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| Thread: The Best Tank-creature in HoMM5 - Round 3 |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 · NEXT» |
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VokialBG
Honorable
Legendary Hero
First in line
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posted February 25, 2007 10:41 AM |
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Edited by VokialBG at 10:42, 25 Feb 2007.
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Poll Question:
The Best Tank-creature in HoMM5 - Round 3
This is Round 3, after shooter and caster it's time for the best Tank-creature! 
Previous rounds:
Round 1 - The Best Shooter
Round 2 - The Best Caster
Main theoreticians here (I want to see your posts):
Doomforge
Alcibiades
Emilsn
Elvin
ZombieLord
TheDeath
sq79
GenieLord
Shauku83
dschingi
TowerLord
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emilsn
Legendary Hero
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posted February 25, 2007 01:45 PM |
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Ill go first then:
Plague Zombie: What we have here is a dead corpse. Seems perfect for the job, its already dead, cannot feel pain and can hit back. But. This is only lvl 2! That is what i base my judgement on.. Its a tier 2 creature, that makes it rather weak and die easy, though it has the second best amount of Hp for tier 2 creature. So for this to be a great tank you need huge numbers, good hero(orson). Its slow too, so what should it tank? and The Ai and humans are clever enought not to take notice of this, as the main threat in a battle.. There are better tanks!
Obsidian Gargoyle: The tier 2 with most health! Its has higher Def then Zombie guy, it got elemental immunity to almost everything ! Its fast and can intercept many, but in big battles it wont last... But its the best tank for its lvl! So applaus
Squire: A human with huge armor and big shield? Sounds pretty good and well it is! ... these guys are so great... But again i base most of my decision on the tier lvl... But for its lvl its great and Haven would be dammed with out them.. Great tankers, slow but steady!
Deep Hydra: Yes, yes, yes... great beings, They can take a lot of dmg, they can att more at once! They can heal themself... The 3 main things for Hydras... Though a bit slow... But who havn't played dungoen and lost everything expect these guys and some other little guys.. And these just clean the table !  They are needed for Dungeon...
(ancient)Treant: Muhahaha... Trees with the most enourmes defense ever seen! These can really save the day for ANYONE!! You seem to forget about them, in first 5 min of a battle ! but oops! Mistake, they great tankers and can really take a lot of dmg! ,, I love them
Earth Elemental: Since you will never actully get them, they are some way useless... As neutrals they suck ... And well again you never get them.. so...
Magma Dragon: The king of Defense and Health... These are true tanks. High Health, High Def and the ability to fry those who att it! With a very defensive dwarven hero, with Endurance and Deflect missile. You got the most powerful tank! FORGE AND FIRE!
If you didn't guess it, I vote for Magma Dragon! with a second place for the mighty Trees!! And Squire and Deep Hydra can share a third...
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Ted
Promising
Supreme Hero
Peanut Exterminator
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posted February 25, 2007 01:51 PM |
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Magma Dragon- its great, simply great, having a level 7 tank is excellent late on in game so it means you lose only a few, but still give a pretty decent attack, and fire sheild helps to
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Elvin
Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
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posted February 25, 2007 02:17 PM |
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Plague Zombie
Obsidian Gargoyle
Squire
Deep Hydra
Treant
Earth Elemental
Magma Dragon
The zombies just aren't even with the new necromancy!
Gargoyles are just ranged blockers with many immunities, useful for creeping. Too dependant on hero spells to be useful and their damage is low.
Squires have one of the best specials but they don't do much themselves. Good defense and hp but to stun someone you need many of them and it's not such a good idea to use training as such. More useful before 2.1 where you could gather MANY marksmen.
Who doesn't love deep hydras? Resurrecting regeneration, good multiple attackers without retaliation and teleport assault-able(though it's not guaranteed and there are better options for a warlock imo). If they were faster...They would help a lot with creeping if they were accessible faster.
The elementals are a creeper's blessing and the summoner's curse. By the time they reach you they are too weakened or dead but at least they have unlimityed retaliation and magic proof. But that just delays the (usually) inevitable. A summoner would only want them so that he can keep casting but one can only summon so much of them.
