[PB78] Dreylin boldly goes

[Dreylin]

T115 - here we go...

Turn started poorly with Superdeath rolling it and then playing the rolled turn; so no attack from him. There is diplo though:


I read this as declaring next turn, but I guess we'll see.

Other good news is that we seem to have forced Magic to kick off his Golden Age early (no revolts) and whip a good chunk of pop away, which is never an ideal combination. If nothing else we're hurting him economically.

Here's the front:


More good news is that they anticipated the attack on LL will be undertaken by Swords and has stocked with Axes. The bad news is that I don't have any Swords to really threaten Anti-Tyre, but this is the distraction. LL was whipped for 2pop, while AT for just 1. If I'm lucky, neither were for Walls, though I do fully expect them at LL. The Galley is a complicating factor as it could shuffle 2 units each way next turn, so the Trireme will have to chase. Second Trireme whipped into Sulu this turn.

My economy doesn't like this though:


But I guess I'll be saving money soon when I start losing units. Grabbing one of these islands for an overseas trade route in all cities would be a huge boost.

[Dreylin]

T116 - Not the plan!

Well the pressure strategy is working; Magic whipped off ~14pop this turn across 8 cities. That's pretty good. Less good is that he also gained 14 pop last turn by completing the Hanging Gardens. 

OK, so what are we facing...


Hmmm, we were expecting Superdeath to not declare until this turn, but neither has Gavagai which is concerning. As concerning as a large stack of HA SE of Delhi. I think a few more Spears in the South might be in order...

As expected Magic has reinforced the island with Spears, but wait ... I think he's over-done it and left Anti-Tyre vulnerable. *That's a typo on the screen BTW, it's 2 Archers and a Spear but neither Archer has a promo. Even on a hill, a HA has good odds on an Archer.



Yep. 

Lost 2HA, which I think is about average result. I covered the injured HA with the Spear Axe combo. Sulu started a Settler to claim the area - either the Forted hill, or the HA hill - due in 5t.

EDIT: oh yeah, incase it wasn't clear, I burned the city.

As for Little Lamplight, the 2 added spears make it highly unlikely I could take it this turn, so I land the additional forces. The Galleys then move to pick up the remaining HA and Chariot and I am bringing up some more units from Kirk to load on the other side. He's 2-pop whipped something, which as long as it is not Walls means I'm adding forces faster than he is.

I'm considering whether to offer Peace for the city. On the one hand that's what I want out of this war and would prefer not to lose my units getting it; on the other, that would look bad to the rest of the players we have organised this dogpile with. Assuming they actually join the war.

Also, this was the turn I remembered that I get cheap Marketplaces with PRO! Scott is starting one now and will probably whip a couple of pop off - and pass Cottages to Spock & Pike to continue to mature while it regrows.

Also, Gavagi now has 2 Settlers in the NE (his SE), so I'm definitely going to lose that area. I'm OK with that given how things are currently shaking out.

[Dreylin]

T117 - I have a bad feeling about this.

Flurry of Thrawn diplo:


The first is Gavagai's island - not really interested in pissing off Gavagai when I have a view of his HA stack hanging out near Spock. Not sure how to communicate that back though.

Second one I have no idea. It's late and my brain is not working. 

I get the 3rd one! Unfortunately he's logged in before I can send it back. 

OK, with that out of the way let's check the tape ... no counter-attack, and Superdeath has joined the war!

How does it look at Little Lamplight:


Bad. Another 2 units added has taken it out of "worth a shot" territory into "maybe cut my losses?". I also miscalculated last turn; he didn't whip the city, but has now 2-pop whipped it. Walls incoming next turn. 

I also thought that I would be able to hit his Galley with the Trireme, but didn't account for the movement penalty of the Oasis. 

After a lot of thought I added the 2 units I had onto the stack and loaded up 4 more for potential landing, but if Walls do pop up then I'm pretty-much done until I can get Catapults. I'm also starting to feel nervous about having quite so much of my forces engaged on this island and unavailable to defend should the worst happen (Gavagai).

Also, after a temporary recovery, this has returned to looking like shit:


So I've offered Magic Peace for Little Lamplight. I doubt he'll take it - he made it quite clear his defensive priority when he sacrificed Anti-Tyre to defend it - but you never know.

Also this turn I discovered another map secret that had previously eluded me:


I noticed the extra commerce on the tile Mathews was working and had to zoom in for a better look - just poking out from the trees on the Eastern side of the lake.

[Dreylin]

T117 addendum

In the morning light, I think that second diplo message is something akin to “give it 3turns and they will have joined the war (probably sent before Superdeath actually did).

