Episode 26: The Age of Air

1: Come on and Slam, and Welcome to the <strong>CBR</strong>!

Welcome, welcome, one and all, back to Episode 26 of the Civilization Battle Royale X Season 3! Once again, I’m your host E_C_H, stills doing my dumb lil stats and history posts! When I was last here, Kilwa was being sworn to destruction (so much for that) and duckmen walked the lands, strange times.

Last episode may have been one of the most hype we’ve seen here, and I can only hope this one keeps up the pace! Just as a note, if you see an extra long writeup with a strikethrough near the end, that means I wrote up a needlessly long bit of lore/RP, and if you don’t care for that, feel free to skip to after the line. Enjoy!

2: V for Ven-reaa

Hot tip, if you ever want to reminisce a bit on the earlier days of the CBR, bring up the current Vihreaa map and the one from however far you want back, and flip between the tabs. I’ve got last episodes and episode 15’s up, man the cylinder looks better with all the empty spots filled up; while it’s also remarkable how little the Arapaho have shifted.

3: I’ll be your American Dream

While I do want to give a huge shoutout to Nirosat, whose new war-wheel I reference a few time during this write-up; they got the spotlight last time so let’s rotate it with our reliable favourite: u/orangechrisy’s American Dream series! This time, we get a flavour of how Pretty Nose may be interpreting and implementing a radical definition of neutrality. Foreshadowing?

4: Money money money, must be funny…

A big old thanks to everyone who donates as always, keeping the lights on, the ships afloat, the taps running, yada yada, you know what is meant and that you’re appreciated.

5: Masters of the Southwest (and everywhere else)

The Mohave have topped the Power Rankings for the first time, breaking the stranglehold Tuva and Turkey have had on the prime position ever since Episode 8! No doubt boosted through their impressive science showings and impressive land holdings from the Central Pacific to Honduras; let’s see if Irataba can maintain this lead or even strike against a foe to expand it further!

6: South-South Pacific

We begin with a shot of the scattershot Antarctic outposts that lie south of the vast Pacific, mostly occupied at this time by a Chilean squadron (perhaps of the backdoor variety?). They’re only at war with the eliminated Kwakwaka’wakw, so I doubt they’re doing much more than aimlessly drifting. Please also spare a thought for the forever homeless Yolgnu Lippa-lippa’s, who I imagine as oceanic nomads hopping from tiny island to tiny island.

7: Sandwich Isles for Appetizers

Staying in the southmost reaches, we gaze over the islands east of South America, ruled over by Chile and Rio de la Plata. Chile probably would have taken all of these islands if the last war had lasted longer, to my memory, and should Chile make the obviously beneficial choice to declare war again I expect they would sweep up quite quickly still. Allende was ranked pretty low in the first place due to a pacifist reputation, and although he surprised us once he really shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to impress us again, while Rio de la Plata is also facing the Inca and Kayapo.

08: Remember the Manile! To Hell with Castile!

EXTRA LORE DROPDOWN

Tensions between America and Castile have remained tense ever since the US intervention in Burgos a number of episodes ago, and last week that boiled over into another declaration of war, this time with longer-lasting mainland intentions for the Americans. The totalitarian press apparatus run by the fascist ideologues in Washington even concocted a bogus story about a Spanish mine destroying a ship called the USS Manile (experts in the future will doubt Issabella possessing the technology to do such a thing)!

Whatever the reason, Leon has been brought into red very fast, with the Spanish resorting to their cultural tradition of throwing horse units into the water to slow down enemy ships (at least the Conquistador UU has bonus embarked defense, I guess?) My prediction: plenty of flips, with the victor depending on how many extra melee ships FDR is prepared to send over.

09: Science and Sailors

I know we have some meaty war content here, but first, ding ding ding; we have our first spotted Great Scientist! For those not aware, the CBR AI pretty much always immediately pops GS’s for the science boost, making it rare to even see one, much less catch their name. However, here we spot Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, presumably quite happy to avoid the bloody frontlines, searching for an observatory to continue his groundbreaking research into the evolution of stars.

Anyway, probably more importantly for our purposes, Kokang has dealt an early blow in the partition of Indonesia, taking the large city of Cavite el Viejo in a grand display of the power of air superiority. Seriously, if you check the last episode, two turns ago the city had no damage and Yang had just 4 planes in the region. I’d imagine this is Yang’s main war aim besides the Philippines, and it will vastly improve the position for a future elimination of Cambodia. Elsewhere, it seems Battambang has emerged as the target an Indonesian counter-offensive, we’ll see how that develops.

10: Inland, In-schmand

Yemen proves that they’re not going to be stopped by 1 tile of land as they land a decent force on Madagascar to take another city off of the Zulu. Operational commander Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec can take pride in his work, although his real passion is exploration, not warfare. Perhaps after this he’ll sail south and see if he can find anything new that Bengal hasn’t already settled down there (in another reality he would be lauded as a hero for discovering the Kerguelen Islands, before being fired after his second voyage revealed how useless they were).

On the topic of African campaigns, that is a fair amount of manpower Timor-Leste seems to be sending to their Zulu war. On one hand this could give them a good foothold on another continent, and Cetshwayo is certainly not a difficult opponent; but on the other hand I might question the choice to commit to this now, during a region-defining war with Indonesia.

11: The Atlantic Wave

Unsurprisingly Leon has fallen, and holy cannoli, FDR is definitely planning on keeping it given that reinforcement wave. The pendulum has swung hard towards Castile being a one-city rump by the end of this episode, but a lucky peace or naval bungling is never out of the cards!

12: Commie Conflict

The period of the Cylinder from the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s saw just about every advanced state adopt a more comprehensively packaged ideological system of governance that tied together laws, socio-cultural practices and citizenship. With a global environment so focused on warfare and eternal leaders presiding over everything, ideologies that leaned authoritarian or downright totalitarian naturally led the way, and Communism, with its collective spirit and flexibility in interpretation, established itself as the dominant global order. However, that flexibility in interpretation means communist civs have zero issues finding fault in each other, and warfare is certainly not hindered between comrades; as this new joint war of the Inca and Han on Kokang demonstrates.

Perhaps this is a response to Yang siding with the non-Communist Timorese against Communist Indonesia under Suharto? Perhaps this is rooted in the nationalist horde government Han currently has, according to the top-left? Or perhaps this is just opportunity knocking, as Kokang has its forces mounted southward, leaving their Pacific outposts and Chinese frontier open to both civs? In any case, I expect this won’t be a walk in the park for anyone, and honestly I could see this backfiring on Wu.

13: Yupaqui’s Voyages

From the moment he felt his existence begin on this Cylinder, Tupac Yupanqui, while certainly feeling right and happy to settle and conquer the vast highlands of the Andes region, always felt an additional yearning to spread his influence over the ocean that lay at his empire’s shores. Well, he’s certainly delivered on that desire plenty already, and with this new war he has a decent chance to expand it further, provided the Incan Pacific fleet actually heads there.

Interestingly, in spite of the Pacific setting, this is a war not just on the sea now, but the airways! Both Kokang and the Inca boast new and shiny airfields, presumably learning the early techniques of bombing and strafing targets.

