Civ Battle Royale Across the cylinder, civs develop new naval tech, active warzones become prime real estate, and the strong prey on the weak.
Hey Every ! It’s me, ThyReformer. You may know me. Been a long time since I narrated a (full) episode and I’m excited for what’s to come. As is tradition I haven’t checked ahead so I don’t know what’s happening this episode. Before all that excitement though, let’s observe some formalities.
In the American Dreams, Orange reminds us there’s something very wrong with Arapaho.
Vihreaa’s map here gives a good idea of just how fucked Ming is, among other things.
I, for one, welcome our new Turkish overlords. Tuva’s dreadful disgrace dethrones them, and Turkey is a reasonable replacement. It’s a tight competition at the top though, so we may see Turkey dethroned soon just as well.
Thank you to those that donate. You keep the machine running and well-oiled.
Into action we jump, into the midst of the Han-Tuva war, where Tuva troops have been completely pushed out of Samagaltay. Qarakhoja in turn is unscathed. Han shows us that quality triumphs over quantity. Tuvan military quality has truly suffered since the war with Permians.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, a Dutch painter in the 19th century, became famous for his depictions of Roman luxury and decadence. In this world he is presumably creating art about the decadence at show in Kokang, then.
As the Brandenburger troops clean up what remains of Anglo-Norse, one Anglo-Norse general flees the scene. He believes that though the battle may be lost, the war is not over. He vows to one day return to his home, bathed in rays of gold. In the meantime, Frederick-William’s primary rival, Gediminas, gladly hosts the Anglo-Norse Government-In-Exile. Gediminas assures us he is NOT puppeteering the exiles.
In real life, Lucius Junius Brutus was one of the founders of the Roman Republic, and one of its first consuls.
Bengal and Kokang continue slamming their heads against a brick wall. This is especially true in the south, where the stalemate is a permanent reality, but the brick wall may be faltering in Kokang’s northwest holdings, where very few units reside. Still, Bengal would have to slip his army through two mountain passes to even begin a siege, so I’m not holding my breath.
Welp. Last time we saw this region, La Rioja was still standing, now there is nothing but ash and dust. Presumably what happened was, Inca captured the city again, reducing it to 1 pop, and began razing it due to unhappiness (peep their Dark Age in the corner). And of course, a 1 pop city burns in 1 turn. Lacs seems to have captured this screenshot RIGHT as the city vanished, judging by the former borders of the city still being part of Tupac’s lands.
Tupac was probably frustrated with his troops getting distracted by two potential targets. And this seems to have been the correct move, as his army is finally making a good run for Tucuman. With plenty of reserves and plenty of unhappiness, with some luck we’ll see this city burn too.
Sir Thomas Roe was a diplomat, ambassador and scholar in Elizabethan England. Maybe his diplomatic ability can save Tucuman?
As you may have noticed, Yemen and Kilwa made peace, as is good for both parties. This leaves only Uganda among the nearby civs still at war with Kilwa, meaning Ali ibn al-Hassan can finally breathe a sigh of relief. A third of the cylinder hates his guts, but he is safe for now. Still, more than ever, Kilwa is stuck between his neighbors with little chance of escape. Even the Zulu have gained respectable strength.
Semiramis tells us that Guiscard is plotting against the Anglo-Dutch this time. Last episode, he was plotting against Castile. What I’m getting out of this is that Guiscard hates the color orange, which makes him a loser in my books. I spit in your general direction, Robert Guiscard.
Maori’s happiness issues manifest as a revolt against Potatau te Wherowhero’s rule. Remind yourself that they are currently in a Golden Age.
Various sources claim that the rebel leaders are after the One Piece which the Maorian King flaunts so proudly.
Angola, too, enters a Golden Age. Note the Longswordsmen and Trebuchets, which their neighbors lack. Be very quiet now, lest you wake up the sleeping lion…
Emboldened by the flames of ambition, Muisca decide to join Arapaho in the pillaging of poor ol’ Central America. With the Centroamerican navy already exhausted (except for a small fleet by their capital), the Muisca navy can simply waltz in and begin besieging cities. On land it is a different story, as Central America seems to have the numerical advantage. Not that war in this region is to be waged with armies.
A quick glance shows that Tuva’s unit carpet is fairly alright. But a sizable portion of these units are civilian units. And what is with all those units exploring the far north?
Howqua, in real life a Chinese trader in the late 18th/early 19th centuries, was the richest person of his time. On our cylinder, he is getting rich by selling iron to the Göktürks. Explains why you don’t see any Tuvan swordsmen.
