[SPOILERS] yuris125 praying to RNGesus

[yuris125]

Sent comms to Commodore committing to an attack on T158. It's the case of the sooner the better, taking advantage of getting to Rifling sooner, but with how my empire is shaped, it will take me a while to get units up north

[yuris125]

Commodore declared on Pindicator this turn. I may have to join in before I'm fully ready if I want to get something out of the war

[yuris125]

Going in next turn, hitting Border Collie off caravels, and assembling a stack of knights / siege units / a few rifles at Welsh Corgie




Pindicator still didn't suffer major losses against Commodore. He definitely cam hit me back




But as I said, I'm out of options. If this speeds up Commodore's victory, so be it. He had the game all but won for at least 50 turns

Army composition as of this turn (before drafting)




There are privateers around my northern colonies, and I could lose access to horses again as a result




But in the current game state, it should be ok. Pindicator doesn't have Rifling yet (although it is a research option for him), and my army is going to mainly consist of drafted rifles and cats/trebs. Again, far from the best composition for an MP game. But needs must

[yuris125]

Just one more screenshot to show how desperate my position is




Arguably my position is no longer recoverable (if it ever was). But this is my last chance to make an attack with any kind of tech advantage

I hate doing it, I really do. But every other option is worse

[yuris125]

Pindicator vacated Welsh Corgi (not that he had much there) and left it with one musket, which I killed at 60ish % odds after bombardment




The plan is to go north from here, target Poodle and Pit Bull. If that succeeds, maybe follow by attacking the northeastern islands if I can transport the units over with caravels. Would be nice to hit Golden Retriever to have a source of horses on the mainland, but given that it's very likely going to be within culture of Pindicator's two starting cities, it's very doubtful I would even claim it if I were to take that city. And going in that direction likely puts me in the area where Commodore's main force is. It doesn't seem productive

Research-wise, I had MilTrad for cavalries selected, but now that trade routes to the northen colonies are cut off and I once again have no access to horses, it seems pointless. Constitution and a revolt to Representation / Slavery seems like the best play right now. I have a great merchant who could bulb part of Representation, I was saving it for a golden age, but that's probably not going to happen for a while, so revolt will have to be with an anarchy. Will have to check if it's still only 1 turn of anarchy - 2 would probably be too much, but 1 I can manage

Lack of slavery is really starting to hurt now that every draftable city has 6-9 points of draft unhappiness, and I need to quickly build privateers to be not completely defenceless at sea (everyone except Pindicator and myself has frigates)

I checked options for trade mission, but the best I could find was 1700g in Commodore's capital, and I have no guarantee if it would get there safely, or 1500g in another Commodore's city. Bulb would be about 1300 beakers right now, and while 1500g would fund research which would produce more beakers eventually, seems better to get them now

[yuris125]

4 rifles and 30ish knights arrive at Poodle




Not sure yet if I will hit it next turn or wait for siege units

The big news, of course, is that Commodore took Pindicator's capital this turn. Feels like Pindicator is going to be pushed off the mainland. Although I don't think he lost the main stack yet. Which is scary - if he manages to peace out with Commodore, I will feel the pain

If I get the eastern part (the peninsula I was eyeing in the maces area, but abandoned the attack plan because I felt it was necessary to keep the balance of power in check), I'll be happy enough. If I figure out a viable plan to get naval presence and pick up some cities in the northeastern islands, it will be amazing

[yuris125]

Pindicator's big stack appears on scene




11 muskets, 6 pikes, 8 war elephants, and a bunch of older units which will still be effective against knights. The big threat is 32 catapults. Will have to run calculations and assess how bad it will be if gets the first hit

[yuris125]

Well, I'll be honest, I have no idea if there's a cute play I'm missing. Vodka assures me that combining the stack is ok, and while I considered splitting off some amount of rifles to block the roads, the problem is that the fewer rifles in the stack, the higher the danger of all of them dying, exposing knights to units they're vulnerable to. And it is the case of situation not getting better if I make a play that delays the attack, these hills will always be there, and I won't overpower Pindicator's culture any time soon

So advancing the siege units and combining the stack is what I do




For civics, making a double swap would indeed take 2 turns, and a single civic change is probably not worth an anarchy turn - especially when the swap would be Caste to Slavery, losing production from workshops in the process. And frankly, even a swap to representation right now would be problematic, loss of HR happiness would cause issues, I'm managing draft unhappiness as well as I can, but there are a few unhappy faces. As a result, the logic of "better get beakers now" doesn't apply - think I am sending the great merchant on a trade mission to Commodore and pocketing the cash

Commodore took Golden Retriever last turn, just Labrador and Dalmatian left in that part of the world (and Dalmatian is as filler as it gets). Then we'll see if Commodore lets me have the east (assuming my stack survives)

[yuris125]

Commodore took Labrador and got Dalmatian for peace. Guess Pindicator's stack I saw last turn was his main force evacuating?




Pindicator did not hit my stack, I only see a musket and a warrior outside the city (the third unit on that tile is someone's scout), and defences are pretty much as they were. I thought about attacking the musket with a guerilla 2 rifle at 55% odds and killing the warrior, just to see what's behind the city. But ultimately decided that it didn't matter. I have to keep advancing

Commodore finishing his conquest of the western part meant that I no longer had to worry about a flanking hit from the west. All I'm worried about is a hit from the north. Admittedly, that's a pretty big worry, considering the stack we saw march past last turn, and I don't know what kind of stack Pindicator is assembling up there. I'm sure there will be a big fight soon enough. Maybe after I take Poodle? Maybe on flatland as I march on Pit Bull? Who knows. But this turn I didn't see a play other than moving next to Poodle and hoping my stack is still big enough to not be destroyed by a big hit with siege units

Commodore sent a fish for fish, so I take it I'm free to continue dedicating all my forces to the campaign

[yuris125]

Pindicator vacated Poodle, leaving just a logbow on defence. I skipped bombardment and killed it at 58% (rng has been favouring me so far)

A look at Pit Bull reveals that there may indeed be an evacuation operation in progress




I count 24 catapults - it was 32 last time I saw the stack. Either Pindicator is hiding the rest on a tile I can't see, or trying to sail them over to the northern island

Thing is, I do want to fight his stack. If it's successfully evacuated, it will take me a while to build enough privateers to defend my own passage across the strait. In the meantime, Pindicator could take my two island colonies, and once again leave me without a source of horses

Problem is, to reach Pit Bull I would have to cross flatland. And that would be the best tile for Pindicator to hit my stack on, if that's his intention

I will need to run the numbers and see if I can survive such a hit. Mind that all my rifles are promoted to guerilla to help with the fighting around Poodle, while Pindicator's units all have at least protective promos

For now, I pillage the tile N of Poodle, and move the stack to the hill NE, so that Pindicator can't retake the city. Next turn I will be able to see more around Pit Bull, and also see how Pindicator's stack changes, and if he is indeed evacuating

Meanwhile, a look into cities Commodore took reminds me how easily he could crush me if he wanted




That is 27 cannons, just in one of the cities he conquered. Honestly, just staying at 0.7 of his power feels not too bad, especially given the city count