Episode 54: Shattering the Chains of Fate – S1

Release Date:

July 08, 2020

Narrated by:

LunarNeedle, Jay/Fam and Robert Wencek

Starting Turn:

1210

Video:

Audio Narration

Abstract

As the cylinder spins slower and slower, scrappy leaders work with less and less to claim a victory. A tale of inches, told forever.

Viewing: Vertical

Jump to scene

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Hey everyone, it’s Lunar again! I hope you enjoyed the last part. My proofreaders are close friends of mine who I always wanted to get into a part, so I thought I might as well use my Blue Cassette privilege to get them to assist me in this final part. There’s a lot to unpack here, but I implore you to follow along for the brutal personal hell that is late game Civilization 5. My friends joining me on such a journey are Jay and Robert, first time narrators and who honestly have been so supportive of me and my work as I toil away with turn times and crashes. Because we trio-teamed this, I will be noting who is narrating what part in the scene title so as to not break the flow of chaos.Finally, as someone who went through this all, I thank each and everyone of you for guiding us through this journey. This has been an emotional set of months and honestly I’m so happy to be in such a welcoming and open community. Thank you. ^-^

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This intro OC is highlighting the amazing literary work on the sub, and a particular nice thing to read after the part drops. Good job JDT!

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I don’t know what to say. I find it rather nice to brag about the fact that my community has beautiful map makers and I always love your work. Thanks, Vihreaa.

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The power ranking slide isn’t here, but I predict the Moors will be beaten by Kazakhs. I wonder how high the deviation is.

Lime’s note: Never underestimate the power of the ‘Guay

CBR In-Game Screenshot of Narration by LunarNeedle

5: Narration by LunarNeedle

And with a snap of flames and a few thousand Kazakh hovertanks, the eastern Indian front collapses even more. For those hoping for a Zimbabwe hold on India, nothing is likely to save them. Many cities are in the red due to Total War and their core is very fragile. Some nuclear hellfire around the former Marathan capital of Raigad doesn’t spell that these tiles are even worth keeping. Let it go, Zimbabwe. Let it go.

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It seems that Merv and Pokhara flipped, with Nisa very likely to flip soon. The Kazakh armies are definitely thicker than anything Zimbabwean in this scene. Unless Ablai Khan moves his units to protect the slowly crumbling western front, I doubt this frontline will be able to hold up to the onslaught of a mobilized Uruguayan navy.

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Both sides are desolate. There’s more civilian units here than army units and that ratio decreases as more and more units are bombed away. I swear, the more I look at this, the more I see desperation on both sides. It seems that they sued for peace the turn they were allowed to and are now building their army up. Unless central Europe is full of nexuses then I expect this war to turn Kazakhs’ favor in nine more turns when Total War strikes again.

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Uruguay’s aggressive campaign seems to be ready to strike east and go through the juicy and relatively undefended northern Zimbabwean lands. Thankfully, it seems the offensive Uruguayan units are limited to a single giant death robot and dozens of air units flying overhead. Said position of air units is a bit risky, but Zimbabwe is desperate to protect their core as enemy units trickle in from all sides. I don’t think safe is a word in their playbook anymore.

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A heavy amount of units in this scene can rapidly strike and do damage, but there’s not enough of a task force here yet to take Japan altogether. Although, the unseen units off screen might be the deciding factors, so for now at least, Japan is divided by two gigantic powers vying for dominance in the Asian theater. Success here depends almost entirely on how well Moorish units can assault the Kazakh core.

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Right now, the Kazakhs, represented in this glitched screen by Parthia, seem to have made peace with everyone but Zimbabwe, who are beyond occupied due to Uruguayan aggression. Do not take this as safety, as with every scene the time until total war is reissued grows ever shorter. Use your time well, Zimbabwe.Also to note, Uruguay is at peace with Iroquois, and the Moors are only fighting the Iroquois. It seems everyone made peace with all their most dangerous adversaries to buy them some more time before the eventual rematch in seven turns.

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The Kazakhs seem to have anger issues, as they devote too much of an army to the Middle East to make it impossible to defend cities of Circesium and Kuchan. I’d think that army would be better used north, Ablai. In other news, wow, Zimbabwe evaporated like water on a barbeque. Their units congregate around the former Omani lands as they retreat to their core, broken and bruised.

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Uruguay appears to be mounting an attack against Zimbabwe in the small gap where they aren’t at war with the Kazakhs or Iroquois. Taking quick advantage, and perhaps purchasing a few units, Uruguay assaults the city of Masikwesi with swaths of nanohive units as their army grows. It seems the power of air warfare wasn’t passed down to Zimbabwe, as almost all units are unharmed. They are at war as we just saw. What’s with the hesitation, Mutota?

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Being bombed out of existence must be a blessing, as it seems the former city of Pune has created enough open space for Zimbabwe to push back the units from Circesium. This was not a peace treaty. Those units are gone and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are no replacements; not anymore, at least.

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And with a spin of the cylinder, Sangameshwar and Merv evaporated as the demilitarized land between the twin blue dragons and Zimbabwe grew and grew. There were so many stories in this part of the world that just disappeared, leaving behind land no god wishes to trek. A fitting end. Also fun fact, Newfoundland was just conquered by the Moors. The navy is slowly but surely winning versus the Iroquois. Also also, the next turn is another wave of Total War.

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Mutota made a difficult call and submitted to the Kazakhs to give a large buffer state between them and the rampaging Kazakhs. Tactical usage of open borders means they can reinforce their front while providing an ample distraction to the Moors. There’s too much to unpack from these last five turns, so let’s just move on. Damn, though. Clever move.

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On this front, the land ignites and nexuses push deep into the core, pushing the front up to Aspara. Their core is at shooting distance at this point and Astana looks like the prize in the Moor’s eyes. The armies here are full of Great Engineers with no wonders left to build, and workers with no purpose as the battles push deeper and deeper inland. Subtract the civilian units from this image and you have the image of a very, very broken Kazakhs. The clock ticks on and the shadow grows over the Asian mega-empire.

