Part 55: Awoken From Their Slumber

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Welcome ladies, gentlemen, and mutants (by choice or by nukes) to part 55 of the 60+ Civ Battle Royale, run by our gracious ruler /u/TPangolin. As much as I want to, I haven’t looked through the album yet, so I’ll be just as surprised as you when something occurs! I don’t doubt for one second that this part will be interesting however, and I plan to do my best to make it even more so! Your narrator for today will be me, /u/_Patronus_ and after pestering TPang for a chance to narrate one of these amazing parts, he’s finally allowed me to do so! I created OC back in the day entitled Tales from the Front, which was a storyline following my character, Otto Rüdiger, a frontline reporter for the Babylonian Media Ministry. I had to cease production due to time constraints (which I disguised as a Hunnic assault while in Leningrad), but I hope this will make up for my 8 month absence. Also, any criticism is welcomed, as it can only help me improve!

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This edition of the always wonderful “Annals of the World” was created by /u/Malssistra, with cities, names, and ocean borders added by the amazing /u/LacsiraxAriscal, and shows just how large some empires have become and how small their fellow nations have shrunk. The enclave of Lhasa (Tibet) will probably be there for a while however, as no nation yet has been able to lay a hand on it. Also appearing is the new Aussie land on the Indian subcontinent, the re-resurrected Sioux nation, the fractured Graveyard of Empires (Afghanistan), Icelandic France, and the claw-like Chilean enclave of Cusco. As I probably should mention, our titlecard for this episode was created by /u/arcticwolffox

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I show my love of cartography, as we have another map created by /u/edse1991 called the “Almost Tile Accurate Map.” One thing that caught my eye was the citadelled Soviet capital of Moscow, a development that is recent to myself. I do have this feeling that we’ll be seeing a little less brown on the map after this part.

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Well, I can’t disagree with the Power Rankers on this one. The Mali war declaration of last part is a step in the right direction for Kruger if he wants to paint all capitals in that orange and blue that most of Africa is already donning. It’s hard to see anyone else as the leading player right now, and until someone surpasses them in tech, size, or might, I doubt they’ll get booted out of first. Read the full list here: http://imgur.com/a/o3G9v/layout/horizontal/#0

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Here we have the relationship graph by /u/mazerlaser and it really shows how many nations have fallen on the right. Some wars to look for will be the Bucc/Chile war, the Iceland/France war, and of course, the Boer/Mali war declared towards the end of last part. We can also see the insane amount of Afghanistan hatred and the dire situation for our friend the Sioux. With the White Walkers still at war with them, I doubt they’ll survive much longer than Ekeuhnick (Inuit) wants them to. Alright, alright, alright, let’s get to it

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We begin in Europe, where Napoleon (France) finds himself having flashbacks of something about Fontainebleau and 1814 from a past life after being exiled to the formerly Roman city of Ravenna. He still keeps his big ego though, declaring himself the emperor of a city with 823,000 citizens and 7 tiles to its name, only two of which actually have French possessions on them. The Sun of Austerlitz may soon be setting with Icelandic paratroopers and mechanized infantry now taking chunks out of the outer walls. One thing I did notice last part was the significant hit that not being able to build walls takes on Spartan cities. Rome has almost double the population that Ravenna does, but it’s defense is two points less. This could prove to be the death blow for our bronzed Mediterranean warriors, as when it’s coupled with their lackluster technological advancements, simply holding the narrow mountain passes won’t be enough if your cities are being torn to shreds by bombers and artillery, your ships by advanced destroyers, and your infantry by men in armored vehicles. TPang has highlighted an interesting development on the sidebar however...

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That’s right! Henry Parkes (Australia) declares war on Chile alongside Ingolfur Arnarson (Iceland). While I don’t expect much to come from Iceland’s DOW, the small contingent of the Wobbegong in Antarctica will probably soon be reinforced with more modern ships and could wreak havoc on the coast to the west of the Andes. Parkes has proven to be more than effective at naval warfare, so keep your eye on this area. The Aussies seem to have almost complete naval dominance over the Pacific and Chile is one of the easier contenders to take on while still having a challenge.

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Cusco has fallen! The formerly Inca capital has succumbed to the forces of Henry Morgan (Buccaneers), putting him at 3 capitals currently (Port Royal, Palenque, and Cusco). Morgan may not be as powerful as he once was with his Corsair Carpet, but he is still to be taken seriously, as he’s fighting with less units much farther away from his capital than Bernardo O’Higgins (Chile) is and winning. Tiwanaku may flip again however, with a fully-healed infantry unit right outside of the battered city. Cusco and Vitcos seem to be safe for now, with heavy air support (total of 20 units) and more incoming troops around Machu.

