[SPOILERS] Emporium For Sale. We Don't Rent Pigs.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Initial attack odds:
forest vulture - 9.9%
sheep vulture - 3.6%
warrior - nadda

Probably he'll lose one vulture and dent up my axe decently then win the second combat. I have a new axe in San Antonio that can (hopefully) clean up that vulture after, if damage is severe enough.



Oracle due next turn. I'm going to take MC. I'm so original!



Two pop whip this, overflowing onto an axe, or impi, depending on how combat goes. I don't really want the impi unless a unit just HAS to get to Austin. But, I don't think I can make a road SW of Austin anyway, so nevermind. Hmm. Anyway, I doubt I need the unit right away because...



I just whipped one in San Antonio, as mentioned. Depending on combat results, I'll either take the granary (fingers crossed) or another axe (nonono).



This turn I chopped the forest out, using two workers. When I had run these sims before I forgot this was a hill, so really I could have just used one worker because the settler loses movement anyway. I am making so many mistakes in this game it is pathetic.



And the proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Dazed's first vulture did his job, and then some:



Second vulture won at 99.5%. Ouch. Dazed then pulled another vulture up as a reinforcement, which I'm hoping is his last for now. I mean, how many could he have built before I took his city and moved bronze outside his cultural borders? So, I'm on the defensive now. I don't think he'll press the attack next turn with a damaged unit, across the river, to a defender on a hill. He'll likely wait until he can hit with two units, or move to try to pillage my sheep. I finished a second axe (rather than the granary, but I can hardly blame Dazed for pressing the attack now, this really is all my fault) and can build another next EoT with a chop incoming. Ikhanda finished in Austin, more axes coming, and the Oracle finished in Lonesome Dove, a forge is up next aided by a chop or few.

Meanwhile, track the blue line:





Novice has swapped into slavery and is starting to whip away his impressive population, has tanked his GNP, and is looking scary with his power. Game plan: build a ton of fast cities, tank the economy, go pick a fight with your neighbor. IMP for the win! I hope he's looking at Zak and not at me. I have a lonely sentry near Novice's borders that will give me 5t to prepare for a chariot invasion. Zak is considerably closer. Just saying... hammer

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

I have 3 axes to 2 vultures. Dazed chased my worker off the forest, but that's ok. I moved out my only partially healed Impi to make an attempt on pillaging the copper. I have 3 turns to pillage it before I can expect to see more whipped vultures, as Dazed rebuilt Saddleback this turn. At least I control the silk tiles between our cities(for now)...


Forge complete, library next. When the library completes, I'll turn research back on.


I haven't shown Abilene yet, work boat completes next turn. Lots of forests to chop here, which I should get on, but I've poorly managed my workers and they are far out of position here. First priority is the silver, which will begin being mined next turn.


Zak is the GNP leader, more impressive considering everyone else has free CRE culture. He's getting a good culture boost himself, though, from Stonehenge and, to a lesser extent, GLH, 14 total free culture. I get 8 free culture from Oracle and 8 more from free CRE culture, 16 total. We both get free culture from founding a religion. After breaking it down like this, we're more or less tied for the GNP lead. If I counted culture correctly, novice has 5 cities. He's last in GNP, so of the 25, 10 is culture. I'm guessing he's also working the silver mine, and I know he has at least one seafood resource hooked up, probably two in addition to that. Is he running a variant game where he is not allowed to build cottages? IMP: crashing economies since the beginning of time, or 4000 BC. Pillage/capture gold coming up for novice, because his power is still

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Another picture of me being annoying to Dazed. He withdrew his vultures to try to get back to cover his bronze from my approaching impi. In turn, I moved all three axes toward Saddleback. I'm trying to force Dazed into making a mistake. If I had whipped out a couple more axes it wouldn't matter. When going to war, you should commit to it, not just build enough units to do...something, then swap back to economy. Hopefully I can get away with this.


Me attempting to be annoying to novice. Last turn I didn't see any other units and only a 10% fortification bonus for the defending warrior. That, and the power graph indicating he's moved against Zak, I rolled the dice that he's lightly defended elsewhere in the meantime. My hope is that I can pillage this, but a size 4 city with PH + horses and a silver mine, yeah, he can 1t a warrior if he has to and take his chances attacking out. I'll maybe cost him a turn of food. Maybe not.


Novice sent his scouting warrior my way, so I swapped from the settler build in Austin and set up a two pop impi whip...


...to overflow back into the settler. This will regrow quickly enough. The city just grew into unhappiness this turn, but the previous whip penalty will expire next turn so everything's fine there. Other builds, Abilene finished WB, on to granary; WB/growth to 4 in San Antonio next turn, as well as completing the library in Lonesome Dove and resuming research on Math.


A little bloodletting. More than Dazed and I have managed it would seem.

[Qgqqqqq]

Don't you love impis

[pindicator]

Don't you love impis

I know I do!

[Qgqqqqq]

I forgot you are.
Still you had to have the Zulu color :vomit:

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Don't you love impis

I do have a certain appreciation for their tactical flexibility. Now, if only I'd ever settle my horses so I could stack them with chariots... But, I lurkers even more than impis! (shameless plug for gratuitous lurker spam).

Don't you love impis

I know I do!

I was just chatting Dazed today and in the chat mentioned to him that should I ever face the prospect of having a city or several razed in thsi game that I'd probably have to rename it/all of them to "pindicator", just so your streak of having a city named/razed would be intact.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Speaking of impis...



I moved my damaged one thus and cut the road connection, severing bronze from the rest of his cities. Dazed has a full strength vulture covering two workers on the bronze tile, so I couldn't pillage the bronze. If he is intent on killing the pillager, he'll whack my impi with the vulture, or if I'm unlucky with something out of the fog. But he hasn't settled/improved his horses yet, and given terrain and roads (or lack), I think I'm safe except for his vulture on the adjacent tile. Which he is welcome to use, because he then can't reinforce Saddleback2 which has 3 axes, one with a pending promotion, to manage. Either way, I hope he has no bronze next turn. Absolute best case is I get to kill his city, axes, AND get to chase around his workers (who would be woefully isolated) with the marauding impi. Wouldn't THAT be fun?



Another impi, perhaps. Or, a faster settler. Finally, in the north, novice killed my warrior with a chariot. Yeah, dumb move on my part. I'll need to replace my sentry. He took his scouting warrior back out of sight.