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Janitorial duty was issued here and almost all exclaves were swept into larger, prettier empires. Aside from the large contingent of Nevakat hovertanks, the Himalayans look pretty empty and Allahabad seems fragile. This doesn’t seem to be a front that Ablai Khan can win, but as always the mountains prove to be the most valuable defensive building.

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It seems the lovers' quarrel will be fought in Alaska. Whoever comes out of this battle with territory inland might be able to gobble up a large chunk of their empires, but the resources spent to take the broken and, frankly, useless northern Canadian lands will come at the cost of the capital. Let it go, Ablai Khan. I swear, some of these leaders fight with the brutishness and bitterness of elementary students. I guess they have a lot of bottled up rage from millenia in the sub.

CBR In-Game Screenshot of Narration by Jay

19: Narration by Jay

Let’s focus on Dhlo-Dhlo. Take a close look: Either Zimbabwe’s got a taste for “exceptionally rare,” or they’re so desperate to siege Bumbusi that they’re pulling any and every unit they've got available. Nice of the Kazakhs to lend Nyatsimba Mutota a storage room to leave that artillery to rot in. If the Moors join in on the fight, then Uruguay can kiss their little nest in East Africa goodbye. Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, the Moors’ influence is spreading south. To expand or maybe to flee?

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Up in the Northwest section of the world, blood paints the snow, and most of it belongs to the Kazakhs. Chirik-rabat, Balasagun, Akyrtas, and Ordubazar have been laid to waste, simply ripe for the taking. What did it cost the Moors to create a hook to dig into the Kazakh nation? Wait; JUST Romsa? Perfectly balanced, my foot.

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Continuing down the northern front between the Moors and the Kazakhs, infighting continues to break out, greatly wounding Ecbatana. Zimbabwe’s scathing words in an effort to denounce the Kazakhs might have caused them to keep going purely out of spite, because they’ve begun to push the Moors back via Asaak, Suzak, and Nisa. Impressive as they are, the numbers might not be enough. They’ve exhausted the Kazakh front in an effort to land a few more stabs. Keep that up, and it’ll come to bite them back when they least expect it...

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There’s a storm brewing at the eastern front of the map - Eight turns to Total War, and most of the Iroquois’ line has been shredded into heaps of metal and rust. It’s been a bloody battle for Uruguay, but come high tide, the nexuses and nanohives that they have stationed at the front line will wash away the remains. Hiawatha sweats in his bunker as he might have to consider his days to be numbered. Time’s running out, and if this keeps up, the Iroquois will be swallowed up when the next bomb drops.

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The Moors seem to be angry about something - Kuchan and Nisa wound up being flipped by the Kazakhs, who have no desire to give it up. In turn though, they snatched Ecbatana for themselves. Now that the Moors have a city inside of the Kazakhs’ nation, they readied themselves to take all of it back, stationing rocket artillery, genoswarms, nanohives, and no less than three nexuses stationed at Sidak and Otrar to go traipsing into Kazakh land. Where the Kazakhs laid their pieces, the Moors decided the best move was to flip the chessboard entirely.

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As if flipping the board wasn’t enough, the Moors decided to stomp over to Uruguay and snatch one of their toys as well. The remains of what was once Sangameshwar is flipped into Hisn Ar… you get the picture, leaving the Moors a station to go snatching land after land from two supported fronts. The Pincer method - even in futuristic times, old tactics die hard. Meanwhile, Uruguay is preparing to settle a city in No-Man’s Land, trying to claim back some of the missing grounds from earlier firefights. Eight turns seems like such a long time away, and Uruguay has decided the best thing to do against the forces is… ready themselves another citadel to make more? Surprisingly clever, for a Civ with not much offense nearby a dividing line. Er, dividing land.

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Oh, so THAT’S where all of Uruguay’s forces were hiding, laying waste to Kazakh territories. Eight - count them, EIGHT territories have been crushed by the Uruguayan forces, leading giant death robots on ships to claim the lands for the nation to grow. However, Gorkha and Taungoo are very close to falling apart, and the Kazakhs seem exceedingly hungry, or exceedingly desperate to start taking lands for themselves. Do giant death robots dream of autocratic ideals?

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Tonight, the Moors are looking to celebrate, as the push against Zimbabwe has been ever the tour de force. Up north though, the Kazakhs are refusing to settle down, wildly forcing back more and more of the Moors and Moor-er, Uruguay. Looks like the tactic of going berserk and not backing down has been working wonders for the nation, but wrath has a bad habit of burning the civilization that fuels them. Total War looms around the corner, three turns away.

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Kazakhs, Uruguay, what exactly have you done? In an odd Mexican standoff, Uruguay and the Kazakhs trade Pyay and Dawei with each other and… that’s it really. Workers have been sent off to Karaspan and Canton to rebuild the cities. The robots Gorkha had looming over it by the Kazakhs have just… left — specifically to occupy Pyay, leaving Gorkha to go licking their wounds. At this point, the two combatants are just… staring each other down.

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Finally, we start to see the Kazakh engine running out of steam. Sure, Ecbatana has been flipped again to the Kazakh side, but with the sheer amount of units being overpowered by the forces that the Moors have brought to the table, a bad omen has started to curl over the nation of Kazakh. The Moors have a very greedy, hungry look in their eyes, and the turning point of Total War means that Ablai Khan has no units ready to fight. This is bad, sure, but the Kazakhs are known for burning the candles at both ends, so surely they can find a way out of the mess they’ve made right? What do you mean there’s no more candles!?

CBR In-Game Screenshot of Narration by Robert

29: Narration by Robert

And thus, the Moorish curtain has been drawn over the once-iron curtain of Russia’s modern day western front. From Uzkent, to Turkistan, to Almaty, the Moors have been puppeting cities left and right. With units dwindling on the fronts, the key cities here are Hecatompylos and Uzkent, as that is where the nanohives and nexuses will most likely next converge on each other. Now, the inquisition returneth, calling Ablai Khan to the monastery.

