MP: DHG - Deadhouse Gates. Game over. Brettonia (WL) wins.

[WraithLord]

I personally think that the game result, Bretton win, is inevitable.

However, Nehk is so well defended that it may take a *very* long time to take his VP. While erecting a stellar defense I don't Nehk can hope to mount a meaningful, game changing, counter offensive.
Of course Bretoon can try to take another VP, and for that matter any other VP is less defended than what Nehk has (as I learned this very turn ). But such a maneuver will also take quite a long time.

So either we call this game over now or prolong it for who knows how long just to get to the same immutable result. Now, as much as I love dominions, I can't say I'm enjoying these last turns. I find them boring and tedious and it's sheer discipline that keeps me doing them pedantically.

So, I would appreciate not prolonging the game but of course can cont. dutifully playing these extremely tedious turns for the weeks or months to come if any of you think there's a chance to turn this game around.

[LoloMo]

I'm also willing to concede. The dwarves are quite a difficult race to play, and my chances were quite low from the start. By the end, I was just hoping to be a nuisance to whoever was the current leader. The continuous armageddons quite decimated me and the last few turns, I couldn't even be much of a nuisance to anyone. I'm actually quite surprised that the armageddons did the least damage to the brets.

Congrats to WL for the win. I can imagine the micro needed the last few turns!

[WraithLord]

Thank you guys for graciously agreeing not to needlessly prolong the game.
Playing a ~110 size empire w/ blood economy (quite thriving actually even after the Armageddon chain) and 250+ gem income is a serious time consumer. I invite you to take a look at my turns to get a sense of it.

A short AAR is in place.

I tried many builds for this game but ended up choosing (yet again) a S9 scales Oracle.
My starting location was both great & terrible. It was secluded but located in some sort of desolated area w/ most of the provinces low on population and gold.

It was only towards mid game that I pushed into the mainland that my gold income started to catch up.
My first real war was vs. Itza. And what a war that was. don_pablo plays well and we had many entertaining battles.
At the end Bretonnia took the upper hand and captured 2 VPs from Itza (what w/ former Empire VP).

I was then content to let my then ally Nehekara to do his thing and expand & grow. Only later, almost too late I noticed that I'm faced w/ two choices. Either go to war w/ Nehekara or accept his victory.
Thus our alliance was severed and a war to dwarf all wars has begun. Truly this was an epic war, taking into consideration the size of our two respective kingdoms.
The war raged and surged and knights blood has wet dry tomb kings bones in the aftermath of numerous clashes.
Legendary monsters were summoned to wreak havoc only to be slain later by teleporting armies.
Mages feared for their lives since even the very earth could spew forward deadly elementals.
And then, ever so slowly, the tomb kings armies were pushed back towards the desert grave yards from whence they came.
It was then that Althea, vampire queen and terrible wielder of arcane magiks has created the arcane nexus, only to use the rivers of astrals it produced to wish that the very earth tremble and shake and meteors strike down.
The poor human population thus decimated Bretonnia's mages had to turn into the dark arts learnt from a lone refuge of a dying faraway empire. And so rituals of blood and death took place and terrible monsters were summoned.
Fair Bretonnia has become a land of nightmares. It's victory made hollow by Althea's curse. May she rot in hell!

This game was really enjoyable. I want to thank all the players, esp. Stagger Lee, Catquiet & LoloMo who made it to the very end.

I plan to start a new game Memories of Ice soon. I was thinking EA, no mod nations (yes CBM), and small game (8-12) players.
You are all welcome to join and/or make suggestions re. the settings

[Catquiet]

Reserve Lanka for me.

[Stagger Lee]

Congratulations WL.

[Catquiet]

If you are taking suggestions for Memories of Ice, how about a ban on Grendlekin? They seem overpowered to me. I feel obligated to have my nation be able to summon them, like I used to feel obligated to be able to forge clams.

[WraithLord]

Next CBM will likely increase their cost. But that will probably be too late for us.

I could make a modified CBM w/ their cost increased...

[Catquiet]

Or maybe reduce their HP to 150.