Rat 41 CCM - AW a first attempt

[Northern Pike]

The Siamese move before the Carths, so by your principle we should abandon Konya. That's fine--probably simplest.

I had a look at the save, I'd say rush the university in Florence after it finishes its knight next turn.

Milan has more population and more commerce than Florence, so I assume you're suggesting this because you think that Milan can build its university normally (in eight turns). But we really don't want to give up eight turns' worth of knight output from Milan at this point, so I'd stick with Leader-rushing the uni there.

 

[vmxa]

Who killed the Greeks, was it someone we know?

If we lose the town and they get some gold, lets hope it is Carthage. We can then get even more gold for taking it back, presuming we do not elect to abandon the place. I have to look to have an vote on that yet.

Edit:
Now that I have read the rest of the posts, I would agree abandon, if Indo goes before Carthage.

 

[M60A3TTS]

I got it. With Konya being pop 1, does it really matter who gets it? If it was pop 8-10 I'd look at it more closely.

The first thing I have to do is set the colored disks in preferences. I can't always tell who's who.

 

[vmxa]

I see a spear that is set to cut our direct link to Iznik that we can kill. Not sure if that was mentioned. We are going to have to take a run at those lancers soon. Maybe we could put a slave for them to get off the hill, else we will just have to wear them down.

We really do not want them to cut dozens of roads.

Konya is size 1, but it has over 200 culture, so it should not autoraze. It has to be adandoned.

Edit:
Another option is to use arqs to blcok them and force them to attack or get off the hills.

 

[Northern Pike]

We weren't told who wiped out the Greeks. It was a passive-voice construction--"The Greeks have been destroyed".

We have kept one link to Iznik, from the SE. Other than that, I was determined not to take losses fighting in the hills just to avoid pillaging, when Iznik will never have enough food to be important and we can just cross the mountains farther south at Edrine. We're doing well, but we certainly can't afford to trade knights one for one with the AI's slow units.

 

[vmxa]

I understand we do not like to trade knights with lancers, but I do not see how we can just let them run amok. The road the spears sits on now is the fastest route to Iznik from Rome. We surely can spare a legion or even two to stop that one.

Anyway 3 firelancers will cut a lot of roads in the next turn set, if they are not stopped. We need three knights to hit one and hope for the best. Retreating is our best hope, till we can wear one down and kill it.

They can stay in the hills all the way to Antalya and then worse case is they stack up. Hitting them while they are alone is our best shot, unless we can get them off the hills soon.

Edit:
The thing is to me that we will have to face them at some point and I do not see why we want to lose a bunch of roads just to save a few knights that we make in one turn.

 

[vmxa]

I got it. With Konya being pop 1, does it really matter who gets it? If it was pop 8-10 I'd look at it more closely.

The first thing I have to do is set the colored disks in preferences. I can't always tell who's who.

It is not easy and I use a 31 color palette.

 

[ThERat]

With fast units we have the advantage that we got a lot of retreats in CCM, so I would attack some of the arques, we ping them a bit and at least they retreat.

Hopefully once we advance, we can get those enemies on flat land.

As Indochina moves first, we can abandon the city, we would lose a monk culture bomb though.

 

[Elephantium]

I'm more bothered by the idea of abandoning the city than by losing the culture bomb. I thought someone said that monks were in relatively short supply, but from what I saw in my set, we've ended up with more of them than we can use for a while.

It does sound like everyone is agreed on abandoning the city rather than letting it fall into Indochinese hands.

 

[Northern Pike]

I'm more bothered by the idea of abandoning the city than by losing the culture bomb. I thought someone said that monks were in relatively short supply, but from what I saw in my set, we've ended up with more of them than we can use for a while.

Yes, we have so many unemployed monks in the north I sent one south. They're good for suppressing resistance during the safe interturn, though.

I think monks and later artists are going to be to CCM AW what armies are to C3C AW--the original idea is that they're rare and special, but when we fight this many battles, a large supply of them can be taken for granted though the timing is sometimes frustrating.

 

[M60A3TTS]

Start by setting team color disks in preferences.

MGL heads for Milan

The town of Konya goes poof.

