[SPOILERS] Magic Science and Nobody Else in Pitboss 66

[Magic Science]

Turn 112 – 75 BC
   
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? . .

I have no clue. I think I have no choice but to wait and see what Mjmd does next. He has done some interesting things so far.


   
His Sentry Chariot is still in Hephaestus.
He moved a Worker to my Cow tile.
There are 3 Axemen and 1 Impi that can move into Hephaestus in 1 turn.
(Keep in mind, Mjmd and Plem-adilly do not have Open Borders)

…

Could he be planning to keep me alive as a buffer state, even if that requires outright declaring war on Plem-adilly and moving units into Hephaestus to defend it alongside me? That does make sense of his unit movements, but it seems so strange to me, but I have also never been the powerful civ manipulating the lesser civs around me. It has always been the other way around. . Maybe it makes more sense from the big guy’s perspective.

I think that his diplomacy matches this plan poorly. However, Mjmd might worry that if he sent a message involving Copper and Hephaestus, I would misconstrue it as a threat and react against him. Therefore, he just sends these generic messages of friendliness.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?


   
(As I type this, I realize how stupid this choice was in context of the uncertain diplomacy with Mjmd. ).

Mjmd’s capital, John Paul Jones, grew to size 11, so now I have another +3 trade route, and one of them is redundant.

Gin-guelito are otherwise irrelevant to me, so I cancelled our Open Borders deal and demanded they pay 1 gpt to have them back. They will probably not accept.


   
The Land of Barays. Exploring is one of the simple joys of Civ IV.

.

[Magic Science]

Turn 113 – 50 BC
   
Back in my day, Fish-Fish deals were worthless. However, it seems that in the new era of True AI Diplomacy, people take them more seriously. Unfortunately, everyone forgot to ensure that True AI Diplomacy was enabled for this game, but maybe the new custom will be followed despite this.

So, I cancelled the old Fish-Fish deal with Mjmd and proposed it again. Maybe this will force him to reveal his mysterious intentions.

If it works, then it will satisfy my curiosity (WHAT DOES IT MEAN?), but it will also help me decide what to do with Hephaestus. In 2 turns, I must decide whether to whip Hephaestus to the final bone NOW, or SOON. Short-term vs. “long-term”, again. Certainty of peace and the possibility of outright assistance from Mjmd would be an important factor in favor of “long-term”.


   
I have not counterattacked Plem-adilly at all in this war. Maybe I could have caused them to some headaches, even captured some cities, if I counterattacked (for example, with some Crossbowmen from The Blob against empty Satricum and unknown Artemis), but it would never have helped my ultimate goal of surviving as long as possible, so I did not. However, that might change.

Poseidon’s garrison now consists of 3 Chariots. The 1 Praetorian is gone. That is a pathetic garrison, and Hera’s Dream sails right by it with my best units on board on a regular schedule. If the garrison has not been significantly bolstered by the time Hera’s Dream is back in the area on Turn 117/118, I will do something about it. She could turn around right now with my Great General to do something about it, but I think that bolstering Aphrodite, the Last Olympian, is too important.

Overall, I just need to have less of a passive and defeated mindset. I need a miracle, maybe multiple, to strike back hard at Plem-adilly, but miracles sometimes happen in Civ IV, so I must be ready for them. One miracle already happened.

…

Also: I decided what to do with my Triremes for now. Scylla will watch my home isthmus to see when units approach Hephaestus, and Charybdis will escort Hera’s Dream back and forth. Plem-adilly has Metal Casting, and Poseidon's borders will expand to provide vision of the Vital Strait soon, and Poseidon could train a Trireme.

[Magic Science]

Hmm.

Amicalola just whipped 6 times for 11 pop, and I saw a Ballista Elephant last turn, so I bet he is preparing to use Construction to conquer someone.
Could it be GKC? That would be best for me, I think. Least because Cassandra is almost done exploring Amicalola's coast, but she has still not found a way through, and probably will not, and GKC's coast is next in line, but I cannot get through there. Well, maybe GKC's coast can come under new management .
I get too attached to my scouting units, sue me. .

Also, it sure is a good thing that Ballista Elephants can still be built with Ivory not just Iron. I had to check that.

[Magic Science]

Plemo PYFT. .

[Magic Science]

Maybe I should propose a Cease Fire just for PYFT purposes. I hate to do that by I also hate lugging my laptop around all day and asking for extensions.

[Magic Science]

Please enlighten me, how exactly is the turn split when there is a 3-party war, but 2 parties are on the same side? .

