Part 04: Beyond the Horizon – MK2

Welcome to the /r/Civ 60+ Civ Battle Royale Mk. II | Part 4! This time around /u/IGetNoSlack will be narrating! Be sure to keep up with all the hype and fan-produced content in this here megathread: http://redd.it/3gkegn And if you‘re here from r/civ, be sure to join us at r/CivBattleRoyale to partake in the trash-talk, detailed discussions, hourly drinking contests, and strange love poems. Anyway, let‘s get this psuedo-party started!

Take a moment to soak in this lovely map made by SylonL (with cities added by LacsiraxAriscal, showing the state of the world as it was at the end of the last installment. Don‘t forget to open the full resolution image!

We begin in the forests of east central Europe. Having just gained their unique unit, the Spartans look poised to break out and conquer beyond the Balkans. Leonidas sends a settler east for peaceful expansion.

In the British Isles, the English and Irish have been beefing up their militaries. Those militaries will have to go somewhere. Will it be long before the refrain “Stand and deliver!” rings out over the Isles?

In central Asia, the Mongols capture the Tibetan city of Rutog. Tibet’s northern cities are wide open for conquest, yet the bulk of Genghis’s army is pointed east, towards the red dragon. Perhaps Genghis is using Tibet as a ruse to direct attention away from his true intentions? Meanwhile, Songstan Gampo sends a settler west to expand his empire after his losses.

A quick look at the Religion Overview. Judaism is the order of the day, with more cities than every other religion combined.

The map shows that despite Judaism’s high numbers, it is still a quite centralized religion, geographically speaking.

Indonesia enters the Classical era. Taking a look at the area, the Champa city of Amravati looks like easy pickings, if Indonesia wants to get off their butts and expand.

Speaking of the Champa, both the Vietnamese and Burmese declare war on them. The Vietnamese look like the bigger threat, as the brunt of their army is bearing down on Vijaya. While Anawrahta also wields a sizeable enough force, it is too far away to make the immediate impact the Trung sisters are capable of.

In the Russo-Hunnic kitchen, the heat is highest around Kharkov. The Russian strategy of sending a settler to the front seems to be copped from their Scandinavian neighbors. The more interesting aspect is that Stalin has left the road to Moscow completely open, opting to focus most of his army in the south.

Looking over his new creation, Ahmad Al-Manslaughter mutters to himself that the lighthouse he has created is pretty great.

A wide shot of Western Europe. The English have staked a claim on the Iberian peninsula, although how long it lasts remains to be seen, with Portugal’s not insignificant military. Elizabeth also continues to reinforce York while Napoleon has his attention elsewhere.

Tibet settles the city of Nyingchi. Meanwhile, multiple nations’ scouts take an interest in the Gobi wars.

The Mughals’ might begins to hammer Gyantze. The city is destined to fall, as Songstan Gampo has no way to reinforce it.

Australia finally expands off the mainland, but another Kimberly settler looks to cut off any further expansion in the area.

In a shocking move, Stalin and Attilia declare peace. Perhaps Attilia realized that he did not quite have the capability to take and hold the Soviet core. Stalin will benefit greatly from the peace, as he can lick his wounds and send out the settler near Kharkov.

The Sri Lankans, looking to enjoy some sun and sand, settle Negombo on the Arabian peninsula. This is an interesting move, as it could turn into a viable trade city if Sri Lanka is able to hold the city. Meanwhile, the ever present Israeli scouts are watching, waiting, commiserating.

Speaking of Israel, it turns out the country’s military is not entirely made of scouts. Their biggest immediate threat is the Armenians, who send their workers south. The other nations surrounding Israel have strangely backed off; perhaps they are aware of the Israeli Scout’s eventual upgrade to Commando.

In the latest installment of the Drumroll War, the Ashanti begin to send a detachment to the Carthaginian city of Hippo Regius. Mali just sits and watches the city take damage.

On the northern front of the Drumroll War, it is the opposite situation. Carthage has sent its war elephants after the city of Ejura. If they capture the city, they very could waltz their way to Konogo if the Ashanti do not send reinforcements northward.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the Ethiopians are the lion on the savanna. Haile Selassie has garnered an absolutely massive military, and the cities of the Kongo and the northern Boer territories seem like cakewalks for the Ethiopians. Undaunted, the Kongo still send out a settler straight into the maw of the lion.

