LT versus HeadHoncho - Titan match

[Lord Thanatos]

Cipher will soon set this contest up. The Deliverer suggested a poll be created for this contest.

Teams:
(LT)
RD, DE, DW, GN, WI, DA

v.

(HeadHoncho)
GI, AN, BL, SO, EL, RA

Any thoughts on the team selections?

[kevindusi]

I like the financial stability of LT's picks, along with RD... could be potent.

That said, AN is the most flexible out of the gates... Is there an option for a tie?

[HeadHoncho]

By the way, in case anyone's interested, the order of the picks is listed below. And as kind as LT is to vote for me, I think I'm going to have to abstain from this one.

--

LT

1) RD
4) DE
5) DW
8) WI
9) GN
12) DA

--

HH

2) GI
3) AN
6) BL
7) SO
10) EL
11) RA

[wfrankenhoff]

Cipher will soon set this contest up. The Deliverer suggested a poll be created for this contest.

Teams:
(LT)
RD, DE, DW, GN, WI, DA

v.

(HeadHoncho)
GI, AN, BL, SO, EL, RA

Any thoughts on the team selections?

Damn good picking by both sides. Near enough a draw. Greater financial strength for LT out of the gate versus (probably) greater flexibility to expand in the south for HH.

[HeadHoncho]

Turn 1 Highlights for HH

The Ancient Ones were glad to receive requests for high priestesses from five of their six opponents. Together with certain additional payments, it was more than enough to allow an increase in influence, among certain other actions. Interestingly, their natural enemies, the Demon Princes, also appeared to have used their King's precious time to increase Kingdom influence. Even less appealing, the 2AN division-sized group definitely was not thrilled to see the 2RD brigade-sized group sitting across from them at Avalon, however, especially since they were hoping the 2RD starting base might be a little bit further away than it apparently was.

The Black Dragons enjoyed the opportunity to join the High Council for the relative pittance of 8,210 gold. They were so surprised by this occurrence that they forgot to propose a High Council issue!

The Giants made a number of maneuvers, and the 2GI division-sized group stumbled across the 3RD group, this one only a patrol, at the Northern Mists city of Viperhead. It would not be the first city in history to lament that it was perhaps inconveniently situated on the wrong side of the river!

The Elves, in their own secretive way, kept their plans to themselves, although it was perhaps interesting for them to note that there were no obvious sea battles fought in Alamaze this month.

The Rangers also had nothing much to report, except that their expert scouts, as masters of the obvious, were able to share that as of month-end, all cities remained human controlled, and all regions remained uncontrolled. Shocking, no?

The mysterious Sorcerer was even more secretive than the Elves and Rangers, such that no obvious information from them was forthcoming.

After one turn, I'm glad to report only one botched order, which may actually have turned out to be a good thing in disguise.

[Lord Thanatos]

Turn 1 Highlights for HH

The Ancient Ones were glad to receive requests for high priestesses from five of their six opponents. Together with certain additional payments, it was more than enough to allow an increase in influence, among certain other actions. Interestingly, their natural enemies, the Demon Princes, also appeared to have used their King's precious time to increase Kingdom influence. Even less appealing, the 2AN division-sized group definitely was not thrilled to see the 2RD brigade-sized group sitting across from them at Avalon, however, especially since they were hoping the 2RD starting base might be a little bit further away than it apparently was.

The Black Dragons enjoyed the opportunity to join the High Council for the relative pittance of 8,210 gold. They were so surprised by this occurrence that they forgot to propose a High Council issue!

The Giants made a number of maneuvers, and the 2GI division-sized group stumbled across the 3RD group, this one only a patrol, at the Northern Mists city of Viperhead. It would not be the first city in history to lament that it was perhaps inconveniently situated on the wrong side of the river!

The Elves, in their own secretive way, kept their plans to themselves, although it was perhaps interesting for them to note that there were no obvious sea battles fought in Alamaze this month.

