So, remind me, which Civ ARE we again???

[Arnelos]

Yeah, that would sorta make it TOO sickeningly powerful... commercial is powerful enough.

They could have afforded to give the Expansionist trait some more REX advantages than it has, though...

Then I'd always play England like I did in Civ2mp with my REXing strat

[Togas]

Conquistador Tactics:

I had a RoP with India (neighbor) while at war with Zulu. Traveled through India to surprise attack some key Zulu resources that were far from the front.

The bulk of my army was knights, mid. infantry, and muskets. Had about 6 Conquistadors who charged in first and caused havoc while my army did a more convential march and capture on musket-defended cities.

The six Conquistadors occupied enemy troops, cut roads, and were mostly killed off by the fourth turn of the assault, but that was all I needed of them. Four turns of mayhem and destruction, a victory against a mid. infantry for GA, and some attacks against wounded cavs that the enemy was trying to retreat.

Brief in my world history, but their contributions were legendary. We steamrolled the Zulus with infearior units.

--Togas

[Crousto]

On the same idea, a very effective tactic could also be a conquistador attack on the other side of the front via a caravel (how Spanish! ). Our opponents will have to think about defending all their strategical resources and building a complex road network if they want to prevent deadly conquistador rushes. However, cutting their resources will take a few turns to really affect them as when you've started building a unit, the production continues even if a needed resource has been cut out.

[Togas]

More thoughts on our Civ:

I continue to play new games of PTW with the Spanish.

The Celts didn't have any contact with me until the middle ages. When they declared war on my nation as a part of the Carthage-England-France coalition (Hannibal was the b*stard who brought them all together), they used their Redheaded Stepchildren who run around really fast but are pointless against knights and pikemen. They were easily killed, unlike the Numidian Mercs who were still annoying into the middle ages.

I built 1 Conquistador, killed a wounded knight, and never lost the guy. Entered my GA, bought off two of my enemies then beat down the other two. Once Spain enters GA, getting to Military Tradition is only a few turns away, you then have the cash to instantly upgrade all of your knights, and my civ never looked back. We ended the massive war on our terms getting everything we wanted (including Democracy) and after GA, switched to Demo and then had the game wrapped up.

Of note: I finally saw those Ottoman Siphani horseman in action vs. the English (for some strange reason, Osman was my best friend and trading partner throughout the game) a few years after my GA ended. Those units are amazingly potent, giving the Ottomans a very good GA and allowing them to conquer large areas of land in record time.

Carthage was the top civ most of the game and the leading political wrangler but once I bought off the Arabs, the pieces crumbled around them. The Arabs bought off the Koreans. Later the opportunistic Celts got involved. When the Turks decided to join, Carthage was done. ANY civ, no matter how powerful, rich, and influential can be destroyed by cooperation of the other civs. We should always use heavy diplomacy to weaken and destroy signifigant threats to our nation. The price is always, in my experience, worth it.

--Togas

[Arnelos]

I have seen the Ottoman Sipahi in multiple games (and for the same reason, I've been ALLIED to them). The Sipahi is, indeed, one hell of a unit. Even in one game where I was fighting a World War at the time of Infantry, Cavalry, Guerillas, and Artillery (all civs involved), the Sipahi has a higher attack value than any other unit in the game. Despite the Ottomans being the second smallest civ, they were a great ally due to those powerful units.

I'd hate to be ATTACKED BY the Ottomans during that peirod (though I had built m Maginot Wall of fortresses stocked with 2 infantry and 1 artillery each to guard the war border with extremely powerful England - my Maginot Line was the only thing that kept the English tide back, while offensively the Ottoman Sipahi went well with my own cavalry and infantry - and eventually tanks!). Was a great game.

[MrWhereItsAt]

It is clear that LI regard the Siphai as their one stop ticket to domination. Once they reach this they can no longer be trusted in the slightest - think of rogue state with top of the line nuclear weapons. We must therefore do all we can to prevent them getting and using these units.
Thus we have some choices:

1. Deny LI Horses and/or Iron: particularly important as they are about to get Milit Trad. We can't be too lax about this, as you can bet your cotton socks they will upgrade instantly if they fear losing hese resources, and if they didn't have them they wilkl do whatever necessary to get them, ast the expense of cahs, cities, reps and probably even MPPs and alliances.

2. Somehow become so powerful by then that their UU is not a threat

3. Deny LI Milit Trad until we have reached something even better (Tanks?)

4. Eliminate LI before Milit trad.

We will need to take advantage of our good working relationship with Legoland to encourage the other civs of our good intentions towards them, and LI's bad intentions towards ALL.

[Arnelos]

We can also attempt to get Replaceable Parts as soon as possible to nullify their advantage. Having infantry fortified behind either city walls or in a fortress I've found to be effective against even tanks. Fortifying artillery with them makes that defense almost entirely unstoppable, even for respectable stacks of Sipahi.

