Unlikely Heroes

Unlikely Heroes is the twenty-ninth scenario of the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology. The main objective is to create a haft from a piece of the taproot and reunite it with Thor’s Hammer Head.

Summary
Having been driven away from the Tartarus Gate, the heroes are now unsure of what to do. However, they stumble upon Brokk and several Dwarves working on a taproot. Reginleif reveals that before Gargarensis arrived in Midgard, Loki destroyed Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. Now Brokk and Eitri are in the process of making a new one. If Thor can have a new hammer, he will seal the gate.

Objectives

 * 1) Protect the dwarves while they cut the haft from the taproot.
 * 2) Finish cutting the haft from the taproot and bring the two pieces of the hammer together.
 * 3) Bring the two pieces of Thor’s hammer together.

Players

 * Arkantos (Thor) – Begins in the Archaic Age with no means of advancement. Commands Arkantos, Ajax, Amanra, Reginleif and Brokk, as well as a handful of Dwarves and an Ox Cart.

Neutral

 * Dwarves (Thor) – consists of Dwarves and Hersirs each being held behind Wooden Walls guarded by Myth Units. Defeating the guards and breaking down the wall will cause them to join the player’s team.

Enemies

 * Gargarensis (Poseidon) – Has Myth Units scattered in various areas of the map. Will eventually send a large army to finish off Arkantos.

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

Players should task all Dwarves and Brokk onto the Gold Mine for the time being. Every time 400 Gold has been accumulated, it will be sent to the surface, allowing reinforcements to descend into Niflheim to join Arkantos and the others. The reinforcements will arrive in the following groups: Meanwhile, the campaign heroes should be sent to stand guard near the Healing Spring to kill the incoming Hamarrtrolls and any other Myth Units that arrive. Once the reinforcement consisting of Dwarves arrive they can also be tasked into gathering Gold. If the Gold Mine runs out, the Dwarven Mine God Power can be cast.
 * 1) Two Valkyries, six Throwing Axemen
 * 2) Seven Dwarves
 * 3) Two Jarls, four Throwing Axemen
 * 4) Six Ulfsarks
 * 5) Six Huskarls
 * 6) Two Valkyries, two Jarls
 * 7) Six Raiding Cavalry
 * 8) Two Mountain Giants
 * 9) Two Frost Giants

One minute into the scenario, Eitri will appear at the east side of the map, along with Thor's Hammer Head, two Dwarves, one Ox Cart, one Valkyrie and eight Hersirs. Eitri should head towards the left path and defeat the Hamartroll that are guarding the imprisoned Dwarves. Once they are freed and the Gold Mine is secured, Eitri and his Dwarves can also begin mining to generate reinforcements faster. The Hersirs and Valkryie should stand guard on the path leading from their arrival point to the Gold Mine as some Cyclopes will eventually arrive to attack. Eitri’s group should remain there for the remainder of the scenario as the Hersirs, though strong against Myth Units, are considerable weaker in the Archaic Age and will not survive the other ambushes along the path to Brokk’s group.

Shortly after a third wave of reinforcements arrive from the surface, this will trigger the Nidhogg to appear and head straight for the taproot. The Dwarves should run clear of that area while Reginleif should be tasked to attack the dragon as she is the only ranged hero available. If there are any Throwing Axemen available, they can also attack it as long as they remain far from its flames. Once the threat is eliminated, the Dwarves and Brokk can resume mining Gold. If the Gold in the area runs out, they should immediately begin working on the taproot again.

Once the taproot has only 30% HP left, Gargarensis’ army of Chimeras, Mountain Giants, Fire Giants and Hamartrolls will have broken through the rockfall and will begin advancing towards the player’s location. This army advances very slowly, giving the player ample amount of time to finish Thor's Hammer Haft. If needed, players can send some of their reinforcements to stall the army. Once the Hammer Haft complete, it and Brokk can be sent to join the campaign heroes. The heroes should advance slowly to seek out Gargarensis’ Myth Units hidden in the fog and eliminate them all. There are five areas where Gargarensis will cast the Ancestors God Power. Whenever that happens, all units can simply retreat out of sight and wait for the God Power to end and the Minions to die. Then the player can resume attacking the groups of Myth Units as they head for Eitri’s position, taking pauses to enable the heroes to regenerate, made faster with Reginleif’s healing ability. Players may choose to free the trapped Hersirs at the north end of the map, but they will be of little use. Once Thor's Hammer Haft and Head come close to each other, players will be rewarded with victory.

Loophole
If Brokk’s Ox Cart is killed, a special set of reinforcements will arrive, consisting of a new Ox Cart and four Dwarves. To get an immediate advantage for the scenario, players may simply delete the starting Ox Cart to get these reinforcements right away.

Closing Cinematic
Gargarensis has successfully damaged the gate enough for Kronos be freed. A purple haze begins to envelope him as the Titan begins to grant him his immortality. However, Thor’s Hammer has assembled itself and flies towards the gate, sealing it again. Gargarensis escapes as the events trigger an explosion, sending everyone out of Nifleheim and onto the surface.

Trivia

 * In this scenario, the taproot and Giant Gate Ram belongs to the Mother Nature player.