Episode 13: New Horizons

1: World Conquest

Hi! I’ve been a fan of AI games ever since the first Battle Royale, but this is only the second time I’ve had the opportunity to narrate it! I have about 10,000 hours on Civ 3, so the hexagons are a bit of a mind-bender, but with the seventeen spreadsheets narrators get access to, I should be okay. Last episode was pretty exciting, with the Ptolemies cut in half by a newly-aggressive Nigeria; Marajoara reducing Gran Colombia to a smattering of cities; Chola suddenly becoming a decent naval civ on the doorstep of the most-decent-est naval civ, Malacca; Yuan being carved up; and the Vandals establishing a sizeable North American presence. What will happen this episode? Stay tuned, and find out.

2: Vihreaa strikes again

Come on - you don’t know who Vihreaa is? You’ve never heard of a map? You don’t even like Civ? That’s three questions that are unrealistic to even consider in the submarine. Seeing these maps is the only way to understand what the big picture is, and this is what is up:

There’s some superpowers forming, some swapping round in the middle, and a well-formed lower tier of civs that we hold no hope for. There’s excitement in every corner of the map (except Australia, sorry).

3: CBRGO launching soon

Prime sub OC here that made me chuckle. If you want to donate to /r/civbattleroyale’s latest technological advance, allowing you to run AI Games on the go, move to the next slide for information...

4: Ko-Fi

...on how to chip in for the submarine’s coffee-fueled department running the show.

Coiot: Thank you to all the donators so far this season! If you can spare an extra $1, please do consdier helping us make Season 3 a reality. If even 4% of the community can subscribe we'll be well on our way (currently only at .25%).

5: Blue and gold is the colour of a sea-based champion

I’m going to talk about a Civ that deserves to be at the top. They’ve taken on two front-runners on different sides of their empire despite a weak land army, they have a great colour scheme, and they’re based in Asia. Those of you yelling out Bhutan - thank you - but Malacca is the number one, both in my heart and in the Power Rankers’ view. I honestly don’t think it’s possible to beat Malacca, though there are a couple of rising superpowers that we’ll be discussing in this episode that, given five or ten epsiodes, might seek to topple Malacca.

6: One Yuan to Rule Them All

We kick off the episode with the remnants of Yuan. Their Sao, the galleass replacement, is preventing Taiping from pushing north towards Chengdu, so it looks like Northern Yuan will gain a valuable naval port soon. Northern Yuan have both UUs out. We’ve met the Huihui Pao before, a siege unit, but I think the Chongzu is new to our screens. It is a lancer replacement with no penalty attacking cities - pretty useful at this stage of the game.

Speaking of Northern Yuan’s unique abilities, their UA is pretty strong too, with an extra tile’s movement for units trained in captured cities - of which they have a lot on screen.

7: Swaanendael, Arendale under threat: Fictional News at Ten

Swaanendael is under assault from… lots of people. There’s Dene, Vandal, Tahitian, and Ananguan troops within the borders, with Olmec and Jamaican troops nearby. Dutch Caribbean prospects are looking as thin as the Dutch eastern seaboard.

Just the previous turn Rio Grande declared war on New Netherlands, moving their Gulf Navy eastwards. They are part of a big coalition with a wide range of civs, but most are continents away. Rio Grande are who count in this image, and they have a great chance at taking this big Caribbean city.

08: Vandal Savage, occasional conqueror

Here, too - in the far north - Dutch lands are now occupied by Vandals, seemingly doing anything to escape the barren heat of their homeland.

Note Iceland, the rocky refuge on the top of the world, with a carpet - out-of-date - but a carpet nonetheless. Iceland are still at war with Mississippi, who are not looking particularly strong this far away from the swampy climes they prefer. Even after the invasion from Rio Grande, Mississippi still command a big empire and are showing some attempt to project that.

09: All oceans are the Malaccan Straits

The Jong Admiral gazes over his armada. He had heard once of a mighty ruler who built so many ships they could walk from port to port. Well, Adjongmiral had accomplished that, and now was in the process of tacking on strips of iron to the sides of the boat to prevent wear and tear as the boats rock gently side-by-side.

Last episode saw a resurgent Chola flex their navy, and a war between the Gold-and-Blue and Gold-and-Black is surely coming to see who takes the medal. Pakse you would think would fall first, but Malacca have no land army to speak of. Even the weakened Laos have enough troops to do something with, though getting from Sai Gon to the contiguous Laosian empire is impossible thanks to the citadel south of Ha Noi.

