. This gives Ihalaban players a massive luxury against ground units as well, because they can pick and choose when to land the Minokawa to deliver the most painful attack on a top ground unit. Even Tornado, the best anti-aerial weapon in the game, doesn’t even do half the damage needed to eliminate the Minokawa. The Regal Minokawa is not as good as the Grand Bakunawa (in my opinion) and suffers slightly from the same resource management issues that can slow down the rest of Ihalaban. Despite that, it’s aerial dominance makes it such a force that I always am looking for a way to get it on the battleground. VERDICT: WORTH IT!!!

14 Gold: KRAKEN OVERLORD (ZERMANO)

• 14 Gold
• 2 Rank/ 2 Movement/ 9 Attack/ 15 Health
• Captain
• Aquatic (Aquatic units use water spaces as home terrain. When recruited, aquatic units begin on whatever water space on the battleground you choose. Aquatic units’ activation ends when they move to a non-water space.)
• Multi-Attack (This unit’s melee attack effects all adjacent spaces)

The most expensive and biggest monster in the game is the Kraken Overlord. Breaking the bank at 14 gold, the 15 health can seem impenetrable, and the 9 attack, coupled with Aquatic and Multi-attack means in certain situations it can pop up and simply obliterate everything your enemy has on the board. In 3 and 4 player games, this is incredibly effective…. and extremely fun. In 2 player games… not so much. Aquatic is the ultimate sneak attack, but Kraken Overlord’s jaw-dropping cost takes all of the “sneak” out of it. While Zermano can stockpile mana, the faction runs into significant issues with maintaining a good supply of gold- so saving up for the Kraken Overlord becomes painfully obvious. This allows usually a round or two for your enemy to prepare for it’s arrival, limiting the KO’s KO blow. Zermano also doesn’t have the luxury of other factions with strong melee units. They are among the best of the best at picking apart enemies with spells, and gold is best served paying for a couple of strong spellcasters. This leaves the Kraken Overlord out of a lot of the faction’s best strategies. But, if you can pull off a Kraken Overlord Aquatic Multi-attack, it is wildly entertaining! VERDICT: NOT WORTH IT!!!

Let me know where you agree or disagree!