Cree are still struggling with chivalrous revolts. American knights chip away at Natuashish rather fruitlessly, and reinforcements are few, by the looks of it. But Arapaho’s expeditionary force that used to be vacationing in Cree lands has mostly returned home! Hurrah!
Turkey, our new #1 and the rulers of Eastern Mediterranean, have recently acquired GALLEONS. That’s right, the Turkish navy is two eras ahead of the Norman navy. Despite Norman numerical superiority, this would absolutely be a one-sided bloodbath. The technological disparity is less obvious on land, but it is there. If I was Guiscard I would stop planning a step-by-step itinerary for returning to Normandy, and start modernizing his navy.
Another glance at a top 10 civ shows Lithuania’s carpet, and it is quite healthy indeed. Maybe a bit too many horses for my tastes. I like the trebuchets though.
The last Anglo-Norse military unit has joined the good general in exile, and Gediminas pays no mind.
The two-pronged Central American war continues predictably. In the north, the last remnants of the eastern Centroamerican fleet are sunk in the Gulf of Mexico. Muiscan navy reaches Managua and begins dealing damage. Centroamerican troops cross the border southward, approaching the lightly defended city of Tundama. The troops are supported by the still-intact western contingent of the Centroamerican navy. The question then is: Could this actually backfire on Muisca?
Seretse Khama is surrounded by civs with superior armies. His lands are mostly flat and difficult to defend. He laments his fate…
…and then posts about it on Facebook, where he can also complain about how entitled young people are, and laugh at minion memes. Thanks, Zuckerberg.
Little progress has been made up here in the north between Cree and Kwak. Could Skanderbeg’s strategy actually be working?
Note the Modoc army going for the freshly settled Cree city! It’s looking rough, but with a little help from Kwak, maybe the city could fall…!
As we predicted last episode, Greenland has indeed settled the last possible spots here, despite how god-awful they are. So, now is the time to expand militarily, right?
Tucuman takes a bit more damage…Rio de la Platan army sits around Catamarca…Oh, hey, La Rioja’s borders are neutral now as they should be. The pillaged citadel in neutral lands is just RIPE for some ambitious warlord to take over.
Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance, aiding poor entrepreneurs. Here he is likely innovating methods of banking to begin with, considering Anglo-Dutch do not have the tech yet.
For our beloved Central Asian competitor, Massagetae, the concept of “opportunity” has been an alien one since the war with Permians had a mostly neutral outcome. In the time since that war, Permians have rebuilt, Afghanistan has settled available space to the south, and the likes of…Kokang and Mohave have settled the available space to the east. Even killing Khazaria would be tough thanks to the tight borders, and the warmonger penalty for killing a civ would likely not be worth it. Oh well.
Lithuanians found new homes in the middle of the Permian empire, in Upyte and Telsiai. These locations, which are vaguely alright, were left unsettled by the Permians in favor of more snowy locales. One more Lithuanian settler begins the trek through Tuvan lands in search of even more distant places to call home.
Pst…Azykay…wouldn’t now be a nice time to take revenge on Tuva?
Here’s a better look at Turkey's core. Missionaries, Inquisitors and Great Prophets dot the landscape. I note the amount of cities founded by other civs. Assyrians, Egyptians and Khazarians alike had to die to build this empire. Such is the nature of empire building.
After we last saw them, the Malians have teched up to their Unique Unit, the Ton-Tigi, replacing the Knight. This ranged knight replacement has indirect fire, and has to set up but has no penalty against cities, making it an excellent city sieger, especially so in the rough jungles of Central Africa. The Malian army has taken to this modernization quite swiftly, and only a few horsemen remain. Let’s see if they can use this unit!
Tucuman hasn’t taken any more damage, and the Chilean core is very pretty, yes, but check out the freedom fighters still keeping up the good fight on that island off the coast of Valdivia. No amount of oppression can keep these guys down! The human spirit yearns for liberation!
As a wave of Kilwan peace comes in, we check out how Timor-Leste is doing, and oh boy, excellent choice. Timor-Leste has taken a page out of Turkey’s book and upgraded to Galleons, and unlike Turkey’s navy, Timor-Leste’s navy is free to roam the seven seas. I’d go for immediate neighbors first, but you never know with the AI.
Bengal’s worst fear has come true as Indonesia upgrades to Carracks. I mean, it’s pretty bad for the Philippines too, but Bengal is an actual contender in the game, you know. Takes just one war declaration, now…
Welp, looks like Modoc won’t be doing much. Cree have added Crossbows to their repertoire, an amazing unit both defensively and offensively.
