Maw of the Abyss

Deceit, Death, Doom, Misery and Strife are my children. Rise from from depths of the Abyss to serve Nyx, darkness.

Nyx upon casting Maw of the Abyss

Maw of the Abyss is a Greek God Power in Age of Empires: Mythologies available to worshipers of Nyx. It creates an opening to the depths of Tartarus that damages units.

Strategy
This God Power is essentially the opposite of Forseti's Healing Spring. Upon selecting a tile of their choice, the player creates a pit called the Abyssal Maw. Like the Healing Spring, enemy units cannot pass through it and are incapable of damaging. This is where the similarities end. Upon the beginning of the player's next turn, the Abyssal Maw unleashes energies in the form of dark pulses that deals damage to any unit adjacent to it. Each unit struck by the pulse will receive damage equal to 50% of its current HP. As it is impassable, it can also help seal a choke point on the map, slowing down enemy armies or forcing them to find an alternate route to evade harm while the player can organize themselves.

Maw of the Abyss does have its downsides. It will also damage the player's own units so they need to keep their distance from it. As it is stationary, enemy units can also simply retreat to tiles outside of its range to escape harm. Therefor, it is recommend to cast it in a heavily cluttered area where enemies may not have enough room to escape to. An example can actually be next to enemy unit production buildings as any unit they attempt to create will instantly be killed once the player begins their turn. Regardless, Maw of the Abyss only lasts three turns so players must choose its placement carefully.

Trivia

 * Maw of the Abyss does not have an equivalent in Age of Mythology, but it may have been inspired by the Atlantean God Power Tartarian Gate.