Turn 97, 630 BC

[nbarclay]

The worker isn't idling, exactly. He's waiting to be added to Hurricane the same turn the mine finishes so we can get up to 30 shields a tad sooner. There isn't any job he could be assigned to that could be finished in time for that, so he pretty much has to stand and wait somewhere. Why not where it can do us some good?

[notyoueither]

We need the Iron covered.

/Edit, but using the scout WC around SS and leaving the other WC on the Iron works too.

[Theseus]

Idling a Worker is not a big deal... better to keep combatant units available for the fray.

For that matter, I ask that everyone continue to consider Workers as potential "building seeds"... it can make a big difference, much more so than the actual benefit of short-term Worker tile actions.

[Aeson]

I see the point about the Worker. Another turn of Hurricane at 30 shields is much more worthwhile than another turn with the road in place.

Should we build a Harbor in Hurricane? It would be a reasonably well timed build, 3 more turns at 29 (28? 27?) shields per turn?

[Velociryx]

Beautiful! Looks like solid defenses in Arashi, and plenty of Mojo for them if they are unwise enough to step off of the protection offered by the mountains (if they split toward Sandstorm, I count eight WC's that can reach them in the plains....that's a major owie.

Odds are excellent though, that they'll be attacking Arashi....my guess would be on their next turn. I predict that it will break the stack, and stall their offensive.

-=Vel=-

[nbarclay]

Theseus, I can sympathize a great deal with your desire to shift to an offensive mode, but if Vox forks Arashi and Tempest and/or gets lucky around Hurricane and/or lands a couple more immortals around Hurricane, we'll need all the defenders we can get. Also, I think there's a great chance our first offensive opportunities will be a galley strike or two at Vox's iron supply, and that calls for pikes, not horsemen.

Further, as long as Vox is threatening Hurricane, pikes can free up swordsmen for upgrade to medieval infantry. And releasing a prospective medieval infantry for offensive instead of defensive use can be just as valuable as building one, right? Edit: Removed some redundancy.

[Aeson]

Anyways, I'm logging off again. Play this one out quick, everything discussed works (or can be corrected easily ), and this is our best chance to ditch the 'slow team' label... pawn if off on Vox at least for easter.

[nbarclay]

One big question left (if Theseus is okay with what I posted): which would be more valuable to us, short-rushing a pike in Bolderberg instead of getting another WC, or rushing a cat in Sandstorm?

[nbarclay]

I went ahead and moved our northern WC 9 (it occurred to me that 9-2 accomplishes a little more than 6-1) and our new galley 4-4-8-8. Nothing interesting to report.

[nbarclay]

Our cat hit. Vox now has a reason to think bypassing Arashi might be less than entirely safe. Edit: and now that their spearman is injured, any future cat hits would weaken veteran immortals.

[notyoueither]

I think 1 Pike at BB prior to resuming fast movers might be a good idea.

/Edit. Cheaper too.

/Edit again. And next turn we can rush a Pike at Arashi and a MedInf at Tornado.

[nbarclay]

Still weak compared with Vox and average compared with RP after upgrading our warrior to a medieval infantry.

[nbarclay]

I'm hoping this will be the last turn where we're desperate enough to spend cash rushing troops. Rushing troops provides no real investment leverage, except insofar as it might make a war a little faster and cheaper. I think the rushing leverage is better elsewhere (e.g. an aqueduct in Tempest or courthouses in outlying cities).

[notyoueither]

We are nowhere near safe, and short rushes at Tornado for offensive power would be money very well spent.

/Edit. And Cats elsewhere.

[nbarclay]

I like the idea of a pike for two reasons: (1) it gives us more total power if Vox forks Tempest and Arashi and (2) it gives us a better chance of freeing up a pair of pikes for an anti-road offensive in the west (in case our eastern galleys and/or pikemen are too tied up for an eastern strike in the same timeframe).