Commerce is population 12 now. If we whip it down to 4, then even if we regrow at 1 pop per 3 turns, it would take 27 turns to reach 12 again. I don't think we can sustain that growth rate, and in the meantime our cottages aren't being worked... Do we really need those troops that badly?
OK, I can understand the hesitation regarding Commerce.
Maybe we don't need to whip them
all down to 4. Here are some rough calculations
With 1 turn invested in a Catapult (with lets say 5 hammers), we 2 pop whip it and get ~20 overflow into the next build, another Cat. The next turn we 1 pop whip it for ~5 overflow.
So, every 3 turns, we can produce 2 Cats, and lose 2 pop. (Obviously our Granary keeps growing, so most cities will regain 1 pop in the 3 turns)
X-Bows cost a little more (60), so with 1 turn invested, we can 2 pop whipwith not much overflow). So, 1 X-Bow every 2 turns.
Spears cost 35, so we can easily 1 pop whip it every 2 turns.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If we do Cats in 3 cities (ie Clams, Paris & Commerce) for 6 turns, we get 12 Cats and they all lose 4 pop in each.
If we do X-Bows in Production & Barb City for 6 turns, we get 6 X-bows and lose 4-5 pop in each.
GP Farm can whip the 2 spears we need easily.
So, in 6 turns, we have the basis of our SoD. 12 Cats, 6 x-bows, 2 spears. Our cities will have shrunk 4 or 5 pop.
CS is in 4 turns, so some whips can be Maces instead.
