Power Rankings: Episode 31 – S2

Random Strategy

The Gauls' smart (but boring) decision last part to kill Finland came in clutch immediately. The Vandals, angry at losing to Lesotho, take out their frustrations on their ancient enemy, the Gauls, thereby demonstrating how much their military might has advanced since last time they failed. But here's the thing: the Gauls aren't dead. Thanks to their elimination of Finland they have Turku to retire to! From this 1 tile 2 pop enclave of the USSR, they just need to remain friendly to the USSR in order to survive.

Msurdej:  Antonio finds himself in a tight spot. After Marajoara eviscerated them, the lands of Rio Grande are scattered and without their original capital. Now bumming it up in the old Neutral capital, Rosillo doesn’t really have any likely options for an escape. Sure he might have more troops and production than some, but it’s only a matter of time before their elimination comes in totality.

Altima

So this part was a bit of a downer for the Dene. Their rank goes up a point, but only because a Terrible Thing has befallen Rio. While the worst of the Marajoaran offensive appears to mostly be over because of the Chukchi colony in the way of further naval incursion, that’s still an L no matter how you slice it. Regardless, they burned down Lutetia, and that’s funny.

Cloudberg:

Oh, what a disastrous fall from grace! Malacca plunges 7 ranks, more than half the total number of ranks remaining, after a surprise invasion from the Chukchi, Lesotho, and Kulin left them battling for their very survival. Numerous cities have already fallen and the Chukchi are at the gates of Malacca itself; the countryside of Southeast Asia is burning as the shattered remnants of the Malaccan military struggle to prevent the onslaught. It’s hard to say which and how much territory each invader will take, but one thing is clear: there’s virtually no way Malacca escapes this without being either eliminated or rumped.

Lacsirax:This episode is critical for PARG’s survival. We always hoped for some dramatic conflicts between PARG and the USSR, and with the advent of modern warfare the Urals are no longer such an impenetrable barrier that stifles any war before they even begin. On the face of it, the forces on the ground are fairly evenly split white and red, PARG seemingly holding a slight advantage in the south but with a rather meatier advantage for Lenin in the north. But the kicker here is aerial supremacy, which the Soviets have used to huge advantage, battering border cities down to zero health while their own cities are mostly unscathed. That means Lenin will only need the odd unit here and there to flip those cities - and one such border city is Kolchak’s capital, Omsk. If those cities start to flip regularly, and the white forces are spent flipping them back (again without air support), things could turn very grim very quickly.

Lacsirax:Ooooo, we’re at the stage of the game where a failed state like Germany is ranked all the way up at 8th. Stay out of trouble and they could even make the top 5! And staying out of trouble is what they did this episode, giving the Vandals moral support if not military support in their conquest of Gaul and otherwise enjoying the downfalls of distant civs like Malacca and Rio Grande. There’s no way back for Germany, but with a bit of a scattered empire that still spreads from the Caspian to Greenland, it’ll be a while before we’re eulogizing them.

Msurdej:  With Malacca crumbling, this is great news for their neighbors. And it just so happens that the Kulin **ARE** one of Malacca’s neighbors. Barak has been on an island hopping spree, pushing into the core cities of Malacca. But can William secure these cities for Kulin, and more importantly, will it be enough to take down Chukchi?

Altima

Fun trivia: Punjab’s InfoAddict rank is the same as their PR rank. This is the most interesting thing about Punjab right now. As the Malaccans collapse, they may have the opportunity to jump on that train themselves with their remarkably advanced military, but Singh has been extremely quiet as a whole lately, so nothing may well come of that.

Random Strategy

This part the Vandals finally peaced out with Lesotho after suffering a potentially game-losing defeat. With their American cities also gone, there was only 1 thing left to do: recreate the Roman empire. The only obstacle was those indomitable Gauls. But this time the Vandals have something that magic potion can't beat: planes. And with that, the Roman Empire has been successfully formed. Moving forwards, their next opponent should probably be Germany as that is the only opponent they outtech (yes: Vandal tech is falling behind which is not good). A worse option they could try would be teching back up to bridge the gap between them and Lesotho and the USSR.

Cloudberg:

The USSR remains in fourth place as Malacca plunges below them and [redacted] leapfrogs ahead of them. However, we think their prospects have slightly improved. They captured Frankfurt from the Vandals this episode, and although their war with PARG has been inconclusive so far, most of us think they will eventually gain the advantage. On the other hand, if Lenin can’t beat the White Russians, his prospects may be over, as taking over PARG is an absolute must if he wants to turn the Soviet Union into a global superpower.

Vihreaa

Lesotho leapfrogs their way to third place this week as they hold their considerable gains against the Vandals and Malacca collapses to Chukchi forces. With a modern and considerably large military, Lesotho was able to push against the Vandals, who owe most of their strength to their navy in the Mediterranean. They are among the top of the second tier powers, with a considerably smaller chance to win than the big two, but the game still has enough time left for them to amass the power needed to compete for the victory.

Msurdej:  Well this has been a part for ol’ P’kuee. With Rio Grande and the Vandals cowed, Marajoara have dominated the American region, and have a foothold in the African region. More importantly, they have the tech lead AND the largest military. And Marajoara is chock full of paratroopers. Sure, we may be a few parts away from XCOMs, but if P’kuee can consolidate the recent gains, they’ll be in a great position to win.

Vihreaa:

The Chukchi, while still having a quite successful part, only just barely retained their number one spot this week, by a single vote from one of our power rankers. While they still retain the most cities and highest production in the world, Marajoara has a considerable tech lead on them, and after taking a large chunk out of Rio Grande, their power has continued to grow. We don’t know if the Chukchi and Marajoara will face each other in battle in Total War, but when they inevitably do it will likely be a battle for control of the Pacific and North America.