Finally the dragons are the toughest creature around both for defense and hp. I wouldn't consider them that good due to speed and initiative but with runes they can get nigh undefeatable. Say with luck and rune of battlerage or a nice double-hit with their firebreath in round 1 with rune of charge. And they have this damned lava shield that hurts.
IF runes weren't taken into account it would be the treants. With a natural 29 def, 181 hp, entangling roots and and take roots for unlimited retaliations when defending makes them designed for tanking. With speed 6 they charge, entangle tough units and soak up damage but at a decreased rate! And while their damage seems low there is always luck and avenger and let's not forget that with teleport you can just place them near enemy shooters, defend and severely disrupt enemy strategies. While your hunters do their work. And they have the greatest tanking potential skill-wise: You will usually NOT get(or even WANT to get it) it but with stand your ground, defending would make them get +100% defense! It's worth to try it just once to witness their power!  (It doubles your +50% from take roots)
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EliteKill
Promising
The Starless
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posted February 25, 2007 02:33 PM |
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I agree with everything emilsn said... except the final part. In my opinion, the Treant/Ancient Treant is better because of higher growth and its dwelling is much cheaper... So by the time your opponent has Magma Dragons, you'll probably have enough Treants ANIHALATE them (I like that word)
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alcibiades
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
of Gold Dragons
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posted February 25, 2007 02:36 PM |
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Uhm ... this is a tough one, because I was never really a fan of Tank units. I guess I'm not the most qualified person to rate them, but I'll share my thoughts anyway to stick with the other threads. As a general note about tanks, I'll say that for me, Tanks are best placed at levels 3-5, because low-level tanks will be too frail in the long run, whereas you'll loose out too much on the offensive site with high-level tanks. That's just my oppinion, but it'll shine through in my comments.
Plague Zombie
The much maligned Plague Zombie is actually not too bad at tanking, but as others have noticed, at level 2 it's really not tough enough to last as a tank in late game - it will simply succumb to ranged power of higher level creatures before ever getting in game, and with the low Initiative and Damage that goes with being a tank, it's never a real thread.
Obsidian Gargoyle
The Obsidian Gargoyle is a very unusual tank. First off, it has good Initiative and Great speed, as well as being a flyer. As such, the Gargoyle could have been a very usefull offensive unit for the Academy, had it not been for it's incredibly lousy Damage value! However, as a tank it does an excellent job. It's incredibly tough for its level, its fair Initiative secures a relatively high number of retaliations (whatever they're worth) and most importantly, immunity to 3 of 4 schools will be a pain to anyone who doesn't specialise in Destructive Magic (and learns Implosion or Meteor Shower). Deffinitely an above average Tank.
Horned Overseer
Another very poor tank unit here. As the Zombie, it's simply not "tanky" enough to be a real tank. Lower Defence and HP than the Gargoyle makes it a much inferior creature. 'Nough said.
Squire
An excellent Tank unit here. This unit belongs to the lower reagion of my favored Tank levels, which means that the unit is tough enough to last some serious beatings, and also has some very nifty special abilities - Large Shield and Shield Allies will increase durability vs. ranged units tremendously, and furthermore will make this a tank unit not only protecting fysically, but also buffing surrounding friendly ranged units. A tank unit that does what a tank unit is supposed to do: Supports.
Steel Golem
Another excellent Tank unit here. With only 24 HP, it's not much tougher than the Gargoyle (with an incredible 20 HP) on that part, but Magic Proof helps out on this, as does the extremely usefull Unlimited Retaliations, that'll make it a pain for the enemy to take this unit out. It's slow and not too good on Deffence, however, and the Wizard is not much likely to help out on that, so unless March Of The Golems and Teleport Assault is at hand, it's rarely going to be a game breaker.
Earth Elemental
I have made my view on Elementals and Neurtals clear before - they have no importance for the game, because you'll only hold them in small numbers. Initiative 5 is a joke - and try to use slow on it.  It's a tough creature, but unless you're lacking ranged power completely, it'll never come into play.
