Part 83: The Great Leap Forward

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Welcome everyone, to part 83 of the Civilization Battle Royale. I am /u/X-Rok, longtime lurker of the sub and honoured to have the opportunity to narrate a part. Our opening artwork here is brought to you by /u/robsterart, the cover of the new book by the prolific writer and vagabond knight Mao, as he rides across the partially frozen plains of Sibir.

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Next up we have the Gundie map, updated by /u/Spherical_melon, charting out all the recorded cities and associated land struck by nuclear hellfire. And the 11 cities that were nuked right off the map, though some of them have been re-settled. That‘s about what, 20% of the cylinder that has tasted the effects of Uranium Surprise?

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Here‘s the Power Rankings #1, still held by the Boers, to the surprise of no one. Australia is making an effort on the east coast, and a resurgent Dvin is making some snipes on Finland in the Mediterranean, cutting off the northeastern front, but it seems at the moment, nothing can loosen the grip of the Boerg on the top spot.

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And now /u/edse1991‘s Almost Tile Accurate map, which if you compare to the one from the previous part, has changed very little. Dvin‘s Mediterranean gains, Boers take 2 Finnish islands, lose Middelburg to the Aussies, citadel a couple tiles off the last of Bucc Afrikarr holdings (that weren‘t taken by Iceland), and found a new city on the coast of the Red sea. The only other changes that weren‘t adjacent to Boer territory are two unclaimed tiles on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico finally being claimed. Texas increases their land tiles by 25%!

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Let the observationing begin! A shot of the middle east, where Sri Lanka‘s advance continues to be held back by immobile Afghan peacekeepers. A Great Musician puts on an oasis concert, and takes damage from both city bombardment and an adjacent citadel. I guess the Finns are not a fan of their style of music. Meanwhile Boer workers finish crossing the Red sea and look to start repairing the improvements damaged in the Vietnam war.

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So much for the Australian advance, the Boer retake Middelburg, and an armada of cybersubs have wiped all Wobbegong presence from the area. A number of nukes are carried on board several of them as they head east...

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A closeup shot of the Dvin core, looking a little empty as the former carpet has all gone off to war, to great success. I don‘t recall Finland having any melee units anywhere nearby, so the lack of carpet isn‘t terribly worrying at the moment, but when XComs are available, who knows. Dvin begins the recarpeting with a Tank, which I believe is a new unit for them.

08

Iceland recuperates and reinforces in former Iberiarrr, fresh off the peace treaty with the Buccs at the end of last part. The Boers also rebuild their Iberian holdings, with the wave of workers that made quick work of the west African fallout almost done here. A number of Boer melee units embark and head for the Finnish front, several Mobile SAMs and a Giant Death Robot joining up with the Hovertanks already in the area. ...Rok the Kasbah?

09

The war for central America continues, with a view of the fallout-covered Mayan homelands. Buccaneer troops close in on Nassau and Port-au-Prince, hoping to take them back before Parkes manages to get more Australian defenders in the area. An Inuit XCom makes landfall passing through, getting a good look at the Bucc‘s debut Vertol.

10

Off the west coast of South America, we see where Mexi/Mayanstralia is getting their reinforcements from, part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch finally shaking loose and dispersing. A small Icelandic contingent looks on from the south, getting a little homesick for their naval carpet at home. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch of course is a nickname propagated by the legendary underground Mao Revitalisation Movement.

11

Yakutia still lives, but the pressure rises as Pedro II of Brazil wakes from his slumber. Open borders with Mongolia have proven useful, with a very reasonable carpet in the area ready to strike. There‘s even an open tile to the west of Beryozovo to paradrop in, if they can get there before Korea reshuffles to surround them again

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Mao, the supposedly dead legendary figure has returned. Mao‘s second book world tour comes to Dvin, as the remnants of China declare on Sparta. A Knight of the Maond descends from Finland in the north, looking out into the Mediterranean at a damaged, but recovering, Epidauros. Kekkonen has many planes, but only seems to be using them for token attacks on Jerusalem at the moment, perhaps waiting on repairs.

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A closeup on our Knight of the Maond, spending the night/end-of-turn in a spooky haunted Manufactory ruins. Unfortunately, if they survive the night there is no free inheritance, they‘ll have to work for that place to call home...

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Over in western Europe, more Iceland and friends. Some Swedish units milling about in the open borders, and a Siberian Great Musician makes a concert tour stop in a Nature Preserve next to Neapolis, the first city to be taken in war on the cylinder.

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Another look at central America. Nassau and Port-au-Prince take some hits, Australia gets a few more ships near Nassau, and it looks like Blackfoot has negotiated open borders with Parkes to better navigate the western waters.

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Nukes are exchanged on the Sibir-Vietnam frontlines. Here we see Kandahar has been hit, a couple tiles of fallout and significant damage to the carpet of units surrounding the city.

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On the Sibir side, we see fresh strikes to Shahrisabz and the capital, Qashliq. Their army does appear to be recovering, with a very healthy count of melee units, BioTroopers and Robot Infantry protected from the skies by Mobile SAMs.

