Mythical units

Mythical units...powerful but only when used properly. Even though they are great, stronger than any regular unit, rebuilding them takes a lot of time. I prefer to have a slingers nuke ready in a few days rather than to wait weeks to finish my mythical army. However, if you have time and resources, training mythical units make perfect sense as long as you know how to properly use them. Think about these creatures as special forces - you don't use them or let be killed to win an average battle but the most important and crucial one.  If you are not at war, this is the best time to use your FPs for mythical units.

However, please mind that defending with mythical units is very limited - the city which is supported by them, has to worship the same god. It is not a very reliable defense if you cannot send it anywhere quickly, unless you don't mind switching gods and losing all current FPs.

Offensive mythical units is a totally different story though but remember to use them wisely. Don't send them to unimportant battles because it takes time and many FPs to build a nuke of mythical units.

Below is the comparison of all mythical units in Grepolis with some descriptions and ways/strategies of using them properly. The purpose of this guide is to help you decide which units you should use for which task, and this can usually be done by comparing values ranked below.

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All presented below units have some parameters next to their picture. This is what they mean:

Attack or Defense value/FS - Unit's Attack or Total Defense (sum of 3 types of defense) value divided by Farm Space (population used to build the unit). There are 2 values here:

   -Land attack/support - when you attack on the same island, so you do not use ships for transport.

   -Sea attack/support - when you attack somebody on a different island, so costs of transport ships were included (all values include cost of Fast Transport Ships with bunks but not LS escort!).

Cost/attack or /defense - Efficiency of your attacking or defending forces (how much 1 Attack or Defense cost in resources, which you spent building units). The smaller the number the better.
As with the previous criteria, there are 2 values here: Land (excl. ships) and Sea (incl. ships), both explained above.

  ATHENA 

Goddess of defense
The goddess of wisdom, crafts and war. She is the patron of Athens. As a war goddess with a focus on strategy more than bloodshed, an active participant in the Trojan War.

 PEGASUS

One of my favourite units for its huge defense and speed attributes.

Pegasus is the strongest defensive unit in the game, after are Cerberi and Medusae.

Type of unit: Flying, very Defensive


Attack:

Attack/FS: 5 (the lowest in the game next to swordsman)

Defense:

Total defense/FS: 24.2 (the strongest defensive unit in the game)

Strongest attribute:

Blunt def/FS = 45
Ranked 1st, behind is Medusa with 26.3 (34.7 by land) and Cerberus 20.6 (27.5 by land). Its really huge!

Lets compare Pegasus blunt defense to other units (20 FS used, transport ships not included):
Comparison: 1 Pegasus vs 5 chariots - 900 vs 380
Comparison: 1 Pegasus vs  1.1 Medusa - 900 vs 468

Comparison: 1 Pegasus vs  0.5 Cyclop - 900 vs 472

With 12.5 Sharp def/FS Pegasus is 5th behind Cal. Boar (HW) 36.1 (47.5), Centaur 28.4 (37.5) and Archer 19 (25) and Medusa 18.3 (24.2).

With 15 Distance def/FS Pegasus is 5th behind Cerberus 39.4 (52.5), Cyclop 24.9 (32.8), Swordsman 22.8 (30.0) and Medusa 15.8 (20.8)

Cost:
Total resources / Defense (TR/D): 6.7 (the cheapest defense in the game, if we ignore Favour Points)

Notes:
Pegasus is not for attacking but defending. It can fly and is the fastest unit in the game. Its perfect for defending and supporting (if the city where you send it worships Athena). It always amaze me when people attack with Pegasi, which is like attacking with swordsmen, doesn't make sense at all.

Pegasus can slaughter easily attacking horsemen. Some people like to send horsemen as most of the players struggle to have strong blunt defense (hoplites and chariots are expensive). In blunt def 1 Pegasus equals 50 hoplites (50 flying hoplites with 35 speed :)

Other def values (sharp and range) are not that great. 1 Pegasus = 250 sharp def and 300 range def while 10 archers+10 swordsmen = 330 sharp def and 420 range def when mixed together (these calculations ignore transport ships costs).

However don't forget that this unit has the highest TOTAL DEFENSE value in the game. So its maybe not as strong purely in sharp def as 20 archers or purely in range def as 20 swordsmen BUT it adds to your WHOLE defense much more (thanks to its blunt def). If you know for sure that every single attack made on you will be purely sharp or range then Pegasus is not the best option but for overall protection its really strong (stronger than mix of regular units).
 

