[PB81] Clash of Island

[williams482]

How goes the island clashing?

[xist10]

How goes the island clashing?

Bad ?
I do think I have a chance of collecting my continent in about 30 turns - still, attacking against praets with catapults will be no fun.

   

I need 4 turns to research guilds, but I have prepared all 3 pretechs for knights, SO I should get about 3 turns overflow in guilds.
Still, I need 5 (or 6) research turns for that, so I expect 3 more turn to save gold.
And I do question a bit if I should research HBR now and build a few stables.

   

I prebuilt a few chariots, so that I can whip an army a bit easier.
In other new, neither Dreylin or Gira have CoL, so I have city visibility on all known cities.
And Gira struggles to get to currency - Dreylin is better, still I think I could attack before Dreylin has pikes - but I know from the PB72, prates with catapults are enough to make the whole thing a bloody affair, add elephants to that ?

And they both continue to wage war - or at least to remain at war.
And I expect 2-3 island cities from Gira and 4 from Dreylin.


   

Demo is not good. I have more land than 2 of the veterans - I expect Nauf and TBS, but I have less overall.

   

On my continent ? I should be able to survive - and maybe even win - against Dreylin and Gira.

[klops]

the visible map looks very good, just those numbers that imply there is more... hiding somewhere...

do you have open borders for a scouting workboat?

[xist10]

   

Overflow

   

I have prepared a few knight whips next turn

   

I think about attacking Dreylin first. I even think I would have a shot with my actual troops. Dreylin has crossbow since last turn, but AGG should conter that a bit.
Add knights and I have reason to hope, that I can secure a bit of Dreylin in the first wave. - And Iro is not easy accessible, but accessible for me.
Dreylin is researching engineering. I still should be fast enough.

[superdeath]

Why chariots and not HA's? Usually those are the go-to whip into knights.

[xist10]

That is an easy question.
I had neither HBR nor Archery - and I'm still missing Archery, which is not that good when Nauf has already the ability to transport troops and TBS needs not much to to the same.

[xist10]

Time to update here.

   

My first invasion force for Dreylin.
This shouldn't b enough, but I'm whipping a lot more knights and catapults. - And I have right now the strongest army in the world.

   

I can't attack the city right now. The walls are enough to delay a bit.

   

And here is Dreylin counter force - my espionage output thanks to the ziggurats is overwhelming.
And as such, there is not that much I don't know about Dreylins forces right now. - okay, I still didn't defogged the west.

This is a bit too much for me right now. I think I could win a fight, I didn't simulated it, but I don't wanted to risk it.
And if Dreylin moves from the hill, my knights should have the edge.

As such, I took Eire, but I didn't moved my whole army.

   

I didn't took a useful screenshot for my method to contact Mjmd.
I put enough espionage against Nauf, that I had city visibility for in a few cities.
This included the city directly on Mjmd borders. You can see the effect on the left.
I didn't know for certain, that this can make contact, but here I could test it.


   

And now Nauf invades Gira. With a few macemen when I'm (slowly) collecting this continent with knights.
And have a look at the research at the right.
TBS is researching steel in a few turns.
Gira has nothing to contest Nauf without crossbows, but I don't think TBS wouldn't use the fact, that Naufs army is occupied somewhere else.
When TBS conquered Nauf (and/or Mjmd), I think we can call this game.

   

Anyway, my second army storms Skye

And you can see in the background, a few turns of reinforcements are enough that I think, I can withstand Dreylins first strike.

[xist10]

   

I didn't took the city last turn, because I feared a counter strike from the force on the copper.
I think, If I divided my army, this would be enough to wipe on part and then the second.

Still, the praets is strong enough that I waited for another catapult to arrive.

   

I do destroyed 2 catapults outside of the ciyt and discover another city from Dreylin.

   

Dreylin attacked my main stack only outside of the capital.
And here only with a few catapults to delay further ?

   

This was successful. I didn't attacked this turn, instead I bombarded.
Maybe the wrong call, but I didn't simulated it and I didn't thought, I would win this fight outright.

[xist10]

   

I lost one city during Dreylin turn.
I recaptured it and another city in the south.

You can see a few force from Gira there. Maybe he wants to intervene and attack, before I attack him ?

   

The capital didn't changed, so I attacked.
I lost the catapults and a 95% fight, but as such, Dreylin as should have no significant forces left.

   

There are 4 island remaining.
I created a small fleet which should be enough for island hopping.
And I should research caravels before Dreylin does. Even if the caravels will be mostly a counter against Naufs carracks.

   

Espionage is still overhelming for me.
Nauf tries to counter and I can't deny him demo, but thats all.
Mjmd has right now more courts that I have ziggurats, but he didn't focussed on me right now.

   

Demo is still bad - Mjmd has more land and TBS should be first in the other 4 important categories.

   

And TBS power is rising.
I don't expect an over sea attack when Nauf is a lot easier on the logistic side, but...

[xist10]

   

Dreylin lost the last mainland city.

And I move on. Maybe a bit to fast and this generates a bad turn order, but I don't think there is much to be done ?
Maybe Gira and Nauf can trade places.

Turnorder right now is Me->Dreylin and Me->Gira->Nauf->TBS
And at last Mjmd->TBS.

TBS makes his move at last and declared on Nauf and Mjmd. When I TBS finished conquering, I hope I have cleared my continent and than the game will be over.

I have no hope to stand against TBS.

   

I cleared the small stack and lost two knights at good chances.