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The United Nations enacts a new embargo on the Inuit, which probably won’t do much in all honesty. Unsurprisingly, Yakutia leads the charge with 6 votes but we have some bold moves from Iceland, the Blackfoot, and the Sioux! All three of the aforementioned nations border the White Walkers and would be practically gods if they were able to survive a war against a top player like that. Like previous narrators have stated, while the Ice Sheet Fleet does include some pretty impressive Future Worlds units, like the arsenal ship and the advanced destroyer, alongside information era ships, their concentration of land units is worrying for any Inuit supporters, as Blackfoot paratroopers have even begun to spill into their territory.

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Poor Parakramabahu (Sri Lanka) screams in anger from his throne in Anuradhapura. Sri Lanka is embargoed by the UN, furthering their handicap after losing a war to the Aussies and Kimberley. While they still have a decent progression in tech, I fear both them and the Kimberley have been permanently rendered to their small nations of only several cities. Take note of Attila and his Hunnic workers vacationing in the Strait of Hormuz and Akbar and his final admiral reminiscing on old times in Gyantse’s harbor.

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TRIPLE KILL!! Kruger’s (Boers) XCOM squads fall like manna from the heavens taking down Kumbi Saleh, Konongo, and Denkyira in one fell swoop. Albeit, to the Malians, this type of manna is probably one which causes blindness, bubonic plague, salmonella and mass genocide all in one bite. All of these cities have had their population halved and there is no way any of Mansa Musa’s (Mali) units are going to punch through the insane amount of XCOM squads that have blanketed the countryside. A Malian Great Musician creates a piece entitled “From Above,” chronicling the foreigners literally falling out of the sky. Senshi seems to be right, Mali is crumbling like a sack of wet crumpets, their days are numbered.

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Back up at the incredibly gridlocked Winter War, the Yakuts and Sibirians are still pounding away at each other, while Finnish peacekeepers prevent much of anything from occurring. While the Yakuts did capture Beryozovo in the previous part, it may prove difficult to reinforce with Mongol and Finnish troops blocking land and sea routes to it. This is definitely one of my problems with Civilization V in general, the whole “units that don’t fit get catapulted to some poor nation with open borders,” idea, as it grinds wars like these to a standstill, wars which are already in very tough to traverse terrain, mind you. Nonetheless, the whole “peacekeeper” forces gimmick is quite hilarious to me.

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Well, well, well, it appears that the Inuit have pushed through the congestion of the Pacific and made it to the Chilean holding of Mililani Mauka, giving them a good foothold in the center of Polynesia and with no Chilean units to take it back, it’s firmly theirs. Also, in the top right, we can see that Crowfoot (Blackfoot) is playing neighborhood bully, ripping Mililani from poor Kamehameha’s (Hawai’i) hands. After getting his home island chain annexed by Chile and the Blackfoot, our favorite atheist islander was pushed further and further into Polynesia, now only possessing the one tile island city of Kaneohe. Stay strong bud.

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Here we have a nice shot of the Wobbegong and Australia’s Polynesian resort towns. It seems that Parkes has taken our advice and upgraded most of the Wobbegong to big shiny ships instead of those drab wooden ones. Most of the ironclads and privateers should be phased out and upgraded by the next couple parts, but the presence of Diggers is still concerning, as they’re a replacement for Great War Infantry. It’s surprising that the Aussie scientists still haven‘t realized that metal helmets are better at stopping bullets than (admittedly, pretty cool) slouch hats.

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Australia capitalizes on its war with Chile by sending a small detachment northwards and capturing Kailua-Kona and with very little Chilean ships only around Hilo, Parkes (Australia) might be able to cause a little trouble in paradise. Also, Crowfoot (Blackfoot) makes peace with Kamehameha (Hawai’i), keeping his new Pacific city. Shift your gaze even farther north and you’ll see Pacificon 4000 BC! Vessels from Hawai’i, the Inuit, Australia, Vietnam, Korea, Mexico, Iceland, the Boers, and the Blackfoot are all in attendance, making the Pacific as congested as New York City streets on a good day.

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We now visit the land of Joseon, where Sejong’s (Korea) weapons manufacturers are now producing Vertols and testing them over the Yellow Sea. These guys are an upgrade from the helicopter gunship, having 80 combat strength as compared to the gunship’s 60 and are specialized in fighting armor units. Korea has always been a bit of an underdog to me, never really having tons of land and simply following along the tech tree with their other nations. Based on past observations, they may be edging Vietnam out in terms of tech, but with the Trung sister’s (Vietnam) numbers, Korea will need lots of luck to make some ground in a possible war against them.

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Oh sweet Oriental Orthodox Jesus. Mali loses its capital Nyeni, and Jenne and Yeji have no health left and will almost certainly fall next turn, prepare your F keys folks, this will be over quickly. I would be more surprised, but Mali really never had a chance against Draka. I just hope Mansa Musa (Mali) can go out valiantly.