Deep Hydra
There are many reasons why the Hydra shines for me in the game. First of all, level 5 is probably the perfect tank level, because level 5 creatures rarely are powerfull enough to be melee offensive units (Nightmare, Djinn and Unicorn all perish way too quickly), and although they make excellent choices for ranged units (Inquisitor, Lich, Rune Patriarch), they also make perfect Tank units. And that's what the Hydra is - well, almost, cause Defence 15 is not that groundbreaking to say the least, but with a whooping 125 HP + regeneration (and respawn!) ability, one is tempted to say who cares. Furthermore, although damage is poor, 6-headed attack means that taking it out with multiple units will be costly.
Now, the reason I treasure Hydras as much as I do is also the role they can play for the Warlock. In long battles with full army, they may buy you up to several extra rounds of spell-casting, which may very well be game deciding for the Warlock. A high-level Warlock with many spellpoints can be equipped with only a group of Hydras, which will buy him plenty of time to wreck havock with his spells, winning the battle through magic only rather than might. For this reason, the Hydra is probably the one tank I rate as game-defining, and it will get my vote.
Ancient Treant
Well, what's there to say about the Treant? It's almost the definition of a tank; an abnormal 181 HP and a whooping 29 Defence. Well, what more is there to wish for? Say, Take Roots, to provide further Defence and unlimited retaliations? Or what about Entangling Roots, to hold the attackers from your ranged units? Well, there's not much to say, really. The Treant is formidable.
Then why doesn't the Treant get my vote? I vote Hydra, because Treant is less likely to win you the battle, as I see it. The Ranger has little capacity of doing damage with spells, and in the case where you have only your Treants left, their poor damage will make it unlikely to win you the battle unless it's a very even match. And finally, Sylvan is in dire need of a sturdy all-round offensive melee unit - a place, which both the Unicorn and the Dragon is too frail to hold completely. Had the Treant been level 5, and the Unicorn level 6, we might have been talking ... Of course, Sylvan survive because of their excellent ranged power, but that still means that the Treant will not get my vote.
Magma Dragon
I haven't played HoF, so I'll keep it short. I was always against the idea of level 7 tanks - in the long run, it was never an attractive choice for me, because you need the level 7 offensive power. The H3 Hydra was the perfect example. It was tough, yes, but in the long run, I bet most players would have prefered the Archangel, the Black Dragon, or the Ancient Behemoth over the Chaos Hydra (no offence, Hydra  ).
The Magma Dragon seems indeed to be a extremely powerful creature - and maybe I underestimate it - the Rune of Charge, certainly, makes up for all it's slowness from its tanky character. But without having played it, it's not getting my vote.
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What will happen now?
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Shauku83
Promising
Famous Hero
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posted February 25, 2007 03:45 PM |
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Edited by Shauku83 at 15:46, 25 Feb 2007.
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What is the best tank creature...
Plague Zombie. They are quite good for the job they are supposed to be doing, that is attacking the creatures that come blocking Archliches. That is because they do good damage in the numbers they come, with nice durability. They only have defence of 2 though, which is not a good sign for tanks. Their role is tanky only in the early parts of the game, later they cannot endure. But being able to do damage is more important, because Archliches canno't be protected anyways.
Obsidian Gargoyle. Here we have a tank. Bringing you 560 HP a week, which is the same as Rakshasa Rajas! With immunities to 3 elements ensuring their continued existence against spells and highest defence from level 2. They are also a relatively fast flyer, meaning that they can serve as excellent ranged blockers as well. The damage is that of a tank, almost non-existent.
Horned Overseer. They are a semi-tank, exactly like the Plague Zombie. They do nice damage and have nice tanking capability, but are not particularly effective in either one of these.
Squire. A tank that is also an excellent support unit, a very nice combo. Their role hardly shines as a tank though, as the Haven plays so dynamically and the uses for Squires as tanks is not usual. But when they act as one, they do a fine job – having a defence of 9 on level 3 and bringing 520 HP.
