This is not really a guild but an ongoing experiment. I might revisit this strategy in due course.
In general, according to my experience playing arachnids, which isn’t really that wealthy at this point, I like to perform this race while following two principles: mobility and willingness (as the description has already indicated). More precisely, for the former, it’s not mobility but flexibility, which means the unites should be able to maneuver smoothly depends on the situation. And for the latter, I think the idea of arachnids is to exchange as much as possible, however, don’t forget to make sure your new reinforcement while trading.
Guardian:
I have tested few games between Khanta Yiallore (7/13/0/1) and Kratos (10/10/0/2). It is unclear if the choice matters to me. If the reason to pick Kratos over Khanta Yiallore is that we need more defense on our masters (from 7 to 8), I normally use the item to offset the difference (Zivishra with one defense armor, we will not have armor for Lasthella, but most of the time it’s fine to stay with 7 defense) while using Khanta Yiallore. In my opinion, what matters is actually how dangerous it is if we have a 10 defense guardian rather than 13 but without range ability. I prefer the latter to not risk 10 moral, yet further experiments are still required to draw a clear, if any, conclusion here.
I just unlocked my third guardian (Qessa, 6/15/0/1, enhance all warriors' attack), I think it will have much more impact on the game than the other two. Boosting warriors’ attack might facilitate the trade that I will talk about in a minute. I might revisit this comment after I fully test Qessa.
Pioneer and Warrior:
Since I believe flexibility is key, I prefer to avoid one movement unit. Metallos is therefore a weird choice to me, as well as that 1/5/1/1 warrior (sorry I don’t remember its name now). The idea is that, on one hand, they are sometimes too clumsy as a place holder, especially when I need to advance my troops together or backup; on the other hand, if the purpose is to protect the guardian when most of our forces are pushing from the other side, I am inclined to bring Khanta Yiallore and use other high attack warriors and pioneers to do the sacrifice job, since they will also have the chance to counterattack, and it’s much safer to have a guardian with 13 defense.
Master:
We don’t have the choice when speaking of the master. However, I prefer to pick Kalon as one of the S5. Still sticking with my two principles: I like to trade at the beginning for opponents’ high value units (not necessarily for equal moral cost, but sometimes based on their abilities or position. For example, a high attack range 3 pioneer might be worthful to kill even if we exchange for a master). And after the initial exchange, I will either backup a litter bit or advance, and it’s only at that time I need my other two masters (Lasthella and Zivishra) to hold my formation.
Unlocking cards:
My personal route began with Xico (pioneer, 4/5/1/3, assassinate other pioneers), and Exodus (warriors, 4/1/3/1, reduce defense value upon attack). I think they are the most important card to unlock for arachnids because they provide 3 range and movement for which this race really lacks. Later on I unlocked the cards with fellowship bonuses to improve the current deck. It’s true that the starter deck of arachnids is fine. Besides Xico and Exodus, I believe the other is just optional to build your own preference.
To make it clear, my strategy above might not fit the match between experienced contestants. During this week testing, I didn’t have much game with them (thank God for that), but I hope it will at least suit the need for the beginner.