PBSpy shows both Thrawn and Superdeath took a city from Magic this turn (SD kept, Thrawn may have razed but it’s hard to tell with their turnplay style). I’ll upgrade the chances of Magic taking the city deal from Improbable to Unlikely.

Gavagai looks to not have joined yet - he played a fast turn - but has now settled 2 cities in the NE of Chapel. I think it was a good decision not to grab this area myself after beating him to Mathews, as I think that would have guaranteed war between us. I’ll make an effort to remember to screenshot his stack next turn.

I whipped a bunch last turn, but it was mostly infrastructure … trying to get my finances back on track. Sulu lost access to the Gold last turn, which was a key contributor to the crash.

[Dreylin]

T118 (preview) - All in

It seems that Magic is willing to negotiate:


But quite frankly that's not enough. I will be re-offering LL for Peace and see if they feel the units can be better applied elsewhere.

Here's what I saw logging in:


Gavagai is in the war = Good
Vassalage = Longbows incoming = Bad
No Walls in LL = Good

A Spearman was added between turns, and the city was either 2 or 3-pop whipped ... 2-pop for a Longbow probably.

I'd really like to attack this turn, but I just don't have enough units. Which means I need to work out how quickly can I research Construction and get some Catapults over here. At least it seems like reinforcements have been cutoff and with the city running out of pop there's a limit of how fast it can get worse.

I'll probably do some unit shuffling but not plan to land much more in the next couple of turns. New forces need to be available to cover if those barbs and the Samurai up North turn my way. I will also look to add a couple more Galleys incase there's a need for an evacuation.

[Dreylin]

T118 -

Here's Gavagai's front:


I haven't caught up to the main stack yet, but should do next turn.

It looks like I can get to Construction in 3t - though that might require a bunch of Wealth builds and 4t would be more reasonable.

Thrawn continues to push war with Gavagai, but I'm completely tied up with Magic right now. I send back Pig-Pig followed by (what I think is) War with Gavagai in 25-30turns. It's only after this that I notice Thrawn has made peace with Magic. I'm not sure whether this is a good thing or not; half of me has been concerned that this is a war to eliminate Magic, in which case I would lose overall - even if I do get LL, I've got less potential for gain I think that the others. With Thrawn leaving already and plotting against Gavagai, it seems more likely this is a war to cripple or at least knock back to the pack and then we start circling each other again.

(Another reason I'm pushing construction now is War Elephants as defense against Gavagai's HA stack.)

[Dreylin]

T119 -

Superdeath's out, but Gav is pushing on:


Magic did indeed produce a Longbow and also upgraded his existing Archer, so we're just hunkering down until I can get Cats online. Oh, and the borders popped 3rd ring so, yeah even more so.

2turns for Construction with only a couple of compromises ... which also gives the opportunity to see how the wind blows with the few local barbs.

Thrawn also send 25/30 for war, though with a change of leadership on the horizon I think I need to boulster my borders with them and see which way the winds are blowing before committing to anything.

[Dreylin]

T120 - BARBARIANS!!!!!



Chop overflow puts Walls in Mathews to give the Archer a fighting chance. I have 2 HA to the NE and another 2 on a Galley that can be landed in the city and attack out, so I'm pretty sure it's safe. Samurai in the North has disappeared, so I guess went for Thrawn.

It looks like Gavagai razed another Magic city, but then they have declared peace, leaving me the only one remaining at war. I did get a white peace offer from Magic this turn, but I'm not quite ready to accept. I'm going to take at least another turn watching what Gavagai is doing with his returning Horse Archer stack ... I sent Pig-Pig and will see how/if he responds. Our border to my NE / his South is lightly defended so maybe he'll not be looking in my direction. We have had a decent relationship so far, and he may be (rightly) suspicious of Thrawn's intentions.



I've set up a few cities with overflow for Catapult builds - aiming to get 4-5 within 4t - but if Gavagai does not respond then I will probably convert those to Elephants...

[Dreylin]

I don’t think I’d be terribly sad if this game dies because Thrawn can’t play on. I’d probably prefer it to having a sub come in and take over from him.

[Dreylin]

T121 -

Gavagai sent back Crab-Crab, which I read as a good sign of our relationship. Even so, I offered magic peace this turn.

He used his Galley to drop off 2 Longbows on the South of the Island. I killed the Galley, but he is also building another Fort through the Pigs so he will have direct access and now he's at peace with everyone else he can afford to concentrate on me. I've left most builds as if we're still at war - first Catapult will come out of Kirk next turn.

I don't feel good about this. My economy is severely gimped verses the others through lack of an island, but does 10+ more turns of war footing to grab one actually benefit me more in the long run than concentrating on getting infrastructure in and a specialist economy rolling? I eventually decided, no.

Assuming we get peace, I think my reporting of this game is likely to slow down until I feel more positive.