Dave's Not Throwing Away His Shot

[Old Harry]

Is he in oligarchy too? Perhaps for melee attacks the bonus cancels out and disappears but for ranged it shows up? Terrible design decision if true, but I wouldn't put it past them.

+1 to the reporting compliments..

[oledavy]

Is he in oligarchy too? Perhaps for melee attacks the bonus cancels out and disappears but for ranged it shows up? Terrible design decision if true, but I wouldn't put it past them.

+1 to the reporting compliments..

You would think, but this turn I moused over it with an archer, and Oligarchy didn't show up 

This turn was actually really frustrating on that score, as the game continues to operate in ways I don't expect. 

Turn 65 - The Body Count Grows



Alright, Iron Working in. That's a lot of notifications. First off, Woden completed the Pyramids. No surprise there, although finishing two wonders within a couple turns of each other is impressive. This may work to my advantage, alerting my neighbors to the reality that Woden continues to be in builder mode while we all fight.  

Second, Archduke made peace with Hattusa? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE   I'm definitely their suzerain. How is he able to make peace with them while I'm at war with him? Welp, that's 2 extra science per turn for him.

Third, do you see what I see? Barb horseman coming from the north to attack Hamilton. I didn't even see a scout walk away with an exclamation point. I don't even know where the camp is. And what's even better, they're definitely spawning at me. The horseman has a support bonus 

Ordinarily, I might be thrilled at the free culture. But this is most certainly not the time. It's not that they can do damage to Hamilton, but that they might put it under siege in conjunction with Singaboy - something he would not be able to do on his own. 

My horse pasture was pillaged, no surprises there. Finally, Archduke did chase down and kill my warrior, sad, but at least in dying he distracted the Greek army. What I didn't expect was to lose my archer near Seoul   Apparently horsemen don't exert zone of control, because based on my positioning at the end of last turn, the swordsman should have only been able to attack my horse. 

The good news is that instead of continuing north, Archduke backed off and edged back south. I have no idea what he's doing at this point. 



Archduke met the other player. Now everyone has met each other except for me. 

Still no religion tab....

My body count now stands at 3 (2 warriors, 1 archer). Singaboy has lost an archer and a sword to me. Archduke has lost a horseman. Both of their powers spiked this last turn, so they're probably completing units back home. 



Here's the really bad news. War weariness is starting to mount. I don't know what causes it to apply, but if I can't get some amenities soon, I could be in trouble. 

Here's what I opened the turn to: 



At least barb horses are only 20 str. 



I'm really glad Archduke didn't move towards Hong Kong, however, as this horseman was slated to go assist there. Now, it's more likely than not that Hong Kong's horseman will have to come assist the capital. 

Here are all my moves: 



In the far east, my horseman pillaged the pasture for 50 gold. He can't be attacked by anything between turns. Depending on Singaboy's moves, I'll move him back towards Hamilton or send him towards Ulm. The latter might end up tying up more of Singaboy's forces, and would give me the potential to pillage that trade route.

My horse at my capital obviously attacked the barbs. 

Crossbows in 12, although I can't help but feel that the war will be about over by then. The challenge right now is to get enough gold to upgrade a couple archers when Machinery comes in. 

In the west, I continue to try and force a decisive battle. The forces we have in the field right now are approximately equal, with Archduke having 2 horseman, 2 archers, 1 warrior, and 1 hoplite (all buffed by a GG of course), to my 2 horsemen, 1 sword, and 3 archers. He almost certainly has reinforcements on the way, however. 

To that end, I started my assault on BA. This is less a serious attack as it is an attempt to provoke him. I bombarded the city for 20 and attacked it with the horse. I don't think anything can hit the horse besides the warrior in the city. Even if a horse comes out of the fog, I can pillage the farm next turn to heal up completely. My archer in Lafayette took his second promotion, and I upgraded my last warrior to a sword. My other horse continues to watch the Twins region, ready to flex towards Hong Kong if Archduke's other horseman heads that way. I'm hoping my slow attack on BA compels him to cross the river and attack me, where I think I can eliminate his force. As long as his army remains intact, however, the majority of my forces are tied up here, and can't go fight Singaboy or fully commit to an attack on BA.