[GeneralTacticus]

MWIA: Don't you mean saltpetre? The Sipahai doesn't require Iron.

[DAVOUT]

Originally posted by Arnelos
We can also attempt to get Replaceable Parts as soon as possible to nullify their advantage. Having infantry fortified behind either city walls or in a fortress I've found to be effective against even tanks. Fortifying artillery with them makes that defense almost entirely unstoppable, even for respectable stacks of Sipahi.

I vociferously agree with Arnelos, we need UNSTOPPABLE FORTRESS !

[E_T]

Too bad we aren't industrious, that fortress line will take time to build (and stock).

E_T

[MrWhereItsAt]

Originally posted by GeneralTacticus
MWIA: Don't you mean saltpetre? The Sipahai doesn't require Iron.

I do, GT. I don't have the game yet, it is due in Oz today, although EB told me it likely won't be out 'till Monday. This is all peripheral to me anyway, until I go home to NZ and can actually PLAY PtW.

[History Guy]

Dear me. Well, only being a simple squid salesman myself with a taste for tacos, and squid, and enchiladas, and squid, I am perhaps unsuitable for making comments like this, but I shall anyway.

It seems that until we have actually started the game and encountered the Ottoman civilization first hand, it would be too premature to make these sorts of speculations, but all the same, it is helpful. For all we know, Osman might find himself in the middle of a small island, with no resources at all, but we never know. What is certain is this: the Ottoman and Celtic civilizations will always be problems for us if we find ourselves near them. They are both warmongered, the former more refined, but the latter is mad with the love of warfare. The latter fear neither fire nor iron, and they are fast as the wind. Before we could cry "Santiago", ranks of their men could be upon us. And so, it is our duty, for the good of our people (and our squids) to, if possible, isolate and contain the warmongering Celts, as well as the Ottomans. The Ottomans at first shall not prove as much of a danger, but we know that one day they may well be unstoppable (we know this from our oracles, right?), and so we must destroy, or incapitate them beyond repair before we get into the period which our seers call 'the Industrial Age'. I prefer, for my imperialist tastes, that we annex them early on if we are in a position to. If we cannot, we must pay someone else to do so. Preferably a mysterious civilization that cries out for venegeance against an Ottoman leader by the name of Trip. All of know of this civilization is that their leader is called the Tiger King. This hatred might come in useful. As for the Celts, I feel roughly the same, though the threat is more immediate. As soon as possible, these mad peoples must be extinguished.

[Togas]

Something to keep in mind:

There are some wonders we should be wary of. I built the Colossus in one of my test games and accidentally set off a GA.

We need to avoid wonders with the Commercial & Religious traits, or avoid combining them.

The following Wonders could cause an early and undesired GA:
Colossus = Commercial, Expansionist, Religious.
Great Lighthouse = Expansionist & Commercial
Oracle = Religious
Pyramids = Religious & Industrious
J.S. Bachs & Sistine = Religious

--Togas

[Nuclear Winter]

Originally posted by MrWhereItsAt

1. Deny LI Horses and/or Iron: particularly important as they are about to get Milit Trad. We can't be too lax about this, as you can bet your cotton socks they will upgrade instantly if they fear losing hese resources, and if they didn't have them they wilkl do whatever necessary to get them, ast the expense of cahs, cities, reps and probably even MPPs and alliances.

2. Somehow become so powerful by then that their UU is not a threat

3. Deny LI Milit Trad until we have reached something even better (Tanks?)

4. Eliminate LI before Milit trad.

1- This might be a possibility, but they are most likely to try and secure those at an early stage, at least horses. Also, as I think they won´t be giving us their map, we have almost no means to discover where they have ´em.
2 - Hardly possible, as they are surely going to lead the tech research.
3 - They´ll go straight for it. Hardly possible, IMHO.
4 - Possible,(and might I add, tempting , however, might only work in a worldly coalision against them; might be impossible to beat them single handed.

[mrmitchell]

Sistine? No! I love Sistine! (That is the one that makes Cathedrals work x2, right?)

In my same game I've been describing (I don't get many chances to play a lot) a Persian galley went by about 10BCE and I emptied the Spanish treasure storagehouses to get all the techs and WMs and comms we were missing...now we know every civ. My continent is like a string placed along the Equator, thus providing us lots of Jungle(hello rubber when I make it to Modern, ) but a lot of stuff to cut down. However, my incredible worker factories are on the task.
I am bordered on the W by Carthage, and on the E by India (I didnt know what the other teams civs would be at the start of the game so I just picked all random except Carthage.) I am producing 3 science beakers/turn(the highest I can go without losing cash) so I am mainly buying tech from everyone else. Haven't made it to Conquistadors yet, I am sure I will kick major @$$ when I do...

p.s. when I say "my continent" I mean I have to share it (for now) with the evil Carthaginians and Indians but soon it will all be mine.