10: Maracaib-Oh-No

Gran Colombia - reduced to simply ‘Colombia’ last episode and nowadays referred to as Poco Colombia, is on its last legs in the old capital of the eliminated Peru-Bolivia. Marajoaran troops are not flooding in, but the two field guns are taking enough pot shots to deal damage.

11: Getting DEIC-ey

Hawaii and the Dutch East India Company have both lost their homelands (mostly) and now exist in a space enclosed by two major powers, who have no interest in them except like how a young boy might watch a terrarium in a science lab. Hilo looks like it has the production to make a navy to invade, should the Hawaiians finish their 13-episode-long nap any time soon.

Even here Malacca look scary, but the Kulin have Gatling Guns, who can rip apart a basic army with ease.

12: Deciding Who Gets Eaten Last

Last episode, Tongva and Chinook began their war in earnest, with the fall of Naayxoxar a critical early step. Yet that might have been a misstep, as Tongvan navies besiege Chinook, the Chinook capital. Naayxoxar will flip, and the Chinook army is larged ranged.

The Chukchi have built their Ice Fleet to rival anything in folklore. Off-White Walkers patrol the southern border, though open borders means Chinook troops pass freely from their northernmost outposts to the battle below.

13: A mountain kingdom/Himalayan fortresses/Hard to conquer these

A bhrave Bhutanese Great General bhesieges the Viet city of Luang Prabang. The plucky mountain kingdom holds on, surprisingly strongly, and an inland city with no land route from the Cholan cores is a good choice to take, if Bhutan musters the right troops at the right time. You can just about see a Dzong up above Punakha, generating culture, faith, and acting as a fort for any units placed there.

As the person who wrote the sixty-strong city names list for Bhutan, I really hope they manage to raze the entirety of Asia and resettle them with gusto.

14: Transoceanic adventures

Malaccan Jongs attack Baya California, but the vast might of the navy is yet to arrive. It’s speculative invading, but a frightening prospect if the number one civ transcends the ocean and establishes a core on another continent. Tongva are weak down here and still dealing with Chinook up north, so the masses of galleasses pass between the two battlefields, waving despondently to their friends heading in the other direction.

15: Naval-gazing

There’s a glaring mistake in this picture. Can you spot it? That’s right, the Two Sicilies navy is looking rather like One Sicilies as the patch of empty sea expands around Memphis. Frustratingly too, they have open borders with Blue Egypt, so-called for feeling blue after the powerful, technologically-advanced Nigerian army run rampant through their lands last episode.

Yet for Two Sicilies’ naval might diminishing, they could still demolish any city in the vicinity.

Kurdish troops advance an inch in Jerusalem’s territories, and they take the rest of the day off to drink tea.

16: Trade war

Reunion, a colony from the Master Colonist Jan Coen, is overrun by Cholan ships. Militarily useless, there are some good trade routes available here, plying the Southern Ocean between West Kulin and Lesotho. Two Sicilies would also pick something up with a well-timed declaration.

17: And sao the invasion continues

Northern Yuan get their first seaport with the fall of Chengdu. Mukden takes the smallest sliver of damage as Japanese troops push upwards. The Sao is unusual - for each that is trained, another two are spawned, and when any die, all die. It’s a cheap way to build a big navy and a quick way to lose all of it at the wrong moment.

We also see the Yuanese city of Hetu Ala protected somewhat by being inside Chukchian borders - this is a glitch it seems, but we’ll see.

18: Tongva push north

Tongva, now dealing with Malacca below, pull back from Chinook, with Naayxoxar yet to flip.

Across the ocean, Japan declare themselves the true upholders of Autocracy, adopting the warlike ideology in order to better pursue their dreams of uniting the Republic of Osaka and the Empire of Tokyo under one government.

19: Legacy of Arauco

Mapuchean troops utilise the Legacy of Arauco, pushing up through Paraguay without asking permission first. They’d best defend the Galapagos Islands soon, or Marajoara will run rampant down this coastline too.

Lima falls into the red, the field guns making light work of Lima’s walls.

20: Tongva push north some more

Finally, Naayxoxar flips back. You would think the armada of galleases could be a bit more present in assaulting Chinook, but they’re being held back in indecision.

