[SPOILERS] Sandover(cre/spi) of Egypt

[seifer_md]

Brilliant job with the city naming Sandover! Next you'll need to see to it that a few of those ManU players are finally forced into permanent retirement. =)

[Sandover]

Turn 125 - The Surrender of Germany

Busted!



Gee, I wonder where those are heading.

I also see this;



That cute little stack is clearly moving west, but it's far away from the front.

Ok, enough abusing the espionage system. Lets summarise the German Campaign.

As you know, TT's Germany has been reduced to a city state. The war lasted 10 turns and saw one major battle, after which the Chancellor signed over most of his empire to the Pharaoh. There's no doubt the campaign was a great success for Egypt, that now control almost 1/3 of the map. One world wonder, the Chichen Itza of Jive, changed hands as part of the Chancellor's surrendering.

Egyptian Casualties in Germany
1 Axeman
5 Crossbowmen
2 War Chariots
1 Horse Archer
1 Knight
22 Catapults

Total: 32 units.

German Casualties
5 Workers
1 Scout
1 Archer
2 Axemen
16 Spearmen
18 Longbowmen
1 Chariot
8 Horse Archers
29 Catapults

Total: 81 units.

So at the cost of 32 units I managed to defeat one enemy. Not bad!



Green dot will steal the Deer from Quickstep and become a pretty decent commerce city, making use of the previously wasted grassland tiles.

Yellow dot is a filler that will serve as port.

Red dot is a site I hope to get for a decent second production port similar to Soothsayer Port.

Quickstep and Charleston will be production cities. Foxtrot and Jive commerce. The Forbidden Palace will probably end up in Charleston. Foxtrot is a good option for a Globe Theatre Draft Camp, but it's so far away from the southern front that I'll probably use Worthington for that role instead.

Speaking of the southern front, have a look at this:



16 Knights hanging out in Psamathe. What for?

I present to you... Operation Double Kill!

Yes, the name was inspired by LoL. And it fits really well - just look at this:



With the bulk of the Roman army (red circle) out of position, Bob has exposed himself to a counter attack. The defenses of NLO are respectable, but Xen is defended only by 1 Praetorian, 2 Longbows and the 3 surviving Khmer Horse Archers. The garrison at White Forst is probably only a token force. Do I intend to abuse that? Hell yeah!

I will most likely end up focusing only on one city, but I do like having the option of hitting two at the same time. Xen looks like the most probably main target, with a few Knights out of Satet possibly going for White Forest as a distraction.

Have a look at this in case you're wondering why I'm boosting through Nationalism before Gunpowder:



27% for a Great Engineer? I say that is 27% chance I'm going to land the Taj Mahal!

The turn end and... James Watt is born in Sandoria! Score!

[Sandover]

Some random pleasentries:

Dear Chancellor,

I saw your request in-game. Do not worry - I fully intend to preserve the Germanic names of the region.

I offered Open Borders and a resource trade. I completely neglected the fact I don't have Paper yet, so lets forget about the map trade - it's only a matter of a few tiles that needs defogging in the far north anyway.

It's going to be interesting to follow how far you can take your city state before this is over.

Regards,

Pharaoh Sandover of Egypt

Restarting relations with Moogle:

Dear Advisor Moogle,

It appears that we are now neighbours. I know this is not what you wanted, and that you have spent some effort trying to prevent it, but I say it's time to forget our pity disputes that took place thousands of years ago. I extend to you a hand of friendship, seeking to once again establish diplomatic contact between our empires. I'm willing to forget about whatever aid you have given my enemies and let you keep the former German settlement of Samba (I assume you are the one currently controlling it?) if you in turn announce neutrality from here onward. To be blunt, what I desire of you is that you swear...

a) to not go to war against me while I'm engaged with the Khmers and Romans in the west.
b) to not lend a foreign army passage through your territory.

I find my request to be very reasonable cosidering our past, and trust that your response will be positive. I'm definitly willing to discuss ways for us to cooperate in the future, if you so desire.

Regards,

Pharaoh Sandover of Egypt

I decided to try my best to be friendly for the first email. If his response is not favourable, I will probably use a different approach next time.

[Sandover]

Turn 126 - The Roman Colony



I... wasn't expecting that.

Oh well, shouldn't be too hard to kill that city. 5 Knights, 2 Horse Archers and the Sentry War Chariot will be in position to attack it on turn 129. Lets call it "Operation Last Dance".

Operation Double Kill has been terminated. 3 Crossbows, 4 Catapults, 2 Knights and 1 Praetorian has reinforced the garrison at Xen so my oponents are clearly considering the risk of a counter attack. I will refrain from planning further offensive operations in the south. I'm perfectly content awaiting the next invasion attempt, and will position my units in preparation. I'll place all of my present Catapults at Worthington for now as I haven't nearly enough to protect both invasion points. Weird River is, however sad it might be, expendable in this situation.

TT sent me this email:

Dear Pharaoh,


I am glad you will keep the names, I don't think I could cope letting Liverpool related names surround me! As thanks I have put Gary Neville into permanent retirement.