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Here, we see what kind of efforts the Moors are putting forward as they advance not only on the Kazakhs but on Zimbabwe as well. Nexuses and nanohives defend Zimbabwe’s frontline in central Africa, but also...a LOT of artilleries. In fact, they have SO MANY ARTILLERIES! Why does Zimbabwe have so much faith in their artillery to leave it as the only front defender in Chitekite? Well, maybe that’s why the cities on both sides are burning. But other than lots of 0 health cities along both lines and even in modern day Oman and Yemen, those artilleries really are just sparklers in comparison to the big boys waiting in the Moors’ line.

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Surely enough, that line in central Russia has been pushed even farther east. The predictions were correct, and the Kazakhs have been pushed back by the Moors. Pretty dominant effort might I say, and while it looks like the two have matched units throughout this scene, they don’t. After all, I don’t think Great Engineers and Great Writers can wield swords and axes without some form of magic to stand toe to toe. And this is Civ, so no magic here, only the raw power of technology.

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The peace talks that were made not long ago have come to fruition, as here we see Uruguay’s and the Moors’ peace breeding their lack of conquest on each other. But, there is one important aspect to take away from this; the nanohive in Delhi. It is in Delhi despite the peace, which means Open Borders have been established. And look who is right to the north. The Moors have received exactly what they wanted; another open front to assault.

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The Alaskan western front with the Iroquois and the Kazakhs; such a picturesque view this time of year. And look at that, even more results of the peace. But, from Sukumo to Gift Lake and everywhere in between, those units are still there. We may be seeing a calm before the storm, and Siberian storms are known for being blistering and painful. Now, the question is; for whom?

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Would you look at that? The Great Engineers are running for the hills, unsurprisingly. Nanohives and nexuses sit around Manan, waiting for their beloved cryptocurrency known as health to gush out of the city. Go on, inject those viruses. The Kazakhs don’t have good firewalls anyways.

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Mexico is keeping quiet again. Not the nation though, they are long since passed away into the great leaderboards. But while both sides amass units for defensive measures, here you can see a few of the Moors’ naval units coasting on by Onondaghara and Nowadaga. The Iroquois might be in for a nasty surprise soon as the Moors continue to set their sights farther and farther from home. Here’s a good question though; Are the Moors an over-extending empire, or a new world leader in the making?

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Oh look Zimbabwe, those artillery DIDN’T work to defend Chitekite, or Akure for that matter. And now you’re wanting to ship those artillery away off to the museum elsewhere? Or maybe have the good ol’ paratrooper accompany those remaining artillery to their demise. Hey, at least Zimbabwe is building up more biotroopers to defend their home. So, that one paratrooper didn’t get their upgrade yet then. Got it.

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Yongcheng and Changzhi are soon to be owned by the Moors, lovely. As predicted, tons of nexuses funneled into specific cities and attacked the Kazakhs. It won’t take long unless the Kazakhs really put a strong effort in defending. That doesn’t seem likely though, so maybe you should put those great engineers to use and have them help build some giant death robots or something.

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This is a view of the Kazakhs’ land in eastern Russia. Notice anything? Well, they’re working at something. But that’s all they’re doing. They’re working, but not “working.” And pretty soon, if they keep up this lackadaisical behavior of building nothing but a few crawlers, no one will be working anymore. Well, some might, depending on who the Moors decide to keep alive in the burning buildings.

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Masikwesi has fallen, but with some hope shining on the side of Zimbabwe. Tons of biotroopers have come to defend Dhlo-Dhlo and Dambarare’s border with Masikwesi. Without many more units on the Moorish front, this solid blockade could be enough to ensure Zimbabwe’s safety.

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Meanwhile, here we can see exactly what was being so hyped up earlier. Yongcheng was clearly invaded from both the western and southwestern areas by the Moors passing through Uruguayan land. Settler in-tow, nanohives are built by Uruguay to bolster some defenses as the citizens look on at the Moors, scared and powerless. The giant death robots serve as good protectors though, reminding the Moors in Gorkha that the people are to be kept safe while passing through.

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In just two turns, like crackers shattering into crumbs, the Moors have snatched up city after city. Now, past Anyi, Omek and Xianyang, the capital of Handan sits surrounded by the Moorish legions, afraid of the advanced technology on all sides. Uruguay watches on, Lavalleja hearing of the soon-to-be burning conquest of the Moors. At this news, he is frightened of what is to come. “Open Borders for peace was a mistake” he says, not having expected the Moors to have plowed through the Kazakhs to their capital so swiftly.

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So, the capital city falls in another turn. The Kazakhs have lost their home, and so, Ablai Khan flees to Uwajima with tears of anger flowing down his cheeks. He weeps at the burning of his capital, afraid that whatever capital he is moved to will be naught but a temporary prison as the Moors advance further. The workers in Siberia watch as their leader is taken to the coast, pondering if their leader will be put out to sea for safety as the skittering of genoswarms can be heard in Dogo. No good boys sit there other than nanohives, and the Kazakh’s southeastern Russian cities look ripe for the taking.

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Julu, Jiangzhou, Nanzheng… it is all being taken by their new conquerors. As all the citizens watch as more and more is taken, the Kazakhs have received a demand from the Moors; showering of sweets and pastries for their soldiers. Ablai Khan is furious, hearing of the insult to his people, expecting those of the Moors taking their cities to be treated as heroes, and thus resolves to stay in Uwajima no matter the cost. Be it his life, his money, his soldiers; the Moors have thrown an insult on his people, and he will do anything necessary to make them regret treating them like an inevitable bug to be crushed.

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The cities of Uwajima, Yuzuki, Ozu and Urado are surrounded further and further. The Moors are leaving little recourse, and Ablai Khan is staring death in the face. He expects to meet the Moors head-on in what will be his final battle of his life, and he intends to make it bloody. But...

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Uruguay, what? What, Uruguay? Et tu, Uruguay? You have a death wish, don’t you? Seriously, you are in the midst of a short tenure of peace with the Moors. While the Moors were taking more cities, you swooshed in and did what? You captured the Kazakhs’ capital, that’s what you did. Remember that short ten turns of peace that you would be guaranteed to not have war declared on you again by the Moors? Well, those turns are looking REALLY short now.