Palmares peacekeepers litter Chinook lands, their neon green uniforms not exactly blending in with the dusty deserts of the region.

21: Painful peace

The Mapuche and Palmares made peace last turn, with the sudden loss of Arotirene and Subupira catapulting the troops some 5000 miles (8000 kilometres) away. It would be hard to defend if Marajoara looked southwards.

22: The End of a Line

Lima falls! Gran Colombia is no more.

With the last musketman unlikely to quell the Marajoaran forces, it’s fair to say that Poco Colombia is now Muerto Colombia. They started poorly, losing their opening settler to a scout of all units, and being forward settled by a Jamaica initially ranked in last place. But, as a good civ does, they fight back, and they established a decent nation in South America, rivalling any other. Yet, somehow, they lost it all in just three episodes in an appalling example of How To Defend Good.

23: Reunion reunited

Reunion is reunited with the dominant naval force in the area. Chola are really leaning hard of this side of their game, perhaps because Punjab, the everpresent weight above their heads, have the better land army.

How do Chola win the season? Expansion is limited and anywhere with good production is under the grips of a big civ with a good land army. It’s a long way before they will challenge the top ten.

24: Seahorse Assault

Pontianak is very close to falling, giving Chola a very powerful grasp on Southeast Asia. Note the humorous Punjabi hex in the sea near Uraiyur, and imagine how the Cholan fishermen need to float over to a wet border guard before commencing their work every morning.

With the Viet cities still puppeted, there’s no army to speak of inland, which means a plucky Laos could make a gain or two.

25: Pythagoras’ Greatest Work is a listicle

Thanks, Pythagoras. A lot of African cities make the top of the tourist boards’ boards for not being boring. Well, the reason is probably the lack of war in Africa. All these cities are peaceful and productive.

26: Run amok, then, in Mukden

Mukden falls to Northern Yuan with dejected Japanese troops looking on. Perhaps that Great General will secure land for the autonomous Osakan Republic?

27: First Congress of Berlin, 1955.

The First Congress of Berlin is underway. Not unsurprisingly the warmongering of Chola is on the agenda, with the Congress contemplating an embargo on the defiant civ.

If I remember correctly, the Congress is called once a civ has met every other civ. Imagine that journey that German explorers must have made, to have met people like the Olmecs, Anangu, or Bhutan. That’s a tale for another writer I’m sure.

28: Arotirene-ing for your sins

Marajoara push into the lands just vacated by the Palmares. The Mapuche have just had a trick played on them - now Marajoara can take these cities, wiping out all gains, and potentially then push southwards through Tabocas.

This doesn’t leave Palmares anywhere to go, though. On every side they have someone tougher.

29: Artillery are very effective in this game

Disappointingly, Two Sicilies also has open borders with the Vandals, despite the excellent opportunity to expand out the Mediterranean and pick up an easy capital in Hippo Regius.

Onscreen, one of the last Ptolemian holdings in Africa is under fire from a rifleman and a cavalry unit, with three artillery units in range pushing the city in deep red with their coursing bombardments. There’s a modest naval force in the Red Sea but it’s unclear how often Thebai will be able to flip before it’s exhausted.

30: Air superiority meets naval staredown

Chola complete their invasion of Northern Dutch territories. Malacca moves six planes, some of the first in the cylinder, to their northwesternmost city to prevent Chola thinking they could take on the blue menace.

31: Desperate measures

The First Congress of Berlin conclude that Chola is in fact a danger to trade following its conquest of a key trading nation, and are summarily banned from trading.

As mentioned earlier, the Sao can quickly cripple their owners, as the sinking of one has destroyed the other two. Two bleeding settlers paddle for their life in hope of escaping the Yuanese peninsula, but they head in the wrong direction and find themselves in dangerous waters.

32: Bay of Zwijnendael

After a short while, Swaanendael falls into the hands of Rio Grande, lengthening their border with the Vandals even further. I think Rio Grande would do well out of a war with the Vandals, personally, as the beige Caribbean doesn’t hold any great show of military might. Heemstede would be a valuable city for Rio Grande, and Rotterdam would secure some degree of Atlantic access were it not inland. A Vaquero lurks near Rotterdam, but there’s no river to attack across to get a nice strength bonus.

33: Feeling Zaire-y sleepy

Thebai is captured and Ptolemais is still without a scratch. That sums up the difference in approach between Zaire and Nigeria.

