My rankings of the Zyan units!

I am kicking off a new series with the help of tiermaker where I place each faction’s units into tiers. Most of winning and losing in Factions: Battlegrounds comes down to player strategy, and every unit can either be terrible or great in the right circumstance… but some units are certainly better than others! We are going to lead off with Zyan! (I am going in reverse alphabetical order.. so Zermano is next and Baazaria is last)

Here is my (blurry) Zyan tier list: (for a better image- click here!)

• Superb Tier: Farm Peasant, Sunfire Angel, Swiftwing Valkyrie
• A Tier: Royal Battlelord, Valkyrie Defender
• B Tier: Armored Cavalry, Royal Swordfighter, Unicorn Warhulk, Royal Titan
• C Tier: Elite Gladiator, Armored Infantry, Zyan Infiltrator
• D Tier: Zyan Hoplite, Zyan Archer, Regal Pegasus

D TIER: Zyan Hoplite, Zyan Archer, Regal Pegasus

These units are each the cheap, expendable options of each “type” of unit.. the Zyan Hoplite is a cheap melee fighter, the Zyan Archer is a cheap ranged unit, and the Regal Pegasus is an affordable flyer. They all can do 2 damage, which is actually really helpful for the defense-based faction, but the Archer and Hoplite are eliminated as soon as they are damaged. The Regal Pegasus is fine, but the mana generation for a primarily gold-based faction keeps it in the lowest tier for me.

C TIER: Elite Gladiator, Armored Infantry, Zyan Infiltrator

The Elite Gladiator might be a little underrated here- 4 Rank is outstanding, and the defensive abilities make them a solid melee fighter. Maybe the Gladiator is worthy of a higher tier, but the 3 attack and 3 defense is not exceptional especially for a melee only unit. The Armored Infantry is a cheap unit that bolsters the Phalanx strategy, but is the worst of the Phalanx units by a wide margin. Zyan Infiltrator’s 3 rank and 3 movement is excellent for only 2 gold, but they are extremely weak in combat and never seems to stay on the battleground long enough to maximize Tactician.

B TIER: Armored Cavalry, Royal Swordfighter, Unicorn Warhulk, Royal Titan

Zyan’s B-tier units consist of their important melee units. The Armored Cavalry is great at darting in and out with Joust, especially in the Phalanx strategy, and the Royal Swordfighter is a tough, reliable Captain. The only drawback to both of these units is an underwhelming attack skill. Unicorn Warhulk is a beast, and a fearsome fighter, especially because it combines Joust with Bullrush and 3 movement making it extremely mobile. It has good attack and defense as well. However, it generates mana and 7 gold is a big price tag. Royal Titan is the best pure melee fighter in the game thanks to extremely useful abilites- Overpower and Parry 4. The big upside comes with glaring issues however, mostly the 12 gold that can turn into 12 enemy victory points with a couple of spells and ranged attacks.

A TIER: Royal Battlelord, Valkyrie Defender

Royal Battlelord is one of only three 5 rank Captains in the game, and that alone makes them worthy of this lofty tier. The ranged attack ability and great health are also impressive. The Royal Battlelord excels as a Captain that can use their high rank to command and then make a ranged attack during the command phase. 8 gold is just a touch high for the low attack skill in my opinion. Valkyrie Defender is the heart and soul of Zyan. It represents speed, intelligence, and toughness. I almost always find myself playing the Valkyrie Defender and it usually has a profound impact on my success with Zyan.

S TIER: Farm Peasant, Sunfire Angel, Swiftwing Valkyrie

Ah yes, the humble Farm Peasant. The weakest possible unit… and yet in the highest tier! The Farm Peasant is a gold mine- almost literally. It doesn’t take a super advanced strategy to have the Peasant churn out 2 gold per round. If the Farm Peasant farms for even a couple of rounds, almost every unit in Zyan’s warband becomes playable quickly. The Sunfire Angel is Zyan’s best overall offensive weapon, thanks to good movement, a punishing melee attack, and the flexibility it provides with the Fire Orb spell. The massive Skirmish damage is one of the biggest deterrents in the game- and 7 gold is a bargain for a unit this good. Swiftwing Valkyrie is the most mobile unit in the entire game- because the 4 movement is coupled with flying and 4 rank. This makes Tactician a real threat to your enemy, and on top of that, the Swiftwing Valkyrie is a high rank Captain. Again, a total steal of a unit for 5 gold.

There you have it!! Let me know where I totally overrated or underrated a unit… and make your own Factions: Battlegrounds unit tiers! I’d love to see where you rank your units. Next up… Zermano!