[SPOILERS] [PB46] TBW

[Juri]

I'm sure it'll all balance out when you take some of that other guy's workers

[TBW]

Elkad finished Statue of Zeus, which is a smart move for a Charismatic guy, but going Aesthetics so early might mean he's behind on other tech. Despite having basically no tiles to cottage I'm actually in the top third for GNP thanks to working so many coast tiles and a gold mine. I just finished Currency a few turns ago and somebody else out there already finished Code of Laws, so I know I'm a little behind the curve but not out of the running, especially once I get Iron Working and secure my continent for myself.

[Hollybombay]

especially once I get Iron Working and secure my continent for myself.

[TBW]

especially once I get Iron Working and secure my continent for myself.

I mean, if you're going to settle next to Rome on flat ground with no land connection to your core cities, you're kind of asking for it.

[TBW]

Krill finally walked a scout up to where I could see it this turn. I noticed it had Leadership (+100% exp from combat promo) which you normally only get with Great Generals, so I scratched my head about it for a second until I scrolled through the event log and saw this one. I guess around 950 BC the only military units he would have had available would have been scouts, warriors, and maybe an axe or two, so he got an unlucky roll on this one.

On the domestic front, my iron is in territory that's first ring for Neapolis, second ring for the city he settled over here, so it's even more vital that I kick his ass off my island and keep it that way. Just finished Iron Working for praetorians, working on Metal Casting for forges and triremes to cut the sea lanes, and theoretically I should be able to win this war without a lot of problems. Even against City Garrison 2 archers in a walled city with second ring culture, which I think is a realistic scenario for me to invade, AGG praetorians with no promotions get 55% odds. If he brings in axes, they surprisingly do even worse defensively. As long as I can bring approximately 2 praetorians per archer and an axe + spear to cover I don't see how I can fail here. I suspect Elkad knows this and has some kind of plan up his sleeve, though.

[TBW]

Here's where my iron popped up in Neapolis. It's also the only iron I have reasonable access to, and even if Elkad doesn't know that yet, he'll realize it when I start mining a grass tile. He's PRO/CHA with Statue of Zeus and Totem Poles are basically stables for archers (+3 exp in this version), so if I don't have him knocked off my island before crossbows or longbows show up I'm never taking him out. Of course, if he's so far ahead that he has Aesthetics and can get to Machinery + Construction faster than I can get 3-4 praetorians up there, it wouldn't matter what I did anyway.

[Juri]

You can cancel the mining after the input of each worker turn so that he doesn't see it's a mine until the improvement is finished. I guess if he's attentive he'll notice the +1 shield no matter what though.

[TBW]

You can cancel the mining after the input of each worker turn so that he doesn't see it's a mine until the improvement is finished. I guess if he's attentive he'll notice the +1 shield no matter what though.

Wouldn't really accomplish anything to do something like that, since he'll be able to see the big mine on the grass when I finish it.

[TBW]

Elkad dropped a spear off in Footfall this turn, which doesn't really change any calculations for me. He's also got a second galley (a 3 mover) scouting around the island north of Neapolis, which lets me know he'll theoretically be able to drop off at least 4 units in Footfall when the praetorians finally march on it.

[TBW]

I should point out for posterity's sake that there's a 0.01% chance of me getting three workers sniped next turn. I was guarding my workers with a spear on the off chance Elkad had a chariot sitting on the elephant tile behind Footfall two turns ago. I checked it with my scout this turn and saw nothing, so I moved the spear back to Neapolis when I saw this 3 move galley show up, on the even less likely chance that the galley is carrying a chariot (or two!) and could theoretically launch an amphibious attack on Neapolis. My reasoning is that I'd rather hold the city than lose the workers if I have to choose one. Since it's impossible for him to have Engineering by now and I can get vision on every tile he could theoretically have had a chariot on.

However, going by the turn order and general etiquette, Elkad gets first move on the next turn. if it so happens that he has a galley with a chariot currently loaded on it that can move directly into Footfall next turn, he can unload the chariot in there without using his move points and then snipe the 3 workers standing on the tile, leaving me with an iron mine that's not hooked up and down 3 more workers. If I lost two workers to a panther I thought was a wolf and then three more to Jedi level foresight I'd be pretty upset.