One artillery detachment moves eastwards to take pot shots at the Red Sea, hoping to clear a patch of water.

34: Devil deserts Georgia, switches allegiance to Uzbekistan

Georgia, always an outside shot in a game of Civ, lose Sukhumi to a cannon-heavy Uzbek army, with two Lancers fleeing with their tails between their legs. To have held off a once-contender for so long is impressive, though it’s clear Georgia are well-behind the tech curve at present. Who will own Tbilisi in ten episodes? Answers on a postcard, please.

35: Malaccan ships have come from aFa’a’a

Malacca have not gotten far with Tongva. The Chukchi have kindly settled Keperveyem in a spot that Hawaii thought too far away to bother with.

36: Tongva doesn’t push north

Naayxoxar looks set to flip again. The Chukchi navy looks scary, even with this little glimpse, and even a Two Sicilies fan like myself thinks Chukchi might be a bit stronger than our European sea kings.

A voice in my ear says that Mapuche have fallen for the eyelash flutterings of Autocracy as another prominent civ declares their love for chaos through conflict.

37: Mountain fortress

Nieuw Netherlands now resides in Nieuw Amstel - fittingly - and, nestled in the north Appalachians, look fairly safe from most invaders. It’s not an enviable position though, as Rio Grande pushes line infantry and cuirasseurs across the hills and vales towards the nieuw capital.

38: De-capua-tating the Ptolemies

Deep concern across the cylindrical community as Two Sicilies announces to the world the loss of some of their ships. It’s noted by a desperate Ptolemaic commander, who declares war on the Light Blues despite the rifleman near Kerakleopolis being the most powerful naval unit they have at present.

Alexandria takes damage from Nigerian machine guns and artillery, opening up the possibility that Two Sicilies nabs it first.

39: War in our time

The All-Russians push into Northern Yuan in an attempt to take advantage of their army being bogged down elsewhere. No UUs from PARG just yet, though keep an eye out for the Legione Redenta, a standalone unit that only appears during wartime - it may appear.

40: Coalitions building...

A slightly clearer shot of the Two Sicilies core reveals an emptiness that disturbs me. Where have all the troops gone? The Kosovan navy would do a lot of damage to Foggia! Germany, who we have yet to see much of so far, throw their lot in with the Ptolemies along with varied civs like Namibia, Punjab, and Spain. The massive German production may be at an era now where the Alps are no longer a good defensive structure, but we’ll soon see if Palermo is in danger.

41: Many Malaccan ships make light work

More Malaccans skirt the Tahitian fringes, with ground troops mixed in with advanced ships. Kuukaamonga takes damage and could fall imminently, though one would think Malacca are expecting a lot from such a small force.

Further south, political drama erupts in Australia as Kulin’s Communist government is overthrown and replaced with a populist who promises a bright future subjugating someone, anyone.

42: Smoking Tabocas

Marajoara indeed push through Tabocas to Newken, but Paraguayan troops act as a filter and only a few make it across the border. Check out the high defense of Newken - settled on a hill and with a strong wall around it, cavalry alone will struggle. Could this spot be the end of the Marajoaran attack or could they keep pushing south?

43: Free shipping

Some stragglers of the Bisicilian fleet are picked off by enemy ships as an unexpected entrant to the coalition provides unlikely assistance from so far away. The Maldives host millions of people and the regional economy is based around doubledecker sunloungers.

44: Hounding the Burkinabes

The Vandals push into Burkinabe Western Sahara. This is an important war because the Vandals have no inland territory to speak of, being a largely ocean-going civ. A purely naval civ is quickly beaten, though, by anyone with a land army, and so serious land gains are needed for their sweet production bonus. A positive would be if Kidal falls, as the capital region could finally be connected by road to the Atlantic region of Vandal territory.

45: Happy NY

North Northern Yuan is under threat here. Some civs make good of the sparse Siberian landscape (see Yakutia, Sibir), but only a few can truly triumph from this position. If either side made good gains, it bodes well for the future. As it happens, All-Russia look stronger, still, with Ikh Khuree and Erdene Zuu suffering damage and the attractive lakeside cities of Shangdu and Ulanhad also a possibility.

46: Dubaious waters

Cholan Arabia looks strong on water, but not on land. Ta’if has had some damage done to it, but I can’t trace where from. Is the fledgling Punjabi navy taking potshots?

