[SPOILERS] Marco Outfoxes Everyone Else

[marcopolothefraud]

Ahh, look how fast Xipe Totec is growing. It will be a production powerhouse in no time. I'll probably emphasize food growth, so that I can get a nice Pingala soon.



Western warrior (with the Tortoise promotion) will take a more conservative route and return to the vicinity of Huitzilo. Eastern warrior will slowly move north towards Xipe Totec. Builder will improve Maize -> Mercury -> Wine or the Copper at Xipe Totec. Come to think of it, I could probably use another scout instead of a Monument at Huitzilo...I should've bought one with gold as soon as I was able to.

[marcopolothefraud]

I will hit 25 faith by t41, which means I should probably research Craftsmanship by then. Then I can switch from God-King policy to Ilkum, and start a builder in both cities.

The question is, can Xipe Totec finish its Monument by t41? At 2 pop, it'll only have 5 production at best (and that will mean I wean it off of the Spices tile)...so probably not. So if I want to achieve *maximum efficiency*, I switch from God-King to Urban Planning instead, and time Foreign Trade with Xipe Totec's Monument.


(And finally, having too much culture too quickly means that I will struggle to boost State Workforce as best as I can. This may be a situation where I research State Workforce with no boost.)

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

What's your general gameplan with the Aztecs?

[marcopolothefraud]

This seems to be a food-starved, forested map that discourages conquest. Aztecs are not a very good choice here. Therefore, I don't think a general gameplan will work so effectively.

Nevertheless, I need to press my advantages wherever I can. Occam's Razor dictates that I'm in the southeast of the map, and therefore conquering Cahokia (as well as scouting the unknown lands beyond it) will give me a great strategic advantage, just like Thrawn in PBEM19. Three Eagle Warriors could work, especially if I improve 3 luxuries beforehand.

The war-meta here heavily encourages Crossbowmen/Field Cannons, Frigates, and eventually Tanks - all great offensive units. I plan to exploit my combat strength bonuses here to be in a position to conquer an neighbor. (Or, if Alhambram is my neighbor, to defend well against him.) And, of course, I will spam builders (especially from Ilkum -> Serfdom) to leverage cheap districts as much as possible.



When Huitzilo finished the Monument, there will still be 3 turns before I switch government policies. I might sink some turns into a Builder.

[marcopolothefraud]

Now that I've done a bit of scouting, let's look at some prospective city sites.


Tezcatlipoca is almost the exact mirror of Xipe Totec. I still don't know what the south looks like, but those grassland hills are very promising.


Tonatiuh is another strong location. This could serve as my port into the western ocean. Notice how most of the land west of Huitzi has terrible growth potential and barely any gold-yielding tiles. I might save this area for the late Classical/early Medieval era.


Decent food/hammer potential will make Tlaloc a good northern port. Hopefully I can do better than just a +2 campus, though.

Thanks to some tile improvements in Huitzi, my gold income is quite high. If my cities were close enough, I would send a trade route to Cahokia and prepare a road for conquest...but that will have to wait. Maybe I will buy a builder in Xipe Totec on turn 44, use two charges, and send it to go Sailing.

[marcopolothefraud]

Nothing interesting, but I will post a savefile for lurkers to poke around in. Next turn, I will unlock Craftsmanship and probably build a quick slinger in Huitzilopochtli.

[marcopolothefraud]

I have 25 faith and I go first in the turn order. Why can't I get a pantheon?



Otherwise, I will slot in Ilkum policy on turn 43.

[marcopolothefraud]

The pantheon triggered this turn. I had hoped to get the Plantations pantheon, but someone else probably took it already. The land on my continent is quite poor, so I decided to take Goddess of the Hunt. From what I've discovered, my home continent only has 2 Deer resources - but both of them are in food poor locations, one of them being my capital. Goddess of the Hunt might singlehandedly make those locations much more appealing.

Also, it might be time to revisit my plan to put the Government Plaza in Xipe Totec. It seems that Huitzilo will more than hold its own as a settler factory, especially since Brussels is in a much better strategic location for conquest.

[marcopolothefraud]

(Did I say Brussels in the last post? I mean Cardiff. Must've been a mix-up with PBEM20.)



Here's an interesting piece of information. Based on the City-state screen, Cardiff has a standing army of 220 military strength. Archers are worth 60 and Warriors are worth 40, so their army is comprised of 4 Warriors and 1 Archer.

There seem to be 3 land bridges jutting outward from my starting continent: one going west to Cardiff, one going northwest to Cahokia, and one going north towards something unknown. (And these land bridges must lead somewhere, because they all represent different continents.) I should make plans to control all three, thereby putting myself in the best possible situation that I can.

If a third city-state exists that controls the northern pass, it will probably be within 15 tiles of Xipe Totec. I can buy a Trade Route from Huitzi all the way north to the city state and pave a road for an invading army. Once I settle the southwest, I could pull the same trick with Cardiff. Cahokia might need Swordsmen with the cliff-climbing promotion.

Hopefully 3 Archers and 3-4 Eagle Warriors will be enough for an invasion force. Both cities are making Builders with Ilkum policy for now, but Huitzilo will finish its Builder by t45 and switch back to military builds until Early Empire unlocks on t51.

[marcopolothefraud]

Yep, there definitely is a city state to the north.


Huitzilo makes 13 hammers per turn, and Eagle Warriors will only take 4 turns. Hopefully I can boost Archery too - I have a Slinger 1 turn from completion.