Mardoc and Friends plot and plan [spoilers, whole tournament]

[Mardoc]

So, who do I want to take against Jalepeno? I proposed the same as before, Mirrorland etc. He had no objection. So the same considerations apply, coupled with uncertainty as to his skill level.

He's taking Cassiel of the Grigori, which seems to me like a strong SP choice. Heroes are great vs. AI, but as demonstrated vs. Bob, numbers beat heroes every time.

I'm debating, again, how aggressive I want to be here. Charadon or Volanna or the Kurios are probably my three best remaining civ options, but I've a similar concern to vs. Old Lion: I don't want to end the game before he has a chance to enjoy himself somewhat. On the other hand, we're now down to three months remaining, and although I'd be ok running this one into overtime, ending it early wouldn't be a tragedy either.

I guess, honestly, I'm leaning toward a none-of-the-above option: trying out the new and improved Sheaim. Not in any delusion that they're one of the strongest civs...but I want to see how well they work nowadays. That still leaves the choice between
Os-Gabella: Spi/Cha
Averax: Agg/Exp/Barb
Tebryn: Arc/Summ

I feel like Averax is the best for a duel, Os-Gabella is the best otherwise, and Tebryn is the most thematic. Probably going to go with Averax; although I want to try out Planar Gates, I need to stay in the game until I reach them. I kinda think Expansive may be strong enough to let me use gates well anyway: pumping the AC and building a lot of gates are both going to be big investments regardless of leader. Best to have a lot of cities to support that.

Any thoughts, HK? I probably shouldn't drag my feet too long on this one.

[HidingKneel]

He's taking Cassiel of the Grigori, which seems to me like a strong SP choice. Heroes are great vs. AI, but as demonstrated vs. Bob, numbers beat heroes every time.

Agreed.

I'm debating, again, how aggressive I want to be here. Charadon or Volanna or the Kurios are probably my three best remaining civ options, but I've a similar concern to vs. Old Lion: I don't want to end the game before he has a chance to enjoy himself somewhat.

I wouldn't worry about this in Jalapeno's case. He's not an unknown... we've already played against him in 28, where he put in a strong showing (slightly ahead of us for most of the game, though he did have a stronger leader).

I feel like Averax is the best for a duel, Os-Gabella is the best otherwise, and Tebryn is the most thematic.

Mostly agreed, though I think it depends on how long you expect the game to last. Summoner/Arcane can be pretty terrifying if you can actually make it to Sorcery. In this context, Averax would certainly be the strongest.

Any thoughts, HK? I probably shouldn't drag my feet too long on this one.

If you're set on Sheaim, Averax sounds like the way to go. I wouldn't underestimate Jalapeno, though.
Might want to consider one of the strong leaders instead.

[Mardoc]

I wouldn't worry about this in Jalapeno's case. He's not an unknown... we've already played against him in 28, where he put in a strong showing (slightly ahead of us for most of the game, though he did have a stronger leader).

Ah, thanks for the reminder. I had focused so much on The Black Sword that game, I forgot the other participants

If you're set on Sheaim, Averax sounds like the way to go. I wouldn't underestimate Jalapeno, though.
Might want to consider one of the strong leaders instead.

I'm set on Sheaim sooner or later, but it can be later, I suppose. Maybe vs. Greywolf, maybe in a FFA (which is better for them anyway).

So I guess it's pretty much a question of which style of strong leader I'd prefer. Given that he has practice with the Calabim and vs. Kurios, I think I'll go with either Volanna again or Charadon. Probably Volanna

[Mardoc]

Greywolf has challenged me to actually play our duel. So I need to pick a civ.

He proposed these settings and I agreed:


Most notable features: Inland sea should mean water matters. And Discovery era means early tech is given - can go straight into the fight if we want. I think Discovery means I likely want Expansive: no possibility of crashing econ, with all worker techs most city sites will be manageable. Either that...or I want to go for the kill from T0.

First up: Can't take Illians, Hippus, Svart, since they're already used.

I'm considering a couple possibilities:
Might be a good time to break out Charadon. Starting with Discovery tech eliminates his biggest weakness. Should be quite doable to hit GreyWolf with a Sons/wolf combo - and all Sons starting with three promos. Shock + mobility, say. OTOH, Lucian is much less useful, and distances are high-ish.

Could go for Jonas or Sheelba, for the swarm strategy.

Could go with Lanun. Sea boost matters with guaranteed ocean, Falamar is always fun. Biggest risk is getting carried away with econ and forgetting to defend properly. Cha as only military boost doesn't help any.

Could take Averax. Barb is less important, Expansive/Aggressive is a great combo in a duel, PZ are fun and gates (witches) make a decent backup plan. Main reasons against: no guaranteed copper, a little burned out on them after the SG.

Still have the Kurios available. I'm a little less thrilled with the idea of them in a Discovery start, though. Good chance their happy bonus is eroded by easy resources, tech is less likely to matter (and if it does, cottages are less useful to get there). OTOH, Centaurs from super early could be effective.

Could grab the Vamps. Decius, probably, although Org doesn't help manors anymore. But starting that much closer to both Moroi and Manors should really boost them.

I'm leaning toward Lanun or Clan. Greywolf is 0/5, but still game - I don't want to be an absolute shark toward him. But ...I do want to win and make it clear I deserve to be in the finals even though I've gotten two concessions and a scout walk into an empty cap. So I'm not going to nerf myself too badly. And I'm too much of a builder at heart - I hate the idea of rolling the dice on an early rush, even if the odds are good.

[Qgqqqqq]

Do Dovellio! I want to see them in Discovery - I actually strongly considered them for a backup in '39.

[Mardoc]

Hmm. Mahala is Expansive/Raiders now, right? Charadon's probably scarier in an initial rush, but Mahala is better at expansion and then a sudden power spike...

[Mardoc]

Ended up going with Mahala. You'll get your show, Q .

Still not 100% sure I should have done that instead of Charadon, but I value Expansive highly. Honestly Exp should probably get nerfed somewhat - or else the other traits need to be buffed again.