Part 18: Puzzle (1 of 2)

Part 18: Puzzle (1 of 2)



Next up we have a map that looks like a few puzzle pieces about to come together. Let's take a closer look:



We have another large-size map today. While not exactly a symmetrical start, the map is actually pretty even. Sure, Blue starts with an extra five cities from the middie island. However our half of that island has an extra city and an extra port, so as long as we can fight off Blue's initial advantage, we'll end up coming out ahead.


Turn 1



The challenge of the day is No Fly Zone, where our aircraft cannot end turn on our starting island, unless at an airport. So I'll have to load up these mechs on the next turn with the copters still at the airport, preventing me from purchasing additional ones and slowing down our initial expedition to the central island. Our extra cash goes towards a couple more footsoldiers, who will get used next turn.



Blue only builds one copter for some reason, which is fine by me. Anything less than optimal building will slow down Blue's own invasion.


Turn 2



Landers aren't very efficient for transporting footsoldiers around, but I couldn't build any more copters this turn anyway. The three mechs and one infantry from last turn are all loaded up, and we get a couple more mechs for next turn.



Blue loads up the copter and APC and then spends all its extra funds on a battleship. While annoying, that battleship is not going to help Blue get any of its infantry across the water, so that's another win for us.


Turn 3



Our lander unloads one of its passengers, and our initial copters advance. We get two more copters and stuff the mechs from last turn inside, getting three more mechs and an APC for later.



Blue's copter and battleship head our way, with a small horde of infantry backing up on the island. There's now a lander there to help ferry troops across the water.


Turn 4



One mech starts capturing, while a copter and the lander each dump out more troops. The other copter on the upper-right is headed deeper into the island. Meanwhile we get more copters and load in more mechs. I'm going with mechs over infantry for a few reasons here. One, we have the cash to spare at the moment. Two, their limited mobility is less of a problem with copters dropping them off exactly where they need to be. Three, we're going to be in a serious ground war on this island soon and I'd rather have a mech's firepower available than the toothless infantry. That said, I did get one infantry because its additional movement got it onto the lander in one turn, and will get it to the neutral port here in one turn, saving us some time.



Blue finally drops off a single infantry, and then loads the lander with an APC that is itself holding an infantry. Blue screws up by building a tank and a medium tank early, though - they should really still be getting more copters in the air at this point.


Turn 5



We get our first city on the central island, and start capturing a port and an airport. Remember those properties are worth twice as much income as cities, so it's better to grab them first. Off on the upper-right I drop off a mech near another neutral airport to try and steal it.



I'm a fan of the loaded-APC-on-a-lander trick myself, so I send our lander back to pick up a couple. With this trick, the lander can actually transport four units, as long as two of them are APCs and two are footsoldiers. We get a couple more copters and load in the latest set of mechs, but I think I have enough of them for now so we save up the rest of our cash for a bigger splash next turn.



Blue sends up a copter to harass our mech, and the battleship moves up to keep our mech from being able to capture anything nearby. Meanwhile back at HQ, Blue is already more concerned about defense than offense, building a rocket and an AA missile.


Turn 6



One advantage of having so many copters around, is that after they're done dropping off their passenger, they can go harass the enemy infantry. It would be nice if I could keep Blue from capturing that port, for example. Meanwhile we finish capturing the port and the airport on the lower-left, bringing us to income parity with Blue already. Back at HQ we build a fuck-you bomber for that enemy battleship.



I'm not sure if it's the bomber we just built or all the copters we have hanging around nearby, but Blue spends most of its money this turn on a couple of AA tanks. A couple more infantry and a tank get dropped off, the copters start fighting each other, and off-screen the enemy battleship wipes out our mech.


Turn 7



The capturing continues, giving us the income advantage for the moment.



We've got enough spare cash for our own battleship now.



Meanwhile our copters wreak havoc on the enemy infantry, destroying the one that was trying to capture the port and injuring two others. My new challenge for this map is not letting Blue capture a single property.



Our copters take some hits from the other copters and the battleship, but Blue really doesn't like them hanging around and not only moves up the AA missile, but builds a fighter for which we currently have no counter.


Turn 8



Our copters run around attacking the enemy infantry and merging together. I sneak another mech to try and capture the airport near the battleship again. Our bomber is in range to strike the battleship next turn but I think the enemy fighter will beat us there. So we build another bomber as backup. Most of our half of the middle island is captured now.



The battleship and fighter took out a couple of our copters, and Blue built a new lander, but not much else happened.


Turn 9



Most notably, our invading mech was ignored and is now able to complete capturing the neutral airport on Blue's side of the island.



We've now captured every building in our half of the map, while denying Blue the ability to capture anything of its own. So with the initial phase of the battle complete, we already have a sizeable advantage.



I've already got a battleship and a couple of bombers to handle the enemy battleship, so let's build a couple of fighters to also get the skies under our control.



The right side of the central island gets a bit messy. The enemy battleship, tank, and APC each go after our mechs, and the fighter shoots down another copter. However the fighter's movement brought it away from the battleship, so we'll be able to strike at it next turn. That medium tank that just rolled off the lander won't be a concern, either.



The new bomber that Blue just built is a threat to our battleships, but the fighters we just got for ourselves will be able to take care of it. Really this map is already well in hand at this point, as we'll see in the thrilling conclusion....next time!