Vet Legion kills a regular Asian spear to preserve the road linking Rome to Iznik. (1-0)

IBT- Polish city of L’vov completes Sacred Music. AI dances around a bit, but no direct attacks. The usual naval bombards.

1535AD (1)
Bombarde takes out Carthaginian arqe (2-0) I check and see Carthage is at 10 cities. 16450 gold in their bank. We’ll have to do a withdrawal.

Rush uni in Milan with our MGL.

Lose elite knight in a stack of 3 Carthage vet knights on a hill and do no damage. (2-1)
Kill one of his (3-1)
And another (4-1)
Lose one of ours (4-2)
Finish off the last. (5-2)

Yogi a Carthaginian knight in front of Hippo Regius (6-2)

Wonsan needs a taxman

IBT
Yogi is killed by Carthage knight that goes red outside Hippo Regius.
Worker is killed by Arabian phant that pops out of the fog
Arque killed behind walls of Uskudar by Carthage knight (6-5)

1540AD (2)
Kill Carthage knight that drew blood at Uskudar. (7-5).
Red Carthage knight is beheaded at Hippo Regius. (8-5)
Kill another Carthage knight near Hippo Regius by one of ours. (9-5)

Indochina approaching between Uskudar and Iznik with 8 fast movers.
Kill phant with knight (10-5)
Kill knight with knight (11-5)
Rinse and repeat (12-5)
Cut loose Yogi Bear on another knight (13-5)
Missionary tries his luck on another knight but has none. (13-6)
Yogi-3 convinces that knight to vanish (14-6)
Another Yogi repeats the performance (15-6)
At Aydin, knight kills red Carthage knight (16-6)
Bombarde drops a fire lancer at Edirne (17-6)
Treb drops a phant at Rostov (18-6)

IBT
Yogi fends off a phant (19-6)
But can’t fend off another eastern knight (19-7)
2 Arab phants are spent trying to push off two of our knights in the mountains (21-7)
Another one takes out his frustration on an arque (21-8)
Istanbul riots, not sure why. Must have been Carthage pike occupying a tile.

1545AD (3)
The phant with an arque to his credit is no more (22-8)
3 elite attacks with knights on arque result in 1 dead and 2 retreats at Hippo.
Vets now move in and we swap 1-1 with a retreat mixed in. (23-9)
Redlined arque is torched (24-9)
Knight drops an LB and we’re into Hippo Regius. (24-9). City has a castle fwiw.
Fire off a monk for border expansion
Bombarde drops Carthage pike at Bursa. (25-9)
At Uskudar, 2 knights drop 2 from Indochina (27-9)
Yogi an Indochina LB for a monk. (28-9)
Praetorian takes down a knight after one of ours perished in a first strike. (29-10)
Drop 2 fire lancers at the cost of a knight at Edirne (31-11)
Elite knight frags an Arabian bombarde. (32-11)

IBT
Interesting development as an Indochina ship attacks a Carthage one off our shores. So we have a couple wars going on in the west.
China finishes Potala Palace.
We lost the praetorian to a knight but not before sending an enslaver packing. (33-12)
Get a shipment from Great Iron Mine.

1550AD (4)
Yogi drops an eastern knight. They sound like fog horns. (34-12)
As an experiment, I fire off another monk at Hippo, but no border change.
Trade a knight with Carthage at Hippo. (35-13)
At Padova, the enemy has made an appearance.
Elite knight drops Vike MI (36-13)
A missionary convinces a spear to go bye-bye. (37-13)
Knight kills a spear (38-13)
Enslaver eliminates a zerk (39-13)
Legionary wipes out another (40-13)
Knight takes down catapult (41-13)

IBT
Missed the fact that a zerk was next to a pair of workers covered by a legion at Venice.
Legion killed and 2 workers nabbed. (41-16)
The Carthaginian fleet bombarding our coast has vanished north, presumably to trouble Indochina.



