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Coiot: Hello everyone, and welcome back to the CBRX! This week's episode was written on short notice by NopeCopter, LunarNeedle, TophatPaladin, and Pineapple. Much love to them for being able to bring you the content on time in a flash.
Civ Battle Royale Episode 41: Whatever It Takes – S3
August 16, 2023
NopeCopter, LunarNeedle, TophatPaladin, Pineapple
Abstract
The first total war comes to a close. Many civs make peace, but a few particularly determined fighters continue waging their preferred campaigns.
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And now to the beautiful map by Vihreaa! Take a look at East Asia for a reminder that Ming still clung onto life at the end of last week’s episode, and that Japan was finally unified… albeit by the Mohave.
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DocIdo, who’s been doing our audio narrations, is also getting into the OC game! With this edited movie poster, he’s giving a shout out to Timor-Leste for their repeated efforts to drag Kilwa out of its grave.
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As always, thank you to our Ko-Fi donors for their assistance in keeping the show running! Your support is greatly appreciated.
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In the latest power rankings, Ming were able to secure a 26-point jump, thanks to being alive by technicality! They probably won’t be able to hang onto this rank for a whole episode, but it’s still fun to see this happen for the brief window it’s relevant.
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Okay, onto the episode proper. We kick off the action with a shot of Timor-Leste’s core! Timor’s cities are populous, but their army is looking pretty thin in this region. It seems that almost all of the Timorese units are getting shipped directly to the front lines— particularly the borders with Afghanistan and Mali, I’d guess, as those were major meatgrinders last week.
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Afghanistan captures Chenxian and Suyab in the same turn, simultaneously advancing against Han and Tuva respectively. Han has now been reduced to four cities, most of which are on the Korean Peninsula, making them very vulnerable to an invasion from Afghanistan, Mohave, or Timor-Leste.
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With their conquest of Meknes and Salé, Mali is laying a strong claim to the Western Mediterranean— a claim that Turkey doesn’t seem in position to resist. Mali’s next target appears to be Tripoli, and if they don’t stumble at this hurdle, they’ll have a strong beachhead they can use to advance into the Italian Peninsula itself.
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Mohave troops have surrounded Han’s defenseless provisional capital of Chongjin. At the northern fringe of the slide, we can also see that Hamhung is hanging by a thread. Thanks to the ongoing total war, Han has nowhere to run from the enemies besieging them on all sides.
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Turkey has again taken the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, thus knocking Arwa al-Sulayhi back out of the Arabian peninsula. The odds of Yemen reclaiming their former capital are unlikely, but the lack of Turkish troops in the area means that Arwa may be able to pull off another unexpected reversal of fortune.
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So if they’re not in Italy, and they’re not in Arabia, where IS the Turkish army? Turns out, they’re on the Brandenburgish front. Currently, Ataturk is aiming to knock out Brandenburg’s city of Klaipeda (and thus get rid of the air force stored there), while Frederick William is sitting in the lower Baltic taking potshots at Ribe.
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Dealing with Turkey is proving to be a full-time job for the Brandenburgers, though— they don’t have enough resources left over to protect the British Isles from Anglo-Dutch incursions. William III sneaks some Power Armor Infantry into England to seize Königs Wusterhausen, a settlement that cropped up after Britain’s original cities were nuked out of existence.
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The Ming ended last week’s episode alive, forcing the Power Rankers to acknowledge them. And the good news for Ming fans doesn’t end there— their city has restored its health to full, and their borders are not being invaded by any rival civilizations. That said, I do have to rain at least slightly on Ming’s parade: with a city strength of 42, even the fully-healed Nanjing will be a trivial snack for a Timorese or Afghan expeditionary force.
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However, Timor-Leste and Afghanistan are too busy at each other’s throats to bother with Ming. Biotroopers and Bio-Titans are exchanging fire in the mountains between Wanchanshu and Jianye. Eyewitnesses describe the battle as “jesus christ, organisms were never meant to be able to do that”
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With the fall of Kungurtug and Rokiskis, some of Tuva’s last exclaves finally succumb to Turkey. The once-proud singing steppe lords are now boxed into a fairly compact area of Northeast Asia.
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Kilwa Kisiwani falls out of Timorese control— not because Kilwa has been resurrected again, but because Yemen has taken the city! Arwa has given up on retaking Sana’a for now, but has decided that capturing a different original capital will help her save face with the Yemeni populace.
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Klaipeda falls, and the Brandenburgish offenses against Oranienburg and Ribe are looking pretty ineffective, so the situation in Northern Europe continues to look favorable for Turkey. Even the previously untouched city of Lundenburh, one of Brandenburg’s southernmost remaining outposts, is beginning to take Turkish fire.