14: Phate of the Philippines

Once again blood is spilled across Luzon as the city of Malolos, once a grand capital city, faces siege once again. To be fair, I’m not sure which I’d rather have between the slow decade of a decades-long Medieval starve-out, or the terror of explosive bombardment and blitz attack tactics. Kokang might want to watch out that they actually have a unit to capture the city before they bomb it into total oblivion, as it seems Timor-Leste could easily end up the beneficiary if they aren’t careful.

15: A Glorious… Revolution?

We jump to the Irish Isles, stepping back an era or two in terms of military tech. That doesn’t diminish the excitement in any way though, as William III seems keen to knock back his many detractors in the community at least a little. Plus, much like Yupanqui’s yearning for the Pacific, something just feels right about this whole ‘invade that island across from us’ idea. Of course, his government doesn’t frame this as cynical revanchism, but claims this is in fact an invited revolution by the oppressed majority Lutherans of Rotterdam and other minority Lutherans across Ireland. Furthermore, the Anglo-Dutch have put their Blue Guard riflemen and Man-of-War frigates on a pedestal, but for my money the artillery corps deserve the real recognition right now, effortlessly bombarding Wexford and Kilkenny into defeat.

Going further into Collins domain isn’t impossible but may be a bit more difficult, especially as the Irish have responded to this invasion by raising their own defensively-inclined rifleman UU in Cork, nationalists ready to fight and die for their homeland known as Fenians (well-timed, as they gain bonus strength for each defensive building when near enough to their cities).

16: The Lizst of Priorities

Displeased with the bizarre lack of progress his army is currently making against Zagreb’s defenses, Freddy-W has doubled down on his Great Musician morale-boost strategy, patronizing an up-and-comer Romantic composer from the borderlands being fought over, Franz Lizst, whose astounding flood of original works and skyrocketing popularity is sure to install ‘Lizstmania’ in the troops. Now he just needs to team up with Aretha Franklin and surely Zagreb shall be in their hands!

That being said, Brandenburg would perhaps have been better served researching Dynamite based on this slide, as a look at the info spreadsheet reveals they still lack that technology, and are currently skipping ahead to Flight! Tito is taking great advantage of this for the moment, although he may want to secure some buffer troops before long.

17: Trouble at the Cape

Down in the Southernmost reaches of Africa, Cetshweyos attempts to take back Serowe seem to have largely failed, if anything just eating up troops needed to defend against this unexpected threat from across the Indian Ocean. Of course, with 2 targets to split up attackers, the Timorese-Angolan naval attacks could fail, but with the tech disparity the chances of Nongoma or Eshowe glowing red and yellow soon isn’t hard to see.

18: The Bay of Bengal Massacre

Historians will forever debate why such a large contingent of Pandyan frigate divisions sat at anchor in the Bay of Bengal while Afghanistan’s army swept through the cities and destroyed the civilization they served. Corruption? A traitorous Admiralty? Mutinous crews hoping to avoid a hopeless fight and fleeting death? Afghan sabotage of the communication channels? Whatever the case, the end result wasn’t pretty for these sailors, as those that didn’t stealthily steal the rowboats and flee to Bengali refugee camps were left to perish against the modern metallic warships in an infamous series of clashes off the coast of Kudiramalai. A distinctly merciless last stand for a civ so poorly performing as Pandya.

As Afghanistan pacifies and rebuilds the lands they just took, just a bit North an architect named Charles Barry has derived inspiration from the far off culture of the Normans, building a great number of palaces, gardens and even main government buildings in an ornate ‘Normanite’ style. As if that didn’t sound peaceful enough, you might want to check the minimap…

19: The Land of Rumped Queens

Indeed, peace is declared in Iberia! It seems Castile has seen the writing on the wall and has decided to skip the dozens of turns of whittling flips, instead just handing Leon over to the Americans at 4 pop. I suppose Isabella can take solace that she’s still doing better than her neighbor on the Costa Brava, and honestly she ought to consider declaring war even, what with the Roberts forces already grinding Tetouan down.

20: Avenging Afghans

Fresh from their elimination of Pandya, Afghanistan’s army has marched back up to their front with the Permians, hoping to swipe back Sar-e Pol and Lashkargah. Now, the Permians do offer stronger resistance than Pandya, and probably would have even less problems if only there wasn’t a Lithuanian peacekeeping(?) force dividing their army in half. We really are getting some hallmarks of late-game CBR popping up now!

21: Kill-kenny

Back in Europe, Kilkenny is taken without any nearby melee units to take it back and Wexford should fall next turn. If Michael aims to send a counterattack from Ireland or Scotland, he better hurry up before the orange army (not meant as a reference towards a particular set or IRL nasties, although the historical allusion is strong) organizes upwards. You may also note Tralee remaining in a perpetual state of ownership fluctuation as Greenlands navy and Irish land units ping-pong back and forth.

22: Gold, Faith, and the Red Flag

The Muisca, far from a position of total strength, enter into the prevailing influences of the Cylinder Communist International (CCI), which I imagine to be as harmonious a body as a boxing center. I recall the last time I had the reins as narrator, Nemequene was at a peak of relevance taking on and nearly holding Central America’s capital, alongside grabbing some rogue island outposts in the Carribean. I noted then that a war was sure to begin at some point between America and the Muisca for regional naval control… boy, was I wrong. Even with the tech disparity it may be one of their best options to regain momentum at this point, relying on privateer swarms, but equally an assault on the Inca could be worth a shot. In any case, the current trajectory is a surefire pathway to the ‘meh’ section of the history books, so they better think fast.

23: Showing Eshowe

A report back on developments in the Zulu conflicts shows that Timor-Leste has indeed split their navy, but that may not even matter in terms of conquering Eshowe! With the city at half-health and more reinforcements arriving, the possibility of a red Cape of Good Hope steadily rises, precluding Angolan or Yemeni sniping.

24: Modern Life is Rubbish

Attempting to spread hope and raise morale from the balcony of government offices in Jakarta before a (justifiably) worried public, Praetor Suharto declares that Indonesia has never been at a greater stage of advancement, and has certainly entered the Modern Age! Of course, these are cheap words for those who have family trapped in Palembang, desperately seeking passage to safer areas of Indonesia before the nationalist Timorese army are marching through the city's main streets, or simply to those that fear the next target after Palembang will be Jakarta itself.

Elsewhere, Battambang remains under siege but curiously mostly by embarked units; and Pasig takes it’s first licks also. Finally, as Nirosat’s Web of War reminded me before writing, Afghanistan is still at war with Indonesia also and actually has a navy arriving to distract and damage Suharto further, oh dear!

25: Poking the Bear

The notifications across the top of the screen inform that Afghanistan straight-up charged into Midnapore with the fleet we saw last slide, that’s some impressive sailing, although in retrospect a 29 defense city vs 3 destroyers is fairly bad at this point.

Here in Central Asia, they likewise have stormed back into Sar-e Pol with a fair amount of ease, although the Permians certainly have the troops to create a back and forth for a while. Still, both William III earlier and Durrani here are showing the power of a strong artillery line, it seems.

26: Always good to check in

Not much that needs to be said here, just confirmation that Midnapore fell and in my estimation won’t be returning to Indonesia without some military diverting. Now, will Surabaya be the next recipient of Afghan shelling?

27: Someone challenges the Greatest Civ?!

