Part 59: Lanka - Turn 4

I wish I had Rakshasa already, I really do.



Turn 4 - On Throwing Poop





They didn't quite kill all the unrest, but friendly dominion decreases unrest by a handful of points a turn. Once again, I micromanage the tax rate.

Who is that flag? Meet Hinnom, who worship King Hippomnomnomnom, played by buildscharacter. No army reported in that province, so not an immediate threat. But a disaster in terms of starting position placement, as any province held and with dominion this early is likely in his cap circle, and there really isn't anything I could have done about it.

Metagame commentary:
Buildscharacter is known for encouraging ganging up on the more threatening players early. I have a reputation, deserved or not, of being dangerous. Something to watch out for.



5 commanders is unusual, so let's take a look at the battle:




Aha! Sometimes the RNG seeds a few mages into the indeps. They do not reflect anything on the province, they're just random mages. In this case, Circle Masters with blood slaves and death gems. Circle Masters cast Raise Skeleton, which can be problematic for Supercombatants that rely on Fear and Awe. They also cast blood spells like Summon Imp.



I, however, happen to have brought along three priests, all of whom can cast Banishment, a spell that does wide-area damage to all demons and undead who fail to resist it.



Not that my demons need any priest support at all.




Surrounded and eliminated.



60 units, including archers, might be tricky. Deer Tribe have javelins too, meaning all 60 units will have a ranged attack. But the rear placement ought to mitigate serious damage. Once again, I choose not to use Hold and Attack for fear of stray arrows picking off my commanders.



I wouldn't normally make this attack. Wolf Tribe dual-wield daggers, making them dangerous to elite units like my sacreds. But my neighbors are far too close for my liking, so I've used my starting army to bring this attack up to strength.

Rather than rear placement, this is a very basic archer decoy. The killing force holds, while the decoy force is placed slightly closer, and moves in immediately. Indeps will almost always fire at the closest.
(Use #2 for the Lankan starting army: meatshields)

Speaking of, here are the units in question:


Markata Archers get a useless 6 damage, 20 range "Small Bow". They're dirt cheap, 6 per square, and decently high defense, but their tiny morale puts them in danger of routing without even engaging in battle.



Atavi Infantry have a range=strength damage=strength-3 "Sticks and Stones" ranged attack, notable because it fires twice a round (and also because its a euphemism for throwing poop, I think). They're 3 per square and stealthy, if led by a stealthy commander. Even so, they have none of the advantages of Markata but basically all of the same weaknesses.

Recruitment this turn:


Starting to make a majority of Palankashas. This'll be the last turn I draw attention to recruitment unless something diverges from the mage+sacreds formula.

Speaking of different recruits, this guy is new this turn:



He gets a 33% chance at A3, B3, or D2, which is pretty damn good all round, because A3 casters are handy in battle. Plus he has great stats and ok equipment, can self-bless, and is guaranteed A2, which means he is a potential thug after adding bare-bones equipment.

A thug is a commander that can solo province defense or independents, usually with a small amount of equipment and self-buffs. Thugs in teams might be able to take on early-mid game armies. A2 has access to Mistform, an important personal buff that synergizes with regen from the bless, and to Cloud Trapeze, a teleportation spell.

Next turn: Meet the neighbors