Deep Hydra. One of the toughest creatures in the game, bringing 750 HP a week and resurrection as an ability. They surely are tanks, but having abilities suggesting offensive uses like No Retaliation and Six-headed Attack.
Treant. The Ultimate Tank, there is no getting behind these. As they bring 905 HP a week, that being a 1/3 of the total HP of the entire Sylvan faction, they are more than a Tank is supposed to be! Defence of 29, with take Roots granting +50% more defence and unlimited retaliations. No tank like this. Oh and what ability is more annoying to a tanky creature than Entangling Roots? Enemy is stuck with it and cannot get to the more important units.
Earth Elemental. Nothing to say really.. Solid HP with unlimited Retaliations. The slowest in the game with initiative of 5. Also, one of the most worthless elementals, because usually you don’t get that plenty of them and tanks are best in numbers. Every army has a tank of its own, getting another one is not high on the priorities.
Magma Dragon. Having the defence set to 40 tells that no one is bringing them down easily. Fire Breath is good as always and runes make them faster. Damage is not that high, but for Dwarven standards it is on the better side But tough they are, no denying that.
In conclusion...Treant is all that one could as for in a tank. I vote for it as there isn’t even a contest really. But a special mention to Gargoyle for doing an amazing job at level 2.
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Doomforge
Admirable
Undefeatable Hero
Retired Hero
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posted February 25, 2007 04:05 PM |
bonus applied. |
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tanks need to be:
a) durable. Survivability should be 80% or higher.
b) worthless. I mean, they shouldn't be a "priceless" unit we don't want to lose under any circumstance.. It shouldn't be sad to lose some units meant to tank.
c) Cheap - mainly in terms of dwelling. A tank that's impossible to get 3/4 of the game is a poor tank.
d) with a tanky special - not really needed, but apart from good survivability some special is always welcome.
e) big, so they can block more.
Plague Zombie - Hey, skellie archers time is over.  No longer they are useful to protect the weak lvl1 shooters against neutrals.. so they lost their main use. Ok, now you can get 3x more via Necromancy, but, still, it won't do much, cuz the other shooter is a big creature, and thus impossible to shield. So, they are worthless in the "tanky" role, leaving them as offensive units.. but wait a minute, offensive zombies? Bah play Orson in duel mode and see that even their boosted numbers are still poor. Hard to kill, though, so if you desperately need to buy some time.. well.. I'd raise other units anyway.
Durable - NO (67% or around)
Worthless - YES (please ZombieLord don't eat my brain!  )
Cheap - YES
Special - NO ok plague may do but it's too poor to consider it as a useful tanky special.
Big - NO
Obsidian Gargoyle - undoubtly one of the best tank in the game: Cheap, comes in such great numbers that losing 3-4 doesn't matter, immune to kazillion of things and has +80% survivability. Good one, needed for MMR creeping (which needs tanks to soak some damage before the spells start to own) and "usual" creeping (archmages, gremlins..)
Durable - YES (80%+)
Worthless - YES With 35 dam/week they are meant only to tank and nothing more
Cheap - YES Maybe the cheapest tank around
Special - YES Being not alive and immune to 3/4 elements is certainly a very handy special for a tank.
Big - NO
Squire - Holy.. Haven tank is scary one. Again it gives everything we want from a tank, BUT the problem is the dwelling's price.. It takes a lot of ore, and since we need archer's tower, we may run out of ore for bigger dwellings very early! That hurts. Better to train part of the footmen into better units, btw.
Durable - YES 80%+
Worthless - YES Losing them hurts, since they are good units, but don't expect that 20 extra squires in the endgame battle will change much.
Cheap - NO, ore problems
Special - YES, Big shield&shield allies are great, though after marksmen&skellie archers' downfall it's no longer as
godly as it used to be.
Big - NO
Deep Hydra - These units, contrary to tanks mentioned above, are not that great in creeping.. because they are priceless to have in endgame battle! With survivability ~90% and regeneration they are extremely nasty to take down, and warlocks DESPERATLY need such creatures to last while they are casting their gamebreaking spells.. So, use assassins when creeping as "tanks" and leave Deep Hydras for a final battle.. you'll love the results.