47: Nobody expects the Spanish imposition

As mentioned earlier, another member of the anti-Sicilies campaign is Spain, but the advanced Sicilian navy out here could do serious damage if it decides on a target. Salamanca would be a juicy target indeed, where it not for the German privateers lurking behind the border.

48: Troop-storming

This front ignites as German troops fire on Gjakove. It has flipped before, but the Sicilian navy has always pushed back. The Gauls, who we haven’t seen in a while, poke their head above the parapet to see an aggressive Germany shouting at someone and waving a gun. Welp, let’s keep quiet, the Gauls say.

49: Kulin fields

What looks like a war declared some time ago finally stirs into action as the wide Pacific is crossed. Kulin ships wash up on South American shores. They’re lent some blankets, some provisions, and then told to scram before they’re sunk by the confident Mapuche.

The pretty guy on a horse near Perken Ko is a Toqui, a Great General with melee powers and the ability to upgrade his horse into an actual tank once oil is discovered.

50: No Punjabi-ntended

The most racoon-like city on the cylinder, Trashigang, is under fire from Punjabi artillery and a cavalry attack. It’s remarkable the mountain kingdom has sustained such a long war with the old number 1 - in fact, this conflict forced Power Rankers to reconsider the might of Punjab.

Fun fact, Bhutan declared war on Punjab this time around, the civ equivalent of buying a round of drinks in a pub. They may regret Punjab’s bottle of scotch when the tab comes back.

51: Bouto-ing the Egyptians out

Alexandria falls to Nigeria just before Two Sicilies could capture it. Bouto is likely to fall though. Thebai has clearly flipped a number of times as only three people still live there - I’d assume the wall repair guy is busy with his work, and a doctor and nurse would be useful too.

52: Not much vandalising going on, yet

For a major opportunity, the Vandals are taking their time getting their act together. So much so that Burkinabe cavalrymen storm Lilybaeum from behind.

All-Russia decide that between Order and Autocracy, they’ll take the one with more killing. After they’re told both end up with lots of death, they go with the one that is less egalitarian, because a game of civ is all about being better than someone else.

53: White Russians Suddenly Popular in Erdene Zuu, Bartenders Mystified

Erdene Zuu falls, giving All-Russia, freshly energised by the thought of killing their neighbours, a direct shot at the capital Karakorum. Down here the Southeastern Northern Yuanese army looks strong, with plenty of Chongzu around.

54

The Sicilian navy is mopped up in the Indian Ocean as Zanzibar piles in on the action. Africa, excepting Egypt, has been quiet this episode, so it’s nice to see something happen. Cholan ships remind us how easy it would be for them to invade East Africa.

55: Free Experience

Last turn Malacca declared war on Anangu, with the early aviation pioneers lobbing explosives out of their plane on the heads of puzzled Ananguans. Skillfully, Amata is inland, so Malaccan ironclads can’t quite reach. No army is visible for a beach assault, either.

56: Naval Crusades

Indeed, Bouto falls, and Two Sicilies could easily reach Jerusalem at this rate. They’d also take Alexandria with ease should they dare to attack Nigeria or should the Ptolemies flip their capital back. Thebai is back in the hands of Blue Egypt (who will need to be renamed to Blue Arabia soon) but only the wall repair guy still lives there.

57: Selfish Selfoss

In an escape from the action, we zoom over to Selfoss to say hello to the Icelandic colony. Mississippi have no chance to take this, with only one unit actually embarked at present.

Chinese Jesus rebrands himself as an autocrat instead of a theocrat as Taiping adopt Autocracy. Many, many civs are becoming impassioned by the prospect of war and this can only lead to further conflict among the civs still following Order. No civ has yet to adopt Freedom.

58: Not Going O-Kaya

Slow progress in West Africa as Kaya, a 36-pop metropolis, falls to yellow. After this, the Vandals would only have inland cities to deal with, so they’re going to need to save that injured cavalryman in the orange groves of Gambia. Mind you, Burkina Faso troops are absent.

59: Tongva Tremble

Malacca make groundfall in North America! They’ve chosen a weak spot, sure, but it was easy to take and now it’s easy to build up for more. Rio Grande would be very difficult to invade even without their city defense bug (341 defense in Miramar!), as the hills and mountains start immediately and Cuidad Victoria only has one approach. However, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. Tongva is still ripe for taking.

