Power of the eye - now on 48 Quickhost

[WraithLord]

Shmonk, I want to thank you for a great game. For me the end game was a new experience and I have learned a lot about this phase. Yes, the game was close, though I had the (purely subjective) feeling I was getting the upper hand

The truth is I'm a bit disappointed that you chose to concede, for I had some real fun in the last few rounds of our "Armageddon" war. Nonetheless I understand very well the burden of the last turns and why you have reached your decision.

I want to thank all the players of this game. This evening I will post a compressed file containing Pythium turns in this game for whomever might find them interesting.

Edit: I forgot the mention how impressed I am with the way you have played base Ulm. Truly remarkable. I would really like to learn more about your strategy, if you don't mind sharing it that is.

[Shmonk]

Sorry for the slow response. You played a great game also. While I'd like to think I had a chance, I don't think I did. I was not prepared to launch any major assaults, I was still getting groups organized, and learning new spells and the best benefits.

I think the last few turns I threw up every global I had access to, just to see what would happen. As evidenced by the last round, getting Mechanical Militia and Fata Morgana right before all of your attacks, that actually helped stop 1 or 2 attacks, and cut down on your forces in the other attacks.

Attached is my last turn file (pwd = newulm1). No big strategy on my part. I used an enchantress that saw little or no battles, she was strictly a rainbow / site searcher - 3F 3A 2W 3E 3S 3D 3N. And I found a few libraries close by, so got sages pretty quickly. Having the rainbow mage got me into the sea quicker, and gave me some good income early.

Getting the alliance with you when I did helped, I was ready to expand into 1 or 2 nations, and making the alliance with you got me to go take out Marignon instead (nicely softened up by Ermor), then try and take out Man (which was a tough fight). Like a dummy, I started attacking Man while still at war with Arco, so I was getting attacked on 2 fronts. But I prevailed.

I had Gift of Health up early, and even Forge of Ancients up right after that, and made LOTS of items, so that helped with expansion too. I think I had 3/4 of the unique items at one point, that I had access to (no blood stuff). I forged what I could, just to see how it worked and which I liked best.

Anyway, feel free to peruse my turn file. No big strategy, just expand slowly, search, and got lucky with sages and good gem income. My final gem income was = 27F,30A,25W,33E,23S,12D,19N.

I hope to get this far in another game. Until we meet again WraithLord (changed your name).

Shmonk

[WraithLord]

Thanks for the insight on your strat.

For whomever might find this interesting I will give my account of the game.
The turn files I can't give as of yet as I am using the same passwd. for one of my current games (stupid, I know).

Usually I like to take an SC for pythium to get them started early with expansion. I have successfully used virtue in the past. Previous MP games exposed a weakness in one of my favorite strats. with pythium which is using large communions. Those were countered by spells that kill low HP targets on all the battlefield like earthquake for example. Those spells kill most of the communicants on round one. To counter that I took a S9F2 Oracle. The S9 gives twist of fate. The F2 I think was a mistake and I might gave done better with E4. I took scales order 3, sloth 3, heat 0, luck -2, magic 3 with castle.

First few rounds were very bad for me because I couldn't expand well. At that phase I considered the game forfeit. Then the communion circles started doing their work and my expansion has accelerated.

I had a peach agreement with R'lyeh. At that time Arco was the greatest power in the game by a large margin. So I started a war with Arco. During this war I've used the oracle as to teleport on large armies and astral tempest them. I have had many harbingers and A. angels which I used to raid his provinces. They proved to be a failure because they are to frail and Arco has hunted them all down. By the time he did the war was starting to go our way. IIRC I also delivered the coup de grace to Ermor. Finishing Arco proved to be a difficult task for he had created large armies of summoned critters.

Next target was R'lyeh. They had one tough army in Jotunheim. The army was made of something like four abominations and many starspwan mages casting enslave mind. The battles against this army were always spectacular. I have brought large armies against it, sometimes with more the thirty communicants. But time after time they were defeated. At the end it was attrition that killed this army.

research wise I rushed to astral tempest then wish. I then put an arcane nexus global up, I think I've put something like 200 extra astral gems into it. Indeed it had lasted for a long time allowing to cast wish each and every turn until the end. Wishing got me a thriving blood eco and I've summoned all the blood royalty. I kept them from doing much battles because I wanted them to be a surprise for you. At the end game I had all the blood royalty. In addition to two vampire counts, fallen angels and three wraith lords, which I didn't even get a chance to use in battle

All in all it was a fun game albeit somewhat time consuming. I want thank all the players and Griffin for hosting.

Oh and it is my first Dom-II MP victory, to be celebrated by bawdy dancing and feasting :-)

BTW,
Thought the new name more fitting than my university login...

[Shmonk]

Yes, thanks for hosting, Griffin, and good game by all others.

I don't remember my scales (I'm at work currently), but I have a hard time taking any negative scales, I usually take heat or cold 1, and that's it. Yet I see all players taking Order 3 Sloth 3 or some other combo of 3s. And I just have a hard time wanting to play those scales. I've tried them in SP, but maybe not the right combo. And I definitely did not have a bless strategy, that's my next goal, going for a strong bless strategy.

If you didn't guess/know already, I did dispel your Arcane Nexus. I think I dispeled one other of yours also. It just drove me nuts that when you got Arcane Nexus up, everything I was forging/casting was giving you gem income, and I hated that. So I saved up some astral, and got lucky and dispeled it the first time.

I can't wait to see your turn file, just to see your army. I've never fought pyth, so the communion guys was driving me nuts on trying to figure out how to best counter them. And your battles with R'lyeh were fun to watch, I don't believe I had any big battles like that (that I won, at least).

And I did the same thing on my first few MP games, using the same password. Doh!

[shovah]

if you want to try a bless strategy go with the reliable e9 n9 neifel jarls or the fragile and deadly f9+s/a9 flagelants. both are solid and also coem with nations with good units/mages

[WraithLord]

Shmonk, Now that the password is (and will) not used anymore I can attach the turn files.
Password is 040776

For some reason I can not find the starting turns but turn 57 until the end are attached.

[Oversway]

e9 n9 neifel jarls

These would be great troops but you arn't going to be able to afford very many... a dual bless eats up scales like crazy, and there arn't any cheap (like an immobile) with earth and nature. Would you use the earth mother?

[Shmonk]

Thanks!! I will check them out tonight. I take it you were using the same password in the RAND game (just reading the thread on that).

[shovah]

i usually do use great mother, but sometimes i go with a n9 e6 master druid (or even great mother) because your scales can be more forgiving (the e9n9 bless is amazing to make sc's out of neifels units because they have build in regen, reinvig and berserk (which means you can use them in groups because if they go berserk then it dosnt matter if one dies)

[WraithLord]

Shmonk said:
Thanks!! I will check them out tonight. I take it you were using the same password in the RAND game (just reading the thread on that).

Caught me red handed