Turn 6: Valentine's Day Massacre
Turn files:
Turn6.zip
Before we get to the massacre, I'd like to report some fantastic news: an Academy Underneath has been found in the Sea of Carassos! This chestnut of a magic site not only gives a free Kelp Fortress, but also allows the recruitment of Hydromancers! Hydromancers, the race responsible for the death of Haon Door, are potent water mages (W3) and DO NOT loose water magic on land.
Hot damn, land water magic is now a reality. This make Evocation a viable detour before I make landfall, which will give me Falling Frost, THE mainline water combat spell.
Even if I don't change the research plan, they'll give me Quagmire, which combined with Foul Vapors and Claymen will be nasty synergy.
But with that said, I'm not going to build a lab in that province quite yet. For one, the money is better spent on ichtycentaurs at the moment, as I have some catching up to do on the indy snatching front. But more importantly, I need scouts. Unlike land provinces, the seas lack any sort of indy scout, so if you want the intel you'll need to recruit from a fortress. And I REALLY want intel. The only way I'm going to have a shot at winning is if I can anticipate what I'm up against. [Noobs, this isn't unique to my situation; you ALWAYS want as many scouts as you can possibly get regardless of the nation. Make it a priority!]
Now on to the massacre part. It's with a heavy heart I report that Gorenigrai the Ichtyid Lord did not survive to be crowned Champion of the Arena. Though he did make it to the finals, albeit because R'lyeh was the only other nation that had the guts to send a competitor. [Noobs: always send someone!]
It was a close battle too. Gorenigrai squared off against a W1E1S1 Slave Mage that cast Personal Luck & Twist Fate before Gorenigrai could close to engage. In an extended exchange (read: tremendously long & boring), his opponent drew first blood, weakening Gorenigrai with a -4 Str affliction. Gorenigrai struck back, but the blow was negated by the Twist Luck. Then Gorenigrai landed a second blow, dealing 6 damage to his opponent - interestingly, had he not had the -4 Str, he'd have dealt 10 damage and killed the Slave Mage outright. But the Slave Mage counterpunched, landing a fatal blow and sending Gorenigrai back to the depths in a bodybag.
While disheartening, it was very interesting to learn that R'lyeh is pursuing an Alteration strategy. This is good news, as I'm sunk once he gets Soul Slay and Mind Hunt, neither of which are part of in the Alteration path. The only logical explanation is that he's going for a teleporting-Starspawns-of-doom approach, where he'll be kitting kit out his mages with a few cheap items and buffs for an Apocalypse Now type mobility campaign. Very interesting.
On the seduction front, Sade finally found love. And drowned him. Happy Valentine's Day. Wolf Tribes usually have 1 Shaman and 1 Barbarian commander, so she'll need to kill one more before I can take the province.
Our beloved Prophet successfully captured the North Pole Deeps, losing 4 ichtycentaurs to the trolls but convincing me he can take the remaining 5 trolls of Cruelean Sea without reinforcement. Interestingly, I noticed from last turn that the Hydromancer defending Creulean Sea has a Piercer equipped. This crossbow is usable underwater and deals 12 points of armor-negating damage [Noobs: This doesn't seem like much, but AN is really devastating. Since the expected value of a DRN is 3, this thing will do approximately 15 points of damage each time it hits, whatever it hits, without a defense roll.] This thing will come in handy vs. Glug if I can snag it, especially when wielded by someone with Eagle Eyes, so I'm sending a Mermage to join the attack in hopes of picking it up.
The 13-strong force of ichtycentaurs waiting in my capital is being sent to capture the Sea of Mermaids, which is guarded by 50 truly ugly mermaids. Risky again, but I need to make up for lost time, so I'm willing to take the chance.
From the score charts, Atlantis also acquired a 2nd fort this turn. Additionally he now has the largest army, though that chart is based on total size, so I'm guessing he's spamming size-5 War Lobsters. Those things can be tough as they're tramplers, but as such Tangle Vines should work pretty well against them. Of note, between the Academy Underneath & a Caves in the Deep located in the North Pole, I now have the highest gem income.