Alright, the plan for this thread is to be quite a bit more concise than my PBEM 2 thread was. I think C&D, spreadsheets and sandboxes are a waste of time so I'm not going to do any, which spares you lurkers having to read any of that tedious stuff.
Civ picks
Given the vague map specifications involving some water and rushing presumably not being a viable approach, I believe Amurites and Lanun to be the top two civs. I first picked Dain intending to Firebow spam, but obviously lost the dice roll. I figured someone else would #1 pick Lanun so I didn't bother putting them on the list.
Another good choice would be a defensive civ. Ljosalfar with EitB Republic (+1/+1c to towns) have a ridiculous late game economy, but I played them last time. Elohim with the EitB version of Einion (Phi/Cha) would get a fast start and a strong plan would be to rush for Culture/Tower and hit sanctuary when someone noticed. In a no-diplomacy game this is probably a really strong strategy. Elohim are also rather boring so I put Einion down as #3.
I #2 picked something more fun: Sheaim. Admittedly, this is more out of playing for fun than playing to win. If I got this pick, it'd be guaranteed Amurites were in game and the Amurite world spell is a hard counter to summoning
But I want to see if the late game stuff and Armageddon mechanics can be showcased for a change. Besides, forcing Darrell to deal with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse again will be hilarious.
(It's also probably asking for trouble as Sheaim tend to be cursed with bad start positions in these games, but oh well.)
Opponent civs
Ilios/Bannor - I think this civ is in a similar position to mine in terms of being a non-optimal but fun pick that gets a bunch of free units in the later game. EitB cottage enhancements help them quite a lot.
Darrell/Ljosalfar - I expect him to follow in my footsteps from PBEM2. Difficult to attack and a serious threat to win by tower/culture.
Tatan/Amurites - The largest military threat. Everyone will be worried about their worldspell and quick training mages. Hopefully, this will cause someone else to attack them first.
Mardoc/Lanun - If there's a significant amount of water on the map, as the banning of OO implies, their economy will be very strong and their world spell frighteningly powerful.
So I think there are two tiers of civs in this game, Ljos/Amurite/Lanun followed by Bannor/Sheaim.
Overall plan
Ashen Veil as primary religion. Splash for other religious units and temples as necessary with Spiritual. Build Prophecy of Ragnarok in an Adept/Savant production city midgame and spam the AC up, because it strengthens Sheaim summons and planar gates. Attack people with Ritualists and hordes of random summons. Use StW and Slavery to get those expensive Planar Gates and supporting buildings up and collect free units.
I want to win by conquest, although it'll probably be a very difficult goal.
Civ picks
Given the vague map specifications involving some water and rushing presumably not being a viable approach, I believe Amurites and Lanun to be the top two civs. I first picked Dain intending to Firebow spam, but obviously lost the dice roll. I figured someone else would #1 pick Lanun so I didn't bother putting them on the list.
Another good choice would be a defensive civ. Ljosalfar with EitB Republic (+1/+1c to towns) have a ridiculous late game economy, but I played them last time. Elohim with the EitB version of Einion (Phi/Cha) would get a fast start and a strong plan would be to rush for Culture/Tower and hit sanctuary when someone noticed. In a no-diplomacy game this is probably a really strong strategy. Elohim are also rather boring so I put Einion down as #3.
I #2 picked something more fun: Sheaim. Admittedly, this is more out of playing for fun than playing to win. If I got this pick, it'd be guaranteed Amurites were in game and the Amurite world spell is a hard counter to summoning
But I want to see if the late game stuff and Armageddon mechanics can be showcased for a change. Besides, forcing Darrell to deal with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse again will be hilarious.(It's also probably asking for trouble as Sheaim tend to be cursed with bad start positions in these games, but oh well.)
Opponent civs
Ilios/Bannor - I think this civ is in a similar position to mine in terms of being a non-optimal but fun pick that gets a bunch of free units in the later game. EitB cottage enhancements help them quite a lot.
Darrell/Ljosalfar - I expect him to follow in my footsteps from PBEM2. Difficult to attack and a serious threat to win by tower/culture.
Tatan/Amurites - The largest military threat. Everyone will be worried about their worldspell and quick training mages. Hopefully, this will cause someone else to attack them first.
Mardoc/Lanun - If there's a significant amount of water on the map, as the banning of OO implies, their economy will be very strong and their world spell frighteningly powerful.
So I think there are two tiers of civs in this game, Ljos/Amurite/Lanun followed by Bannor/Sheaim.
Overall plan
Ashen Veil as primary religion. Splash for other religious units and temples as necessary with Spiritual. Build Prophecy of Ragnarok in an Adept/Savant production city midgame and spam the AC up, because it strengthens Sheaim summons and planar gates. Attack people with Ritualists and hordes of random summons. Use StW and Slavery to get those expensive Planar Gates and supporting buildings up and collect free units.
I want to win by conquest, although it'll probably be a very difficult goal.
![[Image: 2.jpg]](http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19168036/pbem15/2.jpg)