60: Citadel Chain Chaos

Namibia, two city states united under one flag, are in danger. Their UA requires land and they have none; their yet-unbuilt UU thankfully doesn’t require horses, though there’s a bunch of penned horses nibbling on the border fence of Bethanie.

Lesotho, an early favourite of some, looks weak, with knights the only unit in any great number at a time when most civs have riflemen.

61: Snow, trees, and guns

Back in Siberia, Ikh Khuree is encircled and losing health. The natural chokepoint near Ordos would probably stymie the All-Russian advance. A Malaccan explorer carefully makes notes on what is spied through the lens of his telescope. So far the notes are mostly about snow, trees, and guns, three things in short supply back home.

62: 101 Dalmatian wars

German troops push right up to the Adriatic, but I’m not sure Gjakove will fall soon. Palermo looks safe for a while longer, too.

This might sound foolish, but a good strategy for Two Sicilies would be to declare war on Kosovo and quickly take Pristina. It would open up a counterattacking platform for ground units rather than letting them all die in the Adriatic.

63: Bhutanese resurgence is long over-wangdue

Trashigang’s Trash Gang rubbish the Punjabi invaders, taking them out and kicking them to the kerb ready for collection. How has Bhutan lasted so long?

A cannon is gearing up to bombard Kapurthala - imagine if the rump took a prime Punjabi city!

Gelephu, now unpuppeted and with a courthouse finally built, hasn’t gotten round to building any troops to defend should any Taiping Changmaos come knocking.

64: Red Sea renamed Blue Sea in Defiance

Thebai flips but will flip back soon. Nigeria do face a difficult challenge crossing the Red Sea, at least until that navy is gone, and with no ships of their own until Thebai is secure and out of resistance, that will take a while.

Pelousion also turns Nigerian, but once that rifleman is gone it will stay Nigerian.

65: Mustard Muster Stations

Hawaii has mustered four ships and thrown them in a scattered fashion at Makasser, the now-capital of the East Dutch. It might work, if they heal the tattered sails of the northernmost ship. The Opperhoofd in the city is a Great Merchant replacement. They really need to beeline the tech needed for their East Indiaman, a strong frigate replacement.

66: Newken Horizons for the New Superpower

Marajoara exceed expectations and take Newken. The plan to deal with Paraguay by simply encircling them is going well, though Paraguay’s army is not a walkover, with the Aca Vera, a horseless cavalry unit definitely being built in large amounts.

Marajoara have really been pulling out the stops these last two episodes. I wonder if they’ll take the entirety of South America before too long.

67: Malacca has a Tuhunga for more land

Another Tongvan offshore town falls to Malacca, whose troops are thin on the ground (/sea) but powerful enough to do real damage. Taking the whole seaboard would be a great way of cementing their position as number one.

68: Effective AA

Kidal, a city that took Burkino Faso nearly ten episodes to capture, is captured by the Vandals within one episode. They can finally built that road from their capital to their main naval ports. I still feel Two Sicilies could take Hippo Regius fairly easily.

Aghat is under siege from cavalrymen and looks set to fall.

A Nigerian anti-aircraft gun has clearly been doing a fantastic job as there’s no aircraft in Europe nor Africa! That might be because no-one’s research that tech except Malacca.

69: Essen-ce of Victory

Gjakove has fallen to the Germans, though the strong melee-heavy Two Sicilies navy and army are everywhere.

German production is frightening, as last episodes they had no land army to speak of - and now advanced troops can be found everywhere. Just one more upgrade left until the Stormtroopers come into play - and then Germany will be scary.

70: Sine of the times

In the region where Two Sicilies are actually quite strong, another city falls. Jerusalem is a serious potential capture this episode, I think.

For its small size, Kosovo has a good army, sporting riflemen in decent numbers.

The Kurds look on, worried at who their neighbours will be next episode.

71: Mississippi Claims North Pole; Citizens Order Iced Tea To Celebrate

Selfoss is a loss. I did not expect Mississippi to take a city basically at the north pole, especially an offshore city without using any boats.

72: Tightening the grip

Erdene Zuu flips back to the knights of Northern Yuan, though the All-Russian army pushes further east. They’re two upgrades ahead of Northern Yuan, who still sport musketmen.

73: Can Hawaii Into Invasion?