Pegasi defensive build (if you don't use centaurs) you need approximately as many swordsmen as archers and no hoplites at all. Centaurs add sharp def so if you add them then all you need are some swordsmen.

Its also  VERY CHEAP in resources, in favour points is average.

Tactics:

After 2.0 you have 2 options for defending your cities with myth units.
1) Make it Hades city and build Cerberi there or
2) Don't build any myth units and support it with Pegasi when attacked. If that city is being attacked by massive forces and needs massive support then you can switch god to Athena and receive Pegasi from all other players.

Pegasi with speed equal 35 (Fast Transport Ships have only 15) ability to fly and huge defensive stats, are the fastest and strongest support you can imagine. This cavalry can save a lot of players. I used to make Pegasi in the most center located city (between all others) and if I had to I would switch a god in any attacked city to Athena and reinforce it with them remembering to ask other players for Pegasi as well.

Summary:

• Incredible blunt defense
• Overall very strong defensive unit 
• The cheapest unit to produce
• Incredible mobility - the fastest unit in the game which doesn't need ships!

 CENTAUR
Its another defensive unit, which makes Athena a defensive goddess. It will cover sharp defense in your city - great addition to Pegasi.


Type of unit: Land Defenive
 
Attack:
Attack/FS: 9.8 (by Sea) or 13 (by Land)

Defense:
Total defense/FS: 13.9  (by Sea) or 18.3 (by Land)
Centaurs are ranked 6th - the best regular unit, swordsman, has 13.2 (17.3) and is ranked 7th.

Strongest attribute:
Sharp def/FS:  28.4 (by Sea) or 37.5 (by Land)
If we don't count HWs C. Boar, it is the best sharp defense unit, behind is archer with 19 (25).

Weak point:
Distance def/FS: 3.8 (5) - very low

Cost:
Total resources / Defense (TR/D):  17.3 (by Sea) or 12.5 (by Land)
A bit cheaper than Archer.

Notes:

Their strong point is sharp defense equal 450 (12 archers = 300) . Use them if you need to fill gaps in your defense. They mix very well with Pegasi. Their total defense value makes them good defenders but in blunt and especially in distance defense you must count on other units. Blunt is usually covered by Pegasi and for any extra distance defense make some swordsmen.

HADES

God of the underworld

Hated by gods and men alike, he mercilessly imprisons the dead as he spreads disease and suffering. The entrance to his kingdom is guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed hellhound.

CERBERUS

Cerberi are defending cities not attacking them. Actually it is the best defending unit in the game against Slingers nukes and strong against Horsemen attacks. They are specialised in defending against ranged and blunt attackers especially.





Type of unit: Land, very Defensive

Attack:

Attack/FS:  5.3 (by Sea) or 7 (by Land)

Defense:

Total def/FS :  22.5 (by Sea) or 30 (by Land)

Strong attribute:
Range def/FS: 39.4 (by Sea) or  52.5 (by Land)
Ranked 1st leaving all far behind; 2nd is Cyclop with 24.9 (32.8), then Swordsman with 22.8 (30).

Blunt def/FS: 20.6 (by Sea) or  27.5  (by Land)
Ranked 3rd after Pegasus with 45 and Medusa with 26.3 (34.7)

Weak point:
Sharp def/FS: 7.5 (10) - very low

Cost:
Cost/Total defense:  8.7 (by Sea) or 5.8 (by Land) 
It is the cheapest defense if transport ships are not used (on the same island)

Notes:

All my guides before 2.0 were advising to build slinger nukes. 9/10 times it was cheaper to send Slingers than anything else. Grepolis Devs must have noticed that and decided to give something to players against slinger nukes.

I must say it is a very impressive unit! Ranked 2nd in Total Defense category (just below Pegasi), 1st in distance defense and 3rd in blunt def. While Pegasus leaves other units far behind in blunt defense, Cerberus do the same in distance defense.

It will protect your city from slinger nukes and horsemen attacks. 1 Cerberus (30 population) will defend you against 68 slingers and that's without walls! Behind lvl 20 walls 1 Cerb will take on almost 140 slingers, that's like 4.5:1 ratio (these calculations ignore transport ships costs). All you need is to add some archers and you are covered against other type of attacks.
 

In favour points its pretty expensive but in resources its the cheapest defense in the game next to Pegasus! It is the counter unit for cheap slinger nukes however Favour Points are limiting factor, so if you are under heavy bombardment from slinger nukes start worshiping Hades in many of your cities.