Speaking of offensives, slightly to the north the Cree lay siege to the Kwak capital in what is not a half-hearted attempt. The prevalence of horsemen does not give me hope though. All I can say is…you can do it mr. skanderbeg!
Afghanistan indeed builds the Doge’s Palace in Kabul. It’s probably sitting by the nice oasis here. The wonder gives an additional Trade Route slot, and each filled Trade Route slot provides +5% Sovereignty. An alright wonder.
In the one-sided pillaging that some people call “war”, the Indonesian invention of Galleass (and Carrack) is going to radically change the situation. No longer are triremes suiciding into Malolos, now Indonesia can attack from range. Revolutionary.
Kokang and Timor-Leste, two civs with deep-sea embarkation, rush to settle what remains of Pacific islands.
Turkey’s holdings in Arabia are actually almost undefended. I don’t like the look of that, especially with Yemen’s healthy carpet next door.
Nathan Rothschild, a banker and a politician from the English branch of the Rothschild family, made a name for himself in the second half of the 19th century. Probably a fairly similar life he’s leading here, but this time he gets to be the founder of the family.
With two settlers here and another on the way, Kokang looks to be claiming most of this island chain. It’ll be a nice forward base in naval wars, or alternatively a last stand if their mainland gets conquered.
H o l y s h i t. It’s Lauri Kovalainen! He…uh…well, I’ve never heard of him. He doesn’t have a wikipedia article. Googling his name only brought up random non-famous people with the same name, until finally I found some weird source, which included the detail that he changes his name to Lars Kovala at some point. Searching for this name brought up nothing on wikipedia besides the articles of a few American Midwestern cities, where he is mentioned as a person from whom land was bought when the city was still new.
Anyway, from non-wikipedia sources: He was born in Suomussalmi in Finland, and fled to Alaska during the Finnish Famine of 1866-1868 to be a trader. Alaska was sold to the US in 1867, though, and this coincided with the fur trade drying up, leading Lauri to move on again. This time he headed to California, where he made a fortune selling seal skins. Suddenly rich, Lauri’s next move was to buy up real estate in the Midwest, which is where our scant amounts of wikipedia-sourced information come in. Later in life Lauri would become a philanthropist, and among other things, he was one of the five who donated money to help create the American Red Cross headquarters near the White House.
Finland in CBR X3 confirmed !!!
The naval arms race in the region accelerates, as both Muisca and Central America start producing Carracks. Carracks are now ruling the seas across the cylinder, as far as I can tell.
Howard Robard Hughes was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, producer, and philanthropist in the 20th century. Quite the polymath.
Tegdaoust has fallen! Malians’ joy is likely to be short-lived, though, as Tetouan stands ready to recapture the city very quickly, just like before.
What the hell. We have an IMPOSTOR on our hands. You may remember that Timur is already working for Kayapo - might even be the very Kayapo Great General we see only two tiles away! So which one is the real one? Or is Timur working for both? Or fooling one in favor of the other? Or perhaps even fooling both, scamming these civs out of their hard-earned gold! Either way, don’t trust this guy.
And there we go, Lacs confirms for us the duplicity of the Great General. It’s looking to me like the Brazilian Timur is about to conveniently get ambushed by Kayapo’s troops, so it’s probably the Brazilians who are getting scammed.
Little has happened between the Göktürks and the Ainu, but we have an artist to check out.
Marina Abramović is a Serbian conceptual and performance artist. That’s quite special, hope she’s doing something similar in this world.
Well, that’s a big one. Excited by the prospect of trying out his new ships, Xanana Gusmão picks the easiest possible target for a war declaration. It’s looking pretty one-sided - will Timor-Leste take it all the way and eliminate Yolngu?
Ataturk had a similar idea, and considers suing Xanana Gusmão for copyright infringement. Kievan Rus’ at least has an inland city to fall back to, and Turkey will take a bit of time to move substantial amounts of land units to the front. Navally Kievan Rus’ is just as outmatched as Yolngu. Olga may have Carracks, but she only has THREE of them. Ouch oof owie.
A few stray war decs come Seminole’s way, nothing to worry about. Arapaho’s trireme fleet has been exhausted, as was expected. Arapaho and Tuva, I feel, are declining, slowly but surely.
Eli Lilly was an American soldier, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical corporation. Perhaps his medicinal expertise can improve the quality of life of the Seminole people.