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Afghanistan makes another push! They flip the embattled Caspian port of Asir from Turkey, as well as two other cities that are offscreen in this slide. One is the former Yemeni holding of Taizz, which can be seen now as a dark minimap splotch in Arabia; the other is Romitan, which the next slide will reveal for us…
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…as having been taken from Tuva! Despite the fact that he’s barely fielding any army in Northeast Asia, Ahmad Shah Durrani is still projecting enough power to outperform the Tuvans. Though frankly speaking— when Tuva’s army contains as many throat singers as it does military units, being “stronger than Tuva” has ceased to be an impressive category.
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The devoted resurrectionists of Timor-Leste have given up on Chad, and are instead turning their attentions to Angola. By setting up Malanje as a nice squishy distraction for Mali’s Power Armor Infantry, the Timorese hope to buy themselves some time to beef up their own military presence in Africa.
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Unifying Japan was a very proud moment for the Mohave last week, but their pride is short-lived, as the Arapaho have just swarmed into Koshoy Korgon and the onetime Ainu capital of Sat Poro Pet. Ongi, isolated and defenseless on Sakhalin Island, is sure to fall into Arapaho hands soon afterward.
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Closer to home, the Arapaho have sent a Biotrooper south to capture Hunza, the original capital of the Muisca. The strike force is a small one, so the Inca are highly likely to retake Hunza before much time passes; instead, it seems that Pretty Nose is just capturing the city as a middle finger shoved into the Inca’s face.
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Irataba decides that trying to resist the Arapaho is futile, and instead pursues expansion by picking on a civ that’s still weaker than him— namely, Han. The Mohave seize Chongjin, and with the Han military reduced to nothing but a single Supercarrier, the city’s unlikely to flip back any time soon.
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With the land war between Afghanistan and Timor-Leste continuing to be inconclusive, Xanana Gusmão instead attempts some naval ambushes. Rangpur is captured in an amphibious assault, and while Afghanistan does have a Genoswarm present in the nearby seas, I doubt it’ll be able to retake the city.
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Turkey retakes Asir (and the offscreen Taizz) from Afghanistan, and also picks up the Malian city of Moundou for good measure. However, with Turkey and Afghanistan both marshaling significant armies in Central and Southwestern Asia, I think it’s safe to assume this region will be a flipfest for a while longer.
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Seeing the horrific violence being waged in all directions around him, Yongle adopts fascism in a bid to assert some level of control over what seems like an increasingly out-of-control world.
All continues to be peaceful within Ming territory, but I can’t promise it’ll stay that way forever: an Afghan biotrooper has just stumbled upon the border, and may be radioing back to his commanders as we speak.
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With the fall of Hamhung to Afghanistan, Han is now down to two cities. Only Linqiu and the erstwhile North Korean capital in Pyongyang stand between Wu and his complete extinction.
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After facing several humiliations this episode, Brandenburg begins to fight back, seizing Oviedo from the Anglo-Dutch. Königs Wusterhausen may be close behind; however, Brandenburg and the Anglo-Dutch are both fielding Power Armor Infantry in the region, so any capture will be hotly contested.
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Brandenburg’s revanche is also occurring in Scandinavia, where Frederick William has retaken Ribe and is making some potent-looking assaults on Oranienburg and Klaipeda. Should these cities fall, the Turkish advance into Scandinavia could grind to a halt for the time being.
Offscreen, Mali retakes Moundou from Turkey, and pushes Angola back into its grave.
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Heyo, it’s NopeCopter here taking over for some emergency narration! There’s no time for introductions, though, because Angola is once again dead! Sadly I don’t really have time for a eulogy, but they sure did exist for a few turns there. F. Also, props to Mali for keeping up the good fight after all this time.
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The Anglo-Dutch, not content with reclaiming part of the British Isles, also manage to capture their capital once more! With no Brandenburger ships in sight, they just might keep it, too. It’s inspiring how, even after all this, the Anglo-Dutch are still standing. That said, a few enemy Power Armor Infantry are making their way down from Ireland, so the boys in orange aren’t out of the woods just yet.
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The Inca quickly reverse the bold Arapaho capture of Hunza, and it’s looking fairly safe for now, but this is harrowing proof that the Inca aren’t quite as safe in their continental fortress as they should hope. To be fair, though, the Inca are holding the line pretty well otherwise, so an Arapaho invasion certainly isn’t becoming any easier, either.