Overall great defensive unit.

ERINYES
They remind me Minotaurs... cant see point making any of these, unless you want to use them to escort your CS and hold the siege. They are like Hoplites or Chariots - a weaker attack force paired with some defense. However, Cyclops are better option.




Type of unit: Land, Offensive and Defensive

Attack:

Attack/FS:  15.7 (by Sea) or 22 (by Land), ranked 6th
Type of attack: range (ranked 2nd in range attack category after regular Slingers)

Defense:
Total defense/FS: 9.8 (by Sea) or 13.8 (by Land) - ranked 10th
 

Cost:
Cost/Attack: 13.6 (by Sea) or 9.3 (by Land) - Slingers are cheaper and don't need FPs.
Cost/Total defense:  21.7 (by Sea) or 14.9 (by Land)

Notes:

These are pretty good offensive units but still weaker than slingers in range attack and they are weak in defense so I cant see why should anyone spend Favour Points on them instead of Cerberi, especially that slingers are also cheaper to make. In total defense they are pretty low (similar to Hoplites or Chariots) therefore they can stay to defend if its an emergency but otherwise I would keep them away from any defending tasks.

 If I want to use a range offensive unit which can defend at the same time, then I use Cyclops. I think these units are pretty weak - better spend favour points on Cerberi.

  HERA 

Tough one, great attack and defense.
Hera is the queen of the gods and the wife of Zeus. She is the goddess of marriage and birth.

MEDUSA

All round great unit. She is a very strong attacker and defender. However you have to pay for that high price in resources and favour points. She is a great citizen of Hera polis, will defend it but also can be used in attack. Mind that Medusae don't make the strongest sharp nuke in the game, as they need ships to be transported and escorted - more effective is a Manticores nuke (Sharp) or Harpies (Blunt).

Type of unit: Land, Offensive and Defensive; Great for everything including conquests.
Total Attack and Defense value - ranked 1st with 19 (25.2). Next are: Griffin 15.2, Pegasus 14.6 and Cyclop 14.4 (18.9).

Attack:
Attack/FS:  17.9 (by Sea) or 23.6 (by Land)
Ranked 4th - more points have flying attackers: Griffin 24.2, Manticore 21, Harpy 19
Type of attacks: sharp

Defense:

Total defense/FS: 20.1 (by Sea) or 26.6 (by Land) 
Ranked 3rd after Pegasus 24.2 and Cerberus 22.5 (30)

Strong points:
No weaknesses in defense and very strong attack power.

Blunt def/FS: 26.3 (by Sea) or 34.7 (by Land) 
Ranked 2nd behind Pegasus with 45.
If you compare it to the best regular blunt defenders - chariots which have 14.4 (19), its huge!
Comparison (attack by land): 1 Medusa vs 4.5 chariots (to get 18 population): 625 vs 342

Sharp def/FS : 18.3 (by Sea) or 24.2 (by Land)
Ranked 4th, if we don't count HWs Boar its 3rd, almost as strong as 2nd Archers 19 (25)

Range def/FS : 15.8 (by Sea) or 20.8 (by Land)
Ranked 4th much worse than regular swordsman 22.8 (30) but still decent vs range attack slingers 17.5 (23)

Cost:
Cost/Attack: 21.4 (by Sea) or  (by Land) 17.6 (rather expensive)
Cost/Total defense: 19 (by Sea) or 15.7 (by Land) - which is cheaper than hoplites or chariots.

Notes:

We can say that Medusa is one of the best mythical units in the game, however it comes with a bit high price when used for attacking (although very similar to Chariots).

Medusa can be used for defending (ranked 3rd slightly behind Pegasus and Cerberus but not much) as well as for attacking (ranked 4th behind flying Griffin, Manticore and Harpy). If we do not need send them across the sea, then Medusae will be no1 in defending and no2 in attacking (behind Griffin).

Medusae don't make the strongest sharp nuke in the game, as they need ships to be transported and escorted. Therefore Manticores are a better choice for sharp nukes. Manticores cant defend though and this is why Medusa is perfect for escorting CS and holding the siege (in Conquest worlds). Or you can use them to defend a city and attack from it using the same units.

Really a great unit.

Advantages:

Very strong attack

Huge defense
Multitask units ranked 1st in overall attack/defense ranking.

