Sisiutil
All Leader Challenger
All Leaders Challenge Pre-Game Show:
Game #11 - Carthage/Hannibal
Game #11 - Carthage/Hannibal
In the next ALC game, I'll be playing as Hannibal, leader of Carthage. This thread is to discuss, before the game, how to best exploit that particular leader's characteristics, which is the main feature and purpose of the ALC series. Just so we're clear, the difficulty level will be Monarch, the map will be continents, the speed normal, all other settings at their defaults.
Huh? Carthage? What gives? You all thought Japan was next, right? Then again, you might remember be discussing this possibility at the end of the ALC game 10 thread, so maybe it's not a complete surprise.
First off, many of you have been asking me to play an ALC as one of the new leaders in Warlords. Going alphabetically as I was, after Japan/Tokugawa, Korea/Wang Kon would have been the first new leader--and aelf is currently playing a EMC game with him. So I didn't want to have that much overlap between our two series. I'll get to Wang, but long after aelf is done with him.
Second, it's no coincidence that I mention aelf and his EMC series, which I've been following and enjoying. aelf is builder at heart, and he's been expressing some frustration following the Warlords patch that there seems to be an even greater emphasis on war being required to keep up. I wanted to test that out (to an extent--aelf is playing on Emperor, after all, and I'm on Monarch). And frankly, I've been getting a little tired of the whole conquer-my-continent-and-choose-my-victory-condition pattern I've been following. Hannibal struck me as the best of the new leaders to try a different, (slightly) more peaceful overall strategy.
Mind you, I'm not ruling out warring; I'd just like to use it in a more discriminating fashion--more as a tactic than an overall strategy. I'm interested in warring early to get my civ the territory it needs, which is practically a requirement; then playing a mostly peaceful game after that, relying on cottages, the financial trait, and my hard-won gains to see me through. So we'd be looking at a cultural, diplomatic, or space race win, methinks. I could see myself mainly using my military in the mid and late game for pillaging to slow down an opponent rather than a lot of conquering. That might be an interesting alternate strategy to try out, and I may also try to take on a vassal for the first time.
Anyway, I think Hannibal is a worthwhile detour--I'll probably get back on the anal retentive alphabetical track after this game, with Tokugawa and Japan.
So let's get down to brass tacks. Here's the fact sheet:
- Traits: Financial and Charismatic
- Starting Techs: Fishing and Mining
- Unique Unit: Numidian Cavalry (Replaces Horse Archer; Strength: 5, Movement: 2, Cost: 50; Unique characteristics: +50% versus melee units, starts with Flanking I)
- Unique Building: Cothon (Replaces Harbor; Cost: 100; Unique abilities: +1 trade route)
Hannibal has an early UU, Numidian Cavalry, so that lends itself to early warring, leaving later wars optional. Then again, the UU doesn't impress me too much--it has the Jaguar curse of being weaker than the unit it replaces. Speaking of which, I never build many Horse Archers anyway; they're just not that impressive. However, Numidian Cavalry start with Flanking I--does that mean Sentry is available as an initial promotion? If so, then they could be VERY useful for fog-busting. I also like having a couple of Flanking I/Sentry units to move with a stack and give them some extended vision. In addition, several early NC, actively campaigning and earning promotions, can be later upgraded to Knights, then Cavalry, then Gunships, with all those cheap promotions intact! And if I'm talking about war as a tactic instead of a strategy, pillaging makes sense, and mounted units are very good for that. In any case, I always try to make the most out of the UU, so HBR, Stables, and Numidian Cavalary will be priorities; Guilds and Military Tradition may also be high on my list of priority techs. Any further suggestions on how to best use the UU will be most appreciated.
Certainly, some warring makes sense to take advantage of the Charismatic trait, specifically, its -25% XP requirement for promotions. It's too bad the power rating doesn't consider promotions; otherwise I'd be guaranteed the path of warring early and playing peacefully for the rest of the game. We'll still need a strong military, as always, but it will take fewer battles to get them the promotions they need--in a way, that should also mean that less warring is required. I don't have to fight as many battles with Macemen, for example, to get them to the cherished City Raider III promotion.
The trait also provides +1 happy citizen in each city, and and additional happy citizen from monuments and broadcast towers. I think that makes Stonehenge and, later, the Eiffel Tower target wonders for Hannibal, since each will provide those buildings in all cities (and the Eiffel Tower can get built before broadcast towers are even available!). Mysticism and Radio, then, will also be priority techs.
And what is there to be said about Financial that hasn't already been said ad nauseam? This will be a cottage economy game, and frankly, I'm more comfortable with those. One interesting quirk: Hannibal is the only leader who doesn't have a cheap building or unit thanks to his traits! It's a good thing he's Financial.
He also starts with Mining, which is another distinct advantage, giving us a big leg up on getting Bronze Working--which will likely be the first tech researched. I'm thinking of giving the Great Wall a pass, by the way--I think I'll want barbs coming by so my units can start earning those cheap promotions. With Animal Husbandry being a little out of the way, I think I may be going the vanilla route of relying on Axemen for early defense. Then again, we need Animal Husbandry for HBR and the UU... hmmm...
Now what about the Unique Building, the Cothon? It adds a trade route--but why is it so much more expensive than a harbour? More trade routes also mean we'll want a fairly peaceful game, and we'll want Economics for Free Trade and Astronomy for intercontinental trade routes as early as possible. My old target of Liberalism for Astronomy will probably make a lot of sense. We'll also want good relations with other civs to convince them to switch to Free Trade. Again, I think you can see why I thought Hannibal was well-suited to a peaceful game.
Between the UB and the Fishing starting tech, let's keep our fingers crossed for a coastal start. Whether we get it or not, we'll be hoping to build several coastal cities, so let's also hope the map generator cooperates and gives us some good locations for them with plenty of seafood. I'm also thinking that if the Oracle is a possibility, then Metal Casting followed by the Colossus would be a worthwhile path to follow. And what about the Temple of Artemis? And the Great Lightouse? Should we try to max out trade routes, or is that too many hammers going into too many wonders for too little gain?
Phew! A lot to think about. People have been telling me Hannibal is a popular leader, though I haven't seen much discussion of him on the boards. The most popular civs (Rome, England, Russia, India), after all, are usually the ones with an awesome UU, and Hannibal's is not that impressive. But I look forward to trying to get the most out of it, and out of the rest of his characteristics as well.
I look forward to your suggestions and comments...