11.01.2012 MoM (red, Dungeon, Gunnar, Gunnar) def AlexAG (blue, Necropolis, Isra, Isra) 2SM4d(3) 215

The first time the spawn wasn't very good, I'm underground and the exit from my castle is blocked by the rear end of black knights guarding a sulfur ring :))). I take a restart on 1.1.1. The spawn was pretty decent. The map was quite rich, I scouted the surface with trees, saw 3 crypts, a Medusa Pond, a Naga Bank, a Dwarf Cottage, and an external Minotaur dwelling! In the end, I started developing quickly, at the start of the second week I broke through to a secondary town, which was Rampart. I raised my Knowledge and Spell Power skills a bit there, by the start of the second week I was at level 5. Alex wrote in ICQ asking why we were playing without the Dungeon, apparently either it wasn't installed or it crashed - who knows. We both agreed to continue playing on this map. He took the secondary town a couple of days before me, that's what the tavern whispered). After a light clear-out on the secondary, I returned home, on day seven I had a capitol with a castle, on the way I shook down a crypt, raised 1500 gold, which was just enough for me to build Minotaurs, on the way I killed fairies and took a chest +2000 gold, then I rush Gunnar and manage on the last hex of the turn to subdue the external Minotaur dwelling. I buy them on day 7 from the external dwelling, then on first day, and in the castle I have 10 available for hire. That is, by the start of the week, I had 16 Minotaurs available. I took Evil Eyes and scraped together what I could, bought a bit of army, and went to shake down Dwarf Cottages and crypts. In the end, He with Isra comes from the direction of another secondary town, which he also took, falls one hex short of reaching my Gunnar, gets upset about it in ICQ, and I panic-run into the castle. I buy everyone I can, and I could buy 12 Medusas, 2 Manticores, 10 Minotaurs, and a few of the rest.

I see the opponent's hordes of armies, Skeletons numbering in the hundreds each, I think my death has come, plus the jokes in ICQ completely upset me. In short, I sit waiting for growth, Isra doesn't leave, stands there waiting for me to come out, doesn't storm the castle, I cunningly manage to run out, shake down the Naga Bank, it was on minimal settings but still, on the last hex I manage to run back into the castle. Phew, that worked. I upgraded the Manticores, bought everyone I could, (income was 6k gold). Isra is a day's travel away and is leveling wherever she can on my turf. She jumped into a portal and I left the castle because Griffins were standing a day's travel away guarding the Boots of Speed :) at that point I had Expert Earth Magic + Slow and a mana vortex. I easily wiped out nearly a hundred Griffins and took the boots, but couldn't get back because I didn't have enough movement, and in the end I gave up my castle with the capitol to the opponent. He killed the weak defense with Death Wave and settled in. Damn, at that moment when I saw his army I got upset; on the second day after buying the growth, it seemed to me I could have contested him with pretty good odds. But it was too late :) We joked around a bit in ICQ and that was it. Nothing to be done, on the second day of the third week I lost my castle. I shook down a Serpent Fly Hive, got +1 Attack, took cards for +1 Luck, while He sits in my castle and that's that. In short, I decided that Boots of Speed + Logistics = capture of the opponent's home castle. I ran, took his secondary town, took +2 Attack from the Coliseum, took a Lucky Clover, and got +1 Spell Power. I ran to Necropolis. On day 7, I take it. I was very disappointed because not even a Town Hall was built there, and in the secondary town not even a Prefecture :(( I thought, here come the lean years, damn :) in ICQ my opponent is happy while I'm pissed :)

Well, I thought, here goes nothing, Titans are guarding the passage to my home castle, which is empty since Isra went to level towards my secondary town. I gallop, not even stopping in the just-captured Necropolis, straight to the Titans. I'm in shock. They're in stacks of 5 and 6, and an upgraded Titan, 5 of them in the center. Well, here goes nothing, I thought. I cast Slow, the Titans meanwhile were picking off my Medusas, 5-7 per shot. I cast Shield and Stone Skin on my units, take out 3 regular Titans with the Minotaurs in one hit and rush the upgraded ones; in the end, the Minotaurs got surrounded, the Titans that had moved away a bit from the upgraded one managed to hit a couple of times. In the end, I pull the Minotaurs back to my side, but I managed to kill the upgraded ones. Lost 13. Then the Manticores, Medusas, Wyverns (there were 4), and the rest slowly take down all the others. The losses weren't big; I killed 33 Titans and lost 13 Minotaurs and 10 Medusas + a few Troglodytes. Hurray!

I reach my castle and on the first day I'm inside! Once again, I thank Logistics. The teasing in ICQ kind of died down :) Apparently the opponent didn't expect such a turn of events. He was looting the surface on my secondary at the time. In week 4, I bought the army like a fool and went to his other secondary town - Castle. The battle was bloody; the opponent had bought all the growth and built up the castle, but still victory was mine). Then through the portal I took his Conflux. Meanwhile, AlexAG took my secondary town Rampart, shook down a conservatory, broke through the guard at the passage, and went to level there. I saw he had taken a Pandora's Box and even got a little scared; in the end, I buy all the growth and retake my Rampart. Thus, AlexAG is left with not a single castle, his army is battered in places, and apparently his mana is at zero; in the end, he surrenders. The game was very interesting. I haven't played like that in a long time :) Many thanks! AlexAG is a worthy opponent! :smile14: