[SPOILERS] Pindicator Walks With Dinosaurs

[pindicator]

Since you all have your picks posted where I can see them, and I've seen a fair bit of impatience, I went ahead and shouldered Brick out of the way to resolve your picks.

Impatient? Me?



Anyway, let's look at the pairings:



Commodore is Rammy the Roman



After Commodore's treatises about the evils of slow movers (see pb13 for all you non-players), and his specific calling out of Roman Praetorians as a Unique Unit that can be a trap, I fully expect this to be a builder pick. Praets will be used defensively, or just as a scare tactic to keep people away while he snatches up wonder after wonder with Ramesses. This is a slow starting combination, especially if he has a start like mine, so he could be in trouble if he starts near TBS or Thoth and they have a mind for violence. But leave him alone and let him collect some wonders, and he'll have an economic advantage. This has a feel of a casual pick, with Commodore wanting to explore an idea rather than win a game.

Washington Rates It: 7 stars




Thoth is Hatty the Zulu



This combination has the markings of something solid all-around. It's very possible this isn't Thoth's first pick, unless solid and boring was what he was going for. (Boring for me is anything that lacks synergy. Your mileage may vary.) Assuming the starts look similar, then Zulu were one of the right calls for the resources we were shown. AH, Wheel, and he has all he really needs to start things off. Hatty will be great for a land grab, and he'll have a choice whether he wants to try for an early religion or a quick Great Scientist. Either way, he will have the traits for an econ game, and one of the best UUs in the ancient era to thwart any early aggressors. Because you Don't Mess With Zulu.

Washington Rates It: 8 stars




Gaspar is Zara the Turk



Yours truly forgot that the Ottomans were even an option this game. They've been picked so frequently as an Agri/Wheel civ that I just assumed they were banned with the Egypts and the Frances of the world. Not that I would have picked them anyway; I don't really care for the Ottomans. They've just been played too often. Especially by one regoarrarr. Perhaps he's really playing and Gaspar is just his smurf.

Oh yeah, the combination. Well, like Hatty of Zulu it's nothing exciting but it's very good. It's actually a better solid combination than Hatty, in my opinion. He'll tech Hunting, AH, and then be ready to go to Pottery. Really wondering why he didn't go for an EXP leader to pair with the Ottomans, but perhaps he did and got bumped. Either way, solid combination and a solid player, should be a competitor this game.

Washington Rates It: 11 stars



More in a bit

[regoarrarr]

Especially by one regoarrarr. Perhaps he's really playing and Gaspar is just his smurf.

Shhhhh

[pindicator]

Especially by one regoarrarr. Perhaps he's really playing and Gaspar is just his smurf.

Shhhhh

It's a Rego sighting! What gave you been up lately?

[regoarrarr]

Especially by one regoarrarr. Perhaps he's really playing and Gaspar is just his smurf.

Shhhhh

It's a Rego sighting! What gave you been up lately?

LOL I'm still around. I'm following a few games but haven't played much lately (under this account)

[pindicator]

Minor nitpick: I would have put the wine 1 N of the settler to give the player an option between 2h or 2c I the capital
/nitpick

Oops, sorry, here's a revised screenshot, your previous one had an error.

Kidding!

What is it about the start that makes you want to play Zulu? The viability of a Hunting start or because impis are so freaking fun?

...I just today noticed the barb axe in this screenshot

[spacetyrantxenu]

Did you notice the morale promotion? Rule the map making process with an iron hand, that's what my parents taught me growing up!

[pindicator]

So to elaborate more on my comments about increased tech costs from difficulty... As I mentioned before, Carthage had awful starting techs for the map we were given. I'm a little more sure that the starts are similar enough across the different players because of TBS' pick and because it was Commodore with Rome who was the first to say this would be a problem.

With standard size I was going to settle in place and tech Hunting - Agriculture - AH. Yes the wheat is technically a better tile but Hunting first reduces wasted worker turns at the expense of 3 or 4 commerce overall. ( Dunno, my bottleneck is tech so maybe I should go A first anyway. )

At standard map size I can get my worker to the appropriate tiles right about as I finish the needed tech. We end up Mining that plains hill ahead of pasturing the cow but it works out well enough. If we go with a large map then I probably won't even tech AH- it'll be better to go Wheel - Pottery and get the econ going.

[pindicator]

Actually I could just change the tech path to Ag first and take the extra commerce since I'm eating the worker turn anyway. But I would need to change techs this turn otherwise I won't get Ag in time

[pindicator]

If the choice is made to continue with the map size as is, can a mod or lurker please log in and change my tech to Agriculture?

Edit: password is DinoNumid

[pindicator]

Well, with the latest IT thread fix hopefully we are underway for good this time. In the meantime, let's finish off the pre-game festivities:

Dtay is Roosevelt of Mali



Another wonder-centric pick. Kind of a number of directions he could go, as far as wonders go. Obviously FDR is the best leader for landing the Great Lighthouse. Makes sense, he built them in real life right? And Mali with their UB of the Mint makes Metal Casting and Oracle a natural target. Might as well add Colossus to that too. Yep, dtay will be on the wild safari of hunting wonders, hoping to pose for pictures beside many of their oversized corpses.

But he's not entirely a one-trick pony here, either. Mali has some decent starting techs for the start I got, and I figure everyone got something similar. So even if all the wonder aspirations go wrong, he still has a solid civ to fall back on. And FDR in the late game isn't exactly a slouch either. Cheap production buildings all game long!

Washington Rates It: 9 stars



TBS is Joao of Mongolia



Apparently there is a Portuguese professional bicyclist named Joao Marinho who recently competed in Mongolia. I know, not the best tie-in for a picture, but it was either that or go way out on a limb with a picture of Prester John. And then I'd have to explain how I figured Prester John ties in with this pick, and I really would bullshit it because it kind of doesn't.

Anyway! I've already said what I think of this pick. TBS got the steal of the draft, hands down. I only hope there were 5 other people who wanted Joao of Mongolia and TBS won the dice roll, otherwise I'd be very disappointed in my fellow competitors. Hunting, Wheel, EXP and IMP, with most of the Agriculture/Wheel civs and FIN leaders banned. This will be amazing. TBS will have a worker out and a second city down by turn 24. And by what I've seen this is someone who knows how to play. Could be very dangerous, and on top of that in the hands of the player I think has the most likeliness to win it all.

Washington Rates It: 13 stars!



Oxyphenbutazone is Pericles of Maya



I think this is another solid pick, but unlike Zara of Ottomans and Hatshepsut of Zulu this has some synergy behind it. First of all, you're getting super-cheap happiness in the form of Creative Ball Courts. 50h for 3 happiness is about the same ratio you get for stuffing 3 warriors in a city when in Hereditary Rule. But in works even better with Philosophical as you can use that extra happiness to turn citizens into specialists, grow great people and bulb your way to a mid-game lead.

The catch is that this is very map dependent. You need to hope that the map maker has not given everybody multiple happiness so that the Ball Courts can actually mean something at the era they come into play. And if you want to go the great person route then you're counting on a map lush enough to be able to grow those extra citizens in an early era. With RB maps, traditionally the first one is the real issue; the second one is hardly a problem.

Still, I do love me some synergy. And some PHI bulbing.

Washington Rates It: 10 stars