Nidhogg is still a huge disappointment both thematically and through gameplay. lets revamp it in a way that makes it more exciting and impactful in 2024 while still reflecting the mythos around it.
first of all dragons should be melee units with a charged ranged flame breath. this isn’t for balance reasons, fighting dragons head to head with a sword or lance is part of the romance and mythos of dragons and heroes. as an example check multiple Scandinavian legends such Beowulf or Nibelungenlied about fighting dragons head on.
inspirations from shows and games as examples of how to portray dragons in an impressive manner:
rework the godpower summon a unique building called a hel-spire. visually looks like several corrupted and gnawed roots/branches of Yggdrasil twisted together into a spear that erupts from the ground. if the hel-spire is destroyed you can summon another one with the god power. only one hel-spire can be active on the field.
the hel-spire generates faith and slowly auto spawns up to 3 hel-drakes, one from each root/branch. visually they start off as a bud, then bloom and become a pulsating red fruit. once the spawn timer finishes the fruit lands on the ground and a hel-drake emerges from it. they are fast single target flying melee assassins with a powerful fireball charged attack. bespoke melee animations for fighting other flying units as well as for both small and large ground and water based targets are a must. some subtle plant like details as if they are not fully animal is a plus.
once in the wonder age pay a hefty price to summon the Titan Nidhogg, now massive and much stronger. while being summoned the spire shivers and pulsates with a massive glow in its center. Nidhogg then rips apart and untwists the spire into its individual roots and erupts from its center while devouring the tip of the spire. boom! the spire then slowly wraps itself together again and regenerates the tip.
any hel-drake on the field at the same time as Nidhogg permanently becomes a full fledged hel-dragon with a bigger model, increased hp, a more powerful flame breath special and area effect added to all their attacks.
dragons in games should be special, with lots of spectacle and visual flair combined terrifying firepower. instead the current premier dragon in AOM retold is kind of pathetic and invokes pity rather than awe despite being exclusively from a max level god power. so lets retell its story in a way that it deserves.