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Susaki has fallen to the Moors, and surely enough, Qerrullik is soon to follow. As the genetically-engineered war scorpions poise their stingers for their next fight, the last of the Kazakhs hear of Ablai Khan’s demise at the hands of Uruguay. The people are watching as the last of their empire crumbles into dust.

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Uruguay is at it again, stealing Qerrullik out from the Moors’ noses. Not only that, but the Iroquois are mounting a mini offensive of their own, taking Susaki from their greedy grasp. Lavelleja and Hiawatha seem to not care despite the warnings of their peoples. The Moors have been insulted in return for their aggression. So, in a way, the Kazakhs got what they wanted, just not exactly how they wanted it.

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The artillery is… holding out against the nexuses of the Moors. How? Why? Well, the Moors have been subtly building up more units in Uselu and Ugbini, leaving the people of the recently recaptured Masikwesi pleased yet frightened. So far, for a front, Uselu has been rather Use-luss.

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Just as soon as the people of Ablai Khan let out a war declaration on the entire world, so too did their nation fall. The Kazakhs are no more, leaving one less player in the midst of this game of Total War. But, Hiawatha is determined to not take any insult backing down, and has advanced on Uruguay to take Qerrullik, rationality thrown to the wayside. And, as the news of the Moors declaring war on Uruguay reaches the world, further doom is impending on a global scale.Abla Khan, you were the inevitable! You were guessed to win it all. You have universally great uniques and had universally bad neighbours. Honestly, your gameplay here was nothing short of human. From your simple beginnings fending off the Golden Holde and Parthian advances, to your tactical destruction of all of your neighbours in Endgame. You will be remembered. You will be hated. You will be loved. You were the strongest Asian civilization in Civilization Battle Royale history.

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And so, with the declaration of war, the Moors have begun to encroach upon Uruguay’s lands in India. Kathmandu and Gorkha have been captured first, showing Uruguay that their idea of swooping in and capturing cities from the Moors was a bad call. So, Lavelleja, are you content with the beast you have angered? Or perhaps you had already resigned yourself to being taken over by the Moors and wished to merely get a head start in some vain hope of victory. Only time will tell.

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Dhlo-Dhlo has fallen to genetic scorpions and scythe titans, and while Bumbusi is generally safe for now, Masikwesi is getting traumatic flashbacks of a few turns ago. Nexuses float outside of the bounds of the city out at sea, giving the people a reminder of the new leader that is wishing to overtake them. Like giant pillars of heaven, they are reminded of the cruel and indifferent Abd-ar Rahman III, and some in the city in their broken mentality view the nexuses as divine reminders of his wrath.

52: Narration by LunarNeedle

Let’s take a long moment with the death of the Kazakhs to overview the game. At this point, the Iroquois have once more forced themselves into a chokepoint and are incredibly unlikely to make any significant gains against the Moors regardless of their stats. Meanwhile, off-screen it seems that the Moors are rapidly developing their new lands despite the sheer amount of puppeted cities. Once they annex them properly, I have no doubt these cities will be useful. But, what is useful here? They only have Zimbabwe left and after killing them, their battle power will be challenged by a navy-focused Uruguay. What is the Moors' next move?

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Broken. The cities in India have been broken as the tides of eternal war swept over them. For those living in the burning citadels, even basic survival isn’t guaranteed. The population of all of India is about as low as it’s ever been, and with nuclear warheads resting near cows, it’ll take a lot of workers and a few settlers to make this place anywhere near its former beauty. And yet, instead of workers, death robots hover over in the newly settled city of Libertad.The game cannot render all of the broken tiles, only choosing the cluster around the camera. Destruction is spread across all of the old world. Moorish victory comes at a cost and peace isn’t an option anymore. The flames of war will reach the heavens and burn down the sky.

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From absolute hell with everything going wrong to absolutely nothing. At this point, there’s maybe ten units in this slide on the Iroquois’ side and seven units on the Uruguayan sides. Eternal war has its consequences, and in lands without military other than planes, the land becomes lawless. They wish for older times where Metis crashed against Iroquois’ lands. For a moment a more merciful leader would have ruled them all. This land could’ve been an Eden of hope and prosperity but now it’s a nation state hellbent on fighting a threat with every able bodied citizen and robot possible. Military servitude is mandatory in a state where scientific progress is impossible.

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Similar things are happening on this front where Akure and Chitekete are actually defensible due to mountains and an absence of units. The former Benin unique improvement was bulldozed down and now nothing remains but war. It’s amazing what seventy turns of war will do to a cylinder.

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The Moorish front meanwhile looks rather interesting, as pillaged artillery from former Zimbabwean museums encroach Iroquois’ Asian cities in an attempt to scare them off the mainland. This assault, while likely to work, is a distraction. As annoying as the Iroquois are, they do not have the resources to take more cities. And so, they begin positioning a few defensive nanohives while a more concentrated force strikes south.

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The flaming, burning hell that is the sub-continent changed hands once more. But how long will this last? How much longer must Delhi flip between angered powers? When I made this map, I wasn’t expecting India to become a hotbed for chaos and deceit. I don’t think anyone was expecting this from the once quiet sub-continent.

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While many empires are burning through reserves, the Zimbabwean attack force seems to be cutting through swaths of their formerly owned lands. The Nubian capital of Napata is brought down to one population as the grinding of empires is heard throughout Africa. Is Zimbabwe winning? For now, they are at least. For now.

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Chibuene and Arkus flip to Zimbabwe as it seems the Kazakhs have passed on the worker union in favor of an actual army. Provided they assault nothing but cities, they can keep on capturing more and more, but Uruguayan troops begin to embark off India’s western front. I wouldn’t get cocky, Mutota.

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A nexus hive strikes the empty core of the Iroquois in a straight pattern. They fight against waves of planes that valiantly begin crashing into the floating cities in hopes of taking them down. This wall of units is likely to mean little, but to push resources away from the resource-strapped American front.

