In the first game, on the first map, I only managed to reach the Necropolis. I built Vampires, which significantly hampered the game due to their high upkeep costs. In the second game, I spent a lot of time traveling on unmarked roads, searching for a Shrine and two Conservatories. On day 13, I started taking a decent Hive-based town, but I had to change my plans quickly – Alkin arrived with high stats and troops (his joins were all mediocre). On day 14, I took an Auto-join, which took me 3 days to reach, and I sold almost all my other joins – but I failed due to inattention. Then I managed to snatch 120 Vivs right under his nose; he wasn't expecting anything and attacked with Alkins and 90 Vivs, divided into 3 stacks. Otherwise, with his excellent magic and control, he would have easily killed me (I only had Oil and Mass Shield).