Durable - YES (around 90%)
Worthless - NO, you really don't want to lose a single hydra when creeping.
Cheap - NO, very costly.
Special - YES, Though it doesn't matter that much in the lategame.
Big - YES
Ancient Treant The TRUE tank, with best survivability in the game (yes it's higher than magma dragons of you have horde building!) The last quite a lot and have remarkable specials, with easy access to light magic and rangers' def only pitlords, warlocks and excruciating strikes may bring them down quickly. However, the dwellin costs
Durable - INSANELY! - 95%!
Worthless - NO don't lose them please ~~
Cheap - NO, very expensive dwelling, many resources and much wood needed..:/
Special - YES, probably best tankish specials available.
Big - YES
Magma Dragon - Oh well, very durable, but less than Ancient Treants+horde building, and killed way more easily by i.e. vorpal swords. They offer good offensive, though. Still, the dwelling is next to impossible to get on poor maps, and the unit is very costly. I'd say it's not a true "tank", but rather an offensive unit with good durability.
Durable - YES, 280 HP and 40 def works well.
Worthless - NO One of the most precious fortress units..
Cheap - NO, ridiculously expensive..
Special - NO. You say magma shield? It's an offensive special (doesn't help tanking) and foes receive tiny damage so magma shield won't do much. Fire immunity is rather a bonus for armageddon fans, since I can't recall any hero that would like to toss fireballs at level7 units, it's pointless. Ok, may help against archmages, but they have other spells anyway and.. come on will you creep with magma dragons?? Don't make ma laugh
Big - YES
Conclusion: Obsidians have the best "tanky" points and are best as creeping tanks, and treants obviously are the best battle tanks.
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Elvin
Admirable
Omnipresent Hero
Endless Revival
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posted February 25, 2007 04:19 PM |
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An interesting insight on tanky nature doomforge! 
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Doomforge
Admirable
Undefeatable Hero
Retired Hero
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posted February 25, 2007 04:28 PM |
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Thanks Elvin
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dfortae
Known Hero
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posted February 25, 2007 07:19 PM |
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Edited by dfortae at 19:26, 25 Feb 2007.
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1-10 scale again (using the full scale):
Plague Zombie - 2
Obsidian Gargoyle - 6
Squire - 3
Deep Hydra - 7
Treant - 10
Earth Elemental - 5
Magma Dragon - 9
There you have it.
Just to add a few more points:
A tank, by MY definition should be this:
1) Absorb lots of damage
2) Damage delt is not important
3) Draw a lot of fire (whether from AI OR human players)
If it doesn't meet this criteria, it isn't a good tank.
Gargoyles, squires, etc., are all small are RARELY draw fire by humans. So they are not good tanks vs. players. Vs AI, sometimes. But not humans. They are also small and can't block enough squares to be good.
Treants don't draw fire at first, but once you entangle someone, even humans MUST start attacking them. It's a forced draw fire. The best tank by far. Oh, and magma dragons draw fire of ranged and magic attacks (to bypass their defense). This makes them the 2nd best tank. Most humans will avoid attacking them with melee, but eventually they may not have a choice (unless they use their hero to chop them down while running around on the battlefield).
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Doomforge
Admirable
Undefeatable Hero
Retired Hero
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posted February 25, 2007 07:36 PM |
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Well that was exactly ma point But I focused on creep tanks too. If we take melee player vs melee player into consideration, I agree with dfortae in 99%.
A magic player vs. melee player is kinda different though.. cause for magic user (warlock especially) there is no difference if enemy wants to kill furies first and tank as the last one, the only thing that matters is the total time bought by units, in any order. That makes obsidian gargs very high (for mmr wizards in earlygame).
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hydroman
Tavern Dweller
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posted February 25, 2007 07:50 PM |
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Agreed on the treant. Monstrous hit points, defense, a horde building, cheapest lvl 6, entangling roots is the best tank ability - bar none.
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emilsn
Legendary Hero
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posted February 25, 2007 08:17 PM |
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Though I must say that DoomForge did the best review(with all those numbers ) I WILL NOT TOLERATE THAT YOU GIVE MY MAGMA DRAGONS A SECOND PLACE!
I know Treants rock(They do), but I must say that with Runes and tons of light magic. These Magma dragons will be abel to Destroy those weird trees!! Forge and Fire!!
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Illdisposed
Tavern Dweller
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posted February 25, 2007 08:29 PM |
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The best tank unit is Gargoyle, and there is no competition to it.
Certainly, there are statistically much better units, such as Treants and Hydras, but they fail in competition with Garg for the best tank unit position. The main reason is initiative and speed. By the time the Treant will get a chance to tank something, the battle will be coming to an end. The main purpose of such slow, bulky and tough units is to guard their own army, shooters and casters in particular. This is when the qualities such as Large, Entangle and Super defense come into play.
The same thing is with squires.They are purely defensive, and their special renders them to stay in line with fragile shooters/casters.There are, of course, exceptions, but generally to use them as a tank means to waste their assets.
I will not even mention Zombie, or Earth Elemental here. I cannot also speak of Magmas, as I did not get a chance to play HoF yet.
Now Hydras could be a good choice for tanking here, especially in late game, but they are damn expensive and vulnerable to magic.
This leaves us with the one and only, the best tank unit in the game. Gargoyle! Cheap, fast, durable,tough and magic resistant.And it's only a tier 2 unit, which means they can be used successfully in early game, and especially for creeping.As for the late game,they come in huge numbers. They get their turn one of the first in the battle, and can successfully block them pesky shooters( if there are holes in opponents defense, of course). Cast Arcane armor on them and those tombstones can be a battle winner for you.
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Darkeye
Promising
Famous Hero
of the Deep
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posted February 25, 2007 09:34 PM |
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By far my favourite is the deep hydra. With Teleport Assault creeping is almost too easy. In huge battles as Warlock I often choose to TA my hydra stack before imploding/showering.
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Doomforge
Admirable
Undefeatable Hero
Retired Hero
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posted February 25, 2007 09:42 PM |
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Quote:
By far my favourite is the deep hydra. With Teleport Assault creeping is almost too easy. In huge battles as Warlock I often choose to TA my hydra stack before imploding/showering.
Well for might warlock it may be a really good thing, but in general keeping them behind instead of teleporting them in the middle of enemy's army may give you 1-2 casts more and we all know how much it may change.
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Darkeye
Promising
Famous Hero
of the Deep
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posted February 25, 2007 11:40 PM |
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Sure.
But how about let one of your scouts specialice in logistics and attack, get TA and a big stack of deep hydras. Great for creeping.
If you by any chance should be able to get expert light magic with this one as well, you can even siege quite big towns.
A classic H2 strategy with Warlock was to take all you hydras for creeping flyers. Great for Dragons as they also hurt each other.
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Doomforge
Admirable
Undefeatable Hero
Retired Hero
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posted February 26, 2007 10:03 AM |
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Dungeon army + knightish hero + teleport assault + light magic. How does that sound?
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TheDeath
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
with serious business
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posted February 26, 2007 01:53 PM |
bonus applied. |
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Plague Zombie: It's actually one of the few real "tanks" in the game -- i.e it has lots of HP.. The normal zombie is even more tankish, since it comes at a cheaper price yet has the same HP. But the "plague" attack (special) of the upgraded version can be useful, if you have spare stacks to split them, however it could limit your army.. though it's great if you battled with a player and await others with few armies.. but overall the stack limits (7) kinda limits him, too bad 
The plague zombie is useful. However the stats are quite pathetic (and believe me, I've done the math) for it's cost, and doesn't shine in specials either. Because of such a low initiative, the damage is low (multiplied it with 0.7) and so is it's offensive potential. However the unupgraded zombie takes offense and damage to a joking level -- it's just too pathetic. The only good reason to upgrade your zombies would be to increase their damage if you need, not to make them more tankish. But the "plague" attack is good since it reduces the enemy stats therefore makes them weaker against your other creatures as well.. and you can have as many zombies as you want in a stack, even 1 zombie will work.
