[Spoilers] Commodore is Kublai Khan of Greece...yeah.

[Commodore]

Turn 7, Pindicator moves forward in what could be a choke.

Turn 8, Yeah. Fur camp it is.



Administrative note, password is GRRM, naturally, given the Song of Ice and Fire theme.

[Commodore]

Turn 9: Durp.



Meanwhile, trying to stay cool, as Pindicator gets really annoying. It's all about the copper, really though.



Turn 10: Yurp.



I've already lost one turn of being size 2, alas. I might have to whip a cheap barracks and use a cover warrior here. On the plus side, the wheat guy will be at 25% fortification in another turn.



Need those crabs hooked. Worker first, eh?

[Commodore]

Choke-time, lads! Turn 11, more of the same.



Pindicator might have lost a warrior, but he's unchoked.



Turn 12 looks for a moment like Pin is leaving.



Automated Teller grew as well.



And since growing means choking Commodore, looks like AT is joining the party.



Turn 13: The furs speed up Bronze Working considerably.



Turn 14: Okay, let's be proactive about shielding against AT, I need the wheat online.



Worker first my hairy butt.

[Gaspar]

Y'know, the point of those Archers was to protect against a rush/the crazy barbs. You should have just made a "they can't leave your BFC" rule. The game is already compromised for you by the random chance of them heading your way.

[Commodore]

Well, the protection against chokes was that lake crab, unpillagable, coupled with the fact that our cities are protected. Sadly, I doubt this is random chance, I have a reputation. On the plus side, cover warriors are an option for us.

[Commodore]

Much of the early history of the Free City of Volantis is marked by the constant low-level warfare between itself and the Mayans and Bruce Spring peoples.



By the hundredth year of the civilization's life the skirmishes had solidified into more clear bounds as the hostile forces wandered in the hills southeast of the lake. Decisive battles were too risky for any of the forces involved, but wars of maneuver and counter-maneuver were the rule. While the near region of the capital seemed safer, the critical copper deposits on the southern shore of the lake were locked down. Clearly, more aggressive leadership was called for.

[Commodore]

Turn 16 Slow start, or the slowest start?



Honestly though, it's okay. If nothing clears up in a turn or two I'll chop out the barracks -> overflow into a pair of cover warriors, which should shift these miscreants without too much issue. Then I'll whip out another worker, regrow on a granary, and bang out a settler. Not too too concerned about the slow second city, it's going to cut my tech rate by about 30% just to settle the one, so might as well be almost done with Writing by then.

Then it's Maths with a side of Masonry if the 'mids haven't fallen. I'll settle the marble/stone spot and with Mathematics and stone the Pyramids are a four-turn build in the south-of-lake city. If not possible, no harm, those hammer all become Agg Phalanx.

[Commodore]

Turn 17 and 18: Well AT retreated, and Pin digs in.



Fair enough.

[Commodore]

Turn 19: Aha, there you are, Pindicator's Bane. I'm assuming, at least...from the banter thread AT sniped something of Pin's, and I assume this well-promoted fellow is the happy result of that. Given my luck, I expect him to reinforce the choke somehow.



No matter. These demos improved at EoT as I grew to size four and completed the barracks, bringing me to top power. Cover warriors are now an option, although I think I'm going to roll the chop, overflow, and massive foodhammer total into a 2-turn worker first.



Interestingly enough, it looks like Pindicator and I chose to go vertical, while Scooter and AT, who've played this map before, are going horizontal. Land is important, but so is balancing that with tech and capital development. We'll see how it goes.

[Commodore]

Okay, on the subject of Greece. I chose them because they sounded fun and I'd never used them before. Laugh all you want, mention a bunch of I'm fine with it, let us consider briefly what benefits the Greeks confer.

Hunting and Fishing, while an incredibly cheap tech pair to start out with, have actually been okay. The extra beakers from growing on the lake crab have been nice, as are those saved by researching AH with both rereqs. It's all come out okay, although I'll never claim they were a good choice. Obviously, the real reason I took Greece was the UU and UB.


Right. So. Phalanx. Rock that actually counters paper in the ancient triad games. The net effect of that is that I have a one-stop shop for all my unit-spamming needs, at least until someone techs HBR and archery. Once that happens...well, Aggressive still means my axes do better than anyone else's against those horse archers, so that's nice. Really though, let's just be frank. These are just cool-looking axes, a lot of the time. I'm okay with that, though...relaxed, remember?


Of considerably more interest is the Greek UB. Odeons are great buildings for this set up. First of all, for someone Creative these are +2 for less than thirty hammers, which is a great deal (hello, Mayan Ball Courts, yes, I know). Secondly, the extra culture is excellent in such a pressured situation. A couple cities pushing these babies and all artist-laden, and we might even see flips happen. However, the real deal is why I'm going to be trying for the Pyramids.

In a Representation SE, specialists slots are at a premium. A cheap Creative library gets a lovely two scientists, which is why Cre and SE go together like they rhyme. But with Greece, we also get Odeons, which have a pair of artist slots...that means for an adjusted 57 hammers, I can plant a city and run two artists and two scientists, which just does dirty things to beaker output. On a tight, lush map like this one that's almost insanely good. And even if I bust getting the 'mids, that's still 10bpt while maintaining nutty cultural output.

So yeah. I took Kublai Khan of Greece. And I might very well win a culture victory with him.