Greetings estemed Heroes of this Olden Era. The game might finally be released in Early Access but I am determined to see it through. Last weeks poll was about which units to keep in an experiment to see what you would pick if you couldn't have a 1 to 1 recreation of H3's Tower. And to my surprise the tier 4-6 units won by a landslide. I would have guess that at least one of the lower tier units would have made it through. Sadly this also means that the Sphinx will not get a second chance. Rest in peace beautiful lion/bird/girl. But regardless let us get to deciding what their replacements should be.
Olden Era's Academy so far:
Tier 1: ???
Tier 2: ???
Tier 3: ???
Tier 4: Mage
Tier 5: Djinn
Tier 6: Naga
Tier 7: Titan
New tier 1 options:
Cabir:
Some might consider this one cheating as it really is just the Gremlin in a different coat of paint, but it is adorable so we are doing it anyway. Cabir are small firespewing reptilian creatures who serve as aids and assistants to the Wizards, and whose knack for Machinery allows them to fix the (now much reduced roster of) constructs that makes up a large bulk of the Wizards' armies.
Dwarf:
While I am still strongly of the opinion that the dwarves deserve their own faction, they are here nonetheless just because H4 included them in its Academy roster. Slow but tanky warriors with a natural resistance to magic makes the dwarves a steady and reliable frontline.
Familiar:
Once again not strictly speaking of the upgraded Imps, but rather any kind of small and strange magical creatures that the Wizards can summon to aid them in their arcane pursuits. Their roles can vary from stealing the mana of enemy Heroes to empower the spells of the arcane masters. Also to help visualize them allow me to once more slide you Rem from the game Deadlock.
Apprentice:
All great mages must begin somewhere, and that somewhere is for many as apprentices to more experienced mages. Apprentices serve as a kind of "Mage lite" unit, providing the faction with an early caster unit armed with a couple of basic spells, as well as making sure that the wizard faction has more wizards in its faction.
Animated Weapon:
A simple idea really. The wizards, rather than fighting themselves, may enchant their weapons to fight for them. Though arguably something that could work better as a summoning spell, I could nevertheless see them working as just a regular unit as well. Overall they are pretty basic fighter unit, though I'd imagine them to be completely immune to all morale effects on account of having no mind of their own. Furthermore I think that it would be interesting if the one of the upgrades was a bow and the other a sword, giving you the choice between a ranged or melee unit.