1555AD (5)
Legion kills the raiding zerk (42-16)
Drop another zerk (43-16)

At Cheju
Legion drops an Egyptian LB (43-16)
Legion forces a treb to retreat and then another legion finishes the job (44-16)

Elsewhere 2 knights drop 2 Russian LBs (48-16)
Knight drops Russian arque (49-16)
Drop 2 Indochina knights but lose an enslaver (51-16)
Drop another but lose a missionary. (52-17)
Drop 2 more using elite knights north of Uskudar and gain an MGL

IBT
More Indochina troops keep showing up, and kill both our knights north of Uskudar.
Trade Egypt a legion for an MI by Cheju. (55-20)
Despite the losses, production is more than making up for them.
Maya finishes Doge Palace

1560AD (6)
Lose 2 elite knights, but 3 Carthage arques eliminated and Leptis Magna falls. (58-22)
Trade Egyptian pike for knight (59-23)
Trade legion for vike pike (60-24)
Missionary converts an Egyptian knight. Monkfish for everyone tonight.
Then lose an elite enslaver redlining another one. (61-25)
Send missionary after the two retreating workers, only to end up next to another of their stacks. Ugh.

IBT
Vikes kill off wounded missionary (61-26)

1565AD (7)
At Uskudar, trade missionary for Asian spear. (62-27)
Knight drops Egyptian arque at Cheju.
Remove 3 Russian LBs with missionary, 2 knights. (65-27)
MGL rushes university in Florence
Move forces in a position to attack the Carthage city of Sabathra next turn.

IBT
Russia loses a bombarde attacking knight on Mount Moscow (66-28)
Carthage removes a phant and sails 2 ships from Sabathra. Thank you.
Physics-> ballistics in 10. The Roman Senate goes obsolete.

1570AD (8)
Bombarde takes out arque at Sabathra which is on a hill. For stealth attack, only 2 showing. Elite knight takes out the second and city is ours. Drop the runaway phant and draw another MGL. (69-28)
Knight drops an LB at Leptis Magna. (70-28)
Yogi Bear downs an eastern knight near Hippo (71-28)
Enslaver drops another one (72-28)

Against the vikes at Padova
Praet falls to pike (72-29)
Legion kills MI (73-29)
Legion kills zerk (74-29)
Enslaver pops pike (75-29)

Knight drops Russian LB near Moscow. (76-29)

IBT
Carthage must have had an enslave in Sabathra which the AI pulled out. It knocks off a red knight which good news is becomes a worker. (76-30)

1575AD (9)
Kill the enslaver and take the worker. (77-29?)
Get 2 arques and a LB at Russicade with knights. Sink boats to boot. (80-29)
Detonate monk at zero feet. Russicade borders expand.
Knights head north and we’ve discovered Carthage.
Drop 2 zerks at Padova.
Monikify a phant at Moscow. (83-29)
Bombarde another one. (84-29)

IBT
Lose a knight to an LB at Carthage (84-30)
Carthage missionary kills Arab bombarde near Moscow.

1580AD (10)
Back off the knights to 2 away from the city of Carthage and move in the SoD. Next up has 17 to play with, depending on the IBT
Next, we play dueling missionaries at Moscow with the Carthaginians. It wasn’t American Idol, but we prevail. (85-30)
Rush uni at Turin.

At Padova.
Lose legion, kill Egyptian MI and pike (87-31)
Kill an Egyptian MI, but not before it takes out a knight and a legion. (88-33)
Pick off a Russian LB. And done. (89-33)

All the roving bad guys are cleared out in the west. Indochina doesn't seem to know how to play with two enemies to choose from. In the east, when Krasnodar hits pop 2 it would make a good capture and narrow the frontage.

 

[ThERat]

ThERat-
CommandoBob -
Northern Pike -
M60A3TTS-
Elephantium - up
vmxa

Just had a quick look at the save. Our capital is producing knights at 48spt, colossal waste if you ask me. I think we could actually try and finish one of those science wonders in 8 turns. And after that, we should produce 1 turn arques.

As for the Carthage cities, I would starve them with scientists instead of employing those clowns.

And please do remember that with ballistics, our Roman forts are going to be obsolete.

 

[vmxa]

"As an experiment, I fire off another monk at Hippo, but no border change."
Check the cuture required for next pop in the city view. It will be 1000 and Monk gives 100 or 200 with the correct religion. IOW it cannot make a second pop.

Glad to gear the Carthage boats departed. Not so sure about Indo maybe getting their gold and towns.

Ah, what gold did we get on the towns that were captured?