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Just as I said, Australia is causing some trouble in paradise for Bernardo O’Higgins (Chile), as Kahului falls under the green and gold colors of the Aussies. Hilo and Waikiki should follow suit as soon as Parkes (Australia) wishes, although the former may take a bit more effort before it is a solid part of Australia’s Hawai’ian colonies.

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Cheers rang through Port Royal and Santiago de Chile as Morgan (Buccaneers) and O’Higgins (Chile) decided to end their war. Personally, I’d call this a win for the Buccs, as Morgan captured two cities, one of which is a capital, and had already brought Valparaiso down to half health. Both nations were definitely worn down by this war, however, and Morgan (Buccaneers) especially needs to rebuild his navy if he ever wants to stand a chance against the Wobbegong Armada, Ice Sheet Fleet, or the navies of Iceland and the Boers. And as always, a reminder for the captain, as he needs to reinforce his mainland holdings in South America to ever stand a chance against Pedro (Brazil).

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Oh, I may have spoken too soon. Bernardo (Chile) retakes Kahului with an anti-aircraft gun and appears to have scattered the small Wobbegong detachment with his subs and air superiority. Parkes (Australia) may not be taking this as seriously as he should be. They may be small cities, but more places to project power from are always good for our friends in the Australian navy.

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Kuchum Khan (Sibir) may be preparing for something big it seems. He has citadel bombed both Nagchukha and Khost, which can only hope to sow tensions between the two superpowers. As it stands now, Vietnam has the larger ground and air presence in the vicinity, but as we know, the Khan (Sibir) has ton of armor units in his core and would be hard pressed to bring them here, lest he wishes to lose several of the nearby cities. To the north you can see Machu Picchu, which has now been reduced to just a cultural heritage site in Sibir, as it no longer serves its purpose usefully as a trade hub, that job was handed down to Tyumen decades ago. The Iron Chairman is now relegated to travelling around the Taklamakan Desert with his musketmen, giving demonstrations of Renaissance era weaponry to intrigued Sibirian children and soldiers alike.

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RIP Mali, Part 1 - Part 55. Just like that, in a matter of 4 turns, an entire empire has been forcibly integrated into the Boer empire. Well Mansa Musa, you took out the Ashanti early on with the help of the Kongo and Morocco and after that you kept your Sofas for millennia and, appropriately, did just that, sat there. Only until you started the War on Piracy/SOPA and got nuked by the Buccaneers did you come back into the spotlight. Broken, but still in it with an okay grip on tech, the Boers saw your relative weakness as opportunity for more tiles to put troops on. You tried your very best to stand up to the sonic steamroller with a railgun that the Boers have become, but we all knew it would be in vain. So as you hop aboard that Jeep, great general with you and the Malian flag lowered, we can only hope you make it out alive. O’ Great Mansa, may the sands of the Sahara be ever kind to your travels.

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On that somber note, we travel back to the Hawai’ian islands where Henry Parkes (Australia) has retaken Kahului and finally rolled into Hilo with God knows- Wait sorry, there is no God here, with whatever is behind that Blackfoot artillery emplacement. Reinforcements from the larger Wobbegong fleet have arrived and with only a Chilean infantry unit in sight, retaking these cities is not an option for Bernardo (Chile) unless he brings some more units from the homeland. An Aussie Great Musician entertains the nearby vessels with some good ol’ Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack.

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As shown in the previous two slides, the Boers have completed the Tokyo Sky Tree! On top of the base +4 happiness, +2 culture, and +3 gold, it produces +1 happiness and culture for every broadcast tower in the nation. As if deity AI had to worry about happiness anyway. Cool real life facts though, at a height of 634.0 meters (2,080 feet for my fellow Americans), the Tokyo Skytree is the second tallest building in the world and the tallest in Japan. It’s seismic proofed, and serves the purpose of a restaurant and observation tower, and most importantly, a broadcast tower, taking over the job the the Tokyo Tower in the past couple years. There have been several incidents where falling snow and ice from the roof of the observation area have punched holes in and damaged the roofs of houses and warehouses below the tower, but I doubt Kruger (Boers) will have to worry about that.

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The Wobbegong Antarctic detachment still hasn’t moved on Chile, so Bernardo decided to move on them. A group with several carriers, submarines, destroyers, Escuadra Nacionale s, and jet fighters in tow moves towards the Australian holdings to the west. And metal versus wood doesn’t end well very often, though Parkes (Australia) does have the numerical advantage with more ships sailing southwards from Bundaberg.

