Dave's Not Throwing Away His Shot

[Molach]

If I were Archduke, Id be wary of going around BA. For all I know you could be ready to suzerain it, leading to wardec from behind. Or their units bumbling about blocking the advance. Why not just flatten BA with enough force that it can be held? Then way to your lands are open.

On that note, if he is going around.. any way to ninja-suzerain it?

[oledavy]

If I were Archduke, Id be wary of going around BA. For all I know you could be ready to suzerain it, leading to wardec from behind. Or their units bumbling about blocking the advance. Why not just flatten BA with enough force that it can be held? Then way to your lands are open.

On that note, if he is going around.. any way to ninja-suzerain it?

I was looking into that, but no unfortunately, it's quest is too hard to complete (Holy Site).

@Zero_1627: That's an excellent point on the value of the encampment (reducing my need for two horses). I actually ended up putting the chop in the encampment to take it from a 10-turn build to a 5-turn build. Why? Welp..

Turn 57

TL;DR - Both my neighbors are going for city-state acquisitions. It just so happens that one is my suzerain and the other forks my cities, so I realistically can't let either be held by a foreign power. 

Archduke was planning on attacking Buenos Aires, and began his assault this turn. 



Very solid move. His GG is now on the field and he's using it to expedite the process. 



Take note that El Cid is the next GG, I think he's extremely good. 



I don't know how long the conquest will take, but it will almost certainly be faster that mine of Hong Kong. That's horsemen with a GG and support bonuses pack a massive punch. 

In the east, Singaboy continues to maneuver. 



He could be moving to attack me, but that force doesn't intimidate me much. I think it's more likely he's moving his swordsman to get behind Seoul. Just in case, I moved my horseman to the copper tile, the best place from which to respond to an aggressive move into the campus.

In the north, Carthage cleared the camp first. 



 I could have used that gold and culture. 

Okay, so, what does all this mean. 

I considered attacking BA and getting in on the fun. However, I want his assault on the city to take as long as possible, and I don't want any attacks on me when they could hit him. With this in mind, I'm willing to give up the potential Thermopylae yields if it means delaying him from taking the city. While a foreign power holding BA doesn't leave me as vulnerable as Singaboy holding Seoul, it does still make my position rough, and I suspect once he takes the city he's going to try to roll on to Lafayette or Schuyler, attacking from the rear. 

However, because he attacked Buenos Aires, I have time. Moreover, I have a trump card: The position of Schuyler's encampment. As long as I hold the fort, he can't hold Buenos Aires. However, first I need to complete the encampment and the walls. This is why I put my chop into an encampment this turn, as I would like to finish it first for GG points, for the trade route (I will be suzerain of Carthage in 3), and as a secure base for an archer to start firing into the Argentinian Delta area from. 

I need 8 turns to finish the walls and the encampment - I don't think I have that long however. We shall see. I can potentially do another chop to expedite the process. In any event, I'm going to try and bang out this encampment and walls as fast as possible, and then fight Archduke around Buenos Aires and keep the fight away from Lafayette. The terrain here is very favorable to me. I'm near my base of operations, and there are lots of rivers to interrupt mounted movement. The main advantage of his mounted force will to go waste in the tight confines of the delta while I pepper him with arrows. This, of course, will be balanced by him having a GG, however. 

I have two warriors and 3 archers in the area now, taking up positions behind the river and Argentinian forces. I hope to use them as a meat shield and harass him as he tries to take the city. With any luck, I can by the time I need. My northern warrior is also returning home to help in this endeavor. 

In the west, I detailed one archer from Schuyler to go reinforce Hamilton and the area around Seoul. If his attack force is just two swords and two archers, I think I can interdict and prevent him from taking the city. Seoul has 3 archers of it's own, but if he gets in a first strike, two of them will likely be eliminated right off the bat. I'm considering declaring war on Singaboy to make this possibility harder for him, but first I need to make sure I can defend the campus with my horseman or this will all be for nought. Seoul takes second priority to protecting King's College. 