Hawaii hasn’t been successful, and despite Makasser falling to deep yellow, they have no healthy melee ships to actually take the city. However, Hilo definitely has the production.

Everything is moot if Malacca roll over in their sleep.

74

Tongva, newly autocratic in an attempt to raise a defence force, fail to make any headway in clearing Malaccan ships. Their capital is very close to the action - perhaps Malacca will seize that and call it a day?

75: Blue Sea Renamed Red Sea After Lengthy Battle

Blue Arabia looks really empty as the camera pans eastwards, with most of their troops in the Red Sea. No melee ships are left to take Thebai back but a flip is still possible.

The Red Sea is narrow enough that a line of Nigerian artillery could do serious damage.

76

Kaya, now only 31-pop, still looks far from falling, but the Vandal fleet is hoping their menacing stare from afar is enough. It might be.

77

Smirkishes in the Indian Ocean looking surprisingly even, actually. Therefore, it’s bad news for both sides rather than just one.

We can just about spot the Cholan colony they took earlier in the episode, showing how close the superpowers are across the ocean.

Paraguay take up Autocracy, too. It’s becoming really dominant, now.

78: Boatcon 1968

A number of nations convene near Vengi for Boatcon 1968. I spot ten civs, but I may be wrong.

Mississippi take Autocracy, unsurprisingly.

79: Standoff at Amata

Amata is ready to fall through plane power alone, but since it’s inland and the Malaccan navy can’t reach it, it’ll be safe for a while. That all changes if Kulin decides it does want the entirety of Australia, though elimination would probably bring a coalition on them.

80: 1969, Summer of Hate

Tongva, despite their failures in the south, have secured Naayxoxar from the Chinook, who have no melee troops save for a pikeman trapped by Palmaren peacekeepers and a cuirassier half-damaged and several mountain ranges away. There is a galleon (or similar ship) that might be able to navigate through the Tongvan galleasses

81

Aghat falls, giving Hippo Regius a small buffer of desert. The Vandals are really not dealing the death blow I was expecting, as they’re simply short on ground troops. Hopefully the capture of Kidal makes production more of a priority.

82: Niagara Rises, Not Falls

The mess of Northeast America, with eight visas and border crossings needed to sail from Niagara to Barnde Gat. The Neutral nation looks on with stern peacefulness, too insignificant to do anything but slowly rise through the rankings. Sometimes, that’s the strategy to follow to reach Endgame.

83: Erdene Zuu Zoo Reopens for Business, Cites Hunger for Lack of Exhibits

Avarga falls for the first time this war, and Erdene Zuu is also back in All-Russian hands, too. Is the tide turning, slowly but surely? Troops are up against Shangdu’s walls, ready for assault.

84: Turning Inland

Kaya falls and millions of people are displaced or filled. That is the final naval city of Burkino Faso, so it’s not all bad news for them. The Vandals face an uphill battle to take that many more cities.

85: Wuhu Most Prudish City In Malacca, Poll Says

A nice clear shot of the Malaccan offshore holdings that they took from Taiping a few episodes back. That navy would trounce anyone on the cylinder if used right.

A war with Chukchi would clear up that city to the east and would be legendary to watch.

86: Vandals Against Vandalism

Gjakove inevitably falls to a naval counterattack, and Vandal peacekeepers seem to be preventing German melee troops from getting close. It looks like Two Sicilies has escaped from this attack without serious harm being done. Germany has more troops than last shot.

87

Escape the Atlas mountains and you’ll find flat desert as far as the eye can see. This is a good stomping ground for cavalry attacks, which is what the Vandals are doing to Abalessa.

88: Cunning Strategy, or Boneheadedness?

Looks like Jerusalem is about to fall to the Two Sicilies. They wouldn’t get any further without a good peace deal. Remember the Ptolemies declared war whilst still at war with Nigeria! Perhaps the hope is with Jerusalem gone, no-one will threaten Blue Arabia due to the chokepoints.

89: Choir Sing Praises of Yuanese Defence Force

Ikh Khuree is firmly All-Russian, though the capital Karakorum and various lakeside cities are without a scratch.

90: Crucial Crusade

Jerusalem indeed falls. It is unlikely to flip back too many times due to the lack of Ptolemaic melee units. Vandal ships are beginning to clog up the seas, which shows they have open borders with the Sicilians. It’s a good tactic to prevent them building up their speciality.