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With a snap of fingers, the wave is pushed back and the army grinded into dust. Most cities here are near the single digits, broken and degraded due to endless city flips and bombing runs. A city has no legacy left anymore. The libraries built in the ancient era are no more than dust now. What really separates Uselu from Napata, Akure from Bumbusi. Zimbabwe from the Moors. Culture, a long lost relic, means nothing anymore. Everything is the same now.

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Ten turns mean little to the parading thoughts of Gods, but the loss of the resettled India must hurt. Cities burned down once more to the low single digits. Meanwhile, armies of Uruguay and Moors tussled around former Taungoo lands, with a lot of nanohives gathering on the Uruguayan side. Those units can chip away at all enemy adjacent units, so they’re likely to turn the unit death into overdrive. This only serves to weaken the Moors more and moore. Also, what’s this? In case you haven’t noticed, the Moors have realized that jumping over long distances is pretty overpowered and have invested in paratroopers. Sure, they’re weaker than all units, but all it takes is one unit to capture a no-health city. Are they setting their sights on the Iroquois?

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Trading Edo for Uselu and losing all of the Middle East; it seems that Zimbabwe is slowly but valiantly losing. At this point, it’s only a few layers of cities until Zimbabwe is ripped apart. This might become a three-way race if this keeps up.

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Holy-! The Iroquois might be tired of owning so little of the land they worked so hard to get. They flipped all cities in this scene down to five or less population as they slowly approached the slightly carpeted core of the Uruguay. Although, we’ve seen this cycle before. There doesn’t appear to be enough units to maintain the front while a sizeable defense force mounts near Barcelona and Garoga. Unless units materialize out of nothing, then it seems like this paper tiger might collapse back to America. Yet again, nexuses are becoming the new hot thing in the cylinder and those units hit with the power of two, so we’ll keep track of this war.

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It seems the Iroquois did make some gains off-screen as Moorish Japan and Oceania grew more. At the same time they captured all of India, they swept toward Iroquois. The Moors are not messing around. They mean serious business, but the closer they get towards Uruguay, the more the gigantic fleet near Australia can strike. We noticed this disturbing pattern of conquest and reconquest, so from here on, wars are every one-hundred turns so they can build up. Let's hope that helps wars from turning into meat grinders.

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All the units here evaporate into ether, with only two nanohives remaining near Taungoo. I can see some bio titans off-screen near Bhamo but I doubt that they will be able to capture much more than potentially Bago. Once more, the grinding continues.

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Uselu gets traded for Edo once more as Bumbusi seems to be assaulted from bombing runs. The non-stop pushing force seems to be equal on both sides, so unless something dramatic happens this will become a grind for a while.

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This war is looking rather good for the Iroquois, but notice the amount of units around Valencia and La Guaira. Any pushes inward will instantly be flipped. Caracas might flip, but then what? There needs to be more navy and units here to make some gains. Perhaps even a few dozen XCOMs might be enough to sway it in favor of the Iroquois, but I don't think that’ll be happening soon. Also, notice that Las Piedras is one population and has been flipping almost every turn. Good stuff.

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With the burning of a few dozen units, peace was declared. Remember, now that we’re declaring every one-hundred turns, they have eighty turns to carpet up and attack. Hiawatha, you mad man - you might be able to keep all of Central America yourself.

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Uruguay pushes through Acarigua all the way to Macao in a few dozen turns. They might be able to make gains and push against the Moors, honestly, but I’m not putting my marbles on any significant gains unless something insane happens.

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Further south, aside from the usual amount of hellfire, it seems that Uruguay have asserted their claim over the entire coastline. Funnily enough, there’s enough land due to the bombed city of Luoyang for another city. It seems even life can be birthed from the absolute chaos that is the cylinder.

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Pushing the horn of Africa to recapture Chibuene seems like a move made to appease the people and inspire confidence in the Zimbabwean army. Without a doubt the army that once filled many of the tiles in the crumbling empire have been shot away and there’s little coming back. No amount of museum antiques will be able to save you.

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And with that, it’s a three-way war between the Moors, Uruguay and Zimbabwe. The Iroquois have opted to build up against whichever mega-empire emerges from the old world. Biding time is about all anyone could do in Hiawatha’s position.

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It seems the Zimbabwean attack strategy of attacking different flanks is working out as now a large army is beginning to form in the Middle East to capture only one city. This leaves more time to amass more armies. This game of whack-a-mole has to end soon. The cylinder turns slower and slower...

75

The bandage was ripped off as the subcontinent is now home to a battle, but with a couple artilleries, cyber subs and one crawler super unit in Punta Del Este. Once more chaos returns to the subcontinent.

76

Moors lose larger and larger chunks of land, all the way up to the Himalayas and even a few cities in Africa as nukes begin to rain. It seems definitely unlikely that anything here will last, but for now it seems likely that even more gains will be made against the Moors who seem to have forgotten how to make an army.

77

Once more, mountains prove to be the best defense as armies run through the gap to try to capture Yongchen’s air force. Meanwhile, there seems to be an absolute one-sided battle in China proper. I truly believe there’s more soldiers here in this screenshot than all of the Iroquois. Lavalleja isn’t messing around. He wants to dethrone the beast that is the Moors.

78

It seems even artillery units are capable of pushing back the armies of Zimbabwe. They opted to build XCOM units in a defensive war which is interesting. If the idea is to confuse the AI, then spamming these units will cause the units to crowd in areas not in the front. No matter how long these guys fight the Moors, they always seem to be able to fight against enemies ten times their size. This season seems to have civilizations capable of taking out gods. It’s honestly rather astounding to watch.

79

Oh. OH! Uruguay has also got the smart idea to build XCOM units after seeing the paratroopers earlier, and uh. Yeah, he used them. Next scene, please.

80

In two turns, they began pouring in enough XCOMs to take all of the Zimbabwean core. The capital flips, moving to the coastal city of Khami. All the cities north seem to be okay, as the focus of the landings seem focused on the capital. In the turn before this, there were almost twenty of them filling these lands and more are coming in. Lavalleja, you freaking madman, you might have just ended the war! You might have single-handedly taken out the threat that confused the Moors for the past two parts. Folks, Zimbabwe might just be out of the game.

