Ok, three games tonight, three wins. Finally I listened to reason and used a proper Human tactic. Or rather, I finally took advantage of some of the Humans’ actual tactical advantages against Undead and Night Elves.

Basically it involves taking advantage of Peasants defensively. A large number of peasants (eleven or twelve) work away at keeping the economy running, always ready to respond to that lovely militia bell. A minimal infrastructure is built to facilitate a quick upgrade all the way to castle.

While the castle is being built, an arcane sanctum, smithy, and a barracks are built, so that you can have some sorceresses and priests available to support your heroes, and your barracks will be ready to crank out knights asap. Against night elves it worked beautifully. Huntresses cannot deal with being slowed by sorceresses. Demon Hunters cannot deal with being stunned by the Mountain King hero. Priests and sorceresses don’t run out of mana when they’ve got an archmage backing them up.

It’s a thing of beauty. Tonight, I’m quitting while I’m ahead. I’ll have happy dreams of slowed demon hunters running for their lives while an angry little Dwarf guy chases behind, hammer in hand.

Word has it that huntresses aren’t that great. They have marginally lower hit points and slightly lower damage than a knight… But they have range, their attacks bounce to multiple opponents, they cost 60 gold less, and are available far far quicker.

Until I see a Human vs. Huntress tactic that actually works reliably, I will continue to consider the use of the Demon Hunter/Huntress quick buildup to be a CheapAss Ploy™. I wonder if the folks at Blizzard wonder why all Necros go for Dreadlord with Sleep and Vampiric Aura, and all Night Elves go with Demon Hunter & Huntress rush. The Sleep command is pretty easily worked around through some micromanaging, but there’s no reliable defense for Humans against those pesky huntresses.

It is accomplished. The burrowowl has left the realm of utter suckitude and earned a new player icon: that of the human foot soldier. Take that, orc guy that I whupped tonight!