No though, the barb horseman are just really bad news. My forces are already stretched thin, this turn already featured me losing a unit I didn't anticipate losing, and now I have another invasion to contend with. The pressure on all sides is making it difficult to mass enough force in any one spot to accomplish one of my war aims. Moreover, the longer the war goes, the more war weariness. I've also had to go from paying 1 GPT for a campus to paying 8 GPT for 4 horseman, 1 sword, 1 campus, 1 walls, and 1 encampment. Even if I still had access to 2 horse, I wouldn't want to build any more, or I risk running my economy into the ground. After I get defensive tactics, I'm going to swap back into Agoge and get another archer or two out. In the interim, I'm getting a heavy chariot out of Hamilton. All these units have the benefit of being free with Conscription. I  was going to do a Hoplite, but since this unit will most likely be used against Singaboy's swords, Hoplites wouldn't be a good choice. When defensive tactics comes in, I am going to have to make a decision if I want to pump out walls in Hamilton, Lafayette, and Hong Kong. It would be very costly long term, but will leave me a lot more secure here. 

At least I'll have bastions. 

For all my worry about the threat Singaboy's 2 swords, archer, and the barb horseman pose to Hamilton, realistically I'll be okay. The swords attack with 36 strength against a 37 strength city (26 base + 3 for palace + 3 for being on a hill + 5 for attacking across a river). Moreover, I'll have bastions and a couple units in position to reinforce before it can come under any serious assault. It's just frustrating because whereas before I believed I was completely safe, now I'm not so sure. He may not keep marching though, Hattusa's warriors are moving towards Seoul, so he may stick around to make sure the city is safe. 

I'm just increasingly facing the possibility that unless I can score a big win on the western front soon, I'm going to have to give up on accomplishing at least some of my war aims.

[oledavy]

Turn 66 - Overextension



I literally sat there for about 5 minutes, comparing screenshots, trying to figure out how Archduke killed my horseman. I expected him to have 1 horseman in the fog, but two? And they killed it despite having support from two archers? GG's truly do make a huge difference.  

One of his wounded horses is west of Buenos Aires. 

No though, my attempt to draw him out turned out to be a pretty big mistake. I feel rather foolish now. And just like that, Lafayette is back in play. With four horses in the area, he can make a serious push on the city that I will be hard pressed to hold back with just four units of my own. The saving grace here is that all four of his units are wounded (including the one that killed my double-promoted warrior, location currently unknown.) That should allow me time to get Bastions in and move some reinforcements to the area. That horse was pretty irreplaceable, however. 

So, here is the situation that confronted me when I opened the turn, and the moves I made. 



I'm not going to lie, over the last three turns, I have been getting increasingly frustrated with this game. Between game elements not working as expected, and the seeming stalemate that is the current conflict, turns are becoming more stressful than they are fun. I seemingly can't force a conclusion to the war, despite my military superiority. Both my opponents have played very well, and by Archduke conserving his forces, he compels me to keep an army in the area that is unable to do anything but defend. The combination of trying to defend against Archduke, barbs, and Singaboy is stretching me to the limit and making it impossible to bring this conflict to a close - so it drags on. 

No though, I still think I can manage to lose none of my cities, but my odds of taking back BA or Seoul are looking increasingly remote. 

The saving grace here is that Singaboy did not march on Hamilton. I believe we're eligible for a peace deal on turn 68. It looks like he's looking to exit the war, as his swords moved back north of the city to fend off Hattusan warriors instead of marching on Hamilton. If only he knew about the barb hordes coming in right now....

No though, if he offers white peace, I will accept it. I just desperately want one less opponent on my plate to worry about, so I can mass all my forces on one front and take back one city-state. At this point, the preferred target for my ire is Archduke. Singaboy has already accomplished all of his probable war aims, and can leave this conflict having effectively 'won' by fighting for limited aims, achieving them, attacking at the perfect time, and making peace so he can return to expanding/building infrastructure. Archduke is another matter, and with no other opponent to attack with his army, he needs to take more. With this in mind, the war with him will likely not end until I have lost territory, or his army has been eliminated. It sucks that I will have to probably leave at least one of the two CS's in enemy hands (possibly both   ), but at this point, I don't think I have much choice. 

So, enough about the metagame. 

My priorities in the coming turns are twofold: 

1. Hold Lafayette against Archduke
2. Eliminate the barbarian threat to Hamilton - more for the possibility of combining with Singaboy to put the city under siege than for any actual existential threat it poses. 