Fields and mines and fortifications alike lay in ruins. The Centroamerican army has reached the outskirts of Tundama in full force. But it appears Central America has overexerted itself, as only scraps remain of the army beyond what is attempting to besiege Tundama. This war has been absolutely brutal for Central America, and when this siege inevitably fails, there will be nothing stopping Muisca from setting up their own sieges on Central American cities.
Kayapo builds the White Tower, with these effects: Provides a free Constabulary in the city. Constabularies and Police Stations yield +1 Gold and +1 Production. +4 Tourism after Electricity. Rather unimpressive altogether.
Kokang and Bengal end their stalemate. The rebels popping up in eastern Kokang might’ve played a part in motivating Olive Yang to end the folly of a war. Bad news for Cambodia though, as Kokang could again remember the city-state exists.
The Kayapo army splits up and starts to damage both Recife and Rio de Janeiro. I am not sure if it will be enough. So few units - we will soon see if quality alone can carry an army, or if Raoni is but a fool. Oh, and Kayapo is the proud owner of at least one Galleon.
Kayapo builds another wonder, this one the Topkapi Palace, which makes military buildings in the empire provide +1 faith. Unimpressive again.
Frederick-William constructs a whole new fort in celebration of the victory against Canute. The Amer Fort seems to be giving 1 Delegate, +1 Culture, and +1 Great Engineer Point. Not a lot considering the World Congress is disabled. So really, just a show-off.
Shiraoi takes an inch of damage. More at 11. Oh, but look at the sidebar! That’s right…Seminole and Cambodia finally made peace. Such a ruthless war coming to an end so abruptly, with neither TRULY coming on top, though one certainly humiliated. We are sure to see them fight again when the time is right.
Oh, yeah, I guess Tuva and Han made peace too.
The Turkish-Kievan war gets off to a quick start, with the Kievan navy mostly cleaned up, and Novgorod taking its first bit of damage. Still, Turkish reinforcements will be slow, so don’t expect quick results here.
Coalition against Uganda coming up?
Yet another revolt pops up on North Island. This is becoming quite the common occurrence now, remarks one Shah Jahan. In another life he was a Mughal Emperor. I think. The other option is a Pakistani politician. Not sure how either would be a Great Merchant. Maybe a reader can point out for me who this is intended to be.
Tupac Yupanqui, quite pleased with his core, makes a speech, announcing core but again. Core 2, in short. I mean, really, with such raging initial success, who wouldn’t expect a sequel. And damn if this sequel isn’t successful. This is easily more cities than in their first core. Can’t wait for core 3.
And rather conveniently, here is core 1 for your viewing pleasure. I’m always surprised by Quito’s low pop. Pretty sure I saw it have 2 pop earlier in the episode. And it’s not like there’s no food tiles nearby so the AI is just SOMEHOW managing to keep the city’s population down.
Tegdaoust remains in Malian hands but for a turn longer as Tetouan just barely fails to take the island back. Looks like Sayyida al-Hurra is feeling bold though, as she’s got a settler poised to settle in the war zone. I don’t like the odds of such a city though, it’s way too out in the open, easily accessible for the fairly strong Malian army.
Michael Collins and his people feel a wave of despair wash over them as they realize the wild quantity of foreign people settling on the Emerald Isles. Even the Anglo-Dutch, the very definition of depression, have sent a settler over despite there being no available tiles to plop a settler down on. And it probably feels like there’s just no way out…has the story of the Emerald Isles ended before it has even had a proper chance to begin?
Finally, to get the formality of it out of the way, Kilwa and Uganda make peace. With Mbarara held by a third party, the two really should’ve made peace sooner, but hey, still better than keeping up the war for another 100 turns. (Yes, the war started on Turn 113, so over 100 turns, about half of the game so far.)
Well, looks like my skepticism was misplaced. Recife and Rio de Janeiro have fallen to half health, and the Kayapo army isn’t showing much signs of exhaustion. It may very well just be over. Oh, hey, and…Rio de la Plata is still at war with Brazil, maybe their one single trireme will snipe? Embarked melee unit could do it too.
Indonesia has brought a fleet of alright size to the renewed siege of Malolos. We have a pretty good chance of a double elimination here! Still 30 slides to go! Keep your fingers crossed!
The Kwak capital falls to half health, but I’m not sure if the Cree have the gas to keep going. If they do, we could see three capitals fall in one episode. Exciting prospects.
Tegdaoust flips, and Rabat is indeed settled right where we last saw the settler. Next to the Malian army. This’ll be a lesson to learn from.
