Alexander's Ever-Expanding Tome of Knowledge, pt 2

[HoneyBadger]

I'm not in a jarl-rage state.

When I go into a jarl-rage state, I turn blue and grow to 30 feet tall. I start singing, drinking mead, and killing things with battle-axes and giant swords. You don't want me to go into a jarl-rage state.

You...wouldn't like me...when I'm in a jarl-rage state.

[MaxWilson]

[cracks up]

-Max

[HoneyBadger]

I'm just going to keep on bumping this until someone stickies it.

[Edi]

It's not going to get stickied, period. Want an easy permalink to it, make one in your sig. There are other threads that are more worthy of being stickied, but aren't, so this one is not going to get any special treatment in that regard.

[SlipperyJim]

I don't think this would work for multi-player, but it's great against the AI.

Get "in his face" by taking a province near an AI opponent. If this province is a "chokepoint" on the map, that's ideal! Then defend the heck out of that province. If you have decent PD, buy as much as you can afford. If you have any commanders that summon allies (maybe even freespawns!), park a few in the province. Build a laboratory and set a couple of mages to monthly castings of some sort of cheap summon.

Basically, the idea is that the AI will try a big push with all available troops to kick you out of your province. If you can resist that push, then you can grind up an insane amount of your opponent's resources. Then, each subsequent attack will be easier and easier to repel. While he's wasting troops by throwing them against your unbeatable defense, your armies can conquer other provinces to add to your strength. He's stuck at a standstill, while you're still making progress. Guaranteed win for you!

A human opponent will figure out what you're doing quickly, and the trick probably won't work. But the AI seems to fall for it nearly every time.

[MaxWilson]

I'll mention in passing that another reason it's easier to defend a chokepoint than to attack armies is that you have easier access to gems for big combat spells (Flame Storm, Rigor Mortis, Shadow Blast, etc.).

-Max

[SlipperyJim]

Very true, MaxWilson.

To clarify: The point of the meat-grinder is not just strong defense. That's good, but it won't win the game. The point is to keep your opponent distracted and wasting resources while you are making progress elsewhere. He throws all of his troops into the meat-grinder. You capture provinces, search for sites, and generally build your empire.

Then you return and crush him when you have an overwhelming advantage.

Needless to say, this strategy works exceptionally well if you can combine it with some other strategy (or strategies) to strangle your opponent. For example, heavy use of spies, blasting his provinces with hostile magic, raiding parties behind the front lines, etcetera....