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Ardashir never knew why the Finnish peacekeepers had entrapped him just outside of Kabul, but he knew that he would never cease his fighting. With an Afghani Marine platoon fast approaching, and bombs and shells falling around him, he and his last remaining squad member hoisted themselves out of their trench and made for the city. As his brother in arms fell limp to the floor in a spray of gunfire, Ardashir kept running, seemingly invincible to anything the Afghans could throw at him. It was not until he braced himself against the outer wall that he realized the blood pouring from his stomach. Reaching for his sidearm, he said a prayer to Yahweh and took a shot at the ammunition cache inside the nearby artillery emplacement. One less Persian was alive from then on, but 10 less Afghans were as well. Anyway, Susa has fallen to no health, but, like always, the Finnish peace corps have blocked the way for any Persian troops to pass through. In the Persian Gulf, Timur takes a nice vacation, swimming, drinking, and not having to worry about any pesky Khans, well, at least for the moment.

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Woah there Haile (Ethiopia)! Hey, you’ve gotta give this man a round of applause, at least he’s trying to prepare for the Boer invasion, a valiant effort indeed. He’s listened to our previous narrators and modernized his now pretty large army. Well not really compared to the Boers, but still, better than mostly GWI. Yeah, I’m looking at you Darius (Persia), Leonidas (Sparta), and Tiridates (Armenia). The escapades of our friend the Mongolian prophet continue. No one has given him a name yet, so I think I will take that liberty. Everyone say hello to Batbayar! Also take a look over at Arabia, where Harun is taking advantage of that sweet Arabian oil (calm down Bush) and pumping out quite a few landships and airplanes. We can also see some Hawai’ian troops taking a vacation when they should’ve been home protecting their country and Napoleon (France) trying to take over Egypt (again) with a galleass. Sadly there’s no Britain left to stop him, but I’m sure just a few shots from that Spartan battleship would.

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The Trung Sisters (Vietnam) have advanced destroyers! A little bit behind in general, but still not far behind the pack. Korea’s attack a couple parts ago may have been a mistake, as Vietnam is now, without a doubt, much stronger than them, having numbers, an almost level tech field, and probably the production advantage. Worryingly for Vietnam supporters though, there’s not an aircraft in sight down here while Australia has a whopping 30 in Davao, Legaspi, and Zamboanga. Jeez. There are tons in the west of their empire though, but they wouldn’t be back east immediately and might cost the Trungs (Vietnam) some population.

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Okay so, a couple things in this slide. As TPang has pointed out, Iceland has started to get Future Worlds items like the industrial complex and the communications array (on Newfoundland) along with power armor infantry and advanced destroyers. Canada has, like Ethiopia, modernized and grown its army. Pearson has done a good job of rebuilding his military after the war with the Inuit so many parts ago. Another war may yet loom on the horizon though. Citadels near New York have encroached upon Boston, Washington, and Montreal and won’t be good for diplomatic relations between Ekeuhnick (Inuit) and Pearson (Canada) and large amounts of aircraft have been amassed by both Iceland and the Inuit on the border cities. Are the two local Arctic civs in cahoots against the Canucks? Only time will tell.

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Oh! Iceland has FINALLY found a use for Greenland (which might as well be Greyland now)! Ingolfur Arnarson has planted industrial complexes and communications arrays all over the ice sheet! There’s also a lone drone UAV surveying the frozen wastes with a power armor infantry battalion. And wow, are those some huge snow cities in the south. Good luck getting that without deity bonuses.

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Come to Sibir! Now 100% less Finnish! Here we can see Kuchum Khan’s nice carpet of armor units and the occasional sprinkling of paratrooper or gunship. I only spot a small amount of aircraft for the size of his empire though and they seem to be ignoring his largest threat at the moment, our neighborhood Top Kek, Urho. The Roman ballista group takes a nice swim in the Aral Sea before moving on to its next demonstration in the city of Sin(a)tra. The centurion of the group, Cassius, rests his armor by the now centuries old siege equipment and thinks of another world where Rome would come to be a power to be reckoned with, and not simply the first eliminated. “An empire stretching from Iberia to Israel,” he reckons, “Barbarians at our heels, civilization spread throughout the world…” Only in another life he tells himself, as he’s awoken from his trance by his fellow soldiers splashing in the sea, cutting at the water with their gladii.

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From the control tower of the MNS Saharan Salt, Mansa Musa rallies the remaining crew and tells his best pilots to fire up their engines. Whole cities burn to the north and XCOM’s constantly fire on the remaining Malian troops, but the Mansa still braves this storm, vowing to not fall, not before exhausting every option he has. You’ve gotta admire the guy’s tenacity. A town built on top of an aircraft carrier sailing the globe is a pretty cool thing to think of though. It’s certainly large enough for it.

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After seeing no other viable route into Blackfoot territory Lester B. Pearson (Canada) calls it quits. I seriously fear for him now, as the Inuit have just stolen a lot of tiles from Winnipeg and Quebec City. Pearson is losing precious miles between Inuit lands and Ottawa and even with his best efforts, that large force moving down former Texan lands and the Hudson Bay is very concerning for his well being. Sitting Jesus has produced a caravel and plans to sail the oceans in search of the New World! Someone should probably tell him that- ah never mind, let him be happy with his Blackfoot artillery protection.