The Timorese-Yolngu war doesn’t seem to have moved much, and there’s a whole 4 Yolngu units in Timor’s borders, bit strange. But it is actually a simple trap, baiting Yolngu units within range of the Timorese crossbows, so that the navy can swoop in with little resistance. Timor will need to bring up reinforcements from the north either way, I feel.
Aaaaand the two border cities flip to Mali. Malian force actually looks superior now, so maybe flipping will stop. Tetouan is struggling to bring in any of her Mediterranean fleet due to a Norman blockade. It’s Guiscard’s master plan in action.
The Lithuanian settler we saw here previously must’ve made its way even further east, as it is not visible here. Still not as impressive as the Comanche or Mohave journeys.
Raja Ravi Varma, an Indian painter active in the later half of the 19th century, is here to make affordable art for the Permian commoners.
Since Olive Yang is taking her sweet time deciding which way her Pacific cities should face, or something like that, Mohave have snagged up one spot in a chain that should’ve been mostly Kokang’s. And they’re looking to snag up another spot in a hot second, too!
Tigwaxsti falls to red, but finding a good melee unit may be tough. The Cree unit behind the city banner is a knight, but it is at below half health…
Rene Magritte, a Belgian surrealist artist active in the 20th century, will be right at home in our version of North America, where great powers get their capitals sieged by rebels. Oh wait…
The best look at Afghanistan’s core we’ve had in a long while. Their army looks a bit sparse, but it’s just very spread out. Judging by how it is not pointed at anyone, I’d expect some more peace from them.
Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian painter and art theorist active in the late 19th/early 20th century, is here to introduce abstraction to Afghanistan art.
The Indonesian fleet responsible for sieging Malolos has thinned out considerably. To be fair, there are a LOT of Filipino bowmen on that island. You know what that means, Suharto? More reinforcements! Let’s make this double elimination happen!
Because Kayapo absolutely is on track with this double elimination thing. Recife falls, will probably flip, but is a lost cause. Rio de Janeiro holds on just barely, and all things considered RDLP is more likely to get it, due to the only Kayapo melee unit being stuck behind a crossbow. Get that bread, Jose!
The War for the Black Sea on the other hand is going a lot less smoothly. With only one port on the Black Sea, the Turkish naval tech advantage doesn’t really get to shine, and land units embark helplessly into the cruel waters. Kiev looks to hold on.
As expected, the Yolngu navy has been absolutely wrecked, barring some deserters that are fleeing east. Maybe they’ll find work in the Incan Pacific, working as privateers. All the same, abandoning their homelands will weigh heavy on their hearts for as long as they breathe.
Thomas Cole, an English-born American painter active in the 19th century, is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintings. His art will have an important role in maintaining a Yolngu cultural identity in the future.
Central America takes a page out of Tetouan’s book and settles a city in an active warzone. The city will fall next turn. Meanwhile, the assault on Tundama has predictably fallen apart, but even worse news has arrived from the north: Arapaho now has Galleasses and Carracks as well. Shame the North American giant still doesn’t know how to mass military units.
Recife does indeed flip, and Kayapo’s closest melee unit is both weak and poorly positioned. The city may hold for a while longer. In the south, Rio de Janeiro holds on, the RDLP trireme apparently destroyed in a single turn. Jose, I don’t say this often, but…please, embark some units, one of them will make it through!
Well, looks like this is it. Three melee units next to the city, the city at almost no health. Now, all three of said units are damaged, but more melee units are only a short trek away. I would tell you to get ready, but they’ve been on death’s door for a while now, so you should be ready by now.
Tegdaoust flips; Rabat appears secure in Malian hands. Sayyida al-Hurra is not having a great time in this war. Malian triremes make their way to Fez, even if they can’t reasonably threaten the city…not yet, that is. The war will only continue to get worse for Tetouan from here on out.
News arrives from the frigid north: Tigwaxsti has fallen to the invading Cree force! The capture looks quite decisive as well, with only a handful of triremes nearby to contest the occupation. If the Kwak was not crippled before, this has to be the final nail in the coffin. And an impressive feat from the Cree, considering the mountains.
Teguogalpa falls. Muisca does not look prepared to take on an actual Centroamerican core city. This war has been a fair bit more exhausting than they probably imagined.
Offscreen, Kwak regains their capital in a futile showing of defiance.