In the east, I briefly considered moving my horseman south towards Singaboy's cities to pillage, but decided it was more important to preserve one of my remaining Queen-level units rather than send it off on a possibly fruitless and suicidal venture. This also takes into account the possibility of peace on this front in the next couple of turns. 

Around Hamilton, I fortified. I'm hoping the wounded one attacks and suicides on me between turns. The Heavy Chariot will be available in time to help me clear out the barbs or protect against Singaboy's swords. 

In the west, I took my free two bombards on the horse, and withdrew around Lafayette. I'm in a strong position to counter-attack if he comes in, but those troops won't hold against four horses coming in at once. Hong Kong's horse completes next turn, and I will use it to reinforce Lafayette in all likelihood. After Defensive Tactics comes in (hopefully sped up by kills), I will revolt into Agoge, Bastions, and Conscription, and start churning out some archers. I really need about 3-5 more to secure my defensive position. With 4 horses, 1 chariot, and 1 sword, I have enough melee units for the moment, and more importantly, I want to avoid units that cost me too much. I may yet build a Hoplite this game....

But no, horseman and chariot will finish before I switch out of Maneuver and into Agoge. I really wish I had another military policy slot about now....

[oledavy]

Turn 67 - Stalemate

The war continues to grind on (25th turn of conflict with Archduke, btw), but I think I at least have a plan moving forward at this point. 

Here's what I opened the turn to: 



Archduke withdrew behind BA, and both barb horseman attacked me in the north. 

Here's the notable thing: 



Singaboy got to Political Philosophy finally, and swapped into Classical Republic. This means he probably isn't looking to fight anymore. This was the first turn we were eligible to make peace. 

I thought about offering it this turn, but decided to hold off. Since he's at war with Hattusa as long as he's fighting me, I have all the cards - unless he decides to march on Hamilton. I want to see if he'll offer me anything. If he doesn't offer peace, I'll offer him white peace during the turn. While his army doesn't pose an existential threat to me, it does tie forces down, and after I kill of the barbs, I want to be able to move all forces against Archduke to bring that war to a close. I could remain at war with him try to liberate Seoul, but being able to do that is very distant since things in the west take precedence. We're talking about remaining at war for about ~25 more turns if I want to do that. Doing that hurt me more than help me long-term. I'm just going to have to accept the state of affairs over here for now, and adjust my defensive plans accordingly. 

So, while the war grinds on, I'm going to tentatively call Singaboy the winner. He accomplished all his likely war aims: pillaging my campus, costing me 4 science per turn by taking Seoul, and integrating a city-state into his empire at a fairly cheap cost. Seoul is a crappy city, but it's still a free city, and most importantly, comes with a free campus. He attacked at the perfect moment, for a limited achievable objective, and is likely going to be able to return to growing his economy long before Archduke and I conclude our part of the war. Props to you Singaboy, well done all round. 

No though, I imagine he really wants to get to finishing Commercial Hubs and Hansas at the moment to supercharge his economy. Like I said, I know by making peace, he's coming out ahead. However, at this point, Seoul's conquest is a fait accompli, and I can better keep pace with Singaboy by taking BA and growing my own economy in turn. This war, however, has taken Singaboy from what looked like a pretty mediocre start to a strong one, and he will definitely be a major force to be reckoned with later in the game. 

Still, he might not accept peace and this is all a moot point, but I suspect he will. 

I'm suffering mounting war weariness. 



I hope Archduke is choking on some of his own. 



He did begin building walls in BA, so it seems he may recognize that the front is likely to stay here for awhile. I'm actually a little glad, as this means my battering ram half built and intended for Seoul won't go to waste 

He's not getting the Hoplite Adjacency/Oligarchy Bug anymore when I mouse over his unit. 



Finally, here are all the moves I made: 



Priority right now is continuing to stay on solid defensive footing in the west, while my 2 horseman in the east and soon to be completed heavy chariot seek to end the barb threat. I'm planning on making a big push on BA in about 10 turns, after the barbs are gone and those three units can head west. Accounting for units in the area and units to be produced/upgraded, my army will be something like: 

4 Horseman
1 Heavy Chariot
2 Swordsmen
2 Crossbowmen
3 Archers
1 Battering Ram

I'm hoping that's enough to punch through and take the city. He has 1 GG, 4 horseman, 1 hoplite, 1 warrior, and 2 archers in the area at the moment. However, I suspect he's still a ways away from being able to upgrade into swordsmen, and definitely isn't sub-10 turns away from Crossbows like I am. With crossbows, and the positioning of Fort Lee giving me a leg up, I think I can muscle my way into the city, GG or no. 