MISSING NARRATION

A look at military manpower. No one comes close to Haile on the African continent, and if he wants to expand, he needs to do so fast. The steppes are where the rest of the truly huge military powers reside. The Yakutians, Huns, Sibirs and the Timurids all have huge armies. Akbar’s army to their south is nothing to sneeze at either. With five of the eight largest armies, along with a surging China, Asia will be a quite interesting continents in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the Champa and Kongo own two of the smallest armies; not a good sign for the Champa’s current conflict, nor for Kongo’s proximity to Ethiopia. The Byzantines should take note as well; a bottom five military in their geographic position sells disaster. Finally, shame on Kamehameha and Gajah Mada for having smaller militaries than the observer civ.

The Yakuts. Their massive military has room to maneuver, and juicy targets directly to its south. Surely it is only a matter of time before the Yakuts spring into action.

Meiji continues to settle the Home Islands, while Korea does everything they can to stay alive. This includes sending a settler between China and Vietnam. Are we sure Sejong is using his science bonuses effectively?

The Southeast Asian conflict has seen little progress. The Champa have sent more units north to deal with the Vietnamese threat. Burma continues to move its units towards the battlefield.

In a game of chicken, the Ashanti and Carthage have captured each other’s cities. Not to be undone, the Ashanti have also razed their capture. Surely the Ashanti are mustering a settler to replace it.

And you thought Lincoln was weak? O ye of little faith! Lincoln laughs at your doubt, raises an army, and declares war on Texas. Perhaps this time annexation will not be quite as peaceful. The Americans have a tech advantage, and a size one. It may take a while for the full effect of the Union’s forces to kick in, as a chunk of his forces are up north awaiting the order to begin Operation: Fallout Roleplay.

Benito Juarez sits in his war room. A courier bursts in.”Sir! Lincoln has declared war on Texas!” His generals’ expression turns to shock. They all look at their leader; he is stoic, looking over a map of North America. He snaps. Drawing his saber, he yells “Give me back my province!” as the saber’s tip lands squarely on Austin. Thus, the long-awaited order was given, and troops move towards Austin.

In Eastern Europe, a Spartan Hoplite column moves north. The plains outside of Tegea are a weak spot; the Polish cavalry would be able to run roughshod around the city if the gap is not closed.

On the flip side, the Spartans now have enough soldiers to have a shot at Cumae. If Cumae fell, the Hoplites have a straight shot at Rome. Even if the war would involve huge casualties, the Spartans could take it.

Perhaps Leonidas has a great deal of confidence in his troops, as he sends a settler to Africa. Even though he only sends two Hoplites with it, it could be enough to hold the city until it becomes viable.

Poor Gyantse. The city finally falls, spelling doom for any Tibetan plans to expand outside the Himalayas. If the Tibetans had played their cards right, the city could have been a Tibetan stronghold and given them a out into the Indian Ocean. Then Gyantse would’ve been one of the more vital moves this game. But now the Tibetans are relegated to turtle status.

The Tibetans. With the loss of Gyantse, Tibet plummets in power. Their saving grace is the nigh-impenetrability of their capital.

The Vietnamese have backed off of Vijava save for a lone galley. The Burmese have not moved. So much for declaring war.

Champa continues to encroach on Indonesia, one of the only civs it has a larger military than. To the south, the Kimberley have built a sizeable navy. It remains to be seen if they will use it to gather spices in Indonesia.

Australia looks to be heating up as we finally see the Australians and Kimberley start to run out of room on the coasts. The two will have to expand into southeast Asia if they wish to expand peacefully.

The Ashanti send troops to go recapture Ejura.

A multinational coalition of scouts go east, led by the crack Israeli scouts.

Now peaceful, the Russo-Hunnic front looks like it may heat up again. Both civs are beefing up their militaries, and Attila sees no worth in hiding his intentions as he positions troops on the front.

The Scandinavian wars. Norway seems to have the upper hand in both numbers and strategic options.