 

[Elephantium]

Got it.

Ballistics will come in on my turn. I'm assuming I should target Jurisprudence next -- it's next on the way to Military Tradition.

Looks like Uskadar-Iznik is pretty clear for now. Hopefully I can keep the AI focused further west.

Speaking of west, I see we have a nice heavy stack of Knights in place to attack Carthage next time. Magnificent.

Is there anything I should keep in mind before I rain destruction upon the heads of our hated foes?

Edit: ThERat, Rome can produce one-turn Knights if we take a square away from Genoa. Doing so doesn't stop Genoa from producing 3-turn knights, so I think I'll do that once Cope's comes in.

 

[vmxa]

We probably want to switch any taxmen to science. Elephantium I would switch the knight in Rome to Newtons, gives 6 cpt rather than 4cpt for Copes or else they are the same.

I would suggest that a Wat go up there next. The town will grow right after that. You may want to look at taking a tile from Genoa at that point to gain more shields. I did not check to see if we have any break points there, but Genoa has a large over run on Knights anyway.

 

[vmxa]

Things are looking up a bit now. Jurisprudence will be painful for us as Muskets will be on the scene with defense of 6. We will have Hussars, but many of our units will be out classed.

 

[Elephantium]

Pre-turn:

Move a Knight near Venice to cover a Worker.
Switch Rome to Newton's and take a tile from Genoa; Newton's due in 7 instead of 8.
MM Moscow for growth and change build from Fort to Royal barracks.
Istanbul gets a geek

Note to self: MM Milan for shields next turn. It'll hit 25spt.
Leptis Magna switches all citizens to paranoid geeks. Their paranoia is justified; in six turns, most of them will be dead.
Bursa works another hill to shave a turn off Academy. It needs more happiness before it can work more tiles, anyway.
Wonsan starts growing again (it has lots of happy faces).
Rostov switches from Harbor to Wat; it only makes 3spt anyway.
Pusan switches tiles for 4-turn Knights rather than 5-turn knights
MM Florence for growth; Windmill still due in 3.
Stop starvation at Cheju.

I'm tempted to change Aydin to an Arque from Legion (due in 6 instead of in 4). What do you guys think?

Hire some geeks in Sabratha
MM Turin for growth; after the Uni completes, it can make 2-turn Arques.
Switch Rusicade to Arque.
Antalya switches tiles for faster growth
Orenberg switches from Harbor to Slavery; after that, I'll start a Windmill, then a Royal Barracks, then Arques (or another military unit).
Why are we building a Christian Community in Modena? Wouldn't a Wat or Windmill or Roman Symbol be more helpful?

Other thoughts:

The western front is quiet, but it is VERY long. I'll press hard at Carthage and try to roll that front up to Indochinese lands.

The eastern front has some Viking units strolling around, but it sounds like they're not pressing us very hard. I'll continue the cat-and-mouse game with them, and once Krasnoyarsk grows, we'll take it.

In Russia, I'll fight defensively at Moscow and gather forces for a push northward. They have a city in the fog, and once we have that, we might be able to push the front away from Venice and over to the shores of that fjord to the east.

Finally ... I'm tempted to construct a combat mountain road to Udong (NW of Genoa) and repeat the pattern of the attack on Iznik from my last turnset. OTOH, we probably can't spare the units to get a sufficient stack for that. Still, it's worth keeping in mind for later.

 

[M60A3TTS]

When we got Physics, I didn't catch on that the loss of the Roman Senate cut production by 25%. Feel free to change the Modena build from Christian Community.

On the wonders, I don't have a strong enough feel for where we are tech wise. In my own emperor game I'm currently on, I tried to build both but only got one of the two.

 

[vmxa]

Go ahead and switch to Arq as far a I am concerned. Legions are not going to do much, till they can be upgraded. I am guessing we have more than we will be able to upgrade, but maybe most are gone by now.

 

[vmxa]

On the wonders, I don't have a strong enough feel for where we are tech wise. In my own emperor game I'm currently on, I tried to build both but only got one of the two.

Not sure where others are on Copes/Newtons, but hopefully we can get one. A decent boost for us and one less for an enemy. No contacts for most, but none that we know have Physics or University.