91

Surprisingly, Thebai flips back thanks to an ironclad. It’ll be lost in a moment, though. Pelousion is accessible from the southern Ptolemaic cities that Zaire forgot to conquer, but they don’t have firepower to punt the city into the red.

92: Kosovan Imports of Manga to Stop

Chola I understood, but now Japan is on the receiving end of the Second Congress of Berlin’s Embargoes Division. A very bold Wilhelm pushes for Order as the World Ideology, but something tells me the Autocrats would be upset by this gaining traction and will do anything to stop it.

93: Chinook Push South

The Chinook are using the Malaccan invasion of South Tongva to send troops unopposed into the North. They’ve rallied some troops to take back Naayxoxar and now they’re doing damage to Pipimar.

94: ...and East

...and with some difficulty, they’re assaulting the inland cities too. Rio Grande are starting to look weak on the ground, here.

95: You Been Had, Ulanhad

Ulanhad is under siege now, with a good mixed army of Russians backed by plenty of reserves. The lake’s navy could cause some issues in the future, but only some.

Japan is now embargoed, to the dissapointment of early manga fans worldwide. Thankfully, Order does not become dominant.

96: Nuevo Amstello Denies Influence of Rio Grandean Army

Niuew Amstel, nieuw capital of Niuew Netherlands, is niuewly under attack. No ranged in range yet but the assault is going well. I would have thought it hard to move past Amstel to Beverwyck, but Rio have open borders with Mississippi.

97

Relative calm in this episode of Mapuchean territories, as we get a shot of Puren, their capital. Marajoaran troops loiter without doing anything damaging.

98: Defense: Shangdu, Shangdon’t

Avarga has been comfortably retaken but that’s to the detriment of Shangdu, which is in red, and Ulanhad, which has fallen. There’s a few more Northern Yuanese troops in the picture now, but I don’t think it’s enough. Line infantry are starting to appear, showing a keenness to upgrade their troops.

99: Dene Throw Down

Dene, who we haven’t seen much of, invade Mississippi. Their navy is old, comprised of 23 galleasses and 1 ironclad, and ground troops are also quite thin on the grounds. Hopefully we get a shot of the Western half of the nation to gauge life over there. Even after Rio Grande’s shock victory, Mississippi still command a good-sized empire and could threaten Dene if they’re not careful.

100: Deline Settled Near Deborder

Chukchi stick a few new cities in the old Chinook empire, as we catch a glimpse of West Dene. They look technologically advanced with riflemen and cavalry in adequate numbers. Dene would probably take a few Chukchi cities before giving them all back in the eventual peace treaty.

101

Live shots come in of Mapuchean ships taking on lost Marajoaran ships. They look strong down here, but so do Paraguay.

German ships browse the south Atlantic for any signs of civs yet to be discovered, in case they too want to vote against Order as world ideology.

102

Nieuw Amstel is poised to fall, but I predict further gains are not to be had. A new rump is officially formed though.

I really liked the New Netherlands. A good naval bias but backed up with a decent land army. The difficult war against the Neutrals netted them a capital in Kandoucho and they even survived a Mississipian attack when they were still top dog in NA. But the Vandals had other ideas.

103: Hawaii Seeks High After Low

It’s taken all episode, but Makasser is close to falling. Hilo finally got some melee units close enough and frequently enough. Their new two-city empire will have no expansion opportunities but might eke out a wealthy existence playing trade ships between Kulin and Malacca.

104: Our New Battleground

A better shot of the Mississipian war with Dene. Similar tech levels, similar troop levels, and presumably similar production. It’ll take a tactical expert to get anywhere significant. Murphy Mound looks like the most likely target.

Like-A-Fishhook reminds us of the Four Bears’ once-existence.

105: Thanks for reading!

And to round off the episode, Ibn Battuta thinks Awolowo of Nigerian is quite nice. But I think you, dear reader, are the most wonderful, for making your way through this episode.

Nigeria pump out the wonders with their tech lead proving useful. Surprisingly, only one wonder was built this episode, by Malacca.

Here’s a quick recap of the episode:

Gran Colombia are snuffed out

Tongva reel under Malaccan invasion

Two Sicilies struggle against Germany but take Jerusalem (see the minimap)

And most importantly, Bhutan declare war on Punjab and have yet to lose a city.

Episode 13: New Horizons – S2

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