Defensive tactics is 2 turns from completion, but I'm anticipating being able to kill another unit next turn to get it done. 

And the turn just showed up, I'll have more to share soon. 

Thermopylae Culture: 136

[oledavy]

Turn 68 - An Offer of Peace



The barb horseman suicided on me between turns, giving me enough culture to finish Defensive Tactics. Time for a civic swap! But first...



We'll see if he accepts. 

Alright, new government time: 



Last turn I had Schuyler continue to work on its battering ram and Hong Kong it's commercial district as filler while I waited for Agoge to come in. This turn, Lafayette finished its monument and started an archer, Hamilton its Heavy Chariot and started a builder, while Hong Kong and Schuyler switched to an archer and swordsman respectively. 

You may be wondering about the choice of Corvee here. Basically, I'm coming up on Apprenticeship and Feudalism, and I need 2 more farms and mines respectively to collect all that free culture. I'm about to get the wines in my border, so I can plantation those to alleviate my amenities problem. The last charge can go to plantationing the coffee, or I can keep the worker around to repair stuff. I'll swap back to Urban planning after I finish Drama and Poetry, and then begin work on Feudalism. I want to get to Merchant Republic and Mercenaries as soon as possible. It may seem foolish to get a couple builders out in the midst of a war, but realistically, I can't completely neglect my economy if I want to stay in this game. Moreover, working so many unimproved tiles has been killing me inside. I think I can get them out in 5 turns here without giving up too much elsewhere, and indeed, the extra amenities just might prevent a revolt from Hong Kong 

However, because the game doesn't work like it says on the box: 



Bastions apparently only improves the strength of cities with walls......

It definitely doesn't say that on the civic. This is just infuriating. 

Maybe it will apply between turns, but Schuyler's buff applied immedietly. 

Also note, a 4th barb scout from the south. This one will get through. Really hoping he doesn't have enough move points to kill my trade route. Pretty sure I can kill him wherever he moves. He alternatively might pillage the pasture...

Moved my eastern horse:



Singaboy is fighting Hattusa, marching on Hamilton, or just defending the road. We'll see which next turn I suppose. 

To cap off yet another frustrating turn, here is the most frustrating thing: 



I combined three attacks to try and kill the Hoplite - but I had a bad damage roll on my last archer and he lived with ~2 HP. 

I moved the sword up to protect from counter-attack. The curious thing at the moment is that none of his units are getting the Great General Buff. 3 Horsemen are missing, although at least one of them is likely right next to the archers, based on support bonuses. 2 missing horsemen and a GG make me ancy though. I'm definitely keeping an eye on the Hong Kong area and watching out equally for a surprise attack from the south against Schuyler. 

I moved the rest of my units this turn to give me maximum flexibility to respond to a sudden attack from any direction while still protecting Lafayette. 



I killed off the last of the barb horse invasion, so we're good on that front for now. My two horsemen will go north to find the encampment and clear it. My chariot will go south. Maybe I can peel it off to kill that camp to the south. I swear, barbs deserve an honorable mention as a 3rd player invading me this war. 

I'm now really freaking out about the possibility of a back door attack on Hong Kong. We'll see what happens I suppose...

Thermopylae Culture: 151

[shallow_thought]

Hard pounding this, gentlemen; let's see who will pound longest.

Really appreciating the reporting in this game. It's fascinating, even if the bugs and oddities remain a bit off-putting.

[oledavy]

I played turns 69 and 70 in something of a rush, and I was planning on giving a fairly detailed turn report for both of them, but I opened turn 71 to find it was the only one that really mattered. 

So, in summary, I made peace with Singaboy, and continued redeploying to face Archduke/healing/hunting barbs. Then this happened:



[Rant]

It's at this point that some of the mistakes I've may have made in the previous turns become more apparent. Not building walls in Lafayette is an obvious one - although in fairness that was predicated on my estimation that the war would end before they could be completed, and as such, they would just cost me money. Another factor was my belief that bastions affected all cities, and Lafayette would be a lot safer once the city strength was higher - but that faith proved misplaced. I will collate a list of every bug I've encountered and every misleading game element I've come across at some point in the future. Another error was the loss of that horseman near BA. 

