Best two units

[shadowblack]

Elvish Lord is not a unit you can recruit in normal multiplayer.

[powershot]

Oh yeah, forgot we couldn't use campaign units.

[averyimaginativename]

So if you know in advance that your opponent is going to pick Dark Adept + Orcish Grunt, what two units would you choose to counter them? Or is there no weakness to exploit in this combo?

Ulfs and Archers. Heavy losses for both sides.

[monochromatic]

I still stand behind my Footpad/Ulf combo. Delightfully fast and annoying for the opponent. And it is hard-hitting. Footpads harass and trap enemy units, ulfs finish, footpads cover + defend. Lather, rinse, repeat until victory. Even with the weakened Footpad this can still be devastating when used properly.

[Superking]

iirc footpad nerf has been reversed

@ Great_Mage_Atari, to clarify I was answering Sapients question re: best counterpick VS Grunt & Adept.

I would choose troll/adept as my best all round pick- adept shuts down orc assasians, druids, footpads and troll is #1 meatshield

[powershot]

Elf fighter or Ulf and a Elf archer.

[MRDNRA]

iirc footpad nerf has been reversed

Only partially, ranged attack has been set back to 5-2 as of 1.9.10, but melee is still 4-2.

[Great_Mage_Atari]

I would choose troll/adept as my best all round pick- adept shuts down orc assasians, druids, footpads and troll is #1 meatshield

Adept does not exactly shut down assassins (or in your case, assasians), as a poisoned adept is an almost useless one. A combo of only chaotic units is a very bad idea in the case of a troll and adept (by this I am assuming that this is an extremely general pair, meaning that it can defeat most other pairs, not just one specified by another poster). Though the troll is a "meat shield," it has it's vulnerabilities. Given that it's main attack is blunt and that it has only 2 weakish hits until it gets to Lv. 2, they can be extremely hard to keep alive until then. In the daytime, almost any lawful ranged unit can take it down with help from others. Cavalry makes short work of them, and spearmen can kill them easily in few numbers. In the night, many other chaotic units would be able to take care of them through sheer force. This isn't even taking into account the troll's poor defense on most terrain. During the day this pair can be taken out without a big hassle. Though, in comparison, at night they would be quite bothersome. I do still stick by my Dwarvish Fighter and Dark Adept combo.

[Superking]

Adept does not exactly shut down assassins (or in your case, assasians)

[Temuchin Khan]

But the Elvish Shaman and Orcish Assassing both have very low health and damage, and both are semi-expensive.

Also it would be extremely weak in melee combat. Assassins also have vulnerabilities to physical attacks, which effectively cancels out their defensive bonuses.

No combination of two units will ever be perfect. All I'm saying is that Elvish Shaman-Orcish Assassin gives you the most possibilities, once all their upgrades are taken into account. Besides, poison and slow will offset their weaknesses in melee combat.

I'll admit that the cost of both units could be a problem, though.

If you wanted something less expensive, and more melee-worthy, how about Elvish Shaman and Spearman?

[eaglewing]

I wonder if Shaman and Walking Corpse would work well.
Cavalry with high impact resistence might be a major problem.
And ZOC needs much care.

[Great_Mage_Atari]

I wonder if Shaman and Walking Corpse would work well.
Cavalry with high impact resistence might be a major problem.
And ZOC needs much care.

...LOL...

[powershot]

What about soulless? Why you leave him on the curb?

[Great_Mage_Atari]

What about soulless? Why you leave him on the curb?

LOL MACHINE GOING WILD!! It's because you can't recruit Soulless on MP Default dingus.

[Sapient]

I still stand behind my Footpad/Ulf combo. Delightfully fast and annoying for the opponent. And it is hard-hitting. Footpads harass and trap enemy units, ulfs finish, footpads cover + defend. Lather, rinse, repeat until victory. Even with the weakened Footpad this can still be devastating when used properly.

I've been giving this some more thought and I had a little brainstorm. The footpad is kinda problematic as an adept/grunt counter. Your footpads will be extremely vulnerable at night, but weak during the day. I think a similar but better unit to fill this role would be the cav. So you have ulfs with guaranteed kills against adepts and cavalrymen to move in, provide cover, and move out. The only downside is price, but I think (depending on the map maybe) you will still be able to gain sufficient advantage due to better mobility.