Which items work well / don't work for Boss battle's?

[dashcunning]

Gah, the one time I don't Ctrl-C my post, the board loses it.

Anyhow, I'm not sure where I stand on the "randomized at start and predetermined thereafter" vs "randomized during the game". On the one hand, in game randomization allows for and encourages, to some extent, reloading over and over to get the best result. On the other hand, predetermined means if you ever reload, you know exactly whats going to happen. That encourages testing everything first and then restarting for an optimal playthrough.

Didn't one of the Civs (or many of them?) have an option to switch from the default predetermined nature to the constantly randomized way? I recall finding that much more palatable. Probably due to too many infuriating tank losing to spearman type situations. Reloading easily fixes a flaw (IMO obviously) of basic game mechanics.