Zechnophobe
Strategy Lich
The Bannor recently got an AI change which caused them to go for their training yards faster. This, as should have been expected, causes them to be even weaker when controlled by a computer. The sad and unfortunate thing about the guardsmen promotion, is that it is often a detriment to the unit, and only in very rare situations is it valuable. This is because the guardsmanned unit will defend even when it isn't the strongest defense in the stack. Causes it to die very quickly.
Further more, a preference towards this tech generally means it isn't persuing other more useful goals. The bannor training yard isn't a particularly good unique structure, so why bother forcing them to get it? Especially given their only good effects are down a completely different branch? (Fanaticism).
Of course, another unfortunate truth, is that the Bannor really don't have much of a chance when controlled by a human either. If you play against weak AI's and without difficult settings, you can no doubt win... as you can with any faction. However the Bannor have almost 0 things adding to their strength that isn't true of every faction. It all comes down to a hard to use civic, and a mediocre hero. In fact, it really comes down to just one tech: Fanaticism.
Fanaticism isn't a cheap tech to get. It isn't going to help you early on to sway the tide of a fight. It's really only relevent once most of the borders between empires have been created. Yours will likely be significantly smaller than others, because they had all sorts of little perks in the early game, and you had, exactly, 0.
From this tech, you get three things:
1) Donal Lugh. He's a cool idea for a hero, and any hero is generally a nice addition to an army, but Donal isn't a strategy in and of himself, like, for instance, Loki, Barnaxus, or Losha Valas are.
2) Crusade. For some reason, this civic requires many turns of Anarchy to enter. This seems to be a 'balance' to how awesome it is. Honestly, considering it's the only good thing the Bannor have going for them, I think there's enough balance elsewhere. Crusades obvious perks are basically 0 war weariness and a bonus to production. Truly a great civic for being in a war...
... Except that of course you are likely fighting from behind at this point.
3) FlagBearers. They cost as much as a champion, and give you +10 Strength (And another +10% against cities). Strictly inferior with an adept that any faction can make, casting 'enchanted blade'. Obviously you can get both effects, but it seems like a little 20% bonus like this is pretty pathetic. Minus some tech fuzz there, the flagbearer also requires you to ALREADY be at war. You can't build them up before war and then go into it. Further more, you then might have to wait for 3 turns of anarchy to change to the crusade civic.
The only other effects unique to the Bannor, are Demagogs, and their world spell that gives you a bunch (But, once again, for some odd balance reason, messes up your economy). Demagogs are at least decent units for their cost. +1 strength axemen with +25% melee strength is decent. Of course, they once again require war. Sigh.
So in a nutshell, the Bannor have only a few effects to call their own, and come after a good deal of the game has passed, the part where you set up your empire. Then those effects which should be the payoff for playing them up until then, have some pretty major drawbacks. Why is all of this true? Couldn't the Crusade civic at least be allowable from the get go, but have the world spell require Fanaticism? Maybe give them a baby demagog unit off bronze working, to go with their oh so spiffy training yards?
Every other civ has a list of toys to play with (Even the Malakim have more) but the Bannor just sit there reminding everyone of what it'd be like if there wasn't any factional variance.
Further more, a preference towards this tech generally means it isn't persuing other more useful goals. The bannor training yard isn't a particularly good unique structure, so why bother forcing them to get it? Especially given their only good effects are down a completely different branch? (Fanaticism).
Of course, another unfortunate truth, is that the Bannor really don't have much of a chance when controlled by a human either. If you play against weak AI's and without difficult settings, you can no doubt win... as you can with any faction. However the Bannor have almost 0 things adding to their strength that isn't true of every faction. It all comes down to a hard to use civic, and a mediocre hero. In fact, it really comes down to just one tech: Fanaticism.
Fanaticism isn't a cheap tech to get. It isn't going to help you early on to sway the tide of a fight. It's really only relevent once most of the borders between empires have been created. Yours will likely be significantly smaller than others, because they had all sorts of little perks in the early game, and you had, exactly, 0.
From this tech, you get three things:
1) Donal Lugh. He's a cool idea for a hero, and any hero is generally a nice addition to an army, but Donal isn't a strategy in and of himself, like, for instance, Loki, Barnaxus, or Losha Valas are.
2) Crusade. For some reason, this civic requires many turns of Anarchy to enter. This seems to be a 'balance' to how awesome it is. Honestly, considering it's the only good thing the Bannor have going for them, I think there's enough balance elsewhere. Crusades obvious perks are basically 0 war weariness and a bonus to production. Truly a great civic for being in a war...
... Except that of course you are likely fighting from behind at this point.
3) FlagBearers. They cost as much as a champion, and give you +10 Strength (And another +10% against cities). Strictly inferior with an adept that any faction can make, casting 'enchanted blade'. Obviously you can get both effects, but it seems like a little 20% bonus like this is pretty pathetic. Minus some tech fuzz there, the flagbearer also requires you to ALREADY be at war. You can't build them up before war and then go into it. Further more, you then might have to wait for 3 turns of anarchy to change to the crusade civic.
The only other effects unique to the Bannor, are Demagogs, and their world spell that gives you a bunch (But, once again, for some odd balance reason, messes up your economy). Demagogs are at least decent units for their cost. +1 strength axemen with +25% melee strength is decent. Of course, they once again require war. Sigh.
So in a nutshell, the Bannor have only a few effects to call their own, and come after a good deal of the game has passed, the part where you set up your empire. Then those effects which should be the payoff for playing them up until then, have some pretty major drawbacks. Why is all of this true? Couldn't the Crusade civic at least be allowable from the get go, but have the world spell require Fanaticism? Maybe give them a baby demagog unit off bronze working, to go with their oh so spiffy training yards?
Every other civ has a list of toys to play with (Even the Malakim have more) but the Bannor just sit there reminding everyone of what it'd be like if there wasn't any factional variance.