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Sacre bleu! Things are looking grim in Ravenna! Now down to half health and with an almost dead gatling gun group, a privateer, and an artillery unit comprising all of its defences, I fear that Nappy (France) should start saying his prayers to Yahweh, as his time left on this war torn world is limited. Those units vacationing in the Balkans would really be helpful right around now, but good luck getting through the wall of Spartans, which are, as you know, notoriously hard to get through.

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Old Uncle Joe (USSR) decides to make peace with the Island King (Hawai’i), but I fear it’s just too late. Maybe that peace declaration would’ve forced everyone to do the same, as we all know how much a world leader everyone’s favorite communist is! Chilean presence in Kahmehameha’s former homeland has almost been wiped out by the Aussies, who have send a huge number of subs to sink the two remaining carriers in a friendly game of Battleship! Except the cost of this friendly game isn’t 20 bucks at your local Walmart, it’s the sons (and daughters?) of your loyal citizens. Let that sink in Parkes.

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Okay it may take a while to sink in. Waikiki is almost Aussie with (surprisingly), a lack of ranged units instead of melee units. Alert the media! This is a first in the world of Civ AI games! Japanese sailors watch Hawai’i. Heh.

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The Chilean naval detachment from earlier has been sandwiched by the Wobbegong and ships are in disarray on both sides! That Escuadra Nacional might be flying gold and green soon and those unprotected troop carriers will be toast as soon as an Australian ship fires at them. Tamworth has surprisingly been brought down to deep red from aerial bombardment, but is probably not going to get captured with all that ice in the way. A brave destroyer stalls for his comrades down south, taking on the Wobbegong reinforcements that will surely be headed for those juicy troop ships.

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And just like that, Chile is no more in Polynesia! With both carriers lying at the bottom of the Pacific, the three formerly Hawai’ian cities should be safe for the moment. It’s such a shame, seeing cities that were once so big be reduced to single digits, I can only imagine the sight of horror that it must be there. I’ve also noticed that Mililani is taking quite a while to heal, as it’s been the same health for a while. Is there a war that I’m not aware of?

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With the Chilean navy now scattered, a carrier group breaks for the Aussie cities. Those jet fighters answer my question of why Tamworth is so low, but I’m surprised the carriers have even managed to get this close. Hopefully for Bernardo (Chile), his blockade off the coast will hold, as the Wobbegong is notoriously skilled at capturing cities. I’m still not sure where those infantry ships are going, they’re like chickens in a wolf’s den out there!

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I had almost forgotten about this war! Mirwais Hotak’s (Afghanistan) faraway Antarctic research bases are being assaulted by Boer units and look to fall very soon. I wasn’t really expecting that this is what Mr. Kruger wanted when he declared war, and it very well still may not be all he wants. Down in the sub, we anxiously bite our fingernails in anticipation of a nuclear strike on Sheberghan. Luckily, the arsenal ship appears empty and it’s doubtful that the Boers would waste a whole warhead on a small city like that. There’s always a maybe though.

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Hey! New unit! TPang has highlighted a new Inuit cybersub! The cybersub is an upgrade of the nuclear submarine and can hold 2 missiles, has a range of 4 and a ranged attack strength of 100 (3 and 85 for the nuclear sub), and can move 8 tiles (6 for the nuclear sub). A nice upgrade from it’s predecessor and should prove very lethal for anyone who finds himself on the opposite end of those torpedo tubes. The Inuit are actually putting their new tropical paradise to good use, with tons of vessels capable of carrying nuclear destruction anywhere they please. Sorry, probably shouldn’t say that so close to the Aussies. #RememberSydney

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Here we have the insanely short submarine tech tree, which pretty much explains everything I just did. So here’s a fun fact, the day this comes out (May 11) will be the day after my birthday and this is already proving to be a wonderful present! Thanks TPang!

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The hills were painted red with blood. Bodies, artillery, guns, and bullet casings lay scattered between Tarsus and Kabul. Planes flew overhead, ready to drop bombs on innocent civilians below. Entrenched in an aluminium mine, a Persian machine gunner group fired on an Afghani marine platoon in the adjacent mine. No one was winning this war. Anyway, I don’t see much coming of Persia v. Afghanistan until the Finnish peace corps clear the way. Persia would have retaken Susa long ago if it wasn’t for them, but breaking beyond the Hindu Kush mountains is a long shot with the small valleys and Kabul standing in the way.

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Ravenna is in the red! An Icelandic power armor infantry unit stands in the tea fields outside of the city and Napoleon (France) will need to give up everything if he wishes to survive the wholesale slaughter of his remaining soldiers and citizens. It seems that he’s lost all hope however, and has stowed away with the gatling gun garrison, off to wherever the Mediterranean winds may carry him. Yahweh speed Nap, Yahweh speed.