Seen as I am a city state, I may as well help you out with what I can. I am prepared to let you have my remaining catapults (there are only 7 but every little helps!) and I am prepared to loan you my GG Super Healing Archer and double/triple promo Horse Archers for your war if you promise to return them at the end of the war or give me some form of compensation if they all die.


I am just hoping to stay alive long enough to be more of a help later on. If I were to reach Panzers before they became outdated (needs major beelining and luck) then that could be helpful.


Anyhoo, until next time,


TT

Seifer should be happy to read the news about Gary Neville. I know I am!

TT's offer is obviously a no-brainer, and it spawns a few more emails:

Dear Chancellor,

I'd love to borrow whatever units you're willing to spare. I'll make sure to provide proper compensation for those who do not survive service in the Egyptian army. Please gift the units as far east as you can, as I expect they will serve me best as guards at my new eastern front. I have contacted Moogle in an attempt to rebuild relations, but have not heard back from him. I fear his intention is to open a second front against me and therefore need to ward myself.

Let me know if you desire updates on the war effort.

Regards,

Pharaoh Sandover of Egypt

Dear Pharaoh,


I shall move them east with haste, or would you rather I keep them by the 'Moogle front' in case your diplomatic efforts fail?


As I have effectively severed ties with everyone else I would appreciate occasional updates on the war effort.


TT

Dear Chancellor,

The priority is that you gift the units as soon as possible so that I have them accounted for when I deal with troop positioning. The closer they are to Jive the better, as that city will have to serve as a focal point for my eastern army. I will arrange healing for damaged units myself, and honestly do not expect to make much progress talking to Moogle.

Currently, the war situation is such that the Romans have retreated. I was hoping for an opening to counter attack, but with Khmer soldiers reinforcing the Roman border cities that is simply not possible. I expect my oponents are gathering strength for a second assault, and are focusing my efforts on preparing enough siege units to counter it.

Regards,

Pharaoh Sandover of Egypt

So by being nice and not demanding any of his units as part of the surrender I wind getting the deal through and his units.

Maybe I should try to be nice more often?

[Rowain]

Maybe I should try to be nice more often?

Maybe it might have avoided your current situation :neenernee







but it might have been far more boring for us lurkers. your diplostyle has brought some amusement to us

[Sandover]

Maybe it might have avoided your current situation :neenernee

You mean being top of the scoreboard having the most powerful army in the world?

but it might have been far more boring for us lurkers. your diplostyle has brought some amusement to us

There's more to come, I'm sure. Being nice doesn't feel quite right.

[Sandover]

Pharaoh Sandover,

Your proposal is unfortunately not acceptable to King Brennus and the people of Celtica. You would ask us to effectively turn on our allies and hand victory to you, but we have no desire to follow in Germany's footsteps.

Sincerely,
-SleepingMoogle

Advisor,

The Chancellor of Germany once turned down a very generous offer due to a similar notion of not wanting to turn on his allies so you're actually walking in his footsteps per definition right now. TT's decision cost him his empire and your're likely to face the same outcome if you stick to your current path. Do you honestly believe you have a chance to defeat the army that crushed the entire German nation and has the Romans running back home with their tails between their legs?

Let me know when you've changed your mind.

Pharaoh Sandover of Egypt

1vs4 it is!

Right, lets reassess the situation. I have two fronts to defend. One is a choke point with a single invasion point to defend and a single potential target for a counter attack, located at the far end of my empire. The other is a long border with two invasion points to defend and four potential targets for a counter attack, that's providing immediate protection for my core. It's pretty clear where my emphasis should go, especially since my Knights lack maneuverability and have to suffer from high terrain at the Celtic front.

In general, I'm going to station all of my Knights at the southern front. Some are heading to conquer the Roman colony and a couple are needed to fight the TBT (Tundra Barb Tribe), but that's the gist of it. They will be joined by Catapults, that are being produced all over Old Egypt. I only have 13 total as of last turn, which is nowhere near enough. I'll station 2/3 of my southern forces near Worthington and the remaining 1/3 near Weird River. The Catapults won't be able to reinforce between invasion points in timely fashion but the Knights can do so in two turns from either side. Once in Nationhood I'm going to add Muskets into the mixture, mainly to garrison Worthington that only has two medieval defenders at most.

The Crossbows from my Egyptian 1st Army will head to the eastern front and serve as the bulk of the defenses there, reinforced by the Chancellor's troops. German Egypt will be focused on strengthening that front - probably producing Catapults followed by Muskets. The defenses here will be weak compared to at the Roman border, and a dedicated strike by Moogle and Scooter could cause some serious trouble. My hope is that they fear me enough to play defense, not knowing how I distribute my soldiers.

One concern for the future is a potential opening of a third, naval front. Bob, Moogle and Scooter only have two coastal cities together so they aren't likely to spend much effort in that area. Timmy, however, might. I do have an advantage in others not knowing the shape of my coastal area, but I guess the name Soothsayer Port is pretty revealing! Oh, how I hate those soothsayers!

