[SPOILERS] Serdoa plays in PBEM46

[Serdoa]

Start with a HA at 12% odds, follow up with a Chariot at 0.9% (!!!) to carry on with the 2nd Chariot and the HAs afterwards. Yeah, I don't need to understand that, do I? I mean, certainly lucky to win a fight at 0.9% odds. Even luckier to have attacked with the HA first and not with the Chariots. I mean, if you see them as throw-away (what they are at 0.9% odds) you start with them... or you mob up with them when you have damaged the 5 Spears with your 11 HAs so much that you can attack the Axes instead.

Funnily enough, I am not even pissed much. I didn't expect my stack to be intact this turn anyway. But the way it happened just sits not right with me. That attack-sequence is ... odd. Sure, you can explain it (overlooked that he had Chariot in his stacks, because clearly I'm the only one who can tell from memory the place of nearly every single unit in the war-zone...) but... ah, whatever.

Just to point that out: Starting this war was not very clever. Moving against Crewe instead of sitting in Exeter was just dumb. So I don't think that I should win this war decisively - or at all. But I feel cheated right now, simple as that.

[novice]

Well, Serdoa, you should know that defending against suspicions like that is impossible.

[Serdoa]

Yes, it is, I know very well. I also know that no one except Seven ever stepped up for me when I was accused of it.

Apart from that, all I want to say on that topic is that as I said earlier Harry clearly outplayed me in this war. I don't think I should have had losses as high as I had them (had to delete my stack last turn to prevent him getting even more XP out of it) but the outcome overall is what he should gain by his superior play. I'm just not too happy to know that part of it is because one Spear was not in my stack because he had reloaded (yes, he told me when we talked by email after I complained to him about his chariot-win).

[novice]

Yes, it is, I know very well. I also know that no one except Seven ever stepped up for me when I was accused of it.

Why block out the city name intentionally? It doesn't show malice, but it's... wierd. Not all by itself even, but it kind of fits the pattern the 2 players are accusing him of.

Those cropped images are most likely meant to build suspense or save space in his lurker thread? They could also indicate that he's afraid of people reading his thread I suppose. I don't see how they indicate that he's reading other players' threads.

As for Commodore's statement - I guess it could be taken as an insinuation of save skimming, but I don't see how reading other players' threads help with save skimming... so there is no "pattern".

If you're going to accuse players of cheating, explicitly or implicitly, please bring some evidence to the table.

There is no evidence, and I'm not accusing him of cheating. I'm just juxtaposing some things that struck me as fishy. Sorry guys.

Sorry for the smackdown. I've just seen tons of things that look fishy in the RB games, and with time they almost always turn out to have innocuous explanations.

[Serdoa]

Thats funny:



Knights while I field HA at best. I think he forgot the catapults though, but apart from that, this is a scary force. Might well spell my doom. I have retreated from my front line city, as I can't hold it for certain. Funnily enough that probably means that Harry will hold on to Pyramids now, as his borders will expand when Hydra razes that city.

Apart from that, I don't understand the attack. What does he gain here exactly? We do not even share a border, the only place where we could neither he nor I have settled, there are still 1-2 rows of tiles left without culture on them. And he is coming from the wrong direction for that anyhow. It also can't be that he was scared of my war with Azza and that I would win it, he clearly has to move those troops for several turns already. Was he so scared of me at this point that he really goes onto a war that, even if he wins it without casualities, he won't gain anything from? Sure the gold for taking the cities could be kinda nice, but if he had produced wealth instead of 20 Knights he would have saved 1200 gold right there. I'm not sure he'll get more out of my cities. Plus he has to pay for the units etc.

Now, of course the positive for him is that I really didn't expect him to come for me. I did saw the buildup, but I dismissed it for the most part as highly unlikely for the above reasons that he would attack me. That doesn't mean I am completely unprepared though, I am not. And I couldn't have done much more even if I knew he came for me, as I had to get my civ back on track. Was still 3rd in score, but slowly crawling back to second. Looking at Hydras tech-lead, I might have even had catched him in Pop, I never bothered to check.

Anyhow, what this attack does is setting me back considerably. Depends what the others do now. After all, he has most of his troops in my lands I'd guess, so someone attacking him on a flank he isn't suspecting an attack to come at might do substantial damage. I doubt that will happen though, more probable is that Harry joins him and attacks me as well. At least Azza can't for another 8 or 9 turns But still, even if I can hold back the attack, this probably means I won't catch him. I am just sooo much back in tech and I still miss some kind of real economy. Most probably I will play this war a few turns, see how it goes, give him a chance to get some MP-war-experience and then ask everyone if we want to call it, as I doubt anyone can catch him. Depends on Azza though, I am not sure what he is doing.

[SevenSpirits]

Where are you being invaded?

Apart from that, I don't understand the attack. What does he gain here exactly?

Most probably I will play this war a few turns, see how it goes, give him a chance to get some MP-war-experience and then ask everyone if we want to call it, as I doubt anyone can catch him.

[Serdoa]

I'm invaded directly at the eastern border with Harry, where the Pyramids city is. I've given up the junk city I planted there to attack Harry which should have been 1S but for several reasons was not planted there. So if he razes that, I can live with it.

And what I'm not getting is why he didn't invade Azza instead. He shares a border and could have kept the cities. Azza also would not be able to defend, he has even less troops than I do. Lastly, Azza is the only contender for the win, really. If he takes a big bite out of him, I am sure we all would happily call it. As it stands, if I can crush part of his army (and I might, as I said, he misses any form of collateral, I do not) he might just raze that one city and thats it. And without an army, Azza will have time to catch up, as he shouldn't be that far behind after all. Too much if he would get attacked now, but if Hydra loses part of his army, gets unhappiness for war weariness (I already had issues with that when fighting Harry) and has to retreat Azza might actually be able to get close enough in tech to build up some real defenses - and then it depends if anyone can reach Rifling considerably earlier than the other. If not, it comes again down to whom of them attacks first one of Harry and me and succeeds.

Basically Hydra is imo gambling his win on an attack that he has no reason to even commit to.

[Serdoa]

Smacked Hydras stack, renamed some of my cities, smacked Azzas stack, renamed the rest of my cities. Will smack Old Harrys troops next turn most likely. I might not win this game, but I sure will repel any aggression as long as I can. And I can very long.

[Serdoa]

Azza, when you attack someone who is only still playing so that the others can have their game, do him at least the favour and take the cities from him instead of just pillaging around with your clearly superior troops (we talk Rifles vs LBs here...). It's bad enough as it is, I don't need mockery added to it.

[novice]

Azza, when you attack someone who is only still playing so that the others can have their game, do him at least the favour and take the cities from him instead of just pillaging around with your clearly superior troops (we talk Rifles vs LBs here...). It's bad enough as it is, I don't need mockery added to it.

Maybe he needs the cash.