getting the most out of the Gypsy Wagons?

[smjjames]

I'm just wondering about this because I'm not sure whether I'm using them effectively since they really don't seem to do much in my games.

At best, they probably act as eyes in enemy (or allied) territory and beyond the early part of the game, they don't seem very effective at all.

Or are they really as weak as I think they are?

 

[smjjames]

over 90 views and no posts? I'm just wondering about whether I'm using them to the most effect or not.

 

[PotatoOverdose]

they really aren't that effective. The only version of a Gypsy Wagon that is worth building (imo) is the hero version, Loki.

 

[xienwolf]

Since you need Loki to flip a city to your side, and there is no stacking effect to having Loki + a Gypsy Wagon, they really don't do too much except provide a means to scout through rival territory when you don't want to have Open Borders.

 

[nealhunt]

I try to use a couple wagons to stall the opponent until Loki can be freed up to do the actual flipping. Once the city's crushed it becomes much harder for the opponent to build anything to actually make any culture. With a couple wagons front-running, you can tank the cities, then run Loki up into them when they already have negative culture for a quick flip.

As noted in the other thread, wagons die quick and fast once HN comes on the scene, and HN is pretty easy to get. As a result, you have a very short window - from when you can escort them to the enemy until they can get HN - to use them. It's almost never worth building more than 1-2 because if they fail, there is no second chance.