The Ming have not been having the best time as of late, I don’t think anyone could deny, especially when sitting in their glorified trading post at the bottom of Japan, Kaifeng. But when the ever-boastful ‘Great Leader’ of North Korea declares that “Treasure Fleets are an abomination of capital, and the Ming should hand over all their riches to us in penance”, Yongle can’t take that lying down, and the Ming-Korean war begins!

They do have some technological advantage on their side, especially in terms of frigates vs galleys; but Juju is a big block on access and even beyond that North Korea has plenty of carpet to lay in front of Ming troops, so I could see this going slow.

28: Shocking news!

What a surprise, Tralee has flipped once again! Given Greenlands fleet off to the left, I do hope Collins is feverishly in peace negotiations now, because it looks to me like in an endurance race, Egede will run a lap or two in his priest's smock.

Honestly, more surprising that the flipping is the lack of conquest Wexford has undergone; come on Willie, don’t fumble at the goal.

29: Kayapo Act 2: Out of the Habitat

EXTRA LORE DROPDOWN

“I’m a bit confused about something, sir” says one corporal to his officer in a Great War Infantry unit camped outside of newly occupied Catamarca.

“State your query, soldier!” barks the officer.

“Where exactly are all the trees? Been wondering that since we marched South of Sao Salvador; like, people need jungle to feed themselves and research, don’t they?” the corporal asks, joined by a chorus of agreements and murmurs from around the camp by fellow squaddies.

A single tear starts falling down the officers face: “Sometimes, child, you never know how good you had it until you leave home…”

In terms of game analysis, Kayapo looks as strong as ever on this front, taking one of Rio de la Plata's four core cities and in position to take Salta next. As if things weren’t bad enough, the Inca, very much late to the party, have finally sent some troops over the Andes near Tucuman.

30: Waxxing on Wexford

One turn on from the last view of this scene, and Wexford is indeed taken. The Anglo-Dutch can for the first time say they’ve fully realized both the Anglo and Dutch aspect of their names, as they now hold at least 90% of IRL England (just put aside that chunk of the Netherlands Brandenburg has citadeled). All they had to do was slaughter lots of Irish folk who follow a different religion, who knew?!

31: Two Red Turks

Despite existing at separate ends of the Asian continent, Ataturk, Bumin Qaghan and their respective peoples have always sensed an odd linkage between each other, a fact that has baffled many an anthropologist of the Cylinder. So when it came time to fully define their administrative values, it was only natural for the Gokturks to follow their far-off Communist cultural cousin and raise the red flag! They should definitely start recruiting some new people’s battalions however, they are looking so much more pressed in and weaker than I expected following Han’s invasion.

32: Was this bit in ‘How to Fight Wars Good’?

I have to imagine future history nuts will enjoy and maybe even make memes out of this point in South American history: ‘Jose’s Folly’; that time when the outdated but spirited forces of the Pampas plains rose up and defeated the distracted Incan tyrants in Machu and Sao Salvador with a ragtag spirit, reclaiming a sense of national pride if only for a few years, before a modern coalition brutally sweeped down on their hopes and dreams. Another major blow has been dealt as Salta falls and GWI start approaching Buenos Aires.

Somewhere in the subs dormitory, Solano Lopez stares at the lounge TV screen and starts sobbing tears of joy and homesickness.

33: A quite pretty Japan you have there.

In this latest news report on the Ming-Korean war, we have nothing new to report! Seriously Yongle, your street rep can’t sustain itself!

I suppose this is as good a time as any to note the state of Mori and their defensive war with the Gokturks, which seems similarly stagnant. It looked like they may have been in trouble for a moment last episode, but the Turkic advance has stumbled and those Murakami Kobaya caravel UU’s (quick reminder: they heal on trade routes and improvements, and get +10% strength for each land tile they border) seem to be holding up well enough with plenty of coast.

34: Mariana Madness!!!!!

Tupac Yupanqui clearly hasn’t been following my exquisite tactical advice; as the attack on Chan Tee Ai seems to have sputtered out without additional support, with only a few ships left floating and, I imagine, plenty of loose driftwood washing ashore.

35: The Dangers of Underestimation

Sooooo, I’m starting to think we may all have been misunderstanding the nature of this particular war, based on that big wave of embarked units and ships Zulu observation posts are probably starting to panic about on the horizon. This is not just some accidental conflict Timor-Leste stumbled into and luckily grabbed an easy city with some spare ships; but a concerted attack on a weak link in the chain fence that is CBRX3’s Africa. Eshowe has fallen already and Nongoma looks soon to follow, albeit with some units nearby that could contest matters. The two big questions left are this: how high are Gusmao’s ambitions; and how capable is Cetshwayo of holding back the tide (a matter of production numbers and tactical ability).

36: Pow!-lembang

As some officials and soldiers roll off the destroyers harbored in newly-taken Palembang; the main group of forces are sent to the central target of this entire conflict: the island of Java and its capital, Jakarta. With infantry landed, a sliver of health already taken and the main Indonesian fleet seemingly more focused on Battambang (which to be fair has fallen to yellow), I don’t envy the chances of the Jakarta garrison. Meanwhile, Midnapore looks to have continually flipped for a while and Surabaya also has had a small bit of its health gnawed at.

37: Yugoslav-Bengali heritage?

A very small silver lining in times of conflict can be the artistic explosions they unleash, perhaps expressed best in the fittingly situated Amrita Sher-Gil, an Avante-Garde prodigy from the early 20th century professing Indian Jat Sikh and Hungarian Jewish heritage, blending those cultural influences together in her art until her tragically early death at 28.

However, while Yugoslavia is making a cultural stride, Brandenburg makes a scientific one as they finish researching Flight and already have 10 aircraft deployed. If the bulk of those planes turn out to be bombers, the realities of the battleground could turn sharply in the German’s favour.

38: Quality over Quantity

Turkey, not content with just possessing aircraft, cruisers and landships, decide to top off their military modernization with the Kuva-yi Milliye! Much like the Irish Fenians earlier, in a non-Cylider reality these were the name of the nationalist militias that successfully fought for their homelands independence in the 1910’s (hell, the British were a prime opponent of both forces).

In game terms, they’re a GWI replacement that start weaker, but get Drill I, 50% more strength from Generals, and are free to upgrade into infantry (which ties into Turkey gaining yields from upgrading).

39: The Lashkargah Detente

That peacekeeping force must have done something to help negotiations, as just after Afghanistan loses Sar-e Pol again both sides agree to a peace deal. Both the Permians and Afghanistan certainly had the troops to keep up a fight, but honestly this is probably for the best regardless of who you support. If you’re backing Azykay, the ever-present Sword of Damocles over their head that is Tuva means you probably don’t want them throwing away troops over 1 pop cities; and if you’re Durrani supporter, you probably also feel that they spent too much time building this army to lose it here.

40: The Pendulum Process

In one turn Suharto retakes Midnapore and Palembang, and seemingly is bringing more of his 18th century navy towards Jakarta as would make sense. I have doubts that either of these counterattacks will last long, and that extra contingent of Afghan ships coming east is not good news for Suharto at all, but it’s still a sign that Indonesia is not just lying down to die.