Here are how things stood at the end of the turn: 



Both of my neighbors are losing money, so they have to make their moves pay off. If I prevent them both from expanding through conquest with a minimal amount of effort while I continue completing infrastructure in Hong Kong and Lafayette, it should put me far ahead. 

Their armies continue to swell, however. 



I will likely need a few more horsemen before this is over. But for now, I'm not fully engaged yet.

[oledavy]

Turn 58

This is going to be a big report. The t44-49 Opium War and t43- Skirmish with Archduke were just warm-ups. 



Singaboy declared war and moved his sword onto the campus. 5 of the 7 known polities are at war. 

As an aside, I will not be becoming suzerain of Carthage for the duration of this conflict. I don't need it's bonus at the moment, and it would clue Singaboy and Archduke into it's existence. 

Anyway, let's get some theme music going.

So, I'm being dogpiled - despite having the biggest military in the game   One of these days I will not be rushed in one of these games. 

Regardless, I'm actually glad both my opponents are doing this - it's the optimal move in this situation. I've been in a lot of games where people were oblivious to a runaway getting off the ground, so it's good to see people taking appropriate action for once. Kudos to both Archduke and Singaboy - this war will put me significantly behind and delay my long-term development in a big way. 

So, short term: 

1. I'm not finishing Hamilton's Commercial Hub anytime soon, which means Mathematics isn't happening. 
2. Scrapping plans to build Petra. It hurts, and it would be a massive boon to my economy, but I can't afford to production or to research a tech with no military application at this point. 

Just by declaring war on me, forcing me to scrap Petra plans and invest hammers in military, they're doing a good job bringing me down. However, on the flip side, they've both heavily invested in military, and both their economies are in bad shape supporting unit costs. They need to make gains to make their investment worth it. 

Likely War Aims: 

Archduke
 - Capture Buenos Aires
 - Put me behind
 - Take Schuyler/Lafayette

Singaboy
 - Pillage my campus
 - Take Seoul
 - Put me behind

My aims for this war are fairly simple. 

1. Don't lose territory. 
 - As long as I don't end up losing a city to Archduke, I come out ahead. He's the one who has to make gains to get a return on his investment
2. Preserve Korean Independence
 - As long as Korea is friendly, I will have ample warning of any moves Singaboy makes. The advance warning here allowed me to move a couple units over to stabilize the situation. The only reason I can't defend the campus is that most of my forces are tied up in the west with the existential threat of Archduke. Even if I had anticipated the campus as the target the first turn I saw his forces, my horsemen would have been unable to hold the ground due to his two archers. 
3. Take Buenos Aires
 - I wanted to do it before. I still want to do it. I can't let Archduke have the city if I want to keep my cities protected. 

If I accomplish all of this, I will be very happy. I will have fallen behind relative to Woden and Alhambram, but will have come out ahead of Singaboy and Archduke by stopping their expansion and making all those hammers they put in early military wasted. 

For now though, I'm on defensive posture on both fronts. In the west, my current goal is to delay the capture of Buenos Aires as long as possible and harass Archduke's forces while I finish the encampment/walls and get more units to the field. In the east. My goal is to protect Hamilton, my tile improvements, and slow the conquest of Seoul. Singaboy's 1 sword and 2 archers don't post the same existential threat to my empire that Archduke's army does - even though he does have another sword coming up. My best guess is that he intends to pillage King's College, then turn around and take out Seoul. 

Archduke seemingly wants to take Buenos Aires and then push through to my territory. This is the most important front to hold, as the Great General makes his forces significantly more threatening. 

My research target is now machinery. It'll be awhile though, especially as my science is about to go down by about 20%. I will get some back in a couple turns when I sink an envoy into Hattusa though. My short-term civics target is Defensive tactics. Bastions and Limes will allow me to be very secure against conquest. Hong Kong and Hamilton are finishing up their current infrastructure builds (Monument and Watermill respectively), then switching to churning out military. Schuyler is going to get out the encampment/walls as fast as possible then switch to military. Lafayette will not be building military and focusing instead on its own development. Its production is far too insignificant for it to make a meaningful contribution. 

