Paladin of Sola vs. Golden Shogun: Stats and Strategy

In a battle of epic proportions, our boys ran Paladin of Sola against Golden Shogun to see what sparks would fly.  We wanted to see what makes it better or worse than Golden Shogun.

Recently, Game of War has released one Deadly Missile Core Set after another.  However, with each new Missile Core Set comes a Defensive Normal Equipment Set to counter.  This has frustrated the Rally Leader community because they have the advantage for a short time until the new perma set comes out.  However, with Building 22, then Buildings 23 the pendulum will quickly swing in favor of Rally Leaders with their HUGE rally numbers with help from Hall of War 23 and Stronghold 23 March Size increase.  Also, adding to the their strength is increased Core bonus maximums from Forge 23.

So, choosing a Defense Set that is right for you has never been more important.  Let's take a look at the most recent Defensive Sets offered.

First, I've created an AMAZING chart laying out all the statistics of both.  Before you message me on Line, yes, I didn't include Upkeep Reduction nor Specialized Set Bonus, more on the latter... later. Ok, moving forward...

Take a look at the spreadsheet below:

Defense

While Golden Shogun has a lower overall Defense than Paladin of Sola, its 100% Troop Specific Defense.  This makes Debuffing much more difficult than Paladin.  Paladin on the other hand has 1020% Troop Defense which can easily be Debuffed using Defense Debuff that we see in nearly all recent Core Sets. Paladin of Sola has some Troop Attack Debuff in the Set Bonus where Golden Shogun does not.  While this adds some points for Paladin of Sola, I believe judging solely on Defense Stats alone Golden Shogun is the better choice.

We will now take a look at other factors such as Troop Attack, Health, and Specialized Set Bonuses to determine the overall best set for Defense.

Troop Attack

These sets are clearly Defensive but having some Troop Attack never hurts.  Golden Shogun has twice as much Troop Attack than Paladin of Sola.  It is minimal Troop Attack but when considering a large number of troops, a small amount of Troop Attack is all that's required to kill an entire rally.  Golden Shogun is the clear winner here.

Troop Health

The main difference between these two sets is the Health provided by Paladin of Sola.  When is Health desired for a Defensive set?  Typically, Health is desired in a limited troop numbers situation such as a Wonder Battle, Tile Trapping, or Solo Trap.  Paladin of Sola clearly wins the Health battle over Golden Shogun.  However, is it enough to choose Paladin of Sola over Golden Shogun?

An argument could be made that because of the Troop Health, Paladin is better than Golden Shogun.  However, if what we know about Troop Health in traps over 5 million troops which is that Health doesn't matter, then using Paladin of Sola because of its Health is not a strong argument.

Has anyone wondered lately why these new sets have Health Debuff?  Could it be that Game of War is responding to the Kinoichi's Kunai problem by reducing the Defense Debuff of Core Set and instead adding Health Debuff in its place?  This begs the question, do we really understand how Troop Health works?

Is Troop Health Better Than Troop Defense?

This question has been the subject of much debate in Game of War.  However, it is generally accepted by the Game of War Community that Health is better for small troop numbers under 5 million and Defense is better for larger numbers such as Traps.

Best Use of Sets

Therefore, Paladin of Sola would be best used to hold a Wonder, whereas Golden Shogun should be used for large traps because of its Specific Troop Defense.

Have you crafted Paladin of Sola? What Set Bonuses are available?

Thanks again for reading!

Darkthorne