41: Concrete-land

Have you noticed that this is our first shot of North America in the entire episode, nearly halfway through? The community may be in agreement that Africa is the weak continent this Season, but for my money, North America is the sleeper this time around. But hey, at least there should be a good few barracks to sleep in with the amount of citadels FDR and his military cabinet have ordered built, encroaching deeper and deeper towards Julianehab.

42: Too obvious a joke to pass up

EXTRA LORE DROPDOWN

A captured squad of Arapaho Beniiinen fearfully sit, tied up, in a cage at the center of a rebel infantry’s camp. Some of the fighters whip their heads around as the extremist insurgent commander, adorned in red uniform and known only to the good citizens of nearby towns as Captain Brannigan, saunters out of his tent alongside a meekish aide. “I hate these filthy neutrals, Jiff!”, the captives hear him yell, before his head turns towards the cage and they all avert their gaze, “With enemies you know where they stand, but with neutrals, who knows?! It sickens me...”.

The aide sighs as his commander stomps over to the prisoners, pointing at one and, with a cruel tone, shouting “You there, tell me: What makes a Civ turn neutral?! Lust for gold? Power? Or were you all just born with a heart full of neutrality?!”

Futurama reference aside, one of the big pieces of news from last week's stats was that the Arapaho were on -24 happiness, presumably impacted by ideological pressure, and in turn resulting in these anti-neutrality rebellions.

43: The Passing of Pasig

Back towards the Philippines former lands, real progress is being made by all parties in this war: Indonesia has Cavite el Viejo flipped to 9 pop and Battambang in yellow still (although it seems to be recovering more than it drops now); Timor-Leste on the verge of taking Pasig; and Kokang dropping Malolos to half-health with plenty of troops in position.

In other news, I’m sure some of you have picked up on the implication of that new war declaration…

44: Crazy enough to fail

Remember that generous ‘peacekeeping’ mission Lithuania sent into Central Asia? Guess they switched jobs to ‘peacebreaking’ instead, as they decided to declare war on the Massagetae! I know they’re hardly the toughest opponent, but looking at the composition here, I must state my doubts about the success of this plan; Tomyris isn’t so weak or technologically behind that a disorganized rabble of cannons and muskets can eliminate her, even with moral support from the top-tier Tuvans.

45: The Carlisle Treaty

Michael Collins and William III each sign a document passed around a table at a rural castle between Wexford and Cork, straddling the new border. Dutch missionaries have already ‘converted’ Kilkenny to being majority Lutheran (undoubtedly with the helping hand of refugees leaving or forced evictions). The Irishman refuses to even hide his venomous glare, while the Dutchman can’t resist wearing a smug grin to his entourage as all of ‘Angland’ is officially ceded to him, at least for now.

To call this war a disaster for Collins is an understatement, Ireland had a strong hand over the island for so long, but when tested beyond weak Castilian fleets they folded up. Even worse, his troubles haven’t ended with this agreement as Tralee has clearly fallen once again to the Northern naval raiders. I’m sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, Ireland fans, but I don’t think the PR’s can justify describing them as even simply middling much longer.

46: Rahman’s Rest

In a rural retreat in the Horn of Africa, we can find some reprieve from the constant warfare and militarization that seems to define so much of the Cylinder at present. A.R Rahman - in our world one of India’s most prestigious film composers and general musicians (us in the West likely know him best for his Slumdog Millionaire work, but he’s done so much more than that) - is taking advantage of this piece to develop sounds for some groundbreaking new mediums of the radio and camera.

Beyond their art scene, Yemen remain in an awkward place to judge, as they have been since the early game: a squished but high density core; tech levels just a step or so behind the leaders; a below-average army and above-average navy; and ultimately a war record that’s pretty successful, but short due to passivity. Definitely one civ to keep an eye on…

47: Fair Winds, Buenos Aires

The grind has been real for Jose de San Martin, as it now sees the Maori have more military force in his lands than he has himself. With a Kayapo air force and GWI bearing down on his 2 mainland cities, I bet the elites are secreting themselves as fast as they can aboard ships bound for the South Atlantic islands, with the fear that their leader may be joining them there soon.

48: Highway to Elimination Hell

This slide presents a real tale of two cities: Gaborone, where a radical new band is developing a grand library of hard, raunchy, and liberated rock epics that help define Botswana as a rock and roll destination; while in Eshowe citizens set up barricades out of rubble as control by the Zulu state is tenuously reestablished, before the Timorese fleet arrives again. Further along the coast, Nongoma remains dangerously in the red but seems less threatened, although Angola seems to be making a push from the West also.

49: An Ominous Era Name

Irataba, by inclination a diplomat and speechmaker, can’t resist the urge to visit the finest university in Avi Kwa Ame and with his words paint a grand vision on the ever-growing future glory of the Mohave people to the students there when news of a theoretical breakthrough in physics crosses his desk. For you see, as the info spreadsheet lets us see, Mohave scientists have been working to understand the very building blocks of reality and just finished researching Atomic Theory, propelling the Cylinder for the first time into, as Irataba dubs it, the ‘Atomic Age’. I wonder if they’ll also be first to act upon its military applications?

50: A Pragmatic Peace

For any Zulu fan who felt that previous episodes haven’t included enough action down here, this episode is surely delivering! Of course, one of y’all made a devils bargain on it, so the Zulu are suffering in every shot, but that’s the price!

In seriousness, Yemen peaces out with Cetshwayo, lacking any viable targets left anyway without first taking a good chunk of Kilwa (and who wants to mess with that superpower civ). A small blessing, given Eshowe has flipped to Timorese forces again and looks more and more secure with them, and now Umgungundlovu even looks threatened.

51: A Great War Film Premise

In case you forgot, midway through the last episode the Wiradjuri declared a crusade for Mecca, a small Antarctic outpost near their island's waters. In a grand demonstration of their military competence, or more generously perhaps a sign of how powerful aircraft can be, it seems the city has only had a fifth, maybe less, of its health depleted. Can this ragtag community with their snow-shoveled runway hold off the many frigates of the Wiradjuri forever? Time shall tell.

52: We Watch Subs from this Sub

Things are moving fast in this conflict, as it’s only been 3 turns since we last checked in here, but it seems Cavite el Viejo flipped once; Malolos has fallen to Kokang; Battambang was under severe attack but has escaped capture and is in healing; and Pasig fell to Timor-Leste but has just flipped now. I’d say just about everyone in this theater is starting to look a tad more depleted, but Suharto is understandably facing the worst of it. Also, feel free to correct me if you’ve spotted one elsewhere, but is that the first submarine of this season south of Suai?

53: Malos Aires

Kayapo, for so long dismissed as a perpetual pacifist and once a loser to the Muisca, is closing in on the Rio de la Plata capital. While there’s nothing surprising about this at this point, it’s worth remembering that this was the civ ranked first when the game started, and this serves as just another capstone in how badly Jose played his cards.

54: Lost and Found Opportunities

I really ought to be in awe, and on some level I am, this is perhaps one of the most impressive Pacific empires we’ve seen in the CBR outside of the end-stages of a season, and mostly naturally settled! However, I can;t help but think “Why wasn’t this grand armada sent crashing into the Kokang city earlier”, given it’s just North-west of this shot? Still, it must be said that whenever the Inca want to pull the trigger, they probably have an empire waiting for them if they clash with the Maori.