Disadvantages:

Expensive - with Hera you will use most of your favour points on Population Growth and it is hard to save any for Medusae. They need ships as well.

HARPY

Cheap and great offensive blunt power. Stronger than Horsemen in attack, can fly and loot really well. They make the strongest blunt nuke in the game and are perfect for farming.

Type of unit: Flying, Offensive and good for farming other players

 

Attack:

Attack/FS: 19 - Horsemen has 13.9 (18.3)

Type of attacks: blunt

More about Harpies Nuke.

Defense:
Total defense/FS: 4.2
The weakest defense in the game, next to Horsemen 3.6 (4.8) and catapults!

Cost:

Cost/Attack: 12.6 (cheap)

Notes:

Harpies are pure offensive units with almost no defensive strength. Harpies make the strongest blunt nukes. They have more blunt attack than horsemen and don't need ships to be transported - they fly over enemy Biremes. Attack only if your enemy doesn't have many Pegasi, Medusae, Cerberi, Cyclops, Minotaurs or chariots :)

Except attacking, Harpies are really good farmers (great for carrying loot from defenseless enemy cities) but I wouldn't count on them in defense (they are useless in that department), so use them in cities which won't be attacked often. Treat them as if they were Light Ships.

 POSEIDON 

God of seas and conquests

He is the god of water, horses, and earthquakes and was considered responsible for shipwrecks and drownings.

HYDRAS
Hydras are great for escorting your CS and defending it later on. If your enemy likes quick dodges Hydras might help you a lot in defending your siege.

Type of unit: Naval, Offensive and Defensive - Conquest missions

Attack: 1000

Defense: 715

Attack

vs Light Ship

1 Hydra (50 FS) = 5 Light Ships (50/10 = 5 FS)

5 x 200 = 1000

Hydra is as strong in an attack as Light Ships

vs Trireme

1 Hydra (50 FS) = 3.125 Trireme

3.125 x 180 = 563

Hydra is almost 2 times stronger in an attack than Trireme

Defense:

Lets compare it to Biremes.

1 Hydra (50 FS) = 6.25 Biremes (50/8 = 6.25 FS)

6.25 x 160 = 1000

Hydra is weaker in a defense than Biremes by ~30%

vs Trireme

1 Hydra (50 FS) = 3.125 Trireme

3.125 x 250 = 781

Hydra is bit weaker in an defense than Trireme

Costs

Biremes:

5400-5000 = 400 more wood to make Hydra

2800-4375 = -1575 less stone to make Hydra

3800-1125 = 2675 more silver to make Hydra

Total: 12000-10500 = 1500 more resources to make Hydra

Light Ships:

5400-4000 = 1400 more wood to make Hydra

2800-1500 = 1300 more stone to make Hydra

3800-6500 = -2700 less silver to make Hydra

Total: 12000-12000 = 0 Hydra is as expensive as 5 Light Ships

Trireme:

Total: 12000-13125 = -1125

Hydra is bit less expensive than Triremes

Speed

Hydra - 8

Biremes - 15

Light Ships - 13

Trireme - 9

Summary

Hydra is:

1) more expensive than Biremes and has less defense (so bad choice for defending)

2) as expensive as Light Ships and has the same attack value

3) 2 times stronger in an attack and bit weaker in defense than Triremes and bit cheaper

4) much slower than all other units (except Triremes)

Very low speed makes hydra a poor choice for attack - gives more time for defender to gather more biremes (while providing the same attack power as LS). 

Whats the point to have one?

To escort a Colony Ships as it can attack and defend at the same time and is much stronger in attack than Triremes. However that's all. It seems its most suitable for Colony Build (specialised) polis. So its a special mission unit - for the strike which you want to be sure you will win. For everyday use it sucks :/

CYCLOP
Cyclops should be used as Hydras. Well not exactly, they cant swim! They are perfect units for CS waves. Therefore your Colony Ship polis should worship Poseidon.

Type of unit: Land, Offensive and Defensive (1:1 attack to defense ratio) - Conquest missions.

Ranked 4th in Total Attack and Defense value ranking and with balanced attack to defense strength it is a solid unit (similar to Medusa but a bit weaker).

Attack:

Attack/FS:  14.4 (by Sea) or 18.9 (by Land)

Ranked 7th

Type of attacks: range.

In range attack category Cyclop is 3rd after Slinger 17.5 (23) and Erinyes 15.7 (22), however it also brings strong defense, which Slingers or Erinyes cant.