The British Isles. While Elizabeth has huge numbers advantage, Malachy II’s defenses are far stronger. He also has a huge military on Ireland itself that could embark if need be.

The long-awaited arrival of Portugal onto the scene. Portugal has herself a military, and is expanding onto the island of Corsica. The English city of Hastings may not last long under the English grasp.

The Ashanti recapture Ejura, and it looks like they will keep. Reinforcements are moving in, and Carthage has but two damaged war elephants headed for the front. Meanwhile the Ayyyyyubids send a settler into the maelstrom of West Africa.

In Australia, Henry Parkes settles Sunshine Coast, right in the meat of southern Kimberley territory. With the rush to expand intensifying between these two powers, one wonders when, not if they will come to blows. On the other side of the world, Hitler declares war on Sparta.

In a middle finger to history, Casimir III joins the Nazis in declaring war on Sparta. Polish horsemen thunder down the plains of Tegea. One wonders if the Polish declared too soon. They declare when the Spartans have their unique unit, while the Poles’ unique unit would crush a lot of resistance.

The Great American Clusterfuck stumbles on. Most of the fighting on the American front is concentrated around El Paso and Baltimore, though Texan troops have advanced east towards Philadelphia. Take note that central Texas is wide open for the Sioux, one of the largest militaries in the game, to come crashing down on it.

On the Mexican front, Benito’s troops continue to take pot shots at Austin.The paltry defense forces there will not hold out against the Mexican onslaught. Sounds a bit familiar.

The Buccaneers complete the Terracotta Army. The belligerents in the Great American Clusterfuck should thank their maker that it was not one of them that completed the wonder. Morgan, on the other hand, now has multiple options. He could strengthen his North American holdings by reinforcing Petit-Gouave or, perhaps, taking Dallas; Reinforcements in South America are also viable. In other news, the Bucs’ economy has seen an upturn in job creation from new rum distilleries.

The Ashanti and Carthaginians make peace, guaranteeing that Ejura is an Ashanti city for some time. In Europe, Attila and Hitler declare war on Finland.

Sure enough, the Ashanti send a settler towards the ruins of Hippo Regius.

Of the Huns and Nazis, it is the Germans who are more likely to make an impact on the Finns. If Casimir allows them through his territory, Hitler’s northern legions could take some Finnish territory.

The Huns, however, are cockblocked by the Russians.

Sea Lion II: Bristol Boogaloo. Kekkonnen is not the only one Hitler has his eyes on. He is trying to invade England again. AGAIN. And he suffers from the same woes of his past. He has no navy. The English could send their archer hordes and galleys to Hamburg and Cologne, take shots, and capture the city. In addition, he now fights not one, not two, but three fronts. Didn’t he learn from the last time?

But perhaps Elizabeth has bigger problems; namely Maria’s “Iberia for Portugal” movement kicking into full swing. Elizabeth could stand to gain more from attacking Hitler than from defending Hastings, however. So it may be that she lets the city go.

We end with a look at the stats. The population leaderboard is an interesting mix of potential has-beens and champions. The Texans have the manpower to defend themselves, but do they have the production?

On the other end, we see Mongolia with less than a million people. Can they turn it around on the dangerous steppes?

The top ten in military manpower reads like a rogues gallery of potential winners. The Yakuts, Mughals, Boers, and Ethiopians all occupy spots.

The Kongo, Champa, and Texans being so low does not do them any favors. If they wish to survive they will have to kick it a notch fast.

The Yakuts remain in the tech lead, yet they have not used their advanced force yet. One wonders when they will strike.

Predictably, the civs with the most cities are the Australians. With so much room, one wonders if they couldn’t be. They are running out, however. Eventually people across the continent will hear the thunder.

Korea is not last in cities. Rome could very well be the first civ squeezed out of Europe.

The Israeli scouts have done well to spread Judaism to so many places. But Buddhism and Catholicism are on the rise.

Uluru is now worthless to the Kimberley for a religion. They must find another use for it.

Being the only religion founded in the Americas, Catholicism has the chance to dominate the world. That‘s all for now folks! Make sure you check out /r/civbattleroyale to join the awesome community.