55: The Pirate Queen’s Last Port

Hopefully none of you forgot about this potential war of elimination raging on, as the exiled state of Tetouan persists against the Norman attempt at a Mare Nostrum run. The defense of the empire is being run on the seas by Laskarina Bouboulina, a woman who knows a thing or two about running a successful naval campaign against a domineering larger empire. In our reality she was a Greek Independence fighter who commanded a fleet against the Ottomans, and after her death would technically become the first woman in recorded naval history to reach the rank of Admiral (in the Russian navy, no less).

We’ll get back to this later, but you may want to note the health bars of the Yugoslav cities we can see here, just a small hint.

56: Plan Z for Zulu

Timor-Leste grabs cities across two continents this turn, flipping Pasig and Nongoma. I can only express consideration as to whether a civ can retake a city so many times in one episode, so I’ll just say I doubt the Zulu are keeping any coastal city after the war at this rate. More humorously, it seems Seretse Khama spotted another opportunity to dunk on his regional rival and, taking advantage of the chaos of war, has plopped down a citadel outside Nongoma. Really, Botswana should take a chance against Cetshwayo at this point, Maun would be as good as theirs.

57: Terror from the Heavens

As I foreshadowed a second ago, a panning view over the Brandenburg-Yugoslav war’s battlefields reveal the unleashed true power of air might, as both Skopje and the pivotal stronghold of Zagreb has been blasted into the red from afar; the citizens within each city learning the basics of ducking, covering, and bunker-making on a mass scale with no reference point. Tito, as always pretty quick on his feet when it comes to military affairs, has responded to this decimation of his city defense by surging forward his forces to block any German advance, saving Zagreb for the moment. However, Brandenburg is not lacking manpower to throw at these defenders, and if only one melee unit sneaks through to the city, it will likely be lost.

58: A Tucuman Tale

San Martin and his government evacuate westwards, along the river-fed fertile plains until they reach Tucuman, around where the Sierra de Cordoba hill-lands start. Buenos Aires is firmly in Kayapo hands now, and with open land to its east and Incan troops already lollygagging in the west, this new capital shouldn’t be too hard to crack either.

59: Ko-Bang!

Each day, another historic household in the city of Longbian is reduced to a shattered pile of charred wood and irreversibly fragmented ceramic; pagodas toppled and even palaces razed as Kokangs artillery and air superiority measure up well against a Han’s melee advantage in a war, don’t forget, that was started by the Chinese dynastic civ. This is far from over, and Han has a track record of manifesting armies suddenly out of nowhere, but even in a best case scenario, I struggle to see an ending where Han gains much of anything out of this whole affair.

60: The Mercy Doctrine

Man, peace treaties sure can come out of nowhere, huh? In one agreement, all three parties of the Rio Plata War agree to an immediate ending of the bloodshed. The Inca slink away with no upside at all; while Kayapo has five new valuable cities, including a game-winning capital; and Jose de San Martin gets to keep one mainland domain.

Why would Raoni agree to such an outcome? I’d wager this is some expression of his civs liberal-nationalist ideology bubbling into policy; sacking a helpless city of a civ that’s surely learned its lesson by now is not an expression of national values the Kayapo people want to project to the world, driving up war weariness and resistance to future combat. Whatever the case, if you thought Rio de la Plata was a near-rump state before the war, you surely must think they’re a full rump now.

61: The Royal Treatment

From his castle at Yoshida-Koriyama, Mori Motonari sits cross-legged as the favored portraitist amongst his aristocracy, known popularly as Madame Le Brun, depicts him in her style, seamlessly meshing together Rococo and Neoclassical techniques. It’s a social affair that the lord of Honshu must view as a welcome relief compared to the neverending bickering with his Korea neighbour, or the constant reports from his northern coasts regarding Gokturk attacks and movements. Oh well, at least he has a united island or two, and peace at home. What more can a CBR leader ask for (besides, you know, military victory so they can win the game?).

62: Battle of the Bands

A good bit north of Motonari’s portrait session, a little bit of subterfuge has taken place. The Cree were early pioneers in using Great Musicians for combat effective when they had Big Star rally troops against Kwakwaka'wakw cities with their fortitude-enhancing alt-rock anthem ‘The Ballad of El Strongo’. However, either by force or by bribery, it seems the band has turned against their original nation, and now perform for the garrison of Kalugwis from the deck of a Gokturk frigate. How treacherous! With so much military willpower put towards the securing of high quality musicians, it’s no wonder Cylinder historians will later call this era the ‘Age of Air…waves’ (get it, because the title was about planes but also a subversion, it’s funny to me, haha).

P.S. I don’t really know why Great People are seemingly repeating this season, but I guess it’s better than running out of names and not having any flavour after the midgame? Just imagine them as semi-immortal, like the leaders, or maybe reincarnations. Oh, and in terms of game analysis, uhhhhh, I guess Dzawadi is in danger of flipping again, how exciting.

63: Wistful Guitar Twang

EXTRA LORE DROPDOWN

Somewhere in the lonely deserts that stretch out around Avi Kwa Ame; sits a squat little nondescript compound: a full set of living facilities for scientists, some research and admin offices, and a barracks for the guards who are also living there, all surrounded by chain-linked fences and barbed wire. For nearly 5 years, nearly everyone stationed here has been prohibited from going anywhere else, barring a few elites who visit and the topmost researchers who can’t just vanish from the world. Two roads lead out of the facility; one towards civilisation, from which army trucks arrive to resupply everything once a week; and one towards a test range dozens more miles into the desert.

Just within the perimeter of the main gate, one lower-rung scientist shares a pack of cigarettes with a guard. “You know we’re wrapping up here, right? Just a few more weeks and everything we’ve accomplished here, both awe-inspiring and monstrous, will be released into this world, public knowledge.”. Her stare is almost vacant, drifting constantly in the direction of the test range.

The guard shrugs his shoulders and gives his philosophical friend a pat on the back, reminding him “Oh, cheer up buddy, that also means we’ll be going home soon! Besides, it’s not like this was forbidden knowledge, better we study it first before someone else does. What, do you want to live in a world where those Fascist Americans stomped over our culture and developed the power of the atom into a bomb first?!”

The scientist chuckles wearily. “Man, I wish I could have your outlook on life permanently”, she responds, before taking a final drag of the cigarette and continuing “Still, it’s tough to think about. You know, our research shows that if enough of these bombs go off in a short timeframe, the entire world could be shadowed in soot and cooled down enormously, do you want to feel responsible for that thought?!”

Arming up for his shift around the perimeter, the guard simply gestures to the scorching landscape all around them and chuckles: “Lady, you’re asking that to the wrong person right now. Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear Winter.”

Yep, I had to do all that. The Mohave have completed the Manhattan Project.

64: Steam and Steel

I get the sense Indonesia would be gathering back some strength at this point, given the general backing off of Timor-Leste, if only Suharto was able to bring Durrani to the peace table. Instead, Afghan destroyers are keeping Surabaya in the yellow and the Indonesian fleet damaged, giving time for Xanana to regain composure if he’s skillful enough.