I doubt Timmy is going to place much emphasis on maritime achievements any time soon, but I could consider opening up that front myself. A single Caravel would actually be worth a lot right now, since it could scout Lighthouse Point unhindered. I'm definitly leaning towards grabbing Compass after Gunpowder, as it's a pretty cheap tech anyhow. Who knows, maybe I'll find an island in those waters?

[Sandover]

Turn 127 - The Renaissance

Nationalism done. James Watt do his thing in Sandoria. Next time I open up the game I'll be greeted by a wonder movie.

I spent this turn out of golden age. Didn't like it. 9 more turns please!

By a lucky coinsidence (had a lot of those lately, haven't I?) I'm able to finish Gunpowder in one turn with a very slim margin. Compass + Optics is 870 beakers total while Military Science is 1742. I'll grab Military Science next to get some cuirassiers going. Nubian's borders finally expanded into the Stone tile so West Point will be constructed in Satet next time I'm in Organized Religion. Compass/Optics is an option after MS. The alternatives are heading down the Education line, or towards Rifling.

Back to the turn. The Roman colony is no more:



I once again move my Sentry into hiding, so they still haven't seen any of my units. For now, I'm going to pretend I don't know about what's been going on over there.

Since Samba is now in Celtic possession, stacked with a lot of Celtic defenders, I'm calling off Operation Last Dance. The three Knights of the 1st Army heading east have been redirected south. The Knight coming out of Jive will remain there, so I can show it to Moogle.

Moogle's obsolete crap doesn't scare me, but I think it's likely Scooter will aid him, so I won't bother pushing forward here. TT gifted me 10 Longbows, 7 Catapults and 5 Horse Archers. I expect 2 more Horse Archers and his Great General Archer Medic. All those units will serve at the eastern front. He never said I'd get the Longbows, but I kind of guessed he'd want to offload some of those as well due to maintainance. The more units I get to borrow the better.

Seeing as drafting is about, it's time for the Globe. I've decided to place it in Worthington (rip my best commerce city), probably slaving off a lot of population to complete it. I messed around with build queues a bit this turn and the result is that Worthington, Psamathe, Darrell, Quickstep, Charleston and Jive just finished Theatres (being Creative there never was a need to plan ahead much). Thus, the prereq is in order.

Bob placed a Worker on the hill north of White Forest. I quickly conclude that killing it with a Knight is out of question but soon realise I have a War Chariot in Psamathe (just in reach).



He'll probably just kill the War Chariot with a Longbow. I place some Catapults and Knights in position to hit the hill just in case, but I doubt there'll be much action here.

I should start getting visibility on some of Bob's cities any turn now. I'm not sure I hate the spy system anymore. With the actual spy unit banned you can actually have some fun with it.

[Sandover]

Turn 128 - Inventing the Musket

TT has made a habit out of delivering in-game messages. This time he asked me for a religious spread. Seeing as he's lending me a large part of his army it wasn't a hard decision to make.

Dear Chancellor,

I will see to it that the Hindu faith is spread to Cha Cha Cha. In fact, I converted Foxtrot to hammers in order to produce a Missionary immediately. It will be gifted to you on turn 129.

Regards,

Pharaoh Sandover of Egypt

Gain my favour and you will be favoured.

This is a nice picture:



That's my fifth wonder in Sandoria. Still only third on the world's greatest city list though. Worthington and Bibracte are ahead.

Since last turn I've gained visibility on 7 of Bob's cities. That's... 7 more than I had before!

What do I see?



Visible Military in the Roman Empire
2 Warriors
3 Axemen
5 Spearmen
2 Chariots
11 Horse Archers
18 Catapults
12 Praetorians
4 Crossbowmen
12 Longbowmen
4 Macemen
1 Pikeman
3 Knights
(9 Workers)

Fully realising there's more units hidden in the fog moving up towards the front I decide to be cocky. In addition to adopting Nationhood I also go back to Organized Religion. It's time to finish those construction projects that were halted due to the war! My dedicated production cities (Satet, Soothsayer Port, New Sandoria and Krill) will remain on military for the most part, but the rest goes back to economical focus over a short transition period.

I draft Worthington, Krill and New Sandoria. I decide to call my Musketmen 'Protector of Worthington' as it fits with the current world events.

Estimated time to get Military Science: 5 turns.

Bob is researching Compass for some reason. Doesn't make sense unless heading for Optics, which is clearly to unlock Caravels and to open the door to Astronomy. Maybe the alliance decided someone had to do it, and went with Bob, for whatever reason?

Timmy just grabbed Theology, so I expect him to go Theocracy at the end of his current golden age. And... that's probably it for this turn.

[Sandover]

Turn 129 - Workermania



A Combat II/Shock Knight lost at 50.2% but a second Knight clean up easily. I delete all Workers and move no extra units onto the tile.

No signs of aggression anywhere so that's it for this turn. A shame I won't get to deliver proper revenge to Bob but lets at least hope he can find a viable replacement player. If not, this will be the last week of PBEM3-play.