The Rangers also had nothing much to report, except that their expert scouts, as masters of the obvious, were able to share that as of month-end, all cities remained human controlled, and all regions remained uncontrolled. Shocking, no?

The mysterious Sorcerer was even more secretive than the Elves and Rangers, such that no obvious information from them was forthcoming.

After one turn, I'm glad to report only one botched order, which may actually have turned out to be a good thing in disguise.

Well, not off to a great start. The 2RD recruited 4 brigades of Wyverns before flying over to PI. Of course, I forgot to check the terrain and because I was not in mountains all four orders failed....

Two other minor botched orders, but they were essentially insignificant.

Nothing out of the "ordinary" on turn one, at least to my eyes. This game will get heated really fast. Stay tuned for turn two.

[HeadHoncho]

Oh man, sorry to hear that, LT. If I beat you, I want it to be fair and square!

FYI, my orders are in... I love this Titan format!

[HeadHoncho]

Turn 2 Highlights for HH

The Ancient Ones were sad to report that the flow of high priestess requests has dried up! Even more sad was the battle between 2AN and 2RD, which resulted in a dead Red Dragon P1 wizard, a dead Ancient Ones adept, 2,400 dead AN troops (although one less brigade to feed and pay was a silver lining), and 3, count 'em, 3 dead dragons. Not brigades... dragons. Meanwhile, in other news, the Demon Princes couldn't have been happy to see another point of influence for AN, and the Gnomes were denigrated in Torvale.

The Black Dragon army-sized 1BL settled down to begin the siege of Triesa, but it no longer enjoys a monopoly on the area outside the city, as division-sized 1DE has appeared to contest the area. Meanwhile, the BL high council member proposed the council's greatest sanction on the WI Kingdom in the Northern Mists.

Joining the Black Dragons on the high council were their Giant allies, who won the open bid at the still relatively-bargain-price of 15,737 gold! Happily, the council chairs and chambers didn't even need to be resized to accommodate the Giants, since the Black Dragons had already taken care of that task the month before.

The Elves, in their usual diplomatic way, lodged a formal protest with the embassy of the Witchlord, who has appeared with their 1WI division at the Elven town of Bam at location EN. They fully expect that the dark mage will honor the sovereignty of the Elven town, and will be shocked, I say shocked, if anything else were to happen.

The Rangers still had nothing much to report, although their expert scouts reported that as of month-end, all regions remained uncontrolled. They also reported that the cities of Zabzanka, Viperhead, Gurisek, and Cradia remained human-controlled.

The mysterious Sorcerer remained quite mysterious, although he could be overheard muttering, "Math is hard."

After turn two, I'm again glad to report only one botched order plus one miscalculation, although unlike last turn, these mistakes can't really be called blessings in disguise.

[HeadHoncho]

Turn 3 Highlights for HH

The hit parade on DE influence continues, as AN goes up not one, not two, but three points of influence by taking Torvale, joining the HC (by buying the BL seat), and perhaps a more traditional route via a consul.

The Black Dragon sold his HC seat to his AN ally, and lost a couple of pop centers to enemy diplomatic action, but the action was in the fight between army-sized 1BL and division-sized 1DE. Taking a page from the AN playbook against RD, the BL lost a P1 wizard to a dispel and kill wizard combo from the P3 and P2 wizards in 1DE, but the BL army forced the DE to retreat, with DE taking 4,100 troops of losses, compared to approximately two-score creatures in the BL army. Both armies remained at Triesa, and are facing off against each other again.

The Giants, after pushing through a denigration of the WI in Northern Mists via HC, and successfully denigrating the DA in Amberland, has now proposed the HC's greatest sanction on the DE in Arcania. With the King busying himself with HC issues, he neglected to notice the arrival of an army-sized 2RD group at a GI town in Amberland.

