Well MB, my intention was not to wear you into submission with endless argument, really.
I honestly just don't see this issue in as black and white terms as you do. I have been in as many or more SE4 multiplayer games as you, and while I don't consider myself near the skilled player as you are, perhaps my lack of success in games give me a perspective on the issue the you cannot appreciate.
You always use PBW, and you always win. You have made the conclusion then that using PPB is a recipie for success. I cannot argue that you are sucessful, but I reject the notion that you are succesful because you use PPB, that is all.
I have lost as many or more games that I have won. I have also tried several methods in my games. I have won and lost using PPB, and I have beaten and been beaten by players using PPB. In my opinioin, from my experience I do not see the extreme benefit that you see to using PPB. And I can see effective counters to a player that uses PPB, beacause I have had them used on me when I was using PPB.
So for me the question has been not simply a matter of proving a preconceived notion as it appears to have been for you. When given the statment that PPB are unbalanced, I have attempted to view it dispationetly and objectively as is possible and come up with a way to define whether or not it is in fact unbalenced.
I have attempted to view the argument from both sides, and have in fact changed my mind several times during the course of this thread. So for me at least this discussion has served a very valid purpose.
I am sorry if you have become frustrated by it, but with a problem with as many variables as this it is not always so simple to reach a conclusion. At least not for me.
But even if I disagree with you on this one issue, my respect for you as a strategist and Se4 player has no bounds. You have tought me much in our games (although they have been too infrequent to my liking
) and even more in our discussions on this forum.
Geoschmo