[SPOILERS] TheArchduke creates the final empire as Macedonia

[TheArchduke]

Well, Poland if no wonder happens is a nonissue. And suboptimal is out of this race, even if he manages to thwart me for a longtime, I will slowly grind him down or conquer him with better units at my leisure.

Persia however. Persia is a problem. Only in milpower I contend and if I had that +1 culture on plantations? Wow, right now. But God of the Forge managed to get me here, so I won´t complain. Anyway, scores:

   

And, who is a nasty boy? Persia.

   

I expect naval sheninanigans, and thanks to Austrex being on the water and Blue-Ringed Octupos, I can not ignore the sea. Which might tip me towards that harbour site city build. The future will show. Right now my first settler will claim the Natural Wonder due NE.
The one from Austrex will claim the river valley to unite the two halves of my empire.

[TheArchduke]

Those barbarians are annoying the heck out of me. My hetairoi has yet again to retreat inside the city and I bring my 2nd warrior north to deal with those buggers.

Also finally the settler is done and must sit tight in the city.

Well, with no military card enacted and +2 production from an industrial CS, I finally get some much needed infrastructure (I know the horror ) in, a water mill which will boost construction and games and recreation.

   

In the south I can only shuffle some units into position, I need 2-3 more turns to heal and upgrade my 2nd archer. We will however start to take potshots at suboptimals units next turn.

I contemplate a surprise strike on Blue-Ringed Octopus, but this will have to involve all units at once.

   

My lack of military production in the last turn shows, but there are only so many units which I can cram inside the limited space in the south, and somehow I think this game will continue after the final conquest of Australia (which is still quite some way off.).

Instrumental will be a 2nd medieval GG and 2-3 knights which means we will go for some heavy chariots after those settlers.

Possibility of a quick conquest of BRO (you know which city I mean)? About 30-40 percent, the terrain is abysmal and I am easily flanked from the city behind something which was not an issue so far and is a real issue.

[TheArchduke]

Emperor K... grr  

Instead of a cheap shot at the horseman I need to kill his scout if I want to shoot something.

After a long minute I decide not to, we will do one more turn of healing, maneuver and strike out with all our force next turn. (Somehow the theme of my military campaign, cautious approach, risky commitment, bold full on strike)

The ram is in position to close in on the city walls next turn and with bombardment I should be able to reduce the city walls. Losses of one unit are acceptable if the city is taken. I am wary of any suprises.

And I will not show a screenie of the north, the barbarians disgust me.

   

[TheArchduke]

For a long time I am sitting there after shooting the horseman and advancing my two hetairoi and ask myself if I can already attack. I could heavily damage the cities with my 2 hetairois and the ram, but with a crossbowmen in the city and one archer and a city wall attack he could suicide a horse and kill my ram, thereby making an advance on the 4th city impossible or even the 3rd city safe again.

   

I decide to shuffle around a bit to make a hypasist able to attack the city next turn and wait on my 2nd crossbowmen due next turn.
The crossbowmen ("Coinshot")on the hill has 30 melee +5 GG +5 GG +6 Support + 6 ideal terrain which should enable him to suffer one crossbow, one archer shot and one horse attack and if I read it right, the melee attack won´t happen because of Emperor K pesky scout.

Maybe I am reading the situation wrong and I should attack right now, but I decide to wait a turn, maybe suboptimal offers me a sortie by him, he has been overzealous before.

   

In the north my 2 warriors gang up on the barb swordsman and my hetairoi finishes the barb archer for another sweet 5 GG points.
And I can´t believe it, I am actually using Boudicca´s Barbradar ™ to spot barbs still hiding in the fog. Ugh. How am I supposed to get my settler to that site.

In the end I decide that the risk is worth it and in the worst case my hetairoi should be able to defend and fight of 2 barbs together with the warriors. The capital goes for a worker to finally get a third mine and boost Apprenticeship.

   

[TheArchduke]

This war is a nailbiting experience. Everytime I open the turn I expect things to have gone horribly wrong.

