After looking at the save I'm not very optimistic that an axe rush is even possible. Currently the American military consists of 4 axes and the scouting warrior.
A fifth axe is under construction, but at a paltry 5
/turn.
To make matters worse the 4 existing axes represents the force that would need to be left behind for "homeland security" duty during the rush. So in reality none of the rushing force has been built to date. With no granaries in place whipping doesn't seem to be much of an option at the moment. And with so few improved tiles (and even fewer workers to improve the rest) I don't see a large number of axes being built anytime soon.
Does it still count as an axe
rush if it's launched after 1000 BC?
Even if a sufficient force of axes can be conjured from somewhere I just don't see how rushing Huayna is going to really help win the game. Just because you
can kill him doesn't mean you
should.
If an axe rush against Huayna does happen what would you plan to do with Tiwanaku? It's much further away than Cuzco (5 tiles) and doesn't have any high commerce tiles to support it. If it wasn't a holy city razing it would be the logical choice. But would you really want to destroy a holy city? If you keep it how do you prevent its distance maintenance from killing your economy? If you do raze it doesn't it just open up more land for Hattie to expand into?
According to the trade negotiation screens Huayna only has two cities while the other 3 AIs already have 4 each. So he's already boxed in. I'll say again that I'm just not seeing how Huayna is a long term threat in this game.
If Huayna is killed off you've removed Hattie's worst enemy from the game. Will that make you her new worst enemy, considering that there will be significant close border issues?
And most importantly what is Monty going to be doing while you're focused on the east?
The question at this point I would think is whether it's worth trying to interfere with Monty's expansion, or whether it's better to forego early military action and just go for peaceful expansion.
Even if enough axes can't be built to take Monty out entirely a few axes (with spear support) should be able to stifle Aztec development. Pillage all his resources, keep his workers hiding in his cities. Monty's UU may be resourceless, but it's not very effective against axes.
There will be a hit to the American economy from the supply of a choking force, but in the end it may be well worth it to prevent Monty from becoming a huge problem in later ages.
I think the decisions to be made in the next round will probably decide the outcome of the game. Good luck.
It means I should steer my Warrior back west ASAP to check on Monty's land. Maybe I should research Hunting before Alphabet in case Monty has Chariots, which can ruin an Axeman's day?
You may have already been planning this but you should definitely upgrade the warrior to an axe before sending it to the explore the west. Barb axes show up pretty early in 3.17 and an encounter with one would mean certain death for a warrior. If you don't want to spend the gold on the upgrade just keep the warrior exploring in the safety of other civ's borders and send one of your newly built axes west.
Regarding hunting, one thing to keep in mind is that w/o hunting you can still build warriors even with copper hooked up. You'll need some sort of unit to leave behind in your cities to keep the people happy. Unless you plan on researching archery as well it seems a waste of
s to leave axes sitting in unthreatened cities.