Welcoming Committee

Kill them! Kill them all! – Eirik’s soldier

Welcoming Committee is the twenty-fifth scenario of the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology. The main objective is to defeat the leader from each of the three Norsemen clans.

Summary
The heroes arrive at a battlefield between three clans and have the Folstag Flag Bearer wave the banner from Skult’s village. Initially, all the Norsemen stop fighting as planned. However, three soldiers quickly become enraged at the sight of Folstag’s Flag and order their comrades to kill Arkantos and the others. While this is unexpected, Skult believes there may be a way to use this to their advantage.

Objectives

 * 1) Protect Skult and the Folstag Flag Bearer.
 * 2) Create an ambush – build at least five towers.
 * 3) Use the Folstag Flag Bearer to lure the clan leaders into ambush. Defeat all three leaders.

Players

 * Arkantos (Loki) - Starts in the Classical Age with no means of advancement. Controls Arkantos, Ajax, Amanra, Chiron, Skult, the Folstag Flag Bearer, six Throwing Axemen, six Hoplites, twelve Toxotes and one Raiding Cavalry.

Enemies

 * Vibald’s Clan (Thor) – The west clan consists of Ulfsarks and Jarls. Defeating their leader, a Hersir named Vibald, will cause the clan to convert to the player’s colors.
 * Eirik’s Clan (Loki) – The north clan consists mainly of Throwing Axemen, Huskarls and two Fenris Wolf Brood. Defeating their leader, a Hersir named Eirik, will cause the clan to convert to the player’s colors.
 * Arngrim’s Clan (Odin) – The east clan consists of Raiding Cavalry, Ulfsarks and three Ballista. Defeating their leader, a Hersir named Arngrim, will cause the clan to convert to the player’s colors.

Strategy
This guide is applied to hard difficulty. It is, of course, also applicable for the other grades of difficulty.

Players begin atop a hill where the soldiers of all three clans immediately attack their army, which thankfully is strong enough to defeat them. Skult and the Folstag Flag Bearer should move to the rear for protection while the heroes face the soldiers head on and absorb most of the damage. All available archers should provide support. Once the army is defeated, five Watch Towers will need to be built to obtain the last objective. Rather than building them near the starting point, players should pick a location closer to one of the clans so that the Folstag Flag Bearer does not have to run as far when escaping. The ambush should also not be too close as to grab the clan’s attention before construction is complete. Shaping the ambush in a U or circle shape is ideal to trap the enemy and researching the Crenellations technology will enable them to hit their targets easier. While building the ambush, the Healing Spring God Power should be cast to heal the current army but at a distance from the ambush. Units heal slowly when fighting or moving and it is best not to risk the clans taking control of the spring.

Once the ambush is built, each clan leader’s position will be revealed with the Spy God Power. When ready, the Folstag Flag Bearer can be sent to the gates of a clan of choice. It must move close enough to catch the attention of not only the soldiers but especially the leader, which will be tricky considering they are located at the center of their camp. The Folstag Flag Bearer may receive some damage from the defensive structures but he has a lot of armor, regenerates and can be revived like the campaign heroes, so there is little risk to his safety. Once a clan is in pursuit, the Flag Bearer should lure the soldiers in the trap where the Towers can be tasked into targeting Vibald, Eirik or Arngrim.

The clans’ soldiers may lack upgrades but the leaders have more HP and Armor than regular Hersirs, so all Tower and archer attacks should be concentrated on them to speed up their defeat. The first clan will be the hardest given the player’s limited resources so they may cast Bronze to increase the durability of their soldiers. Once the clan leader is killed, whatever soldiers remains of their clan will join the player’s cause. Players can repeat this strategy for the next two clans and will be rewarded with victory once all three clan leaders have been defeated. They should bear in mind that each time one clan is recruited, the remaining ones will gain upgrades, making them stronger.

Additional Tips

 * Arngrim’s clan is the best to target first as their Ballista will prove to be useful additions to the ambush once they’re under the player’s control.
 * The soldiers will madly pursue the Folstag Flag Bearer and ignore the Towers as long as none of the player’s soldiers are within sight. Therefore, it’s possible to have the Flag Bearer circle around the ambush until the clean leader is killed.
 * Walls can be built to funnel the clans into the ambush but there is no means to gather additional Gold so they should be built correctly on the first attempt.

Trivia

 * Although the Clan leaders have names, they will still generate random names like regular Hersirs.
 * Eirik’s Fenris Wolf Brood will not convert to the player’s colors when their leader is defeated, but will not attack the player either.