Woah hold on! Wiradjuri have finally had enough of Maori settling on land they consider theirs, and war engulfs the whole region! Here, by Maori’s core, I wouldn’t expect much to happen - Wiradjuri may have a tech advantage, but Maori’s navy is at least triple the size of Wiradjuri’s. More interesting is the safety of the various Maori colonies dotted around Australia. Wiradjuri does not seem to have much in the way of land army either, though certainly enough to take a barely-defended Maori colony. I’m also curious about the state of the war near and around New Guinea.
Ah, yeah, that’s more like it. Both of these cities are as good as gone. If Maori can hold in the east they can at least mitigate the amount of damage dealt.
Exhibit A: Kwak capital back in Kwak hands. As you can see, I am not a liar, your honor.
Lacs graciously shows us the Arabian Sea, the region dotted by various scouts. Afghanistan declares war on Wiradjuri, believing they already have galleons. You have good tech bro, don’t let your dreams be dreams.
Oh, right, this was a thing. Cree were “fighting” on two fronts. But America has graciously decided to not destroy the native civilization. It’s all about benevolence, you know. And explicitly NOT because they couldn’t take a city from an enemy that barely had any military units in the area.
Malolos falls, marking the end of an era. After nearly a hundred turns of resistance, The Filipino civilization has crumbled. Aguinaldo had been making strange decisions from the get-go - settling his second city on the mainland between Kokang and Cambodia, his third city on the Malay Peninsula, and finally his fourth city on Visayas. Not a single good decision was made. The expectation was that Timor-Leste or Kokang would end the silly civ’s story, but Indonesia’s unexpected rise at the Philippines’ expense turned out to be the cause of death. I must admit, this says more about Indonesia than it does about the Philippines. Not many civs on our cylinder have had this kind of stubborn persistence to completely annihilate another contender. Again, this war lasted for nearly 100 turns, and most of that was the Siege of Malolos. Bravo to Suharto, and adios for Emilio Aguinaldo. You will be forgotten in the sands of time.
Tegdaoust flips. But behold the corner of the screen, where a Kayapo knight approaches Recife, ready to flip the city once more.
After a grueling long siege, Tucuman has fallen all the way to HALF health. Just like last time, Inca still has reserves to keep pushing, so the city should fall, but damn, this is taking so long.
Jose, meanwhile, took my advice to heart and embarked an entire army in a gambit to snipe Rio de Janeiro. The city SHOULD indeed fall next time RDLP can move, unless something really tragic happens. Elsewhere in his struggling nation, Jose is opting to fortify his troops near Buenos Aires and Catamarca instead of making even a half-hearted attempt at reinforcing Tucuman. Maybe he’s worried about Chile coming back for round 2, and damn, I would be too. Look at that carpet!
The Kwak capital holds for another turn, but things never stopped looking dire. A conga line of Cree knights stands ready to capture the city again and again, until nothing but ash and dust remains of the cultural centre of the Kwak empire. I admire Kwak’s stubbornness if nothing else.
For a second there I thought that was a Zulu war dec against Botswana, but it is in fact Afghanistan. Damn you. But if a coalition is forming against Botswana, that could spell doom if either of their main neighbors join in.
And here’s the New Guinea region of the Maori-Wiradjuri war I mentioned. The Maori navy is a lot thinner here than in their core, so the Wiradjuri tech advantage gets a chance to shine. I would expect Tokaanu to fall, but it is hard to predict anything further than that.
Welp, that’s certainly a move. You may have noticed Wiradjuri being on the receiving end of a few stray war decs, nothing serious, but clearly a coalition was brewing, as now Timor-Leste joins against them as well. With this, the battle lines in Oceania have been drawn. Wiradjuri + Yolngu versus Timor-Leste + Maori + moral support. Ironically enough, Wiradjuri and Yolngu have ended up on the same side here. The outcome of a messy war like this is hard to predict, but I would expect Yolngu and Maori to be the major losers of the war, while Timor-Leste and Wiradjuri grow stronger, but this could certainly go one of many ways.
We end on a screen of Kokang failing to settle anything on this island chain, the best spots going to Mohave instead. I believe there’s one more island available, maybe Kokang will get that one.
And of course, north of New Guinea will be another theater of the Great Oceanian War. This could take pressure off of Maori’s northern holdings.
That is the end of this exhilarating episode. Three simultaneous capital sieges. Shame about Brazil surviving, considering they’re as good as dead. Next episode, everyone’s eyes will turn towards Oceania. How will the Great War develop? What is Suharto’s next move? Will Maori invent a ship better than a trireme? Find out next episode. I’ve been ThyReformer, and you’ve been cool.