65: Return of the Blackbird

Here’s a slice of the map we haven’t glimpsed in a while, only tangentially relevant due to a stray war declaration on Kokang by Mali, and to highlight the roving horde of Kayapo musicians partying their way across the world. The Carnival shall come to you all, Brazil has that legacy at least! Ziryab, Al-Andalusian man of many many talents, including in the realm of composition and performance, puts his equal administrative talents towards leading the pack through the rich courts of Mali. This is actually our second time seeing Ziryab under Kayapo, most likely the same incarnation, how nice to catch up!

66: The Voyage of Vasco

From the deck of a flagship in the choppy seas of the Eastern, Admiral da Gama beams with pride as he passes over the breadth of the Zulu coast with binoculars. He had been entrusted to give his nation a foothold in another continent, and by jove, has he accomplished that! Eshowe maybe has some risk of falling again, but all other conquests are looking secure.

67: Workers Unite!

Is the Afghan worker being called a workforce part of the ideology modifications, or some other aspect? I’m gonna presume it’s some neat flavour either way. Yes, I’m choosing to talk about a worker units name over the war currently waging on this screen, that;s how much of a non-starter this Lithuanian campaign is. Between the two Permian units blocking access and the fact that their armies are entirely comparable, I imagine this whole affair will get hidden under the rug in future Lithuanian curricula.

68: A Long Goodbye for Longbian

A cavalry charge breaks through the final lines of defense and captures Longbian for Kokang! No chance it stays in the kingpin's hands, of course, given the strong melee presence around the occupied city, but hey, it’s a blow against the Chinese top-tier power that proves they’re on something of an even playing field.

It is really quite notable how different the composition of forces each civ here has: Kokang is going for the classic ‘bombard a city with range and sense in a horseman to finish’ play while Han is just a wall of almost-purely advanced melee troops.

69: Mecca Malaise

Well, I have to give this much credit to Windradyne: When given a whole episode and overwhelming naval advantage, they can bring a city in the Antarctic to zero health. Oh wooo…

At least this is a good reminder that Suharto has some icy retreats down here at least, two cities according to Lacs Google Maps resource, making full elimination very unlikely even in a worst case scenario back home.

70: The Battle for Borneo

On the topic of back home, here’s the current state of the campaign. Timor-Leste has a bit more mojo back, likely aided by the establishment of the Patriotic Air Force running missions out of Maliana, after spending the whole episode researching Flight. Furthermore, it looks like the crimson army is making a more definitive push on Borneo, with a great number of infantry amassed on the island to defend Battambang and push for Bandung via land.

71: Mustafa Kemal Atomaturk

Turkey is the second civ this game to declare itself on the cutting edge of scientific advancement as they join the Mohave into the Atomic age! I can’t see any new unit that confirms what tech Ataturk just acquired, but will be sure to keep an eye on it (and should there be a pop-up about Turkey completing the Manhattan Project, one can guess).

72: Insert Ominous Music

Oh dear heavens, they’re here, and of course it’s Kayapo who has unleashed this scourge upon the Cylinder. Ladies, gents and everything beyond those terms, the carriers are here in force. DUN DUN DUUUUUUN…

Let us all live in anxious hope that the various modifications added to prevent the worst excesses of early CBR seasons hold up this time around. Although based on this shot, Kayapo is already trying to glue two carriers together in an experiment to create a vast supercarrier, dear god. Science is going too far!

73: Ramping Reversals

Longbian is handily held in Han hands once again, and in my estimation the division of the battlefield is returning back to the pre-war status quo. If Kokang wants to actually make gains off of this, they’ll need to centralise their disparate forces at the border, but to be fair it wasn’t Yang who declared this war, and I’m equally doubtful about Han’s units pushing much further south of where they are. Prediction: meatgrinder.

74: Anglish Nationalism

EXTRA LORE DROPDOWN

“LOYAL PROLETARIAT!!” William III shouts above the roar of the crowd, stood atop a balcony at Rotterdam town hall; “For centuries the Anglo-Dutch nation was made to feel small, assaulted by our jealous neighbours! But we never stopped dreaming of reclaiming our deserved lands, and what did we do!”. The leader waved his arm outwards over the city, bathing in a response of citizens yelling ‘liberation’ or ‘reclamation’ or simply ‘Long Live the Nation!’, things like that.

Just as the crowd dies down, and William goes to continue his speech, one hand catches his eye, attached to a shabbily dressed man stood on some type of barrel. His nasal voice somehow travels far, as everyone seems to hear his question “Umm, excuse me, not to be a Debbie downer, just curious, what about Amsterdam? What are your plans there?”

… … The silence is so thick a pin couldn’t even drop, if would float down and remain noiseless. After an awkward 15 seconds or so, William leans over to a Blue Guard captain in his protection detail: “Arrest him, would you?”.

Yep, the Anglo-Dutch have embraced a Nationalistic approach to modern government in combination with their earlier choice of Communism. I still think I’m misunderstanding some aspects of how ideologies are working in this game, do correct me if I’m off. Still, what an oddball civ, big dreams and only moderate capabilities to make them real.

75: Baring the Bering

Huh, I underestimated the conviction of the Cree navy to this war given 3 Gokturk cities are now around half health. Kalugwis looks pretty certain to go, which would secure Alaska for the Cree and evict the Gokturks out of North America. In the long-term the implications are even worse for the Turkic civ: with a coastal capital, to lose all these buffer cities risks closer and closer devastation again.

76: A Late Adopter

We’ve highlighted declarations into the Modern and Atomic ages today, but perhaps the saddest is this one: Cetshwayo cutting the ribbon at a newfangled manufactory in Ulundi and proclaiming that his lands have never been more Industrially modern. That may be so, but they’re also never been small besides the first episode, as every coastal city the Zulu owned now looks securely in the hands of other civs. At the very least Timor-Leste doesn’t seem to be preparing any push for the capital right now, and should probably just get a peace to build up these new acquisitions.

77: Great discovery there, buddy

EXTRA LORE DROPDOWN

As the finely uniformed and bearded Admiral Leif Ericson finally steps down the ramp from his flagship and down onto the harbour of Jakarta, the prize he and the sailors under him and spent years coordinating a siege for, the tension is palpable. Before him lies a hastily assembled podium to make a speech from, and in front of that podium, maybe a dozen lined-up crews and squadrons standing at attention, awaiting his words. From the roofs and windows of nearby buildings plenty of anxious Indonesian faces, once wealthy and proud citizens of a glorious capital’s waterfront district, can be seen bobbing up and around for a peek at their new occupiers.

Of course, this is a big risk with the guerilla fighting out in the outskirts, but Ericson has always liked bold actions. As he stands before the mic, prepared circulating in his mind, a stray sight of green catches his eye along a nearby customs building and he suddenly points: “Woah, what the hell is that?!”

About a thousand or so heads swivel towards the building of the admiral’s fixation, just another office place of some sort with some plants growing on it. “Uh, some sort of vine, Sir. They’re not exactly rare anywhere, you’ve surely seen hundreds in your life?”, one captain suggests. The admiral scratches his beard in deep thought “Vines, huh? What an astounding thing…”, then, banging his fist down on the podium “In that case, I declare this new land Vinland!”

OK, silliness done, this is a tremendous turn for the course of this season, as Timor-Leste has grabben both Surabaya and Jakarta off their inevitable rival! Even worse for Suharto, I’m not quite sure he has the resources to flip either, though Jakarta will be close for sure, and on Borneo the assault on Bandung has begun proper.