81

With all the southern cities captured, the capital of Thulamela begins to be approached by nanohive units. No artillery or spaceship parts can save you anymore. Moorish and Uruguayan assaults in the North are also capturing key cities and splitting up the remaining army incredibly thin as the entire reservoir of XCOM units stand outside the burned city of Masikwesi.

82

Uselu burned to ash, as the city count went down even more. Kiteve and Wadi Al-ash is all that remains. The battle goes down to the final three.

83

At the cost of total chaos, the burning clouds become all too common in Africa. The air smells of soot and burned metal, and the realities of Total War become all too real. Defense around Esi becomes essential as the denizens of the city hope to repopulate the nuked and broken African cities. Sapele nearby is safe only due to the air force and disturbingly high amount of artillery units. Be it paratroopers or artillery, it seems like the AIs love to build these units no matter what. They don’t become obsolete, require no resources and are easily the cheapest units. Perhaps the destroyed production in the weak regions of the world should build these until yields improve.

84

The core isn’t entirely empty. In fact, the core is a monoculture of nexuses and workers with little difference. Europe is the hospitable utopia at this point with even smaller cities containing tens of millions of people.

85: Narration by Robert

Kiteve watches as the Arabian peninsula, along with Northeastern Africa, lights up in flames. The last Zimbabwean city is up in flames, and as the Moors push on Uruguay’s central African front, it looks like Lavelleja is going to be pushed out of Africa entirely.

86

Here we see suborbital bombers being stacked, and the Asian Theatre is being engorged by further and further Moorish presence. But hey, Rahman, why are you copying Uruguay? What’s with all those artillery? Are you going to kill them with irony?

87

And with this, Kiteve falls to the Moors. Zimbabwe is gone. The end of another of the big players in the world has come. The nation and its very concept has found its Zimbab-way to obliteration at the hands of the cruel and oppressive Rahman III. The nation wasn’t even laid to rest peacefully either, but with a giant, roaring funeral pyre on the Arabian coast.Zimbabwe! You have made it to fourth place. Compared to Ablai Khan, placing below third for you was not a long surprise. Many people noticed how little work you needed to do pre-Endgame. You had to crush the Kongo and hold the southern tip of Africa and well, that was it. You had overwhelming stats due to isolation. In the end, when the armies of hell crashed down against Zimbabwe, it took units teleporting into his lands for Mutota to admit defeat. Mutota, the sub awaits you with open arms.

88

So much navy! And to think, this is a fleet owned by Uruguay and not the Iroquois. From the Philippines all throughout the waters around Australia and Japan, Lavelleja looks ready to obliterate the world with a navy like that. If anyone knows World War 2 history though, naval firepower can falter quite easily to the power of exterior forces.

89

An Iroquois settler roams around in the lands of Bumbusi, wondering where he is supposed to settle. As war and smoke ravage the lands around the cities, Uruguay looks to be mounting a decent offensive on the Moors. But, how effective can it really be on them? Considering the units resting currently in Edo and Ugbini, it will take a small amount of time before Uruguay will most likely feel some comeuppance.

90

As XCOM’s take their first lodging in the citadels between Delhi and Bella Union, the smoke settles a bit around the cities. Although, robot infantry residing in Mirtobe are looking on, making calculations as to how bloody combat will be sieging those highly defensible buildings.

91

Anyi flips once more to the side of Uruguay, but other than that, this part of the world is looking like a strong stalemate. Asia looks like it’s going to have much more bloodshed from here on due to the decent carpeting on both sides.

92

Naletale is captured by the Moors, and a settler from Uruguay looks to settle new lands. Although, at this point, there aren’t really any new lands to settle. The smoke all around central Africa makes it hard to tell though. From Martula to Dhlo-Dhlo, even with satellite surveillance, it might as well be new territory from how much pillaging has occurred.

93

Uruguay’s XCOMs between Delhi and Bella Union hold strong. And, with a few above Lablah, it seems that Uruguay wants to combat the Moors and hold them off. But, robot infantry look on in the distance. The robots use their scanners and see the elite soldiers, and if they could, they would chuckle.

94

Anyi is surrounded by nanohives as Uruguay uses Nevaket and Ju to wisely help in transporting units to defend ownership of Southeast Asia. However, as XCOMs, nanohives, giant death robots, and more plain ol’ artilleries prepare to defend the cities and launch an assault, it is very clear that the Moors have some form of competitor on their hands. How viable is that competitor to stand toe-to-toe with them though? That is yet to be determined.

95

As flames ignite the desert, the city of Owo has, in fact, stockpiled a large number of suborbital bombers. Finally, the city will be able to determine just what it is they have noticed all around them for miles. All that fire and smoke makes it hard to see, after all, as the Moors do the best to repair the land and appease their own sanity. Blood and fire has coated their wake, and with Owo firmly in the hands of the Moors for as long as it has been, it is time they prepare for the skies and leave the land to the people.

96

That is... quite the navy the Iroquois has. Apparently, Hiawatha feels that any conflicts will be fought out on the ocean, as their lands are decently populated by units, but not enough to sustain assault for too long. The people of Canastigaone and Schoharie look at the Moors across the Atlantic Ocean, fearing the impending conflict that will be held using the sea as their playground.

97

Central Africa is up in flames, and the Moors and Uruguay continue to duke it out. Just as Owo is prepping suborbital bombers for the Moors, Uruguay is also stockpiling them in the city of Ambohimanga. The two nations are readying themselves for aerial combat on a large scale, and soon, the atmosphere may be cluttered by combat planes that coat the sky.

98

Smoke stretches into the sky like candles on a cake. Everywhere the people of Canton and Sabtah look, they see nothing but spires of choking gas. There are murmurs in the cities from those hiding indoors of the Moors continuing to assault their nation. People ask how they know, but no one has any idea as to how, merely hearing rumors being spread around. No one can pinpoint why, as the smoke obscures all they see.