Overall: good "tank" with very good HP. But poor at offense and speed.
Obsidian Gargoyle: Undoubtely one of the toughest tanks. It is immune to many elements (except earth) and has an extreme 20 HP.. Wow, and it's VERY CHEAP for this purpose.. personally I think it's one of the best tanks, with the Treant, but the Treant is just much more expensive -- this one is also fast with 10 initiative and lots of speed and even flyer ability. Gargoyles are very useful to Wizards to protect Mages or Gremlins, but they are especially good at blocking enemy shooters if they are not protected. With such high survivability for such low price, it's definetely one of the toughest tanks and good at "offense" at the same time, though it lacks good damage. But what can you expect, it is also immune to 3 elements!
Squire: Actually it's a very good tank, and does so to even make your other units more "tankish" against enemy shooters. Squire's Bash is a bit too much however, since it completely reduces enemy ATB.. and with it's high hit points it is definetely going to trigger quite often, though it's a bit more expensive than the Gargoyle, and isn't much more durable either. But the Shield Allies really helps your creatures, especially shooters, so even 1 Squire will do the job, but frankly will die immediately Anyway it's high defense and HP suggest it as a tank, and personally I agree with that. Good survivability with poor damage = good tank.
Deep Hydra: The Hydra is an unusual tank, because it has lots of HP for it's cost, but can also excel in damage and offense, because it can attack multiple enemies, in fact all of them surrounding this creature. Furthermore it regenerates each turn, making it even more tankish and increasing survivability over time. However it is slow, and this has major impact both on offense and on the regenerating ability. Boosting it with Teleport Assault is a good choice, especially if you're outnumbered and enemy has lots of stacks in a good "hydra-six-headed-attack" shape. It's also a large tank, therefore good for protecting something, but it is also a weakness however. Overall, average damage + above average HP for it's cost + regeneration = good tank with some offensive potential.
Treant: Ahem, along with the Obsidian Gargoyle, the Ancient Treant is a very true tank in it's form. It has a whole lot of HP, it's cheap for that, and has a very nice special: entangle. If you happen to mass slow enemies or mass haste your troops, and have few remaining except for treants, you can use treants to entangle enemies and then simply "Take roots" and watch as they suicide. The damage is quite low (same as Unicorn who is much cheaper), but the high defense makes up for it -- after all, it's a tank, damage is not critical. I really love these tanks, very useful to protect your shooters, very useful to entangle griffins, very useful to entangle powerful creatures that can be teleported away. Very good tank.
Earth Elemental: Actually I never had these in my army, but a quick summary: Earth elementals are simply not worth the cost. The survivability is huge, but it's not enough to make them good. Actually it is extremely slow, heroes will act twice before this one. It can be useful to defend your creatures though, but the survivability just won't cut a lot, I don't know if it's worth their high price (compared with Obsidian Gargs), and they are twice as slower! The Unlimited Retaliation is nice, though most of the time they will be ignored, which doesn't make it an attractive ability. But when enemy really needs to get through them, it can be good -- but it's still inferior due to it's low damage (it's not really that low, but still not worth the cost). In it's true form, it's a good tank, not exceptional.
Magma Dragon: I don't know if this is a real tank though, but with such high survivability (as most dwarves are) I guess it's so. Anyway the Fire shield is very, very good. The HP are huge and the cost is so-so, a bit expensive, but that's tier 7s... I still think overall as a creature it's overpowered though (as most dwarves due to high HP), but for it's cost I don't know whether to call it a real tank or not. The HP is somewhat better than Blackies, I know, and defense is much greater.. so probably it is a tank, with very good offensive potential.. and Fire shield is a killer. Very useful tank to protect your creatures, though it's still not on my 1st in the list.
The ones from which I choose are either the Obsidian Gargoyles or the Treants, and I can't really make up for a choice, but I'll vote the Gargoyles due to their double-role in the army: protecting your creatures or blocking enemy shooters.
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