The piece density has been reduced to 56%.
To simplify the learning curve the number of piece types has been reduced from 33 to 24,
and apart from the Warriors and the Terror there are no pieces that you would not encounter in other variants.
The Ram, Steward, Prince, Frog, Nightrider, Leo and Spearman have been eliminated,
and the War Machine has been replaced by the (upward-compatible)
Omega-Chess Champion to rebalance minors vs Rook-class pieces.
From the 'nobles' the Lion and Amazon were eliminated,
and the Eagle and Terror only appear in a single copy.
The initial position is vulnerable,
because there are several pieces more valuable than a Cannon directly behind the Pawns
(Bishop, Dargon Horse, Bat, Archbishop, Marshall),
and Cannon attacks are not so easily disarmed as Vao attacks (where one can interpose a neighboring Pawn).
Cannons and Vaos start on the back rank, though, so it will take some time to mount an attack with those.
This allows the players to prepare their defenses for such attacks,
but puts them under pressure to do this quickly.
The Marshall and Archbishop can simply move away when they get attacked;
there is only a Zebra behind them, so they cannot be skewered.
The Bats are in serious danger, though, as the most valuable pieces shelter behind those from flying attack.
It is important here to prepare robust interposition of low-valued pieces to block Cannonattacks on them.
After moving up the center Pawns the Zebras and Elephants can be used for this,
and can be 'secured' by Vao or Champion protectors.
The Eagle (flying Q) has been moved to the back rank, to provide an extra protector for all other pieces there.
So only the flying R (renamed to Raven as a mnemonic for this) requires an aerial blocker to prevent immediate trading,
and the Archer (WA) satisfies that need.
The d-, e-, j- and k-files can be used for developing orthogonal sliders,
the short diagonals from f1 and h1 for diagonal sliders.
The Griffon and Rhino are placed behind the shield of flying pieces so that they can smoothly slide onto those rays.
The King is placed off-center to get the Dragon King with which it (fast-)castles
next to such an 'exit corridor'.
The Warriors now only have to move up a single step to join the Pawn wall,
which then still leaves their backward Knight captures cover the back rank.
This might be a good way to build a 'cannon-proof' castle for the King.
A somewhat smaller version (56 pieces instead of 80) could look like this:
The piece density has been reduced to 56%. To simplify the learning curve the number of piece types has been reduced from 33 to 24, and apart from the Warriors and the Terror there are no pieces that you would not encounter in other variants. The Ram, Steward, Prince, Frog, Nightrider, Leo and Spearman have been eliminated, and the War Machine has been replaced by the (upward-compatible) Omega-Chess Champion to rebalance minors vs Rook-class pieces. From the 'nobles' the Lion and Amazon were eliminated, and the Eagle and Terror only appear in a single copy.
The initial position is vulnerable, because there are several pieces more valuable than a Cannon directly behind the Pawns (Bishop, Dargon Horse, Bat, Archbishop, Marshall), and Cannon attacks are not so easily disarmed as Vao attacks (where one can interpose a neighboring Pawn). Cannons and Vaos start on the back rank, though, so it will take some time to mount an attack with those. This allows the players to prepare their defenses for such attacks, but puts them under pressure to do this quickly.
The Marshall and Archbishop can simply move away when they get attacked; there is only a Zebra behind them, so they cannot be skewered. The Bats are in serious danger, though, as the most valuable pieces shelter behind those from flying attack. It is important here to prepare robust interposition of low-valued pieces to block Cannonattacks on them. After moving up the center Pawns the Zebras and Elephants can be used for this, and can be 'secured' by Vao or Champion protectors.
The Eagle (flying Q) has been moved to the back rank, to provide an extra protector for all other pieces there. So only the flying R (renamed to Raven as a mnemonic for this) requires an aerial blocker to prevent immediate trading, and the Archer (WA) satisfies that need.
The d-, e-, j- and k-files can be used for developing orthogonal sliders, the short diagonals from f1 and h1 for diagonal sliders. The Griffon and Rhino are placed behind the shield of flying pieces so that they can smoothly slide onto those rays. The King is placed off-center to get the Dragon King with which it (fast-)castles next to such an 'exit corridor'.
The Warriors now only have to move up a single step to join the Pawn wall, which then still leaves their backward Knight captures cover the back rank. This might be a good way to build a 'cannon-proof' castle for the King.