The Elves were dismayed by the loss of their town of Bam in the Northern Mists to the 1WI group, but comforted themselves by neutralizing the city of Lorethane while the RD Countess Thalia took a 30-day nap. Overheard muttering something about the next nap being a dirt nap, the Elves renewed their determination to take the city soon!

The Rangers emerged triumphant from the Southern Sands, taking control of the region, joining the Ancient Ones as the only other region taken this turn. Their scouts continued to report that the cities of Zabzanka, Viperhead, Gurisek, and Cradia remained human-controlled.

The mysterious Sorcerer broke out of his shell to join the HC with a bid of 23,313 gold. Things appear to have gotten a bit more heated between the Sorcerer and the Dwarves, with a 1DW division-sized group showing up at a SO town in the Talking Mountains, while a 2SO brigade-sized group appeared at a DW town in the Eastern Steppes. Perhaps the Dwarves have not appreciated SO interference in the Talking Mountains in general...

After turn three, I'm again glad to report (I think) no botched orders! Lost a couple of villages and a town or two to enemy political action, but got one or two pop centers back, plus the two successfully taken regions. At this point, I believe I have a slight economic advantage, and a definite 3-0 HC advantage, with all seats being taken by relatively low bids. I've lost a P1 and an Adept, while LT has lost a P1. I've done slightly more damage to LT's troops, but the appearance of 2RD outside of a GI town may exact some punishment. Well-played, LT!

[HeadHoncho]

Turn 4 Highlights for HH

The AN continued to hit the DE influence a bit, and were interested to note that there were still no requests for priestesses from their respected opponents! Perhaps the first ones they hired were of a hardier breed? Or perhaps there is little additional need for such information? Or (perhaps most likely) perhaps it's a different prioritization of limited resources? Regardless, other than that, and some enemy declarations of the Gnomes and the Witchlord, it was a relatively quiet month for the Ancient Ones.

The Black Dragon again bloodied the nose of the 1DE to the tune of 3,700 troops (compared to losing less than a score of creatures for the BL), and in a stroke of good fortune, managed to avoid not one, not just two, but one stun leader and two kill leader spells from the DE wizards! Apparently satisfied with this outcome, the 1BL departed Triesa to settle down outside of an interesting Demon Princes town in the plains of Arcania.

The Giants suffered the fall of their capital, but happily, the Giant King evaded capture by the attacking Red Dragon troops! That King apparently took his anger out upon the Red Dragon's ally, the Demon Princes, by not only pushing through a denigration of the DE in Arcania, but also repeating that exact same high council measure.

The Elves were glad to report the taking of Lorethane, and with it, the region of Oakendell! In the course of their celebration, they decided to splurge a little and won the bid for the fourth High Council seat for prices which continued to be relative bargains, at 20,884 gold. Additionally, in anticipation of the possibility of taking Oakendell this turn, the Elves also declared the neighboring Witchlord King their sworn enemy, a fact which the populace of Oakendell took note of.

The Rangers kept a relatively low profile this turn, although they did declare the Demon Princes to be their sworn enemy. Their scouts continued to report that the cities of Zabzanka, Viperhead, Gurisek, and Cradia remained human-controlled. However, the Dwarves appear to have reasserted their rights to their ancestral homeland, and have successfully taken the region of Talking Mountains. This compared with the regions of Oakendell, Torvale, Synisvania, and Southern Sands for the Dwarves' various opponents.

Finally, as alluded to by the Rangers, the Sorcerer successfully took the region of Synisvania this month. This happened none too soon, as the Dwarves successfully assaulted the Sorcerer town in Talking Mountains (at the loss of 2,200 Dwarven troops), while the Eastern Steppes town of New Spark was unimpressed with the parley efforts of the 2SO group.

After turn four, I'm again glad to report (I think) no botched orders! Some political jockeying, but nothing too crazy. At this point, I believe I have a significant economic advantage, and a definite 4-0 HC monopoly thus far, with all seats still being taken by relatively low bids, which makes me think LT is really resource-constrained.