Group F
10.11.2011 OUTLAW(blue,Rampart,random,Kyrre) def R55Max(red,Rampart,random,Clancy,Gem), 8mm6a, 2-1-1
We played in 2 sessions, the actions of the first week were forgotten. I remember that the road to the center was blocked by a horde of witches for the Sphere of Fire, so I had to take the Castle village. There is a home Dragon Utopia, a Griffin Conservatory, and 2 external dwellings. On the second week I'm diligently shaking the external dwellings, which were plentiful. By the end of the week: 30 Wyverns, level 15 hero, an external dwelling of Angels captured, Golden Bow. 2 more Dragon Utopias scouted, all at a decent distance from each other. Starting week 3, I begin taking Dragon Utopias, from 2 Utopias I got: Cape of Water, +2/+2 Cloak, Cloak of Reckoning, KB, Helm +10, Wings, Plate +6. On week 4 I finish the 3rd Utopia: +4 All and Boots of Resistance. I jump into a Town Portal, next to a Utopia, come out in a different zone, a sliver of the red flag is visible. I have 1 Angel, 30+ Wyverns and a pack of Griffins, in the arsenal an explosion dealing 1400+ damage and a decent supply of mana, so no fear))). On my turn I got detected by a scout. I run further, see a Utopia, it turns out to be already empty. The next turn I get attacked — Gem with impressive stats and 7 Angels and company, the Angels die in the 1st round from the explosion. On the 2nd round I get Armageddon which is resisted by 20 Wyverns and a couple of Griffins, Gem buys back. I run further along the road and see 2 more Utopias, one of which is empty, and the roof of the second is barely visible. I capture the Bog village, there are Shackles of War nearby. The restless Gem rushes to my capital, is 2-3 moves short, I gather the remnants of the Hive army consisting of 40+ Grand Elves and 50+ Archers. I put on the Cloak of Reckoning and attack myself. There are 5 Phoenixes, 9 Titans, and a 2-week old Hive army of Conflux. The opponent turns out to have both Mass Slow and Mass Haste; after a long fight I kill the Phoenixes and Fire Elementals hoping to buy back and attack without the cloak. I buy back, hire Kyrre back, and I'm just 1 cell short of attacking the battered Gem((( . I have to spend the night in the capital. In the Castle village I manage to build Angels in the Citadel despite a severe resource shortage. On Gem's turn she runs off somewhere to her own territory. I portaled for the Shackles hoping for some freebie from the opponent. Anyway, I spend the night on the Angle with the remnants of the Hive army in the capital, wearing the Shackles and without the cloak. Turn 2/1/1 arrives and Gem makes a diversionary raid with the remnants of an army from last century and casts Armageddon, leaving me with 4 Wyverns and a stack of Skeletons, and Gem with 8 Stone Gargoyles. I was so taken aback by such audacity that I forgot Gem had +2 Speed and cast Blind on the Gargoyles. Immediately round 2 started, the towers shoot the Gargoyles and those (4 of them) get the first turn!!!! - I nearly fell off my chair - but Gem makes a counter-mistake and throws Lightning at the Wyverns counting on a buyback. Then it's all trivial - no chance to buy back and the 4 Gargoyles die along with Gem. Victory.
Thank you for the game!!!!
The main thing was Enewa:)
Well of course I goofed up horribly. I threw the game, essentially in a winning situation. By the week 4 growth I had almost double the army power, though no attack stat, I had 2 fully built Ramparts without Dragons and built Conflux. The army was almost 3 times larger. I made a series of very crude mistakes, also due to overconfidence, Blue acted almost flawlessly in crucial moments and was rewarded through persistence and fighting to the end. So here's the sequence from the start of serious combat encounters:
I'm moving along the long path to the treasure zone, pass the turn, half a turn away Kyrre appears with a stack of Pegasi and an Angel with Griffins, I don't really pay attention. My turn again. I take a couple of Utopias, stats jumped, 3 books without Earth, 20 mana. Pass the turn. Surprisingly fast Kyrre runs towards me, jumps over the first peon in the chain, hits another and reduces the gap to about a hundred and fifty moves, but doesn't see Enewa on the starting spot. My turn, on which I make the first crude mistake:
initially I wanted to scout the bottom of the treasure zone with a scout, if there was a Utopia I'd take it and Town Portal, but I hesitated and time was running low. In short, I decided to attack, there were minus 7 Angels, I cast Armageddon (I should have just cast Rain), buyback. The scout with another army-eater for Utopias went inside and there it was, and it wouldn't be back soon.
Blue gathers the army into a fist, harasses my Conflux which didn't reach their capital. They spend the night at home. On my turn 2/2 and I attack again with a meat advantage. I decide to check if they have the Cloak and accidentally choose level 2 Lightning, thinking I clicked on a level 3 spell, and it doesn't work because there's an artifact against Lightning. LOL, confident that the meat is enough for the towers and for open combat against 16 or 20 Wyverns and all sorts of other trash that doesn't play a role, I shoot something. In response, Anti-Magic, and here I'm really dumb, thinking what's going on! like some kind of bug :) I'm totally out of it and can't figure out why my level 3 doesn't work but his does (I'd been playing a long time that day, got too into it:) ) check again with Bolt thinking it's level 3, this is mega LOL, I convince myself everything seems normal, shoot the horse and in response an explosion, and then it dawned on me how I'd goofed! buyback.
2/1/1 - I gather the army, specifically leaving a bit more, take speed units and a fat stack of Dwarves, with a single [unit], hoping for resistance. Armageddon, 11 Dwarves and 11 Wyverns remain, then Blue makes mistakes. And the decisive epic:
since all the battles were without the Shackles I thought they didn't have them, I decide to thin them down to 4 Wyverns and on the next week with three new growths finish them off. If they had cast Armageddon, I would have won by resistance or both heroes would have been lost to the ages, which would have been fine for me.
Thank you for the game!!
