[SPOILERS] TheArchduke keeps the Spice flowing as Persia

[TheArchduke]

Not needed. Food carries over.
Anyway, more detail next turn. I have a bit of a picture how this map looks like now.

Continuing exploration, settlement and barbusting.

I only have a +1 campus in a floodable tile. Maybe buy and harvest the stone west of the capital.

   

   

[roland of gilead]

i thought the perceived wisdom was the lower the pop you lose the faster you grow it back?


Kumasai in the middle as a wild card cs?

one each for everyone otherwise.

[TheArchduke]

Turn 26

Ok, so what is going on. Quite a lot. I have founded Carthag in the best location I could see. The escorting warrior is enroute to bust some barbs.

Chevalier scouted my capital, which is fine, we have a DoF and I doubt he wants to be on my bad side. He is probably searching for my "private" CS.

More on that later.

   

I have SERIOUS issues to decide on my campus for Arrakeen. I definetly want to build 2 campi as soon as possible, as I do not want to go religion but I only have +1 in the east on floodplains and +1 in the west on a stone. Carthag is spoiled with +4 in the mountains and even +2 with a reef if it wanted.

As my borders are more then secure, I want to wait on Agoge with any army building, so Carthag starts on a Worker to improve worked tiles asap. I lean towards a quick 2nd settler out of Arakeen to claim Sietch Tabr in the west to stake out my claim towards Chevalier.

   

Right now I have uncovered 3 CS in the middle. And coupled with a private designed CS and I look at the map.

   

I think the setup looks like the following:

   

All CS I have uncovered are unattractive to conquer by being on island or being half in desert without fresh water. Someone wants to break up the CS conquest meta it seems. If we assume that a designed map is made to be mirrored or fair I think my assumption is valid.

Thus I am in landgrab race towards the west and east and not towards the middle. I was getting worried that Carthag might have been a bad plant, but its yields are so good.

[TheArchduke]

So normally distance is an issue with conquest. Not so with Persia as I got speed and less loyalty issues.

My suprise war dow makes me quicker and +5 loyalty for a unit makes cities flip more slowly together with a governour.

So my current plan is a landgrab west for good land. Then I jog half the distance towards neighbour 2 and crush him. 

Sietch Tabr is an excellent defensive city. So my plan is to settle it, dig in. Ignore my SW and settle Cala City as I unleash the hordes onto neighbour 2 in the SE. Which I presume is there. My wounded warrior will scout him out excessively.

   

   

[TheArchduke]

Hmm, no report.

Chevalier is up to 7 first meet boni with CS. I do not think this was the idea behind this map.

[roland of gilead]

Some advantage for him. Especially on culture.

[TheArchduke]

Starting to get somewhere in regards to activity. Settler next after slinger. Laying down Campus at Arakeen as soon as I can afford it.

Turn 29

A DoF with Rome so I can improve my yields and start trade.

   

Turn 30

Nothing much to do.

   

[roland of gilead]

Anything to the se yet?

[TheArchduke]

Turn 31

   

I am shooting for a quick 2nd settler for Sietch Tabr on the coast. We are going to get a quick harbor, and I am damned if I do not build an early harbour/navy again.

Slinger for caravan and worker patrol, warrior for settler escort.

Middle settler goes north back to the capital and explore my southern area.

CS quests are a nasty bunch. 2 times build a galley!   Seems those desert CS really want to see the sea.

   

And yeah, we snatch a barb camp from Rome. Yay. 

[roland of gilead]

lol on the camp.

On this map why not just avoid navy mostly or totally. Stay a bit away from the coast and narrow your game down to be more compact and successful.

do you plan to use immortals they are great in the early game they have zone of control but can range attack. good movement mostly all you need to hit cities. certainly ones without walls.