Defense:

Total defense/FS:  14.4 (by Sea) or  18.9 (by Land) 18.9 (ranked 5th, or 4th if we don't count Cal. Boar, pretty decent)
 

Strong points:

Range def/FS: 24.9 (by Sea) or 32.8 (by Land)
Ranked 2nd after great Cerberus but still a bit better than a regular swordsman.
 

Blunt def/FS: 18 (by Sea) or 23.6 (by Land) 
Ranked 4th, much better than regular units.

Weak point:

Sharp defense = 0.3 (that is the cyclops "eye")


 

Cost:

Cost/Attack:  17.3 (by Sea) or 12.6  (by Land) - ranked 6th
Cost/Total defense: 17.3 (by Sea) or 12.7 (by Land) - ranked 8th (similar costs to Centaur)
 

Notes:

Cyclop is a bit weaker in attack than Slingers or Erinyes but it compensate it with a very good defense. It is actually 5th top defending unit in the game. It has very strong blunt defense and range defense, which reminds me characteristics of chariots.

His blunt def = 945; we can compare it to 40 hoplites (720) or 10 chariots (760).

His distance def = 1310; we can compare it to 40 swords (1200) or 10 chariots (560)

So as you can see Cyclop is much stronger in defense than a pure swordsmen in range def or chariots in blunt defense!  and it can attack at the same time. For a unit which is very close in attack to slingers and stronger than horsemen it is great!

However be aware of its weakest attribute - sharp defense, which is non-existent. Nothing to worry about - simply add some sharp def units (archers or hoplites/chariots).

It is a good idea to use Cyclops in your CS waves.
 

Zeus

 God of disappointment
Zeus is father of gods and men. Zeus is a sky god with control over weather, especially of rain and lightning. He controls lightning, which he uses as a weapon, and thunder

 MINOTAUR

 Not great in attack, nor in defense - big disappointment.

Type of unit: Offensive/Defensive? Hard to tell, Land


Attack:
Attack/FS: 10.5 (by Sea) or 14 (by Land) - the same as chariots, lower than hoplites, horsemen or slingers. It is almost as low as pure defensive mythical units - Centaur or Cal. Boar!

Type of attacks: blunt

Defense:
Total defense/FS: 12.8 (by Sea) or 17.1 (by Land)
Regular Swordsman has more - 13.2 (17.3).
In each type of defense regular units win over it, except blunt where it has 22.5 (chariot has 19).

Cost:
Cost/Attack: 18.5 (by Sea) or 12.1 (by Land)  - Horseman is as expensive but provides more blunt attack/FS.
Cost/Total defense: 15.2 (by Sea) or 10 (by Land) - quite cheap, at least as cheap as swordsman

Notes:

Nothing special about this unit, really. It has low attack power in its category (blunt) so I wouldn't use it in my attacks. Defensively just below swordsman...
In my opinion not worth resources, time and favour points. It also needs ships :/

Not great in attack, nor in defense - a big disappointment.

MANTICORE

After huge Minotuars failure this one brings balance back. Manticores make the strongest nuke in the game if we don't count Griffin.  More info about Manticores nuke.

Type of unit: Flying, very Offensive
 

Attack:
Attack/FS: 21
Ranked as 2nd behind Griffin (24.6)
Type of attacks: sharp (1st in its category)

Defense:
Total defense/FS: 6.7 (one of the lowest in the game)

Cost:

Cost/Attack: 11.4 (the cheapest attack in the game if we don't count FPs)

Notes:

Its an offensive unit which can fly so kudos for him as it can skip Biremes and doesn't need extra FS for transport and escort ships. A flying sharp nuke can be effective against defenders using Cerberi, as long as they don't have many archers there. It can be used in the same way against Cyclops or Pegasi but again, if they have no archers/centaurs supporting them.

Some players make big armies of these to be able to break a siege (conquest world), as they can fly over Biremes. However one of the best sharp defense units is archer and it is a regular unit! So its quite easy and cheap to prepare yourself for Manticore nukes and send archers in support once CS lands.

 

Perhaps Harpies could be sometimes a better option because usually players lack blunt defense.

The only problem with Manticores is their cost - you need 400 Favour Points at once to make 1 unit and often you will need these points for Zeus spells (Favorable Wind). It takes forever to make an army of Manticores but if you can build a nuke, you will not regret it.

 

If you have any question or would like to add anything, please leave your comment
cheers :)