Round Six: 300 AD to 820 AD
After having mulled things over for a bit, I decided the best strategy would be to make Alexander my friend as much as I could. The borders may have been a problem, but Monty is the most powerful civ on the continent and I didn't think I could trust him.
So, with that in mind, I continued along my tech path... first Currency, then Monarchy, then Civil Service, then I picked up Meditation as I could get it in one turn. I got some techs in trade, more on that later. When I finished this turn, I had my research set to get Machinery.
At any rate, since Monty was going to be my rival, I made a switch in my religion:
And after getting Monarchy, I changed civics.
As expected, Alexander remained cautious because of the close borders, but the shared religion will help counter that. Also, when Alex gets Monarchy and Hereditary Rule, that will also help win relations with him.
I did try to get Alex to swap Monarchy and some gold for Calendar, but he didn't bite. He was, however, willing to make another trade later.
I decided it was best to part with Alphabet... it's getting to the point that the others will be heading in that direction, and I'm also hoping to win favors with him so that he may eventually come assist me against Monty.
Before I got Meditation, I got my next Great Scientist.
He would have given me Compass if I lightbulbed anything. Given that Compass isn't that expensive of a tech, I decided to have him settle in Moscow.
And then, I spotted Monty patrolling my border with a few units, and just as I suspected, Monty wanted to start trouble.
Of course, the way he started trouble was by attacking my super stack while it was on a jungle hill. The Jaguars and Axemen who attacked all fell to my Axemen, and then when he sent his Archers onto a grassland square, they were easy pickings. I'll bet that stupid grin got wiped off Monty's face quickly once he saw how badly the battles went.
My units are now pushing toward Texcoco and I noticed a Horse Archer in the jungle on my way. I checked combat odds, which weren't in the favor of my units, so I'm letting him come closer to my territory so he'll end up on flat lands and I can use a couple of Axemen to take him down. I'll be building Spearman as soon as possible.
I made another tech swap with Alex... I figured I needed to bite the bullet and get tech and gold from him, especially since it's obvious he's beelining to Machinery himself.
And on my final turn, my gamble of delaying a certain Wonder paid off.
As I said earlier, aggressive AI civs tend not to pursue Literature. Heck, somebody was more interested in building Chichen Itza than the Great Library.
Which thus brings the latest turn to a close. Things to consider at this juncture.
* Texcoco isn't that well defended... Monty has an Axeman, a Catapult, a Horse Archer and a promoted Archer for city defense in there, with 50 percent defense from culture and walls. My superstack is just inside his borders... I'm staying on jungles and jungle hills to get the defensive advantage. Would it be wise to split my superstack into two stacks to lure that Catapult out, then press toward the city, bombard and prepare to attack?
* What should come after Machinery? I'm debating on getting Horseback Riding as it wouldn't take too many turns. Music can probably wait as Military Tradition is still quite a ways away. Paper is also available and Engineering would also come in handy for Pikemen and increased road movement. In fact, I think Engineering would be the best pick.
Saved game is attached, thoughts are most welcome.