[Norfleet]

Originally posted by GavinWheeler:
Soooo... a self-confessed Ermor fan is effectively saying "no need to gang up and squash Ermor before it gets rolling, just give me twenty turns or so then all come at me one by one"?

That is hardly what I am saying at all: What I am saying is that many times playing *AS* Ermor, I've run into the confused panic of other players....who rush at me willy-nilly with no sense of plan or attainable objective, and die.

This is incredibly stupid.

Sun Tzu, "Art of War"
Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.

Hence the enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution. This is the way to keep a country at peace and an army intact.

At the same time, in games I am playing AGAINST Ermor, as another nation(I've actually played more Mictlan than Ermor!), I feel no compulsion to rush. While it is true that Ermor's mass of rabble grows larger the longer I leave it alone, they are just that: A mass of meaningless rabble, usable only as cannon fodder, and easily dispatched in the hundreds if the right tactics are used. The wrong tactics, naturally, spell certain doom.

When fighting Ermor, you must always be mindful of guarding your flank: The nature of Ermor's troop-raising is such that Ermor can afford to attack in many places at once: You must be careful not to allow him to cut you off, and you must not overextend yourself into his territory, for then you will find yourself surrounded and cut off: Always be certain that your fallback position is secured from attack: If a battle goes badly against an Ermorian army, it is inevitably the case that your troop screen will be routed first: This will then result in your commanders routing: If are not able to maintain a fallback position, you will be wiped out to the Last man: If you can secure a point of retreat, you will preserve the most expensive and important component of your army: Your mages and priests.

Fighting Ermor is not like fighting other nations: Blitzing through empty provinces and beelining for his capitol or other apparently important provinces is useless. Ermor has few, if any, important provinces, and those that he values are not necessarily manifestly obvious. When you fight Ermor, you are fighting for ground, not for specific provinces. Advance slowly, cautiously, and relentlessly. Do not squander your men and material on pointless attacks.

Never act rashly: Ermor may grow more powerful with time, but so do you: Ermor's numbers are not your primary threat, merely your ticket into the hall of fame.

[ April 11, 2004, 18:42: Message edited by: Norfleet ]