[Spoiler] PB42: Rusten and mackoti play Krill playing Bismarck of Portugal

[Krill]

RL issue is sorted. Kind of. Enough for me to get back into reporting.

EDIT: Two turn updates in this post due to forgetting I had not done them.

Turn 156







Note the solder points and track it over the next few turns. I'm not even trying to force out military, this is just the empire in idle.


Turn 157




Once Optics come in I have a decent heads up if OH tries to end around and attack WB.

I will have to put a sentry unit on Lewwyns island (that OH is in the process of capturing at some point in the future, but my first aim is to hold this area and then push down to the around between DZ's old start and OH's core cities.)





OH might be over extending. I'm not sure. He doesn't have much there to attack Superorganism.





Lewwyn has 14 units here.




OH has 11 hitters and a treb, plus what is on boats. I don't think it's particularly close: OH can take this, but is going to take losses.





No mouse over, but there are 20 units in Rheims that get deleted after this turn.





Limited defenders around here, no wonder OH was worried and went for knights. It's just that 11, 12, 14, 20 knights over the next few turns aren't that important when I can build an average of 6 per turn if I want.





Same problem.

[Krill]

Turn 158

As I said, this was a complete deletion from the FoW. I couldn't even say how many fast movers were used, but Gav went first. This attack was done without collateral.





I am considering offering Gav OB. He has a scout and a trireme that can scout me, I have a scout and a workboat that can scout him, and still get a scout and a warrior down here to check on his moves against OT4E. Probably not going to do it though: I reckon Gav will be able to attack my holdings before I can attack his unknown core, so I think it helps him more.





OH's whips were knights, first whips were horse archers and then he re-whipped. I think he made a mistake here. He has done it in response to my knight builds, but all he has done is turn the productive population into knights that aren't going to do anything.





Boat threatening mainland and island cities.





Boats on resupply.





As I said, couldn't get vision on the remaining units.

[Krill]

Turn 159




I have some units sitting one turn from completion, waiting for vassalage.





Not the largest army by far, but it's now turning onto military and the final tile improvements and city improvements are coming online. The island will have the SL fully improved by T164. The most important part of any war with OH is to split him in half: split away his conquests from his core, hold him off while I take everything he just weakened. Siege is not that important except for core defense.

[Krill]

And a bonus for you: 2640 hammers in one stack. And OT4E 4 turns from musketeers.

[Krill]

Question for lurkers: is there anything else you want me to post today, or soon? Another world map? Picture dumps from the cities? I will have some time on Saturday evening as the missus will be at a birthday party somewhere.

[Krill]

Turn 160

Overview map of the Lewwyn/OH/Krill theatre




I see two strategies that can work. SoD through Free At Last, take and hold constant sorrow, raze southern gems city, then take GloryGlroyHalle. Meanwhile, hold the ocean and probe at the two island cities and try to sink boats that ferry units back.

Other option is to hold at the current border and flood the sea with navy and then hammer each city that OH has taken in turn, artist bomb DZ's old capital and then focus on a land war.








OH has galleons probing around, so his units are not going to return for defensive purposes, he is trying to take everything. That suggests his whipped units are going to be the defensive force, and there aren't much of those (some of the units, the knights, have already moved forward to attack Lewwyn).











I need to make a decision quickly because I'm on the clock: Gav reaching superjm and taking his land is the final clock, if I am not ready to met him that is game over for me and probably everyone else, and OH repositioning his units to defend will lead me to needing too many turns to break him. I have to act quickly.





More units following Gav's stack.

[thestick]

If possible, a world map and bigger picture assessment of each empire. What's the macro situation? Why is Gavagai overrunning superjm the final clock?

[Krill]

I can do the world map, but I don't much information on anyone other than Lewwyn (food for someone else, just requires knights in the right place) and OH (spiky but limited MFG and has to whip units, but currently has position and CKN providing his collateral so going to be difficult to dislodge).

[Krill]

Turn 161







18 knights and 4 HA against that 25 good hitter stack from Gav (he has another 15 siege units but if his knights win all that siege should die to flanking)? Depending on how long OT4E can delay at Orleans, if he can scrounge up another 6 or so knights and enough collateral then he might be able to hold off at his capital. He needs probably a minimum of 12 cats, likely more in the region of 15-18 as Gav will reinforce his stack and has 30 real units and a further 14 minimum taking collateral but not feeling it. I count 5 cats. So OT4E needs to hold off another 5-6 turns to make it possible.

I reckon Gav just hits Orleans this turn with knights to clear culture and then moves his stack onto the tile NE of Orleans. He might lose a few knights but it doesn't matter, because OT4E couldn't remove his stack on his part of the turn and he can't afford to reclaim Orleans. the removal of thee culture will allow enough units to catch up that it's probably a net gain in the SoD and would suggest that Paris should fall on T163, and then everything just falls as OT4E can't group his units to counter the SoD.

I reckon OT4E didn't have much choice in putting his knights further back though, all of Gav's knights are triple promo and have odds on OT4Es knights, so if OT4E had tried to cover Orleans he would have had his knight stack whittled down this turn by Gavs knights as the stack moves up, and then next turn has to retreat, and doesn't have any units remaining to clear Gav out before Gav takes Paris. Gav probably loses at most 2 knights attacking Orleans, probably doesn't lose anything.








Too many units to clear this out in a straightforward fashion. Going to have to go Paper next and just swarm OH with privateers and lock him down before I move stuff over to this island and take it. The other option of trying to force the mainland will not be viable with just knights, they aren't promotied and need to be in an SoD, and that takes too long to construct and position. Now, flooding the ocean and triggering a GA around T167 to revolt into Merc and Vassalage.

[Krill]

If, or I expect when, Gav wins this, T161 was the turn he did it.