The Orc Clan: Following the Princess Rule

[Ravus Sol]

Reading these posts again a few days later, That summery post looks really Fatalistic doesn't it? I think my mentality was still stuck on the "just about to die" way of thinking. Give me a few hours and I think I will try and come up with some more positive plans

[Ravus Sol]

In the words of the A-Team...

I have a plan.

[Nicolae Carpathia]

I like plans.

[Ravus Sol]

I like plans.

Join the A-Team then! I call Hannibal!

Now here is the only picture worth posting;



Yep it's my Holy Defence. 11 Diseased Corpses now. Considering you need 3 Spectres to punch through 1 Corpse I'm feeling much stronger in my position. On top of that Lonely Mountain has a culture border pop in 2 turns, I thought i'd help boost the defence even more by getting a Palisade. So thats +10% now and another +10% next turn. Basically a free Combat Promotion for all of the units in that city. Nothing to sneer at. Especially when Mackoti doesn't have any Siege units.

Broken Entwash has a number of Warriors and a few Ritualists and a Corpse as well. Not sure what Mackoti is doing with the Cultists but I'm prepared either way.

[Ravus Sol]

[SIZE="4"]The Plan[/SIZE]

Okay so My last summery was pessimistic. Recently Krill Got a Great Engineer, yet he didn't rush the Infernal Grimore. Talks with Mist of the Bannor indicate that Krill is getting beaten back. As soon as Mr Yellows Horse Army arrives he is going to be killed.

Bad news for Krill. Good news for me getting the Infernal Grimore. Bad news if Mr Yellow heads back for revenge. We signed peace on T146 meaning I only have 4 turns of enforced peace now... Not a good sign. When I get my double Warren Hawks One is going to have to head west to try and spot that army. With Sareln closing borders with him that is the direction he will attack from. Not good to be fighting a war on two fronts.

The Short term plan is to get to hawks, Once I can look around I can make a better choice. In 3 turns I can change civics again and if I'm in the clear I will switch to Runes of Kilmorph. No wait hear me out! RoK will help my economy last while teching Fanaticism. I can also spam Stonewardens for both protection and economy as well. These Priests are better at pure combat then the Ritualists. You only need 2-3 Ritualists per stack in terms of collateral damage, any more then that and you are wasting spells.

Once I get to Fanaticism I have 4 paths to take;

Malevolent Designs
I'm building the Grimore in the Capital, It will be done just in time. Provided Krill doesn't steal it out from under me. If I get it I can slingshot into this tech which will allow me a lot of elite units. Units which I can use as Breakers against Mackoti or to help hold the Line against Mr Yellow. Having these units might also make a AC re-push more feasible.

If Sareln is still not talking or has gone activley against me, these units would be best to punch through Moria and raze the city. Boosting the AC and giving me breathing space on the border

Expansion
If I'm holding the line or have counter attacked and killed the Vamp squad then expansion could be what I'm after. With Fanaticism in I can build Paramanders in Rune cities. This Str 7 unit is a Disciple so it should start with Potency and Str I. It's also good against Demons if Krill does make a comeback.

Unless other people start to kill each other I doubt I will have the breathing space for this option. If I manage to meet Krill before he expires having some extra cities to offer him as gifts in exchange for help could be useful.

Counter Attack
Fanaticism opens up the elite unit the Stygian Guard. Combine this with some OO Priests and you have a Elite attack squad. Especially If they get Mobility. Once I realised the guards could act as a breaker I looked at Mackoti's back line. His Capital is right next to a lake and 1 squard off the coast. I'm pretty sure that means a mobility water walking squad could attempt to snipe his capital!

This is the kind of attack I could use to distract Mackoti and force him to reinforce his home empire. I don't have to win, just get him distracted. I'm going to send a message to Amelia asking about moving units through his land. He's been quiet so far so i'll word the message as though I want to send units by land if I clear out Mackoti's stack. In reality all of Amelias cities are coastal so I could easily punch through if he reveals himself to be pro-vampire.

If you can't rule in Hell, serve in Heaven
A strange option is the Mercurian Gate. Available at Fanaticism this option would make a AC push nigh impossible but the ally could help me fight back against the Vampire hordes. This option would be best If I find myself pressed too harshly on both fronts. Getting the Mercurians to take over the Western Empire would free things up a little.

-

[Tasunke]

Still, if this is base FFH and not any sort of AI mod ... the Mercurian AI is gonna suck hard

[Ravus Sol]

Still, if this is base FFH and not any sort of AI mod ... the Mercurian AI is gonna suck hard

I was hoping I could beg Ichabod to help as my last Ded-lurker :neenernee

Of course If I do manage to pull this off I will have pushed the AC, Summoned Krill and Summoned Angels. All in all lots of things that slow down the game.

I'm holding out hope for the Malevolent Designs Slingshot and some diplomatic voodoo. Summoning Angels is an option but it seems too much like throwing in the towel with the AC plan.

[Tasunke]

#1 how does summoning the Mercurians prevent you from AC spamming?

#2. Malevolent Designs sounds nice

[Ellimist]

1) It would be hilarious if you summoned both Hyborem and Basium in the same game.
2) Doesn't summoning Basium mess with your ability to use AV?
3) How would you build it? SoK hammers?

[Ravus Sol]

#1 how does summoning the Mercurians prevent you from AC spamming?

#2. Malevolent Designs sounds nice

Angel Capital and Angel Hero lower the AC automatically. Also All Angel cities automatically delete any Ashen Veil spread to them. So If I gave the angels half my empire that's a lot of AV spread deleted.

I think there is more stuff involved. Having the Angels in the game is meant to naturally keep the AC low. As does the Order Religion. So summoning Basium would get me military aid at the cost of lowering the AC.

1) It would be hilarious if you summoned both Hyborem and Basium in the same game.
2) Doesn't summoning Basium mess with your ability to use AV?
3) How would you build it? SoK hammers?

It would be very fun to do so :neenernee Would be more fun If I had diplomatic lines of communication open so I could confuse everyone. But then I have a weird sense of humour.

SoK hammers are THE way to build any and all wonders. I'd use them for the Grimore but it's not production I need for that. In fact I will need to slow it down a turn or it will finish before Fanaticism comes in. But for the Gate it's doable.