[Magic Science]

Turn 114 – 25 BC
   
Meh. No.
Next!


   
What? No. Hmm.
Next!


   
HOLY SHIT.
A MIRACLE. .

…

Mjmd’s mysterious intentions are revealed! All this time, he was actually planning to declare war on Plem-adilly and attack them through my territory with my help. Unbelievable.

There are 11 Axemen, 1 Impi, and 1 Sentry Chariot in Hephaestus. I am outnumbered in my own city. Absurd. . There are also 2 more Axemen, 1 more Impi, and 3 more combat Workers following right behind the main army.

What is happening? .

…

This is unmistakable and revelatory, but it does not explain everything.

Mjmd, what was your diplomacy supposed to communicate? Why not just send Copper-Copper, or even a gold countdown? I cannot quite remember, but I think I was the one that actually accepted our Fish-Fish deal earlier and made it public, so maybe you do not trust me to be discreet with Copper-Copper or gold, so you offered only vague signals of friendliness.

Mjmd, why do you think this is a good idea? I love it, obviously, but why are you doing it? We both know that you can capture Hera, but then what? You already have Gold, and the city is otherwise not special. You are unlikely to be able to capture Zeus. You absolutely will not be able to capture Poseidon. Why not just help me bother your rival contender Plem-adilly very cheaply by sending only a small squad of Axemen to defend Hephaestus for a while? Why expend a whole army on this project?

…

It took me a long time to decide what to do in response to this incredible turn of good fortune.

Survival is better than revenge. Therefore, I should evaluate this event not in terms of how much it will hurt my arch-enemy, but in terms of how much more production it will allow me to transfer to Aphrodite for the last stand. In those terms, of course Mjmd’s attack is great. Obviously, Mjmd’s threat will distract Plem-adilly and cause them to delay capturing The Blob even longer.

However, is there anything I can do to profitably (in terms of benefit to my last stand) amplify that effect? I think so! .

I know that Plem-adilly has a lot of Chariots, but Mjmd only sent 2 Impis to defend his 11 Axemen. Therefore, I will send Charriu IV the Phalanx to accompany Mjmd’s army as a stack defender. I might send the other Phalanx too. Teamwork! . The Crossbowman will stay in Hephaestus, because he doesn’t really have a good role in the combined army, and Hephaestus still needs some protection.

I think Scylla and Charybdis will sail east. As I mentioned before, I doubt that Aphrodite will be attacked soon, so they might as well go and try to find something useful to do against Plem-adilly in the meantime. Pillage some seafood! Destroy that blasted clever Galley!

Hera’s Dream still delivered 1 Crossbowman and 1 Great General to Aphrodite this turn. I dithered about this, but survival really is more important than revenge. Next, she will sail east as well, on schedule, but she might break schedule when she arrives by Apollo. There might be even better things for the next Crossbowmen to do…


   
Mjmd’s threat might cause Plem-adilly to shift units away from here and leave me an opening to capture more cities and expand The Blob’s production capacity. I could recapture Artemis! That is the opportunity I must prepare to take.

1 Worker will dart back and forth at the end of the peninsula to check Artemis’s garrison. 1 Worker will construct the central staging roads. I was worried about building roads there because of what it might let Plem-adilly do when Apollo’s culture falls, but I think that worry is unimportant now.

2 Axemen and 1 Phalanx (naufragar I, with a pending promotion) were spared from garrisons to stage in the central area. Not much, but I think Hestia can afford to send 2 more Axemen soon, and all 3 cities can whip a Crossbowman at any time, though that would hurt to do. Hestia’s Granary is almost done. The oppression unhappiness is appreciably fading in Apollo and Hermes.

Well, we will just have to wait and see. The future is looking up!


   
Lastly, I sent my new best friend the free Stone that he requested at the start of this crazy turn. Aphrodite’s Walls are not constructed yet, but they are close enough, and he sure earned it.

Also, I nicely canceled the free Copper from him because it is doubly unnecessary because of Apollo’s Copper and vanrober’s Iron.

[Magic Science]

   
Power.

[Magic Science]

Please enlighten me, how exactly is the turn split when there is a 3-party war, but 2 parties are on the same side? .

For now the order is Plem-adilly then Mjmd then Me.

[Magic Science]

Now Ginger just whipped 19 POP! . In Police State and Theocracy! Were they just waiting for Theocracy, or did they just unlock a new and horrifying unit as well?

Well, it’s not my problem. Let the PYFT Crusades begin! (So named because GKC and vanrober are the obvious victims). Wait, maybe it is my problem. .