As soon as Games and Recreation is in (t60), I'm swapping into Oligarchy. I only have 3 melee units, but it will be useful on the ones I have and the XP gain will be very nice. 

Alright, let's look at how things stood around BA at the start of the turn. 



I doubt he'll take the city this turn, but he almost certainly will next turn (t59). That gives me enough time though. 

So, I was planning on buying that woods tile west of the stone into Schuyler to finish the encampment on t61. However, I was concerned I may not be able to buy it due to increasing tile costs. I also wanted to keep gold for potential unit rushing/unit upgrading. Then, I realized. STONE. It's a great tile, but this is a good cause. I'm moving the worker onto it next turn, removing the quarry on t60 (the same turn the walls complete), and finishing the encampment with walls on t61. 

This means Archduke likely gets 1 turn to do things between the fall of BA and my completion of the encampment. Once it's up and I get another horseman over here, I think I can get in position to take the city. The critical thing is to conserve my forces until the right moment. 



Did about ~30 damage to the horseman with two archer bolts, if I recall correctly. I expect he just pillages the farm to heal this turn. Good. It means the horseman isn't attacking BA. Buenos Aires Archer is in a really awkward spot, preventing me from moving to and fortifying in that forest northwest of the city. I'm also hoping to pillage that quarry northeast of the city when it falls for 25 culture. 

In the west, Singaboy deleted one of Seoul's archers with two archer shots. Seoul retaliated, taking one of his down to 50%. Good job little buddy! 

I did attack his sword. Whittling it down is useful here, as it won't be promoting for awhile, and he'll have to heal it up if he wants to use it against Seoul. His archers can't easily get in range of my horseman, so I can just sit there, protect the copper, trade damage with the sword, and heal in friendly territory for 15 dmg per turn whenever I get low. I have one archer moving to reinforce the area. 

Here is the complete battlespace afterwards, with all my moves notated: 



If there are any questions, or anything I forgot to comment on, please don't hesitate to ask. 

Internationally, Archduke settled his third city: 



Everyone has three cities now: 



Finally, Alhambram adopted Classical Republic. 

I'm a little sad to see my Petra and economic growth plans go up in smoke, but this is more interesting in many ways. I'm sure the lurkers appreciate the blood 

Anyway, with any luck, I come out of this conflict relatively unscathed. Once it's over, if I'm still in one piece, I'll begin making long-term economic plans once more. For now though, to war.

[Dp101]

I very much appreciate the accompanying music, it fit very well with the situation. Good luck!

[Zero_1627]

Great report!
Can't give much tactical advice sadly... Go show them!
Too bad about Campus . As I understand it - it's not yet pillaged, just primed to be pillaged on next Singaboy move? if so, pillaging would mean Swordsman would be attacked by Your Horseman again?

Also - couldn't open Your music for some reason (but found different video - indeed fitting!).
...so I'll send You my own selection - Sabaton Coat of Arms. Glory to Hellas Hamiltonia!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtax3Fl-UZo

To war!

EDIT: question: won't Archduke's Horseman be able to move to Your Encampment next turn, and pillage it turn later? That would be a huge setback, even if You do kill that horsie afterwards...

[Molach]

Give them nothing! Take from them everything!
Why couldnt they have waited 10 turns.


Approve of Sabaton. Will hear them live 24th june on a festival.

[oledavy]

EDIT: question: won't Archduke's Horseman be able to move to Your Encampment next turn, and pillage it turn later? That would be a huge setback, even if You do kill that horsie afterwards...

I've been wondering what happens in the event Archduke has a horseman on the tile when it completes. I have to imagine it boots him to a neighboring tile, as the encampment is effectively a unit. 

@Molach, what's the festival?