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Our pal Jandamarra (Kimberley) has entered the information era! While I doubt he’ll ever rival Australia or call Rubibi his home again, he’s certainly not out of this just yet. As shown in the open borders treaty, he seems to be friendly with Parkes (Australia) for now. He does possess a juicy capital though, and eventually, the Wobbegong and the eternal Digger carpet will be knocking on his doors again. Hope, for Jandamarra’s sake, that Krakatoa doesn’t decide to erupt again, as that can never be a positive for anyone living nearby.

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Beryozovo has fallen back to Sibir and, unfortunately for Trigger Darkhan (Yakutia), nothing is getting through the Finnish peace corps. He banished the Boers once and for his sake, hopefully he can do the same to Urho (Finland) if he wants this Winter War to go anywhere interesting. With Korean and Mongolian units inside his borders too, it seems that he’s either doing everything he can to not get nuked by Ekeuhnick or that he’s forgotten about his plots against them. You do you, buddy.

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Off the coast of Brazil, it seems that Mr. Arnarson is trying to make something of his DOW against Chile, funneling his navy through a small passage between Africa and South America. His leading battleship has already been swamped by by home guard units from Chile, which would probably be much better utilized on the western front of this war. To the west, Pedro (Brazil) looks to be building a decently sized navy, though it is lacking destroyers and battleships. No oil in the jungles eh Pedro? It also appears that the MNS Saharan Salt has either been sunk or that Mansa Musa (Mali) has given up on his homeland. Moment of silence and F’s please, for the passing of an empire.

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Everyone, please keep your hands on those F keys, because the Icelanders are going into Ravenna any moment now and it appears Napoleon (France) has returned! Like a true captain, he’s going down with his ship in a valiant effort to preserve his nation. The action is relayed to screens across Iceland, including huge screens in the town centers of Reykjavik, Dublin, London, and Paris itself. Swedish gunners, Finnish paratroopers, Spartan sailors, and Vietnamese artillerymen all watch as the final candle of the French nation burns out.

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Well, well, well, Trigger Darkhan (Yakutia) seems to be plotting against Harun al-Rashid (Arabia). Do I smell a rap battle coming on? Honestly though, this is why you can’t trust the spy AI, pretty much everyone is plotting against everyone else at this point. Susa is still under constant bombardment, Armenia is still void of any troops and should be invaded by Leonidas (Sparta) while the opportunity is there, the Finnish peace corps is still doing its job, Batbayar is still enjoying his swim, the Huns are still enjoying theirs, and Timur his, and Napoleon is still trying to invade Egypt. A new element is our Burmese friend Anawrahta and his lost rifleman troop, who, along with a musician, have arrived in Arabia, seeking refuge from the Trungs (Vietnam). Boy, this place is really a big mixing pot of people and lost civilizations, isn’t it?

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Enhance! We can now see ol’ Anny waving his hands at the nearby Arabian aircraft carriers, who seem to be welcoming this refugees, these huddled masses yearning to breathe free, with open arms. If only freedom was a reality in this world of dictators, emperors, supreme rulers, and chairmen.

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Well, Ahmad al-Manslaughter seems to want to live up to his name and is plotting against the poor Malian refugees floating in Tombouctu harbor. Why? Why kill these people who have been nuked, charred, and steamrolled by a larger force. Please hold your excitement while I address the rest of the slid- AH WHATEVER! TRIGGER DARKHAN AND URHO KEKKONEN HAVE GONE TO WAR AGAINST THE OG KHAN, GENGHIS HIMSELF! (also look at those Buccaneer advanced destroyers and that citadel warfare around Saguntum)

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Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! We’ve been waiting since part what, 3(?) for this?? Here’s a look at the Finnish core and oh are those paratroopers gonna come in handy for this as backup to the ones already stationed in Yakutia itself. This war could be a good thing for Trigger (Yakutia), but the Mongolian units we’ve seen in his borders may cause some chaos. Also take a peek at poor Moscow, citadelled into oblivion by Urho (Finland) and Kuchum (Sibir) and some Chinese scouts sitting around in a lake, not actually scouting. Now to the frontlines!

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Oh this just keeps getting better doesn’t it! Trigger (Yakutia) is ready to pull the trigger, with a nuclear missile stored in his capital of Jokuskai! Yakuts and Finns fighting side by side and with Turfan (the forward settle we were all concerned would start a war) already in the deep red from aircraft. The only thing that could make this better is if Korea or Vietnam joined in on the fun!

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Here on the western front, not as much is happening, but a word of advice to Darkhan (Yakutia) would be to peace out with Kuchum (Sibir). He probably won’t gain anything from the Winter War and having Mongolian cities flip after capturing them isn’t very good for gaining something from this war. THE SNORYAK HAS FINALLY AWOKEN FOR REAL!