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And a strategic view of the same front... We‘re still on the end of the same turn, so I‘m not sure exactly how Shahrisabz and Qashliq took additional damage since last slide. Maybe it has something to do with Future Worlds and how some of those new units have different icons, like those BioTroopers appearing as Infantry here, new city health improvements not registering in strategic mode?

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Further south, we see another of Sibir‘s nuclear strikes. Ghazni is taken down to the black and completely devoid of defenders, with a Mobile SAM coming through the hills to the north. Hebron is also in the black, probably from Boer airstrikes, and Dvin‘s brand new Tank in Jerusalem is within striking distance...

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Everybody hates Kekkonen! The dogpile on the wounded Finland begins, starting with Ingolfur Arnarson of Iceland. Open borders with Sweden should enable some progress, but Gustavus‘ replenishing carpet isn‘t going to be easy to navigate.

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The Kimberly‘s tech level may be competitive, but they aren‘t even close to any Finnish exclaves to scoop up. I wouldn‘t expect much from them in this conflict. Keep on snoozing, Jandamadda. A Persian carrier says ‘hi‘.

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Tiridates III takes the opportunity to strike while the striking‘s good, and joins this war to clean up some Finnish bordergore. Hebron was just in the black, and a carpet of mostly Paratroopers should be pretty effective there in the open fields. There‘s also Yervantashat next door, presenting an opportunity to reunite some of the shattered remains of Armenia.

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Finland tried pushing back in the Mediterranean theatre. Jerusalem‘s Tank has retreated back towards Dvin as Hovertanks approach. On the left edge of the shot we can see Iceland has taken Elis, thanks to the troops stationed in Sparta (the city), and Finland has struck back taking it down to the red, and has an Advanced Destroyer nearby.

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More of the early Iceland-Finland conflict. A better view of Elis, and we also see Messene has been taken, by a Caravel of all things. Those two cities held a combined 13 aircraft last we saw them last part, so that was a big hit to Kekkonen‘s air force. Icelandic Paratroopers put pressure on Cumae, Mantinea is left open to a snipe, and Antium is surrounded by Boer Hovertanks.

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Finland‘s core is mighty empty, this could be bad news in short order. China‘s MRM scout remains alive and vigilant within Finnish territory.

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Over in eastern Canada we see the Inuit-Iceland border, with a packed with naval carpet and sparse land units as usual. Some Vietnamese troops are out seeing the world, some Blackfoot got lost looking for the Buccaneer front, and a surviving Mexican Rocket Artillery is exiled into the frozen north. My home town of Edmonton is a bit different when compared to our own reality.

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Further west we see the Blackfoot core, who has not lost touch with the art of land carpets. Paratroopers, Paratroopers, and more Paratroopers. The Inuit, too, are doing a lot better at that over here. Blackfoot better hope they keep the friendly relationship with the Inuit, because they are significantly outgunned.

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A look at Mongolia‘s core shows a decent carpet of units, now sporting more than a couple Modern Armor. Still sharing open borders with Korea, so that relationship appears to be doing well. Sibir‘s replenished army looks to make some gains, coming down around Bamda. Vietnam has 10 planes stationed in the city, so the Trungs better use ‘em, move ‘em, or lose ‘em.

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This appears to be the center of religious conflict on the cylinder, three thriving faiths dividing the Vietnamese core pretty equally, and leaving several in the middle without a clear majority. One thing all of Vietnam can agree on though, is Drones. Drones -everywhere-.

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More glimpses of religion here, with Judaism leading in the middle east, and making gains with more religious pressure per follower. The Afghan peacekeepers remain put, and it looks like Sri Lanka‘s musician didn‘t make it off the stage from his last show.

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The central American scuffle continues, with neither side gaining ground this turn. An Australian Digger platoon locks eyes with a horde of Buccaneer Mutants as they advance over the hills towards Therapne, meanwhile the Buccs have free reign of the rest of the land around Port-au-Prince and Nassau.

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Back to the middle east, and Armenia has moved out. Gaza is nearly empty as the Paratroopers head for Hebron, and Tigranocerta and Constantinople to the north. Yerevan and Bukhara‘s forces also push north to Yervantashat.

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Our spy in Inuit Cincinnati tells us Ekehunick seeks the last of the Ashanti. Where is that little guy, anyway? Headed back into Boer territory, last I saw. Our spy also reports that this political move was a result of civilian pressure launched from a viral holographic dance tribute posted on Inuit Social Media by the Dixaut Zoo after the passing of one of their supposedly immortal animals.

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The Blackfoot are also plotting, but the remains of Texas is something he can actually get his hands on. Considering Laredo is literally in the way to the Buccs that they are currently at war with, this would be a war better declared sooner than later.

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The average age of a Digger in the Autocratic Australian Empire is 19 and half years old. The Australian Army dictates that new recruits (Diggers) must face trials akin to fighting through to achieve access to better weapons. Conscription was also unavoidable.

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Australia has brought many Drones to this front. Almost 50 in cities, another dozen on carriers. How effectively they manage to use them, we‘ll see. Leogane‘s in the red again, and Port Royal has recovered back above 20 pop.

