Advice for newbies: The strategic resource choke

[PieceOfMind]

I am unsure as to keeping the enemy from working a certain tile also keeps him from getting access to that recourse but I believe it does.

As an alternative you can also pillage the road in that spot. Even if it does not destroy an improvement you cannot see it does destroy the route and therefore acces to the recourse.

According to DanF, IIRC sitting on the enemy mine, while disallowing them to work the tile, does not remove their access to it, so you'd best pillage it.

Also, even if you can't see the resource I think you can still pillage the improvement first (in fact you must) before the road, right?

 

[Shurdus]

According to DanF, IIRC sitting on the enemy mine, while disallowing them to work the tile, does not remove their access to it, so you'd best pillage it.

Also, even if you can't see the resource I think you can still pillage the improvement first (in fact you must) before the road, right?

Right. I was thinking you would not be able to see the mine when you do not have IW and it is an iron mine. This is not true. you can see the mine but not the iron.

On a grassland it is completely obvious you should poillage the mine. But on a hill a mine may not be easy to identify as in iron mine. This is why you should play - imo at least - with yields on. If you play with yields on you can see a hill-mine generating too much hammers, Then you know which mines to pillage.

 

[Skallagrimson]

Hmmmm, turning on yields to see unpopped resources, cool idea! ::takes notes::

 

[dalamb]

Choking is a powerful strategy, but it can backfire. Your victims enemies also benefit from the loss in expansion and can settle into areas your victim would have kept them out of.

A lightbulb went off when I read this: it seems to me that Noble's Club XVI: Shaka might be a good place to learn to use the choke.

Spoiler favourable setup :

Shaka is on a continent with 3 civs, of which Russia is easy to take out early to gain a good GP farm location. The other two are Saladin and Hammurabi. Saladin is highly vulnerable to the choke; Hammurabi much less so because of his 50%-vs-melee archers, but they're still weaker than swords. I bogged down in that game because the two of them got too big too fast and I wasn't (and still am not) good at warfare, but now maybe I know just that little bit more to be able to try again with better results.

 

[Scotsdave]

Bit noob, so let me just spell this out to myself, for any corrections necessary.

This is an early (EARLY) game strategy, before you have even researched Iron Working, you've got a few cities (3-5?) with archers garrisoned. You take a mix of archers and axes for a campaign and pillage the tech ABOVE yours (ie Iron), be it through cutting routes, or at source, then garisson near it on defensive territory to mop up the counter attack?

And finally, this is not so you yourself can steal the resource, you're expanding elsewhere for your iron, correct?

Cheers in advance...

 

[Randomrandy]

choking is fun in mp too. I learned it the hard way. Mansa Musa is also good for chokes skirmishers are hard to beat especially on hills.

I once drafted axemen, don't ask me how. coolest axe rush I ever had.

 

[noto2]

@Scotsdave: yes, it is an early game strategy. In Civ you can build defensive units without resources, but until gunpowder the offensive units require resources. If you can prevent your enemy from getting horses or metals, you have a significant advantage in warfare. This can be utilized with swordsmen, because the enemy won't have axes, or with maces or knights, because they won't have xbows or pikes.
@randomrandy: you probably slavery whipped those axemen, not drafted.

 

[Randomrandy]

@randomrandy: you probably slavery whipped those axemen, not drafted.

No believe it or not I drafted them. I can't remember exactly how I managed to do that, and for sure I know the difference. Honestly I'd tell myself I was nuts too If I hadn't been the one playing. I think I stayed in the same tech line for a long time.

According to my tech chart for vanilla the standard req for nat is civil service, however it has two alternate req as divine right and philosophy.

Don't ask me why I would do that, it really doesn't make much sense in hindsight.

 

[Scotsdave]

@Scotsdave: yes, it is an early game strategy. In Civ you can build defensive units without resources, but until gunpowder the offensive units require resources. If you can prevent your enemy from getting horses or metals, you have a significant advantage in warfare. This can be utilized with swordsmen, because the enemy won't have axes, or with maces or knights, because they won't have xbows or pikes.

Nice advice. Playing a direct IP game with a friend, and we've decided to team up... I can see war on the horizon now, after an isolated start to my own continent. Ceaser is close, I've got some siege gear and have just unlocked Conquistadors... so those + maces + spears (Ceaser has ivory), plus my siege gear should mop up if I can get to his resources quickly enough? The idea once youre on the resource is to set up for the counter attack and let it come to you, yes? I assume you have to get all their resource as well, other wise it's pointless...

As I type this more problems are becoming apparent. Need some mounted/chariots to move quick to pillage the road network as well... hmmm.

 

[CivCorpse]

A few ways this can blow up in your face.
A. The AI trades for strategic resources.
B. The AI brings someone else into the war.
C. If the opponent is Agg then they can build shock axes right from the get go. You would need to have scouted their lands, built your choking troops then DOW before they built any axes.

 

[noto2]

A few ways this can blow up in your face.
A. The AI trades for strategic resources.
B. The AI brings someone else into the war.
C. If the opponent is Agg then they can build shock axes right from the get go. You would need to have scouted their lands, built your choking troops then DOW before they built any axes.

Yes, exactly. This thread went off topic. My OP concerned a very early game choking strategy. In fact, so early game where trading or bringing someone else into the war would rarely be a problem. My OP was basically about a classical age rush. To summarize my basic argument I was saying that rather than rush an opponent with axes, wait for swords and horse archers instead. Send in units right away, like in the stone age, use warriors if you have to, and then archers and axes, and pillage their resources, then wait for swords or horse archers to attack their cities. The reasoning being that axes will still suffer heavy losses against defending axes or against protective archers, especially on a hill. Swords and horse archers, however, can defeat defending archers quite efficiently.