random Time of Day as default setting

[ancestral]

In my opinion, the fewer known, pre-game strategic advantages the better.

[chaoticwanderer]

considering undead vs drake is the most unbalanced matchup in wesnoth, i doubt random ToD had that huge of an influence on the outcome

It's the most enjoyable matchup in Wesnoth. Both sides can do massive damage to the other.

Indeed.

[Cackfiend]

considering undead vs drake is the most unbalanced matchup in wesnoth, i doubt random ToD had that huge of an influence on the outcome

It's the most enjoyable matchup in Wesnoth. Both sides can do massive damage to the other.

that must be why i never lose the matchup when im drakes

[Sorrow]

Adepts with 5/6 MP and 2 over trees/hills 3 over mountains simply CANNOT catch drakes if the drakes do not want to be caught. Meaning they can only capture villages at night, not kill drakes.
5-7MP drakes with 1 MP over all non-water terrain can catch adepts and deal damage to them as well as taking villages every time they want too. Meaning drakes can hit Undead units and economy at the same time, undead cannot return the favor unless they want to stand and fight at daytime, a highly unadvisable maneuver in most situations.

THe bigger the map the more pronounced the imbalance is.

I think they key to re-balancing this matchup is the ghost as it has 7 MP. Perhaps making undead a little stronger vs drakes at day so they can fight them off at day, but that ruins small maps. I think ghosts need to get involved somehow.

[Aethaeryn]

THe bigger the map the more pronounced the imbalance is.

The bigger the map, the more powerful Drakes are in general. I would choose to play Drakes in Cynsaun Battlefield or The Wilderlands (the big 2p and 4p map respectively), knowing I'd be better off than Random.

[Sorrow]

Things like Meteor lake or whatever are really big for ud vs drake.

[Aethaeryn]

Things like Meteor lake or whatever are really big for ud vs drake.

Fallenstar Lake. It was renamed a long time ago, perhaps as far back as 1.3.

[Mystery]

On maps with a significant amounts of water to play with, such as the aforementioned Fallenstar Lake, I'd prefer choosing a faction that has a dedicated water unit. Even just a couple of Mermen -- Naga to a lesser extent due to their Bladed damage -- can seal off the entire bottom half of the map against any reasonably-sized Drake force, giving the opponent a great position from which to push or steal the advantage on the land half of the map while you struggle to defend the lake.

In fact, that's what really bothers me about Xanthe Chaos (2v2). The large number of frontline villages doesn't feel balanced to me, especially since two of them are Water Villages. There's no reasonable way for factions without a sea unit to ever hold those villages against a faction that has one. Of course, that's a 2v2 map so the most likely (and only reasonable) response is "well make sure at least one of you are using Loyalists / Rebels / Northerners then."

...Anyway, to get back on track of the current discussion (Drakes in general, not Drakes vs. Undead specifically), I think the mobility of Drakes is overrated. What they have in movetype they lack in raw MP, not giving them much of a mobility advantage over ground units with 7+ MP at all. The exception comes when crossing multiple hexes of water but the other two most mobile factions (Loyalists and Rebels) just so happen to have a dedicated water unit to plug up those spots. :/ Drakes are more mobile than the other three factions but they're not really in a tier of their own.