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Beryozovo still stands, surrounded by Hovertanks again before a Brazilian Paratrooper can find the open tile.

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The Eastern Mediterranean. Nicomedia is bombed into the red, but no melee units threaten it. Hebron is still in the red, with one less Hovertank defender and Armenian Paratroopers knocking at the gates. Dvin‘s Tank lives, but barely.

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Northern Boerfrica rebuilds, building regular old farms on regular old desert. All signs pointed towards this being a mental team building exercise employed by the Boer Reich. 'Just farming' was considered a privilege.

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Armenia‘s push on Yervantashat is not off to a great start. A Hovertank in a citadel is doing a lot of damage to units on the south side, and their UU Great General doesn‘t have any mounted friends to give their unique promotion to. Open borders with Sibir might help in the long run, if Finland doesn‘t counterattack first. That‘s a lot of planes there. Looks like Sibir took Carrollton back at some point this part.

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Another UI-less shot, this time in the Aussie core. A Hovertank perches itself atop Uluru, overlooking a trio of citadels to the east.

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The Vietnam coast. Lots of Drones in the carpet, both on land and water. Em is on vacation in Olongapo, getting a little look at Vietnamese Mech Artillery taking up the one open land tile on the island.

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Qashliq‘s population has dropped again, meaning they‘ve probably been nuked once more. Meanwhile we have Yakutia begging for the hurting to stop, making peace with Korea, Mongolia, and the Inuit...

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Leaving Brazil as the only ones left to finish them off. A shot of the core in South America shows some pretty nice carpet, a shiny new Giant Death Robot, and a lot of planes in the north, about as ready as they can be for a second round with the Buccaneers.

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In this edition of UI-less Hovertanks on Natural Wonders, Brazil surveys the top of Cerro de Potosi.

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And Henry Parkes of Australia taps out, making peace with the Boers after being pushed back from Madagascar. Kruger is now free to focus on Finland in the north.

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A couple of luxury resources are up for bans in the next World Congress, Incense and Truffles. Sri Lanka still cannot into Batticaloa. But it looks like their musician survived? Or it‘s another one.

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The plotting against dead civs continues, with Ingolfur of Iceland hoping to finish off the last Rocket Artillery of Mexico hiding in the Inuit arctic wastes.

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Iceland continues to make gains at Finland‘s expense, taking Mantinea and getting a Mobile SAM on the doorstep of Antium, which is still otherwise surrounded by Boer Hovertanks. I guess that‘s gains at the expense of the Boers too, ‘cause those cities were practically already taken. The Knights of the Maond that were south of Constantinople appear to have vanished.

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Armenia‘s push on Yervantashat improves, killing the Hovertank and pillaging the citadel to the south, but still not damaging the city. The window on this opportunity closes as Finnish reinforcements come from the north, Armenia must strike hard soon if they want to take this.

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A Blackfoot Paratrooper joins the Digger in their fight against the Mutants of Palenque. Leogane is in the black again, as an Aussie Hovertank pushes out of Nassau.

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Whoa. More big war declarations, as the Inuit and Brazil join forces against Australia. The Aussie core will stay safe, but Parkes‘ gains in central America are now under serious threat from three sides. Did Henry Morgan and the Buccs turn their two once greatest threats into allies? Sydney looks to be the first active capital to reach 50 pop.

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Looks like the old lands of Japan are under threat too, as the Inuit‘s Pacific carpet at Miulani Mauka are itching for some action, nuclear missiles at the ready.

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A lone Australian Paratrooper goes on a suicide mission in an attempt to sabotage an Inuit Manufactory on a one tile island. I don‘t think he‘s gonna make it.

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And Australian Hawaii too, its waters invaded by a scattering of ships, and a pair of XCom units finding room on the island of Hilo.

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Even the Antarctic Aussie holdings see some action, with a half dozen Inuit ships that just happened to be in the area, looking to make some waves.

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More Inuit XCom landings, appearing among the land reserves of Uxmal. Henry Morgan and the Buccs must be breathing a heavy sigh of relief as this theatre of war is about to shift momentum.

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Iceland makes one more push, finishing off Cumae and stealing Antium, effectively closing the Boers off from the Finnish front. With no more borders to Finland, peace should come soon... but who‘s next for the Boers? That‘s a lot of border with Iceland now, they may have just made themselves public enemy #1.

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A final shot of the Sibir-Vietnam front shows little change, but we do get to see exactly what Vietnam has stored at Air Base Bamda... That‘s a lot of bomb.

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Pliny counts a bunch of pointy sticks, and these are the results. Henry Parkes continues to lead thanks to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Kruger is still a little on the depleted side for his known strength, and the rest of the top tiers are about where we expect them to be.

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The middle tiers are about right. Finland needs to build units quickly with Iceland coming for them with triple the number...

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And the rump states. Dvin is extremely low for just having taken two cities these last parts. Afghanistan‘s 5 surviving peacekeepers in Batticaloa are a bigger force than 3 civs that are still alive.

Part 83: The Great Leap Forward – mk2

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