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RIP Napoleon, Part 1 - Part 55. Well Mr. Bonaparte, you started off well with the capture of Neapolis, denying the Nazis what turned out to be a key point in your histories. After that, you helped in the first elimination of Rome’s Augustus Caesar and for a while, you didn’t do much of anything. Then, along with Ireland and Iceland, you took on Elizabeth of England, the French’s eternal enemy. You did well, taking the thorn in your side that was York, protecting Orleans, and eliminating Elizabeth in the Battle of Hastings. After that, you stagnated unfortunately and, along with Uncle Joe, you did an Alexios and declared war on the much larger power that Iceland had become after taking the Emerald Isles. Your cities quickly fell and the lights of the City of Lights burned a different shade, a natural one, one of fire. You were exiled to Ravenna and slowly whittled down by the Viking King of the North, who has now taken that city. You flee to your remaining galleasses, and the Sun of Austerlitz will never grace the Earth again. Farewell, Nappy, we’ll miss your antics and your big ego, but like in our world, it was the cold that killed your chances.

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Damn, I really got lucky with this part, it’s so eventful! Anyway, down in the Boer heartlands, Paul Kruger gets to 1,237 delega- I mean, the last failsafe to make the playing field at least kind of even has malfunctioned and the Boers have completed the Skynet! This is a terrifying prospect for all who want to stand up against the might of Draka.

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Unlocked at Cybernetics, the Skynet costs 1,600 hammers to construct and, terrifyingly, all Boer combat units will now gain a 10% increase in combat strength. Yikes. And I haven’t seen any of them yet, but network nodes and cores both increase defense and with an increased radius, oh boy, the Boers are gonna be untouchable. This also means that they’re nearing the last couple tiers of the expanded tech tree, which could be the end for everyone else.

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Well. I don’t know how else to explain this other than it’s a Terminator reference. That would actually be a good idea for MK III, California under the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Is there a mod for that already? I’m not entirely sure if it fits the whole historical approach that we’ve been aiming for, but it would be interesting nonetheless.

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It seems Trigger (Yakutia) still won’t give up on Sibir, bringing the formerly Chinese city of Shaoshan down to half health. With no units in the area, it seems that Kuchum (Sibir) is uninterested in keeping the city, the problem for the Yakuts is that they’d need to get through that pesky Mongolian territory first. And to do that, they’d actually need to bring some units to the frontlines before Finland swipes up some more far away territory on the opposite side of Asia, again.

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The Mongolian border cities of Turfan, Tiflis, and Sanchu are all falling quickly, and Yakut/Finnish forces are quickly approaching, with power armor infantry and paratroopers tearing through the comparatively outdated units Genghis (Mongolia) is fielding. I believe that the OG Khan has the numbers here, but the two allies definitely have the tech, making the playing field pretty even. I don’t think we’ll be seeing any WMDs flying just yet though, as Darkhan (Yakutia), would probably not fare well fighting a long fronted war from the very west to the very east of his empire.

61

It seems like Bernardo’s (Chile) defences have given out, as the Wobbegong Armada is now knocking at the doors of Santiago de Chile and Valparaiso! He should bring his Atlantic fleet through the Strait of Magellan if he wants to be absolutely sure his capital doesn’t lose a lot of his population through starvation and possibly flipping. Parkes (Australia) has proven to be an amazing naval tactician, so seeing any of the three west coast cities flip won’t be too big of a surprise. God speed O’Higgins, God speed. I also see several Buccaneer vessels along the border with Chile, trying to make friends again, are we Captian Morgan? Capturing these cities from Chile would create a lot of ruckus in the world‘s stage and probably invoke the interest of Pedro (Brazil), who, at this point, is far too much for our favorite seadog to take on.

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Woah there! Vikings with nukes? Long range pillaging is now regarded as the best type of pillaging in Iceland. But seriously Ingolfur? Where are you going with those atom bombs? I personally wouldn’t take the risk of trying to get your payload to Chilean shores and possibly waste that fine uranium when/if those carriers are sunk. That poor musician on the right is not going to last much longer I’m afraid, being stuck between and Chilean destroyer and a submarine, yea, good luck with that bud.

63

My god, this part is probably one of the more eventful ones we’ve had! The Trung Sisters (Vietnam), wishing to unite their new Afghani holdings with the rest of their empire. Besides flipping these Mughal cities and making them useless for a while to the Trungs, there’s not much Urho (Finland) can do to prevent these colonies from falling, being surrounded on all sides but one and so far from home certainly doesn’t help against an already formidable enemy. Henry Morgan (Buccaneers) also joins in, and knowing Kek, I wouldn’t be surprised if Iberia started feeling the heat (well, cold I guess) from those paratroopers up in the Finnish homeland.