Turn 59 - The Burning of King's College and the Fall of Buenos Aires. 



That was a 3 turn conquest of Buenos Aires. I had hoped to slow him by at least one turn. 

I also learned something very important through this. You'll notice the farm southeast of the city is pillaged. I had thought pillaging used all your movement points. It doesn't, it only requires 3. This means his GG enhanced horsemen have 2 MPs left after pillaging. Thankfully, my lands have no farms to be pillaged, so he'll be hard pressed to regain health in that manner when attacking me. 

Also of note, river crossing takes 3 movement points instead of all   This makes my position a lot less secure than I thought. I'm a little unclear, however, if crossing the river is 3 and then charges the movement points of the tile you're moving upon. For example is moving onto a hill across a river cost 3 movement points, 4 movement points, or 5? If anyone knows the answer, I would really appreciate it. I moved my units this turn as if crossing a river onto any tile cost a flat 3. 

Meanwhile, in the east. 



Singaboy pillaged the campus and deleted another one of Seoul's archers. My science per turn still has not gone down, but I expect the check doesn't come until after my turn. 

I considered attacking him, but a bad damage roll would leave me vulnerable to being attacked and killed by his swordsman on his turn. While I would finish him off with my archer, a horse for a sword trade was not one I was willing to make at this point. 

So, here is the entire battle space at the start of the turn. 



No aggressive moves this time. My positioning was based on BA holding another turn. Time to withdraw and redeploy. I only need to make it through two more turns of movement from Archduke. If I open up the next save and a horseman is threatening the stone tile, then I will have a hard choice to make. This is why I really need to know how river crossing movement works. I imagine, however, he'll take a turn or two to heal and reorganize his forces before pushing on. Kudo's on the swift and efficient conquest Archduke! GG enhanced horsemen don't play around. 



I'm really curious what he does next. Hamilton started up a 3t Horseman. With the eureka for construction in, I queued it up, and queued up Games and Recreation. The eureka will trip between turns, giving me a civic swap at the start of the next turn to make my warriors beefier. This does mean I will waste about 2-4 culture. However, getting Oligarchy a turn earlier (and getting the 2 Envoy policy the same turn I get an envoy) will be worth in my opinion. Oligarchy 1 Turn Sooner + 2 Science > 3 Culture. I switched Schuyler from working the coffee to working a grassland hill so the culture wouldn't go to waste. 

Speaking of Hattusa: 



Everyone is sinking envoys over here for that sweet 2 science per turn. After next turn, I will have the lead with 2 science. 

Holy shit, I just had a thought. If I can get a third envoy in here, I can get a free iron. With Schuyler's encampment, that would mean I could upgrade my 3 warriors (I'll have the gold to do it since I don't have to buy the iron tile at Hong Kong). I think there's a free Envoy on one of the military civics at the top of the tree, behind Military Tradition and Defensive Tactics - the one that requires an encampment. 

Yeah, I'm doing that. That's how I'm going to get out of this dogpile - while producing horsemen in the meantime. Time to start saving up gold. The upgrade takes 80 gold, right? 

Also, need to watch out for someone trying to steal the CS away from me before I can get the third one in. Once I do, however, it declares war and hurts Singaboy and Archduke's Science. Yeah, that's the plan. 

I'm really excited now. 

Finally, 



Archduke met someone. I am now very confused if the other two are to the east, or west, or both. I really want to get a pair of scouts out to determine where the others are, but for right now, I need all the hammers I can lay my hands on. 

Hopefully this is the worst turn of the war, it will be if I'm lucky.

[oledavy]

Oh yeah, screw Defensive Tactics. Military Training it is. 



On turn 65, sooner if I can kill something, I will finish Military Training. On the next turn, I can suzerain Hattusa and start upgrading warriors. 

[gunnerxtr]

Enjoying this stream of consciousness reporting

Thanks oledavy!

[Molach]

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@Molach, what's the festival?

[/quote]

Tons of rock. Norway.