99

Uruguay continues its repairs of India as its XCOMs stay around and help keep the people safe and secure. As the cities to the east burn with cinders flying through the air and contaminating the space around them, the people in Uruguayan India look on at their neighbors. They wonder just what they are building, also afraid to know the answer.

100

Uruguay’s cities in central Africa thin out their forces more and more, being able to sustain less and less in the face of the Moors. Meanwhile, as Lavelleja has little forces to defend, he sees the mass of crawlers in Wadi Al-ash and cowers. His biotitan in Ziwa and artillery collection along his front line can’t fight against a force like that. If that mass is brought to his doorstep, Central Africa is sure to be lost, and Lavelleja knows it.

101

Delhi ignites once more as the Moors recapture it, and the XCOMs of Uruguay try to keep the city safeguarded. Meanwhile, Kathmandu has nanohives that are on their southern doorstep, the Uruguayan units trying their hardest to ensure the recapturing of the city. Even in flames, the nations squabble and combat each other, despite the lack of visibility.

102

Anyi and Macao are being ordered by Lavelleja to remain calm, even as the skies are coated grey. The Moors don’t seem to be able to match them in offenses, but the nanohives of Uruguay can only last so long, and are better on the defensive than offensive. So, with them as their only defenses, those cities in Uruguay’s southeast Asia are left with little smart choice here but to defend.

103

Ziwa and Barwe being captured was exchanged blow for blow by Uruguay recapturing Dhlo-Dhlo and Bumbusi, although from the looks of the XCOMs in the land of Ugbuni and ‘Uryulah it won’t last long. Maybe those units in Castillos and Thulamela could make a difference.

104

XCOMs stay hunkered down in the citadels in Delhi, hoping that their comrades will save them. As they wait and hope, Uruguay preps its forces, readying to charge back towards the mountains to reclaim the land they’ve lost. It’s only a matter of time before the clean air is stained grey once again by the pillaging and warfare.

105

After losing part of their coastline in southeast Asia, Uruguay prepares to assault the Moors again. Unlike the other areas of Asia, however, the Moors are establishing a strong front to hold off the Uruguayan units at their doorstep. This area of the world is looking to become an unbudging stronghold of power where only a battle of inches will make any difference.

106: Narration by LunarNeedle

Uruguay’s South American frontline with the Iroquois is looking a little... lacking. Thankfully though, the forces stretching from Valencia to Santa Lucia and everything behind them are a veritable fortress of power that will be hard to pierce. That isn’t even mentioning the backup raptors kept out at the Pacific Ocean. How do they keep them fed well enough to not eat their caretakers? I’m legitimately curious.

107

XCOMs, biotitans and robot infantry galore! It’s a good thing that Hiawatha grew used to the technologies of his updated time, otherwise he’d still be telling everyone to use their bows to shoot the genoswarms. “What a fool I’d be,” he says. For a bulky America, that is BULKY, and the west coast looks good as well if not a little shallow in unit density. The Iroquois are gearing up for something big or looking to outlast, and that is a good effort for either endeavor.

108

Getting some real Chilean vibes off of this African conquest, I’m telling you. Along the west coast of southern Africa, Chidama and Nhunguza are captured by the Moors, but by not many forces. Only 1 crawler stands between the 0 health city and Uruguay, and unless Uruguay really screws this one up, it can swiftly send its units back up along the coast and undo the progress of the Moorish soldiers.

109

Oh India, ignited all over again. It’s almost been too long, you know? Uruguay could take these cities back, but the Moors are already sending in workers once more to fix the pillaged land. Despite the slight unit disparity, Abd-ar Rahman III is determined to take India once and for all. Or, he’s just doing the same thing that Ablai Khan did prior to his passing. Foreshadowing? Or mere coincidence?

110

Devastation is everywhere as the Moors keep on pushing deeper and deeper through the array of empty desolate cities surrounded by nuclear radiation. It seems likely that another push will result in the newly acquired Moorish lands going blue once more, but how long will they be able to keep up?

111

War strikes the Americas as immediately all of the Caribbean is stormed with units, turning the former Venezuelan capital into a pathetic four population city. It seems that no matter what happens, merely stepping on land occupied by another power results in immediate death as Uruguay seems to be unwilling to attack the Iroquois as they strike on the island. Are they scared? Is the realization that South America is not even safe locking up the local generals? What could be causing this?

112

At the Hawaiian front, it seems that pretty borders are on the agenda as now all of Japan and Hawaii seem to be owned by Uruguay. There’s also a Moorish XCOM that wants to snipe a city in the chaos, but it’s likely going to die with all the others.

113

Here’s what the Iroquois are doing: amassing a lot of robotic infantry on one tile islands with no way to strike against the Moors. Good job Hiawatha.In more interesting news, the density of units here is actually impressive. Provided they get over the whole water thing, they have a strong enough force that can push through the mountains to the west and pierce the mediocre defense forces stationed there.

114

We’ve seen this before, and it will never stop being funny. However, this time there’s XCOMs within capturing distance of multiple no-health cities. It seems likely these cities will be flipped until, eventually, razed.

115

Meanwhile, never forget the best front. No, I’m not joking. The Greenland front is going to be especially important in capturing and defeating the Iroquois. If it’s allowed to amass XCOM units, then at any time after Uruguay grinds them down, the Moors can take Iroquois much like they took Zimbabwe. This must be known by Abd-ar-Rahman, as already, bombing runs are seen crashing into Schoharie, Ganogeh and adjacent cities. You best be careful, Hiawatha.

116

The coastal Uruguayan colony from China to India is getting assaulted as the Moors up their military production, beginning to have what could be called a carpet in India, and the seedlings of an army beginning to grow in China proper. The time of owning a portion of land in the old world shrinks for Uruguay.

117

Once more, Moorish cheeky XCOMs aim to flip a few former Venezuelan cities, but little actual progress is made. It seems like the push so long ago is getting undone before us. Watch, it’ll end up in America before we know it. Eternal war is hell eternal. Now I can see why Bolivar drank himself stupid in the bar last week. It’s depressing to see over and over.