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Due to the Vietnamese DOW, the Finnish peacekeepers have abandoned their blockade around Susa, and as I said earlier, their absence allowed Darius (Persia) to capture the already dead city easily. The way to Kabul is still blocked off by the peace corps though, much to Darius’ dismay.Persia is finally relevant again! Right? I mean. Eh. Good on ya Darius, keep up the effort. This also puts Afghanistan into the “landlocked countries club” along with the USSR and Mongolia. It’s a small club.

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When I first saw this slide I said to myself, “but, that‘s not a musician, nor is he Burmese.” It took me a second to realize that the unit highlighted was not the Arabian missionary in its vicinity. Anyway take a peek at Ethiopia’s forces. Quite impressive, and it seems they’re putting oil-rich North Africa to use, with tons of battleships and some planes around the Horn of Africa.

66

Oh dear. Em informs us that Bernardo O’Higgins’ (Chile) scientists have begun development of the atom bomb. Reports indicate that the plans have come from a reverse-engineered Aussie atom bomb captured from an aircraft carrier in the war. The attack on Santiago has lifted for now, but Valparaiso is in some danger, with a decent amount of Australian ships right in its harbor. Also, Buccaneer Tiwanaku is taking damage from only God knows what, I’ve lost count of the wars that the Buccs are in honestly.

67

And just like that, we’re on to the InfoAddict slides! All of our rankings here from eight upwards have stayed the same and Australia has even broken the 200,000,000 mark on population, with a little more people than Brazil has in our world. The Boers grew by roughly 20,000,000 with Mali now under their control and Chile has fallen two spots with the loss of the Hawai’ian Islands to the Wobbegong. I’d also like to congratulate Sweden, who has recently broken 100,000,000 citizens in their empire!

68

Down at the bottom we have our slowly starving nations. Noticeably missing is France and- woah, is that Mexico I see peeking down at the top? C’mon Benito! Afghanistan continues to tumble down, halving their population with the loss of Susa and poor Hawai’i, once a leader, has halved again, now down to third to last. Japan has actually stayed exactly the same and the Sioux have sextupled (hah) their population! The Kimberley slow recover whatever pride they can down here.

69

Oh boy. The Boers are almost a full 10 techs above the second placers. Everyone who you’d expect to be here is here, and each civ went up about 1 tech count this part. Not much to say besides the fact that the Boers are 20+ techs ahead of just about everyone in the seventies.

70

The Inuit have actually surpassed the Boers in science output! Poor Korea is stuck at 10, which is extremely surprising for a science focused civ like them. The amount is very varied from one to twelve though, with a difference of 6,959 science output from the Inuit to Brazil.

71

Brazil and Sweden switch spots and the Inuit have beaten out both Sibir AND Iceland this part! Surprising for me to see here is Canada, who I honestly did expect to make it into the top ten, even though they have a decently sized army. Again, like the other two stats, everyone who you’d expect is present except for Mongolia, who I definitely expected to at least be peeking at 13. Hm.

72

The Inuit have a massive production lead of about 1,500 hammers. Also the matchup between Finland/Yakutia and Mongolia seems to be heavily favoring the assailants, with both beating out Mongolia by a good bit. It’s also good to not see the Boers at the top spot for this one, because that, that would terrifying.

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On to the largest empires and I think the biggest surprise on this list is Chile, who never really came to my mind as a sprawling empire. If anything, Ethiopia definitely seems the larger of the two. It also seems that the Buccaneer colonial expansions have been successful, bringing them to sixth worldwide.

74

Catholicism has now begun to edge out Judaism in both cities and followers, having a good lead on both. How are the followers registered by the way? Does it work like city population and is just a smaller number to make it easier to look at? Buddhism has also made it into the 100 cities club and Oriental Orthodoxy isn’t far behind. And the poor 18 followers left in Islam still adhere to a never dying religion, even when it’s founder has passed, it lives on, much like Judaism, just, a lot smaller.

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And to end off our collection of screenshots, we have the religion map as always! Catholicism has reached the very edge of South America and areas like Hawai’i, northern India, New Zealand, and good old Saigon.

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We finish with our newest addition to the series, the official winners of our /r/civbattleroyale Vexillology competition! Anywho, I guess that’s all for now folks! This was an extremely eventful part, and I think we’ll be seeing more action from now on, with Draka and the Snoryaks awoken. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present TPang and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me have this opportunity! Can we all just take a minute, once you’re done viewing this part, and just thank our TPangolin and all the wonderful moderators, OC creators, power rankers, and compilers for keeping this wonderful event going strong! Well ladies and gents, that was Part 55 of the Battle Royale, I had a blast narrating this part, and I hope you guys were alright with my narrating skills. So long for now and I’ll see you guys around the sub, this has been /u/_Patronus_, hoping you all enjoyed this great part of this amazing game.

Part 55: Awoken From Their Slumber – mk2

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