Ulm (Middle Ages)

Overview []

Ulm is a human kingdom famous for its steel. They use heavy infantry and heavy knights. Even their crossbowmen use heavy armor. Their smiths, Earth mages of limited skill, are able to forge magic items at a reduced cost. The priests of Ulm are weak.

Background []

Ulm is a young kingdom, risen from the Ulmic tribes conquered by the fallen Empire of Ermor. From the ashes of Ermor emerged a new kingdom true to its ancient legacy, the Enigma of Steel. Where Marignon relied on religion to build a kingdom, Ulm relied on steel. The mines of Ulm are famous for their riches and the smiths of Ulm work the iron into the blacksteel armor used by the knights and infantry of Ulm. The people of Ulm are heavily built by human standards. Their infantry use full chain or plate armor made of blacksteel. The feared Black Knights of Ulm are the most heavily armored troops known to man. The leaders of Ulm have never approved of magic and only the Master Smiths are allowed to use it. The smiths are used to working in conditions that are magically unfavorable and are therefore not adversely affected by provinces that have a strong Drain dominion. The smiths craft armor and weaponry for lords and kings, but the strength of steel is preferred over magic. Even religion is of secondary importance in Ulm, though an Iron Cult that worships steel in a more devout fashion has emerged in recent times.

Commanders[]

Unit Name	Type	Cost	Res		Magic	Special
Priest Smith	Commander (Cap Only)	175	7	Yes	1 2 1	+10 Resources, Forge Bonus 1
Black Priest	Commander (Cap Only)	100	2	Yes	1 2	N/A
Lord Guardian	Commander (Cap Only)	80	40	No	N/A	Bane of Heresy
Master Smith	Commander	135	7	No	1 2 +.2	+10 Resources, Forge Bonus 2
Black Acolyte	Commander	45	1	Yes	1	N/A
Spy	Commander	60	5	No	N/A	Instigate Uprising
Black Lord	Commander	110	63	No	N/A	N/A
Commander of Ulm	Commander	70	26/36	No	N/A	N/A
Siege Engineer	Commander	60	52	No	N/A	Siege Attack +50

Units[]

Unit Name	Cost	Res	Sacred?	Special
Guardian (Cap Only)	20	40	No	Bane of Heresy
Pikeneer	10	23	No	N/A
Infantry of Ulm (Maul)	10	22	No	N/A
Infantry of Ulm (Battleaxe, Flail)	10	24	No	N/A
Infantry of Ulm (Shield and Hammer, Morningstar)	10	26	No	N/A
Black Plate Infantry (Maul)	10	32	No	N/A
Black Plate Infantry (Axe, Flail)	10	34	No
Black Plate Infantry (Shield and Hammer, Morningstar)	10	36	No	N/A
Black Plate Pikeneer	10	33	No	N/A
Sapper	20	33	No
Black Knight	50	63	No	N/A
War Dog	7	7	No	N/A

Strategy Overview []

Pretender

Ulm's basic pretender design usually includes Order 3 and Growth 3 scales, and at lease Production 2. Drain 3 is a common choice as well. Cold/Heat 1 or 2, and Either Luck 0 or Misfortune 1 are up to personal decision, being aware that taking Misfortune 1 will make you vulnerable to Gem-loss events. Given Ulm's relatively weak magic paths, a Rainbow Mage is not a bad choice.

General Strategy

Your first dozen or so turns, you'll want to be building Morningstar Infantry and Pikeneers (NEITHER being the Black Plate variants) at a 2:1 ratio or so. Your capital should be set to recruit Priest Mages permanently. They're exactly like your Master Smiths, only a tad more expensive, with one less forge bonus, and with no chance for a random magic path. The reason you want them is that Ulm has two special spells along the Evocation line: Iron Darts and Iron Blizzard. More on those later.

Your early battle tactics should be relatively simple. Combine your Infantry and Pikeneers into a single squad and have them attacking at the front line. Don't bother hiring Crossbowmen. Their Arbalests fire EXTREMELY slowly, and just aren't worth it.

Magic

Generally, you'll want to get Conjuration 3 for Summon Earthpower, Construction 3 for Legions of Steel, and then Evocation 3 for Iron Darts. Finally, Alteration 2 well net you Earth Meld. What do all these do?

Iron Darts fire 3, well, darts, at your enemy. They're armor peircing and do decent damage with good enough precision, useful for taking out blocks of Indy troops.

Legions of Steel is an AoE buff that increases the armor value of your troops by 3. Extremely useful since all of your troops are heavily armored.

Earth Meld is an AoE immobilize, noting that an immobilized unit has its defence skill dropped to 0. Useful for knocking out troops with high Defence.

Strategy Guides []

links to pages where people can submit their own in-depth guides

Nation: MA ULM - primer
Writer : Zinegata
Location: http://www.desura.com/games/dominions-4-thrones-of-ascensions/forum/thread/primer-ma-ulm-forge-less-forge-smarter

Nation: MA ULM - Thugs
Writer: : Caldius
Location: http://www.desura.com/games/dominions-4-thrones-of-ascensions/forum/thread/guide-thug-spamming-as-ma-ulm