118

With a crack of nuclear bombs and units smashing into the asian coast, there’s little left for Uruguay. The armies that rest in most of the civs’ cores don’t seem to be able to make it to the front in a large enough capacity to change anything. And in absence of naval support, desperate tactics seem to be the way forward. This isn’t a battle anymore. This is a test of survival, and sometimes having pieces is better off than losing it and losing everything. Look at Zimbabwe. They fought valiantly and lost it all just to die with a flip of a switch. Shikoku put all their cards on the table and only made their empire weak enough for the Kazakhs to roll in. Metis pushed as hard as possible to the breaking point only to fail when it matters. Sometimes, exposing your cards can be tantamount to death. Waiting out the clock seems to be the plan now.

119

Uruguay gets pushed all the way to the southernmost tip of Africa as they hold onto Japan and all of modern day Vietnam. They don’t even dare to attack, even with their power armor infantry posed just out of Chidama. No, survival comes first.

120

Okay, let me level with you, this is getting tiring. We’ve been going through almost three hundred turns, and we’ve seen great things: The Kazakhs’ collapse earlier, Zimbabwe getting XCOM paradropped in a rather amusing and sudden method. But, the thing we’ve seen the most is the status quo. It’s hard to get excited seeing units amass on a front only to disappear the next turn and not know why. The problem is, I know why. The air force is seriously overbearing on this map. A lot of suborbital bombers have a range of 30 and an impressive 100 combat strength. All it takes is a few turns of realizing they can target units and we have hundreds of turns of build up reduced to ashes. It’s too much to deal with, and thus the gaps in turns increase more and more as the air force grows. This cannot go on forever.

121

Madagascar lit up as for once Moorish force crashed down on the island, quickly sweeping up the former capital of Antananarivo as it continued to intimidate Uruguay. There’s no peace deal, Uruguay is just standing there. Menacingly.

122

As if they reshuffled their deck, Uruguayan soldiers were all replaced with XCOMs as the war continued to push up towards the unholy land that is western North America. Some XCOMs are floating and might recapture Tsokanende, but I doubt it’ll last unless there’s even more units on this front.

123

The armies crush through the soft Uruguayan core and we notice a hybrid drone hovering over Mapela. This modern ranged unit is cool, but lacks a large amount of the things essential in modern warfare. Survivability. Its combat strength is below all other units. In this war, if you get focused by an air force, you die. When I was figuring out how to make stalemates end, the only solution was to increase combat strength and mobility of all units by almost ten times, which was not balanced at all. The air force and bombing runs are that powerful. It turns a thousand combat strength into nothing. And here we are, with a hundred strength units disappearing in a turn.

124

Southeast Asian cities get traded for the city of Ju. More and more XCOMs flood in from all sides. It’s kinda funny, honestly. It seems like all empires realized how good the soldier was after seeing it used once. Is this going to replace the old hovertank meta?

125

Okay, this pile of soldiers is starting to get overwhelming even if there’s a few too many artillery units for my liking. I’m happy to see the sheer variety of soldiers though. While their core is all nexuses, it seems they are experimenting with new toys against the eternal grinder that Iroquois have become.

126

Okay, you guys are at war. Come on. Get out of bed, put your big boots on and fight. I’m going to scold you every single time I see this part of the cylinder full of these units. Bah, humbug!

127

In one turn, once more Japan is given to the Moors. You know, the fact that I can say that, once again, “a land half the globe away got conquered,” that this game is dealing with empires so large that even the Mongolian horde pales in comparison. This game is so unbelievably over at this point. At this point, it’s just waiting it out.

128

The amount of units seems to be exclusive to above the Himalayan mountains as now a small amount of units are capable of sniping away city after city with little resistance. Without doubt, they will focus their soldiers down here and Japan will once more become a darker shade of blue.

129

The Iroquois’ offense into Mexico will once again collapse. We’ve seen this exact same geopolitical situation time and time again. To be fair, the Uruguayan armies of XCOMs are far superior to the cluster of artillery near Tiohero.

130

Wait, didn’t I see this before? Tanu and Ju once more flipped to the Moors, except this time without San Felipe and Acarigua. Likewise, this land is almost entirely undefended and likely to flip Uruguayan next turn. The armies in the core are beginning to grow for the Moors.

131

A surprising amount of units near Taungoo... Where have I also seen this before? I feel like a broken record. This can’t be just me, right? I mean, there’s some hybrid drones at least?

132

Yeah, I’m pretty sure these guys didn’t get the clue that war was declared. I’m pretty sure they just gave up and are patrolling the beaches and the Moors, noticing this, opted to not invest a single unit. No reason to invest units against something that isn’t a threat, right?

133

Wait, didn’t we just see this slide? Yeah, there are more units in Moorish lands and on the coast, but nothing changed hands. What exactly are they doing?

134

Ah, finally turn fifteen hundred. This is the turn I hate the most. No, it’s not because of the lack of units here, or the small variety of units. It’s, well, it’s complicated.

135

God dang it! Do something! Anything! Please?! Alright, for those people gazing at the scrollbar, it’s about time I come clean. This game, at turn 1500, is over and the Moors have been declared the victors.

136

This was a tough decision, but one that I, along with the entire Blue Cassette team agree on... At this point, turn times are over three hours per turn with little to nothing happening. No units being built, amassing gold and science for no reason, absolute devastation and a very confused AI. It’s clear this game is over, and that the Moors are the winners. The alternatives of waiting it out, or moving to a smaller map would only delay the inevitable and stall our production line. Speaking of the future...We’re opting to take this ending and move on to greener pastures. As I’ve been recording, the team has been reprogramming civilizations, optimizing game assets and perfecting the ultimate Royale. We’re really excited to move on to a thrilling new game (test runs have been looking promising) and brand-new futures! Season 2 of Civilization Battle Royale X is coming soon!From the entire development team to the all of Blue Cassette, thank you for tuning in to Season 1! I thank Jay and Robert for proofreading the previous part and helping me outright write this part. I wouldn’t make it without you guys, all of you. Thanks. See you soon! - Lunar