[SPOILERS] Chevalier Mal Fet and Marcopolothefraud lead a Soviet Down Under

[marcopolothefraud]

Sorry about the lack of updates from my end. I'm really happy that Suboptimal isn't marching on Illmatic, and I think his opportunity to (successfully) do so is almost gone. Not because I have a massive fleet in the area - I only have 5-6 ships - but because we're close enough to Frigates that Illmatic would effectively be a death trap for his Jongs.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Yeah, I think if he moves north that's the play - I shadow, with my galleys as a screen, and we pin him in the bay at Ilmatic. It'll be further from my bases so I won't be sending galleys straight from the slipways into the meatgrinder, but that's the breaks. I can start frigates north in 3 turns.

As regards Aussie frigates, you should get there at more or less the same time, but will be limited by gold (no upgrades) and production. I think I'd like to ask for 30 Aussie niter after my upgrades, so I can start 2 frigates in my home ports as rapidly as I can - the remaining 20 you use to start one at MBDTF. Pity we lost the doubling...you could get one out in 4 turns. Anyway, you have enough niter to maintain steady production out of that city, while I'll be able to start a new frigate every 5 turns or so, probably keeping 2 of my cities busy. The other 3 shipyards will be churning out Caravels and eventually we'll wear Indonesia down.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Things banned after Chevalier uses them:

- Venetian Arsenal
- Nan Madol
- Goddess of the Harvest (literally removed from the game lol)
- Work Ethic
- Russia in general 

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Fun fact: my lavras are busted now. They don't give their GWAM points, but neither do the Shrines or Temples I built which are supposedly supposed to give them now.

Thanks, Firaxis.

[civac2]

Need more scouts?

Take it as a compliment.

[marcopolothefraud]

Suboptimal has turned his Jongs north into Point Matilda II. My 6 Galleys there have now turned into 2. Illmatic has made 1 new Galley, so I pull all three of them back within 2 tiles of Illmatic. The MBDTF galleys are still at least 3 turns away from reinforcing the front.

Imgur is down, so no pictures. I will try again during my lunch break.

[marcopolothefraud]

My ships from the College Dropout front are dangling in front of Suboptimal. I would like them to slow him down, even if they get killed in the process.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Turn 113

My science spikes and Square Rigging is crushingly close to complete:




...nuts. Oh, well, at least we'll overflow nearly a full turn of science into Cartography. As a result, next turn we will upgrade and I think Cartography should be complete by turn 119, not turn 120:




Too late to save Ilmatic, but 6 turns to maneuver my galleys and prepare to hit sub with everything we've got. 

So far, the terrain has really favored him. It's wide enough that we can't quite bog him down with endless galleys, but it's too narrow for us to ever attack with more than one galley at once, so we can't swarm down the advanced jongs. It's basically the perfect setup for him to advance at maximum speed with minimum cost, even though combined we outnumber him nearly 2:1. That will no longer be true in 6 turns, and starting next turn he'll no longer have the strength advantage, either. 

I think the play is to cautiously pursue with all units, and try to be in position at the point north of Ilmatic in 5 turns. Then, on turn 119, we can go for broke with everything. I use my galleys to screen the frigates and land first strike, trying to go for cripples with galleys. He should get one round to reply and do some damage to the galleys, but I cna hopefully keep the frigates out of range. Then on round 2 I should land even more serious blows, and things should route from there. So in an ideal world, we have the Indonesians on the run 8 days from now. Or 9, since sub won't play tonight. Hmmm. A week. One more week to hold out. 

Sub's galley is relaxing, watching point luck:




Hmmm...I have an opportunity to ambush and destroy this fellow. Next turn, if he's still there, I'll try and infiltrate a galley to the rear, via the eastern passage, backfilling so it looks like nothings' changed. Actually, two. If he scouts to the reef due south of his position, he'll spot the flankers but be unable to escape. If he scouts east, he'll get away, but why would he do that? I have about 3 turns until another jong is purchased at Mother & Child, so that's enough to trap him, sink him, and withdraw to Luck. The rest of my galleys will creep along the coast towards Ilmatic. Can't go north past Shikishima, too easy for that jong purchase in 3 turns to interfere. 

Oooh, if that jong comes south unsupported I can swarm and sink it in 6 turns...

Anyway, as for Australia...

...it's grim. He blasted through Matilda II before you got your galleys into the right positions. As a result, I do not htink it's possible to hold Ilmatic and any galley that tries will just be lost in the effort. You must now try and delay at LET, since that will be razed if it falls. Ilmatic could go as soon as turn 114 - he sails into position on this turn, and next turn takes it with a sword. One thing you absolutely can't afford is sending in galleys one at a time to get blasted, so hold back the MBDTF galleys utnil you have at least 5 or 6. 

Indonesia won't win, but coming out of this with a crippled Australia is starting to look like the best option we can hope for. Sub being held at Matilda, or coming south for TCD, were our best hopes, now I'll have to chase him down even once I do get frigates.

Or will I? Could I draw him away from Australia with an attack on his holdings? That might be what's necessary, to lure at least some jongs away. Hm...I don't know. We have the FORCES to stop Indonesia, but since we lost Rodeo we can't get them to where they need to be. The nightmareish Australian coast is coming back to bite us, as there's no way for Russia to get reinforcements to Australia now for 6 turns, and that's too late for at least two more Australian cities, maybe even more. Losing 3 cities and his capital will be devastating, since the Ancestral Hall will go and it'll be a devil to rebuild. 

Did the lurkers ever get back to me? Can I use monumentality for Australia, too, and purchase settlers for him to use? 

Away from the dark news on the front, we continue to clear Svalbard for settlement:




Admiral Ushakov next turn. Svetlana due in 5 or 6 turns. 

I chop a second forest into the lavra:




Cost-free, since the Amber mine would destroy it anyway. I wish I had a spare charge for the turtles, but maybe my first feudal builder here can take care of that. Ushakov will take the rice for its holy site when it founds, so this is the last turn with that, but there's plenty of marsh and seafood available nonetheless. Ushakov will have cows. 

I pursue, cautiously, avoiding direct contact until Cartography:




Once I can get 3 attacks in one turn in on a jong I'll engage, otherwise it's just free xp. 

In the east, I find a tundra wasteland that nevertheless is home to many hills:




Deer and sheep for food, sort of. Nothing else. This city might be viable. Or I can found on the Great Artist tile, giving up fresh water but getting a second-ring sheep. That might be the play - what good is housing without food? I can harvest the deer into an aqueduct later if I must. 

East:




Feudalism builder delays the library 5 turns but I think that's worth 15 science. 

West:




Sorry things suck Marco. If it's any consolation, what I think we'll do is use the Russian fleet to crush Indonesia's, then those 5 Indonesian cities on the island will be given to Australia. That should more than compensate your losses and help lead an Australian revival.  

Depressing turn. I wish sub would keep doing the dumb things and not the smart things. 

[screenshot]

[williams482]

Lurkers have discussed city trades of settled cities, and although there was no clear agreement reached between the players in the tech thread before the game, the lurker preference is to avoid any such deals. You could raise the issue in the tech thread if you wanted to try to hash something out between players while the game is in progress, but without that best not to plan on Russia settling cities for Australia.

Sidenote, unlike in Civ V, it definitely is possible to place a mine on a forested resource tile without losing the forest.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Drat. Then I'll rebuild Australia from the ashes of Indonesia.

And ah well, at least I can still place the mine. Only costs one production long-term and getting the lavra up earlier more than makes up for that.