I will save the self-recrimination until after the conclusion of the conflict, however. Taken on the whole, however, I think I've played this situation about as well as I could have. It's just so frustrating that all my moves can't measure up and completely fend off a GG powered invasion and the depradations of barbs and Singaboy. For the third game in a row now, I've been rushed. 

[/Rant]

Venting aside, the die is not yet cast. All options are on the table at this point, including abandoning Lafayette. If this proves to be what it takes for my army to survive, I will retreat to Hamilton, throw up walls using Limes in both Hamilton and Hong Kong, and continue the war from there. For now though, I'm not convinced that I can't hold the city. 

Without further ado.

Turn 71 - Stay Alive



I took the attacks that I could, and deployed with an aim to preventing an alpha strike of the city. The price will likely be that swordsman's life, although I'm hoping it leaves one of his horsemen stranded on the opposite bank. The river works both ways, and while it gives Lafayette an effective 41 strength, it makes attacking across the river into his phalanx of units difficult. Buffed by the GG and overlapping support bonuses, it's a formidable formation. 

He notably cut off my northern horseman, who had been scouting for a back door attack on Hong Kong. I briefly considered attacking his archers with it, but decided it was better to wait for his horseman to cross the river, at which point I can reclaim the high ground and threaten the terrain in front of the city. 

My priorities at this point are buying as much time as possible, which will allow two additional horseman and my heavy chariot to arrive on the field. To that end, the longer I can keep Lafayette from being under siege, the better. 

I need to kill a couple of his horsemen, they are the most terrifying units and are the only ones that benefit from his GG. If I can kill a couple, even if I'm trading 1:1, I'll consider it a win. My reinforcements are closer and his horsemen are just tougher than mine due to the GG - who I believe can't be killed. 

I moved my new builder to a forest outside of Hamilton. I will likely be buying the tile and chopping out a Hoplite next turn, my likely default unit for the time being, despite it's cost. If it looks like I can't hold Lafayette, I'll withdraw, and prepare to counterattack. The threat then will then be that either Schuyler or Hong Kong will be cut off and taken, with a huge threat to the latter. He may choose to stop if he takes the city, however, because  as long as I'm alive, the city will be close to worthless to him. It's impossible to defend against me as things stand, and with Limes and Bastions, I'm not going away anytime soon - not unless he's willing to fight for a lot longer. 

Hopefully it won't come to any of that, he'll push in hard, and I can kill a couple horsemen on the rebound next turn. We shall see. Next turn will be the biggest turn of the war either way.

I realized the crossbow upgrade will cost 260. That really stings. While it will mean I can produce crossbows in the event of a protracted war, it means I can't upgrade either of my double promoted archers in the interim. 

Intenationally, Woden completed Hanging Gardens. The hits just keep on coming. Long-term, he's a huge threat to win, but I can't even think about that right now. Survival is the priority.

[Zero_1627]

Seems like a war of expansion (well, kind of) turned into a war of survival... Hold tight!
Also, Your opponets' game plan seems to be more sound that You initially gave them credit for
Also, GG seems to be very good (better than You anticipated) - it will be intersting to read how it looks form Archduke's perspective afterwards!

[oledavy]

Uncertainty is the worst. It certainly wasn't helped by Archduke taking time to carefully make his moves and holding the save for about 21 hours. I do have to say, despite moments of despair and being furious at moments about the course of this game, I've arrived at a certain grudging respect for Archduke. He's fought very well the entire way through, and he has to make this work to have a chance at winning. If he does not leverage his early GG into gains, the sacrifices he made to acquire it will have been for nought. It's been a good fight, even if I would prefer to not be fighting it. 

I also came to the realization that the city is ultimately immaterial. This battle is about the armies. Whoever's army survives will be the winner, not the possessor of Lafayette. With this in mind, I was fully prepared to retreat and give up the city if the situation required it. So, taking a deep breath, I opened the save. 

Turn 72 - The Battle for Lafayette



Archduke sorta did what I wanted him to do. It was a mixed bag. First, and most notably, he killed my double promoted archer. That really stings, but wasn't entirely unexpected. Realistically, he was either going to do that, eliminate the sword, or all out attack the city. The two most important tiles here are the ones southwest and northeast of the cities, and in making my moves last turn, I realized I could only realistically hold one of them. I was hoping he would bring a horse across on the other one, where I could kill it, and he obliged me on that here. Unfortunately he was able to take a promotion on the horse I hit last turn. 