Although the losses validate it, I might have been better off pushing quicker and stronger into australian land. Maybe the one turn I wait before I attack means Blue-Ringed Octopus will finish a crossbowmen. The wait is killing me.

Well less rambling, let´s see where we are at tomorrow.

[CFCJesterFool]

I think it smart to wait on the 2nd x-bow. Archers at this point are not useful against opposing x-bows.

[TheArchduke]

Nothing to report this turn. Another horseman shows up, another killed.
The horseman in the way will die next turn as well.
Sooner or later he has to run out of magic australian production horseman. I hope.

   

[TheArchduke]

Once more I use my hetairoi as spotters and as a one turn flanker to a horseman in the north.

   

Alcazars hmm, seems like he is going full flung defensive. In any case this won´t matter if I he has only one city I can slowly choke. His milpower is still ridiculous and high.

One horseman fewer once again and I again delay the offensive by moving my 2nd crossbowmen to the north side on the river. If another horseman shows up, I might kill it again and wait. Else we will unleash the fury once again.

And I so wish I had built a galley instead of a settler by now.  

In the north my settler is finally one my way. Barbradar™ shows that only the scout I can see will be a issue.

   

This may well seem like a silly dance I am doing, but being overly cautious and then striking boldly has worked thus far.
2 hetairois are ready to flank whilst the main army will strike the city next turn and take it the turn after. Of prime importance is to keep those xbows alive.

Alhambram made peace and will supportdow™ suboptimal in 10 turns.

If Emperor K dows suboptimal I will:

1.)Never sign peace ever with him and dow him.
2.)No support whatsoever against Alhambram.
3.)And I will come for him first.

We will see what happens next.

For those counting. Losses:

Suboptimal:

Horseman: 7
Warrior: 2
Archer: 4
Spearman: 1
Cities: 2

TheArchduke

Hypasist: 1

I am getting the feeling that the +100% production is more of a curse then a boon to suboptimal. It has made him and still does extremely careless.
I think the last point where he could have turned things around was the turn before I took his capital. He should have brought every unit to that fight. Holding onto those two last cities is a lost cause. Even if he manages to stalemate me I will outtech him by now.

[TheArchduke]

Emperor K did not dow, good my ressource support will continue.

And finally no new units stand between me and Blue-Ringed Octopus.

I move unto it from the east bank eating the river defense but unexposed from suboptimal units at his second city.

   

In my riskiest move yet, I expose a 61 health hypasist with the ram to suboptimal. The city walls are down, so the worst that can happen is a delay on city 2.

If he does not retreat the crossbow it will be lost in the city or lost to my crossbowmen.

And yeah, I just noticed I took no damn screenie of the end of the turn. I arranged that the exposed front units have support from 3 or 4 units.

The Hypasist in question has 36-4wounds+5GG+7promotion1+10tortoise+3terrain+12support meaning 69 against his crossbows with ranged 40.

It should be fine. Should. Let´s hope there are no other crossbowmens hiding in the fog.

[TheArchduke]

Baring a miracle, suboptimals days are counted.

Another city is lost to the final macedonian Empire and its forces.

   

A bit overkill, but we shoot the city twice and attack it with both Hypasists.
The coup de grace comes from a hetairoi in the south which spots a second suboptimal xbowman.

The other dies with the city.

   

Which means we won´t cross the river. Worst case he retakes the city but at the cost of most of his units. I do not want to loose units for nothing now. The hetairoi in the city is an acceptable risk. A xbowman is not.

In the north our barbradar allows our settler to continue, whilst the hetairoi drinks another 5GG points from the dead scout.  

   

Over the next turns I will try to analyze what went right and wrong in this war. But I am confident to call it by now.

So also the question becomes do we ride on to Alhambram immeaditly or tech up and crush the two other players with superior forces. Or we do both. We will see when the cities come out of occupation and all three new sites (River Valley, Insane and Harbour) will be settled. I am considering a second settler push for Banana Mountain, Backfill, Cow Crazy and Petra site (only doable with an escort against Emperor K). Stay tuned.