78: The Big One

I more or less ignored those little war declarations on the Permians from irrelevant, faraway civs for obvious reasons. What are they gonna do, kill a scout or two? I forgot, however, the biggest red flag they offer is that if a random assortment of weak, distant civs are inclined towards war with someone, the chances of the next civ to declare actually being strong and neighbouring always exists. That’s what has happened here, as with the final fifth of slides left to go, Tuva has declared war on the Permians once again!

A preliminary scan of troop positions is, uhh, not hopeful for Azykay to say the least. The Permian capital of Pelym is kinda a straight walk away from capture, although Beshbaliq looks to be the first Tuvan target. This war will likely do little to spell doubt on the future success of Tuva, wink wink PR’s,

79: Well that’s just sacreligious

Well, there it goes, and they’re burning its population down. What a contrast of epicness between two wars here, pretty disgraceful performance by the Wiradjuri but at least Mecca is finally down.

80: Going for Round 2

Oh, and they even have a new target, only this time with even more defense and even less cohesive an attack! Yeah, I think al-Salayhi will be able to withstand this terror from Down Under.

81: The Vulture of the South

You know, I characterized the peace deal Kayapo made earlier as an act of mercy, but I’m sure Allende could justify this invasion similarly. It’s not opportunism, it’s relieving Jose de San Martin from the stress of rule while also giving his citizens a place under a more modern and prosperous civilization, right?

Yeah right. However it’s propagandized, the end result is the same: unless Chile messes up bad, this could be the final struggle Rio de la Plata has to face, given Chile has access and the military capabilities to take all three of Jose’s remaining settlements.

82: For a new chapter to begin, one must end

Just as we get two fairly important wars, another ends! The War for Maritime Asian supremacy has concluded, with Timor-Leste retaining both Surabaya and Jakarta, and the city of Bandung on Borneo thrown in as a bonus to bring Gusmao to the table. With both Afghanistan and Kokang left without any straightforward borders to keep up the fight, Indonesia can now sit pretty with a cohesive four cities (plus probably the two Antarctic havens?), radiating out from their new administration in the ancient Filipino colony of San Juan del Monte (although any character of its founders is decorative only after thousands of years of Indonesian control). This has been an utter coup for Timor-Leste, and their military doesn’t even look entirely depleted after all of it!

83: Ill-advised moves?! In my CBR?!?!

Robert Guiscard has a fairly simplistic view on international relations: he can either invade folk, or not invade folk. So many short-term advisors of his have tried to sway his mind towards other options, but it seems to him like it’s all just meddling complications at the end of the day.

As a result, when the problem of their inability to conquer Tetouan’s last holdout came before the ruling council, Guiscard overruled his ministers with a simple solution: “Just Invade More”. Hell, Pretty Nose had been asking around for a conflict to prove to the world and her people that Neutrality didn’t mean pacifism, they could join in as well, why limit the party train! No one dared suggest that declaring war on the neighbor of the place you’re already struggling to access could just make matters worse; or even that declaring war on Castile would assuredly mean the enemy pillaging their under-defended lands in the South of France. Why be a downer, eh? To War!!

84: The Teal Tide

OK, teal may not be a perfect fit for the Cree colour, but this fleet certainly looks as certain to wash over Gokturk shores as the tide. While a last minute force has appeared to defend Sat Poro Pet, the other two cities previously attacked have raised the Cree flag, and I imagine Poundmakers intent is not to stop there. The Cree have plenty of promise, and sit upon land that has been home to many a CBR great; so securing the Bering Strait for later use if desired will be future-proofing of the highest level.

85: Will Arys Arise?

On the southern front of the Tundra War (although that name is a slight misnomer here); Arys bears first blood in a theater of the war that is maybe slightly less stacked in Tuva’s favour, but still is certainly heading their way. The Permians and Tuva formed a coalition to take most of this land off Tomyris, and the Permians spilled plenty of their own blood to expand it even more south; all wasted sweat if all it ends up serving is a slightly better proportioned plate of food for Kuular to gobble down. Things aren’t doomed down here, Jaxartes especially could become a sticky spot for armies if troops head there, but Arys looks like a lock for Tuva, and honestly it’s gonna be hard for Azykay to justify not sending every man north to protect the heartland.

86: One of those Slides

Not too much to comment on here, though I suppose as someone rooting against Kim Il-sung, as I’d hope most of you can similarly align yourselves, it’s neat to see the Ming have landed on Jeju Island, inching slightly forward towards being able to maybe siege and take Chongjin. Still a bit of a long shot, but it would be hype.

87: … this is just embarrassing

OK, FOR REAL WINDRADYNE?! I guess the conflict for Mecca hasn’t quite ended, as that one whole cavalry unit was able to promote-heal up and retake the chilly city. I honestly didn’t quite realise how much I disliked the Wiradjuri until writing this episode, but now that I’ve found that cranny in my brain, boy do I despise them. At the very least, this shot confirms that at least one of the Indonesian Antarctic cities, Pekanbaru, was also ceded to the Timorese; a shame as it and its one tile of naval access would make a great spot to hide away from elimination.

88: When Opportunity Knocks

Not unlike another leader south of the equator, Seretse Khama has noted the weakness of their long-time rival - perhaps a little later than they should have - and have jumped into action to capitalize on, well, their capital I imagine! Being a good way behind in tech matters a lot less when you’re opponent is about as bad and already reeling from a knockout; so Maun should be an easy revanchist victor and Ulundi won’t be too much harder, IMO.

Kilwa would have been relevant, maybe 20 turns ago, but with Umgungundlovu off the menu the most Kilwa can do is land a few more advanced troops near Ulundi with a small snipe chance. Still, props on Ali for having cruisers when plenty of civs still have frigates, keep up the good naval work!

89: Peace were Declared!

With little progress likely to occur in either direction, Yang and Wu sign a status-quo affirming accord, bringing the conflict to an end. I think this is what you may call a tactical draw but strategic Kokang victory: nothing was particularly gained or lost objectively, but Kokang demonstrated that they could at least inflict a black eye on the Han, which is a lot more than the Gokturks could say.

90: Peace were Declared Redux!

At the same time, Yang signs a separate accord with envoys from the Inca; gifting them Kokang’s land claims on the southernmost continent as a consolation prize. Better than losing a more relevant city in the Pacific to be sure, and Tupaq must be disappointed in his naval command.

91: The Perils of Compromise

Just to confirm, yep, Chan Tee Ai was very much in line to be the Inca’s northernmost frontier, if only a tiny bit more force was put into the advance. Of course, I’m sure the brave pilots who sunk mission into mission blasting at Inca ships will get the Black Poppy Award for Valour once they head back to the capital, as a hero of Kokang is owed.

92: A Glacier moves slow …

EXTRA LORE DROPDOWN

Donduk Kuular, ever a top-spot contender but also a guy with cause to fear the intensity ideology can unleash on a people, has curiously managed to avoid committing his state to any principles thus far. However, with a great conflict to manage and a need more than ever to create a unifying ethos for his empire, especially if they’re going to be incorporating vast swathes of land and the accompanying Permians soon.