I was hoping he leave the pass north of the city between the twins unguarded, but that was a little much to hope for. I would kill to have had my horse there the turn the invasion began. 

The most critical thing, however, is that he launched 2 archer attacks on my sword, who was at 13/15 XP



Here are all my moves. 




Alright. So first off, the sword attack was a coup. Now he's never going to kill it. I took the Tortoise Promotion, healed, and fortified. His archers will do single digits of damage to that unit. The horses attack it at 43 strength to 52 (36 + 4 + 5 + 3 + 4). This tile should remain in my hands for the time being. The disappointing thing is that I could not get my southern archer in range, due to the movement range of his horses and the fact that they ignore zone of control. He's having to take a very circuitous route to get to the fight. 

Northwest of the city, I had a clear shot on Archduke's archer. I attacked with the horse first, and then shot with my archer to finish it off. I then blocked his horse that crossed the river in place with the first of my reinforcing mounted units. 

My cut off northern horseman made the best of a bad situation and moved around to attack him in the rear. I considered doing this last turn, but with the archer on an adjacent tile, he could shoot, and then easily absorb an attack thanks for the natural defense of the tile, and support bonuses. Now, however, I can attack any of those tiles along the river next turn, and he won't get the first shot in. 

I would love to hit his general and return the unit to his capital. Talk about a coup. 

In the east, my horseman who annoyed Singaboy and my heavy chariot both are in position to reinforce the city next turn. I did an extremely painful move, bought a forest southwest of Hamilton (5th tile bought this game   ), and finished chopping the Hoplite, funneling the overflow into finishing the second builder next turn. I'll build one more Hoplite after this - but I really need to get back on economic builds at  this point. 

I wish I had looked at the upgrade costs for archers before prioritizing machinery, but eh, we live and learn. The tech will not be a complete waste, as the riverside lumbermills will be huge for Hong Kong, and I will want crossbowmen sooner rather than later. For now though, I'm switching to apprenticeship to expedite getting it out. Besides my economy, my first priority for after the war is making sure this dogpile can never happen again and fortify my borders. Fortunately, Carthage allows me to do both simultaneously   Next turn, I finish Drama and Poetry for a free switch back into Urban Planning. Depending on the progress of the war, I may swap into Classical Republic. It's innate bonuses are actually useful to me these days in my amenities crunch situation. I definitely need to get out of Bastions though....just worthless in my present situation. Curse this game for being misleading....

No though, last turn I was despondent. This time I'm cautiously confident. I don't think he can kill any of my units on his turn, with some risk to my horseman east of the city. I think I just win if he continues trading like this though. We're not out of the woods yet though, all things considered, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If I win this battle, I can push back to BA and hopefully end the war with it under my control. 

We'll see what happens next turn, but I think Archduke may have finally pushed just a little too hard. 

Let's take a brief moment to check in with events abroad.

I give you, the real winner of this war: 



Singaboy finished Apprenticeship. He's going to be a major force to be reckoned with as the game goes on. I need to keep my eyes on him. 


He finished a commercial hub, and now has Hansas down for 6 hammer and 7 hammer adjacency bonuses each   That's terrifying. 

Archduke continues to spam military though...



He has at least one more horseman incoming. I'm very grateful Singaboy peaced out, as if he had kept pressing on Hamilton, this would be a lot closer. 

And while we're on this screen: 



My science is no longer double everyone else's   Still respectable, but as far as giving the rest of the field time to catch up, this has been a successful dogpile in that regard. I've had to skip some essential infrastructure during this time. Not only have I been unable to get more trade routes out, and been dealing with lost amenities, but Hamilton and Schuyler have been at their growth caps for quite some time now. I don't think that 10 pop Inspiration is going to be in the cards this game....

At least Singaboy cleared out the barb camp.



Tons of gold for him, but now no longer a threat to my trade route or pasture. 

Next turn, Archduke realistically has to go all in and cross the river in force, or he needs to pull out. We'll see what he does. 

Losses (Not including CS's or Losses to CS's)

Singaboy:
1 Sword
1 Archer

Archduke
1 Horse
1 Archer

Dave:
1 Horse
2 Warriors
2 Archers

Thermopylae Culture: 158

[oledavy]

It's over. Great General dogpile survived.