[SPOILERS] Donovan Zoi and AdrienIer: Slümhund Millionaires!

[Donovan Zoi]

Yeah, I am cool with how we played this game. I do think we got off easy on some of our shenanigans too, but it was likely due to bargaining from a position of strength.

I was going to go Chemistry next to compete navally with Commodore (still needs Astro), but the RP > Rifling path is the way to go and will likely take us 10-12 turns. I think that Constitution and Education would be helpful at another time, but we need to pursue the scorched earth branch of the tree now.

[spacetyrantxenu]

When the hell does the new season release, anyway?

[Donovan Zoi]

Xenu, I am going to go out on a limb and say March 11, 2016.




OK everyone, I am entering the save. Get ready to soften your grip on Hell when I say so.

[Donovan Zoi]

Turn 200 - 1400 AD

A Tale of Two Cities

Yeah, I know how the old book starts. But I am not going to lay out the vast array of dichotomies our nation faces during this milestone year (in both calendar year and turn number). The only thing that's really important is that our war with retep was "good" and will be over soon. The war brought upon us by Ruff? Not so much.

The Big Picture

We currently outnumber Ruff's Zulus in pop points 155 - 111. This is good news in the long run. Paired with getting Cuirs in 3 turns, we will be able to whip and draft more effectively over time while Ruff 's advances will hopefully be minimized when going against either Castles or 60% defense. My hope is that we can build/upgrade Cuir's as well as build more Catapults in order to soften Ruff's main stack outside of Frontenac before it can take more cities.

Us



Them



Frontenac

Ruff has chosen to engage us at two locations, Fontenac and the Hague. His stack outside of Frontenac consists of 54 units (4 of them workers). The numbers to the left are after they were atacked by 3 of our Catapults. The only drawbacks with Cats here is that there are too many enemy units for them to have a residual effect individually. And then they are gone. So we will have to look turn by turn at our Catapult usage to ensure we make the most out of them.

I have 4 Muskets and 3 Pikes in Frontenac, plus a few other units so several Zulu units should perish in their attempt to capture the city. I decided to get one more turn of research toward MT at Frontenac because we wouldn't be able to use anything built here anyway.





The Hague

Ruff's other stack I have noticed is here: 6 Muskets and 4 Cats, with 5 Knights and a Medic War Jumbo sitting in Ulundi. Our defense here is pretty weak, but I was able to thankfully dry-whip a Castle (3 pop). Remember, it's not spite-whipping if I am planning to save the city! The Castle should at least keep the Knights back for a turn or two, and should lessen the loss of the Hague's 40% base defense IIRC.




We have a Musket, 3 Pikes and a Maceman here. I upgraded an Axe and Spear here, which necessitated bringing MT research down from 2 turns to 3. I am not sure if this will make a difference but it should weaken the aggressors in time for the (prerequisite to) Cavalry to arrive and counter this stack.




I'll post some other insights soon re: retep and Commodore, as well as my plans to counter any possible threats that surround us.

[AdrienIer]

Couldn't Frontenac dry-whip a musket ?

[Donovan Zoi]

Hmmm, I suppose I could have. But there were a lot of moving parts this turn and I just didn't think of doing so. It would have been a 4-5 pop loss though, I beleve, and getting MT in 3 turns is important. I did draft Muskets in Frontenac, Oswego and Rotterdam however.

[AdrienIer]

Well it's minor, and research is good too. From the first picture you posted I can see you captured 4 Retep cities, did you take more than that ? And will you be taking his capital ?

The civics are HR, nationhood, slavery, decentralization and OR right ?

[Donovan Zoi]

Well it's minor, and research is good too. From the first picture you posted I can see you captured 4 Retep cities, did you take more than that ? And will you be taking his capital ?

We took two (island cities of One More Day, The Bishop) and razed two (Sicca and Look Down). I have replacement Settlers built for both razed cities but am waiting for things to die down with Commodore to build them.

As far as the last two cities go, I yielded the new capital of On My Own to Commodore so I could put the 13 units there to good use. We should be able to take the last island city of Little People next turn since I am attacking it carefully as a means to preserve future Cuirrassiers.

And by the looks of it, that damaged stack attacking retep's capital seems to be Commodtay's only presence in the region. I have them 205/0 in EPs and have sight on several cities now. It's good to know that they hold us in such high regard that they don't even want our demos.

The civics are HR, nationhood, slavery, decentralization and OR right ?

Yes, except we also have Mercantilism. I have been wanting to get Constitution for the longest time to synergize this civic with Representation but there has always been a tech that was more important.

[Donovan Zoi]

Turn 200 - 1400 AD Cont'd

OK, here is a look at some of the other hot spots on the map:

rtetp* - On My Own
*typo - I'm leaving it. retep would have wanted it this way...

As I said earlier, we will let Commodtay take this city for a few reasons. Obviously, those units we have are much needed elsewhere. But also, I'd like to remain on good terms with them to keep the trade routes. Plus, they will have Rifling in a few turns.

This will be an awkward dance though, as I am sure Ctay does not trust us either. This can be evidenced by them fully not taking the city last turn, thinking we would return by road to snipe it. That was definitely a thought of mine when I bowed out of contention, but is not possible now.




Plus, it doesn't look like Ctay has followup plans on us just yet. His cities across from the island have yet to mature, and he is only scouting the western channel with 2 Caravels.

retep - Little People

Thought I grabbed a screenshot of this one, but I guess I didn't. Basically, we have about 9 Knights, 2 Maces (CR2) and 3 Cats hanging here after I released 3 Knights to head back to the mainland. retep has 4 Muskets. I'll be sending more Knights back once we take this city next turn.

Ruff - Damascus

This northern port city is only guarded by an Axeman, which is nice because I have two Chariots in the area.




Well, at least for this one city....

At first I was kicking myself for not moving a Chariot from Duquesne last turn, but this may work out even better if Ruff moves most of his stack out from Ulundi so he can't counter. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

The Zulu Core

This brings me to what could be the crown jewel of our whole operation.

You see, while Ruff is pretty much throwing everything he has to the west, he has left his eastern flagship cities virtually undefended. This is because he appears to have plum relations with HAK and Commodore for now. This is why I am debating sending 15-odd units straight south from Ulundi if I am afforded the oppotunity. Because nothing slows an advance like the homeland being in trouble.




Other Items of Note

- Before war was declared, I had used a recent Great General to make one of our Warriors Medic III, which will definitely come in handy. I thought about adding Morale for extra movement but determined that the extra benefits of Med3 would be the better choice.

- We are 3 turns away from a GP in Salmon Falls. Right now it looks like it will be either a Merchant or a Scientist. Either one would be great, but a Merchant could get us some much needed research and upgrade gold without interrupting our binary research. Then we would just have to find a safe place to send him. Otherwise, an Academy would be awesome too.

- Our peace with Gavagai ends in 3 turns and I am thinking of extending it. I don't think there is anything realistic we can do to meet our objectives there without just wasting units. Plus I would like to be on friendly terms if we end up getting a GMerchant.

[AdrienIer]

A chariot vs axe battle in the 1400s

How is the war weariness ?

Thanks for the report !