Now, Communism would be the easy choice, everyone’s into it! However, for some Kuular has a bad feeling about that, as his theocratic and cultural sensitivities wouldn’t align well with such a system. Certainly if he was an underling in such a state, he’d end up against a wall in front of a firing squad before long, he chuckles to himself. No, his state will put itself and its Tuvan traditions first, and never lie down for another civ to crush them!

Tuva joins Timor-Leste as an outlier civ following an ideology just composed of Nationalism. That may explain why he’s sending Throat Singers into the frontline like near Kungurtug, who would dare stand against such an imposing audio environment?!

93: … but crushes all.

Well, clearly turning to Nationalism gave his troops a spring in their steps! Tuva takes both of the nearest cities on each front - Arys in the South and Beshbaliq in the North - and is already well on their way with Pyras. With only 6 slides left I doubt we’ll get any conclusion to this conflict, so much like people were asking where Timor-Leste and Kokang would stop, I envision people to be asking the same of Tuva over the next week.

94: The Bengal Renaissance

In a more peaceful region of the world, Bengal looks remarkably average, even as they officially enter the Modern era. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure if all their forces were concentrated against one border, as they briefly were during the skirmishes with Afghanistan, they would be a real threat, but frankly both of Bengals two big avenues for potential expansion - Pandya and Indonesia - have been removed as pathways for them to achieve victory. Without any harm being done to them directly, these last few episodes have been disastrous for Bengal’s chances of victory, so I hope Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan has an ace up his sleeve.

95: Hidden gains

I don’t even want to grace the Wiradjuri retaking of Mecca by commenting on it.

96: Bloody hell, that’s petty

Jesus bloody christ. As if to prove how decidedly pointless this whole endeavor was, as soon as the last hut in Mecca collapses into rubble and the Wiradjuri artillery crew start to load up their pieces, peace is declared. The most famous image of the war comes at it’s very end, as Windradyne stages a lavish welcome back parade at the Maraekowhai docks and has a frigate unveil a large banner down it’s side while the leader himself signals a salute on top of the deck. The banner has just two words: ‘Mission Accomplished’.

EXTRA LORE DROPDOWN

Coiot’s Note: Almost feels like this was a crusade / holy war in part of the monastic order (see top-left corner).

97: The Theft of a City

EXTRA LORE DROPDOWN

Maun, founded by Botswana in the first place, was never going to be held by the Zulu for more than a few more turns anyway, it’s defenses already growing weary and wavering. So, with that fact in mind, why not take a chance to worsen his rivals chance in any future ventures by handing it over diplomatically to the Timorese instead? It’s not like he wasn’t being humiliated internationally anyway, right? And that knight, even with his empire crumbling and legitimacy as a power flying away like kicked up sand, he could smile in bed imagining the rage in Gaborone when they heard the new, foreign governor of Maun told their soldiers to stop besieging his newly acquired city.

Lore aside, did anyone think this war with the Zulu from Timor-Leste would end up with them holding 5 new cities? It also leaves Botswana’s troops with no targets except the Zulu capital to assault, making an elimination next episode extremely likely. I may be a Botswana fan but still, godspeed Cetshwayo.

98: Our Final Flip

The penultimate slide depicts one of the mainstays of this episode of CBRX3, the classic practice of the city flip! Both frontline cities from earlier have gone back and forth, while Pelym and especially Pyras look to fall next, although credit must be given to the defense force being raised around them. This is something of a conflicting war on my part: I’m generally against massive Siberian blobs running away with the game in any sense; as a Tuvan victory here will help greatly with. However, I much prefer the flavour of Tuva to the Permians, who have clashed with many civs I like. I know some folks enjoyed the ‘Permians rising back up’ narrative, but to me it always seemed like Tuva could crush them again whenever they wanted, as they’re doing now, so the only thing Azykay was accomplishing is securing land against my favourites for Tuva to take off him now. That’s probably a cynical take however, and as they say, the hunt’s not over until the fat bear roars!

99: An Orderly Retreat

We conclude this week's jovial saunter through the annals of the CBRX3 Cylinder with the opening of a modern megaproject by FDR, reflective of his government’s strongman, semi-populist totalitarian goals. The Prora resort complex is a wonderland anyone would lose themselves to simple pleasures and patriotism in, stretching across 3 miles of prime Cuban coastline (luckily only two traditional Seminole villages had to be evicted and bulldozed to make way for it, what a break). As a reminder, for a civ haunted by the memory of many a little dark age in the era’s before it’s people surrendered themselves to law and order (at least, that’s how the present elite view it) this wonder is perfectly suited, as beyond rewarding a free social policy the owner gains 2 Happiness and an extra Happiness for every 2 social policies adopted (as of our last known stats, that would mean 13 extra Happiness, and I’d guess 14 by now).

Episode 26: The Age of Air – S3

Abstract

1: Come on and Slam, and Welcome to the <strong>CBR</strong>!

2: V for Ven-reaa

3: I’ll be your American Dream

4: Money money money, must be funny…

5: Masters of the Southwest (and everywhere else)

6: South-South Pacific

7: Sandwich Isles for Appetizers

08: Remember the Manile! To Hell with Castile!

09: Science and Sailors

10: Inland, In-schmand

11: The Atlantic Wave

12: Commie Conflict

13: Yupaqui’s Voyages

14: Phate of the Philippines

15: A Glorious… Revolution?

16: The Lizst of Priorities

17: Trouble at the Cape

18: The Bay of Bengal Massacre

19: The Land of Rumped Queens

20: Avenging Afghans

21: Kill-kenny

22: Gold, Faith, and the Red Flag

23: Showing Eshowe

24: Modern Life is Rubbish

25: Poking the Bear

26: Always good to check in

27: Someone challenges the Greatest Civ?!

28: Shocking news!

29: Kayapo Act 2: Out of the Habitat

30: Waxxing on Wexford

31: Two Red Turks

32: Was this bit in ‘How to Fight Wars Good’?

33: A quite pretty Japan you have there.

34: Mariana Madness!!!!!

35: The Dangers of Underestimation

36: Pow!-lembang

37: Yugoslav-Bengali heritage?

38: Quality over Quantity

39: The Lashkargah Detente

40: The Pendulum Process

41: Concrete-land

42: Too obvious a joke to pass up

43: The Passing of Pasig

44: Crazy enough to fail

45: The Carlisle Treaty

46: Rahman’s Rest

47: Fair Winds, Buenos Aires

48: Highway to Elimination Hell

49: An Ominous Era Name

50: A Pragmatic Peace

51: A Great War Film Premise

52: We Watch Subs from this Sub

53: Malos Aires

54: Lost and Found Opportunities

55: The Pirate Queen’s Last Port

56: Plan Z for Zulu

57: Terror from the Heavens

58: A Tucuman Tale

59: Ko-Bang!

60: The Mercy Doctrine

61: The Royal Treatment

62: Battle of the Bands

63: Wistful Guitar Twang

64: Steam and Steel

65: Return of the Blackbird

66: The Voyage of Vasco

67: Workers Unite!

68: A Long Goodbye for Longbian

69: Mecca Malaise

70: The Battle for Borneo

71: Mustafa Kemal Atomaturk

72: Insert Ominous Music

73: Ramping Reversals

74: Anglish Nationalism

75: Baring the Bering

76: A Late Adopter

77: Great discovery there, buddy

78: The Big One