When playing with Egyptians, specifically Isis since he has both the Hathor + Thoth options which this strategy utilizes... I notice the general sentiment seems to be Osiris over Thoth, and Nephthys over Hathor.
I started experimenting with the Hathor-Thoth route, and wonder if any of you agree it may be better for online games.
- Myth unit: Osiris' (Mummy) is better than Thoth's (Phoenix), but neither are fantastic, and neither are the reason you pick that god.
- God power: Son of Osiris is clearly better than Meteor, although Meteor if used right I don't think is *that* bad of a god power.
- Technology: Here is where I feel Thoth destroys Osiris. Osiris' (Camels +20% speed, attack HP; two Pharoahs; Mummy upgrade; some boat damage upgrade) don't hold a candle to Valley of the Kings (Midgol units train 66% faster), and his other two techs (Elephants +20% HP, +10% attack; villagers +10% gold, wood, farming) are pretty solid as well.
Camels train in 9 seconds normally, according to the site, and Chariot Archers in 6 seconds. That's relatively fast as it is, but with the Valley of the Kings upgrade, you can train Camels in 3 seconds and a Chariot Archer in 2 *seconds*. That's lightning fast. With only 2-3 Strongholds, you can spit out a constant stream of Camels/Chariots faster as 4-6 barracks can spit out, say, Hoplites (14 secs per), and way faster than a few Hill Forts can make, say, Jarls + Huskarls. If you have a strong economy and can manage your army decently well, you should be able to run over anyone with that kind of training speed.
So my question really is, are Spears/Slingers + the critical Medjay upgrade of Hathor (which is why I chose him over Nephthys, who normally I'd agree is the superior god) enough to keep an opponent at bay until then? Essentially you need tons of gold, but not much else to spit out Mercs pretty quickly on the defensive, and then once you are able to start massing camels/chariots, you can go on the offensive.
So... no good? Medjay'd mercs + Spears/Slingers not enough to save an Egyptian player until Mythic and Thoth's merc-like Camels/Chariots?
And, strategy aside, what are people's thoughts on Osiris vs Thoth?