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Avi Mota’s expansion, incredibly, continues to go smoothly, with Chorasmia being taken from none other than Turkey! The city is fairly well-defended, too, so the scattered Turkish forces in the area will have trouble retaking it. The Avi Mota Biotroopers are already on their way to strike at Khandagayty, too! Can they be stopped?
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Whoops, looks like Angola’s back again as TImor-Leste flips Malanje once more! Sadly, with all of the Malian Power Armor Infantry nearby, I doubt Angola will have the good fortune to survive more than one or two turns this time. Timor-Leste could possibly take the city back, too, with several melee units nearby.
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Afghanistan has broken back through Asir and is quickly engulfing Konya! Unlike Bengal before them, Afghanistan’s comeback hasn’t collapsed just yet - rather, it seems like they’re only getting stronger.
I’m also picking up just in time to let you know that Turn 850 is when Total War stops being enforced. Civs can finally make peace with one another and rebuild, as nobody was willing to continue building units and the game was drawing to a stalemate. Or, like Turkey and Afghanistan, they can keep fighting if they so desire.
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Here’s your daily reminder that yes, Castile is still alive. We didn’t see them at all last episode, but rest assured that Burgos is in no danger whatsoever.
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Arapaho’s reconquest of the Sea of Japan continues with the capture of Ongi, pushing the Mohave decidedly out of the north. Things are going similarly smoothly up north, where Gaochang, which has fallen into the red and looks set to collapse entirely within a matter of turns. It’s a nice step up from a civ that’s been struggling to break into Asia up until now.
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Han’s second-to-last city of Pyongyang is completely surrounded by Afghan forces, with no defenses left to save it. Mohave Biotroopers are also making their way to the front lines, seemingly more interested in conquest than defending their new homeland. They probably won’t be able to take Pyongyang, but they just might be able to win the race to Linqiu, considering the lack of Afghan units nearby.
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The Inca and Timor-Leste are the first of the Elite Four to make peace with each other, with the Pacific front now entirely devoid of units and both parties having bigger problems to worry about. The borders around Oceania have solidified with Timor-Leste maintaining total control of Australia, but the Inca holding onto all of New Zealand, which will certainly make for quite a show once Total War resumes.
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The Mohave have retaken Qapotaq-Iv’auve from Timor-Leste, granting them at least one W in the Pacific. The city seems perfectly safe now, too - not a Timorese ship in sight. Mohave’s capital isn’t shifting to Avi Mota any time soon.
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The Kayapo aren’t yet at peace with the Inca, but they might as well be, given the total lack of ships nearby. It’s a good thing, too - with a grand total of two Cybersubs for defense and no Jungle to slow down enemy invaders, the Kayapo remnants would probably fall to a stiff breeze. It’s amazing that they’re still probably not in the bottom three.
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Brandenburg’s last-minute counter-attack on Scandinavia grows even more comically large relative to the other completely-spent armies throughout the cylinder. RIbe has been completely reclaimed, and Oranienburg is surrounded and taking heavy fire. Even Klaipeda looks like it might be retaken! I think I speak for everyone when I say: where the hell was all this for the first 850 turns of the game?
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Tuva still has no units to defend themselves with, but it seems like Turkey’s unmatched offensive is finally starting to run dry. Saryg-Sep is probably going to fall to the nearby Turkish Biotroopers (and if they’re unlucky, Shagonar to the Mohave), but that might be it. Tuva definitely isn’t coming back from this evisceration, but they’re almost certain to live another day.
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A quick peek at the Arapaho core reveals that they’re not actually as exhausted as a lot of their competition. Their carpet is sparse, sure, but their core cities all have a ring of troops defending them from a hypothetical invasion. These units would probably be more useful on the front lines, but it’s not like anybody else has strong armies on the front lines anymore, either.
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Here’s a quick peek at the Timorese core, which is a bit worse off than the Arapaho core, but still not too awful. No Giant Death Robots, but there are a couple of planes or bombs around. Curiously, though, there isn’t a single naval unit to be found. Perhaps the Inca did more damage than it seems, or perhaps the Amphibious promotion on the Biotroopers is good enough.
We also have a couple of Great Musicians here! First up is Shinpei Nakayama, a Japanese songwriter famous for various children’s songs and other popular Japanese songs of the 20th century. Perhaps he fled to Timor-Leste from the collapsing Mohave Japan?
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The other Great Musician in the Timorese core is a bit more special - special enough to warrant his own slide, in fact. Christopher Tin is an acclaimed film and video game composer, perhaps best known for writing none other than Baba Yetu for Civilization IV. It’s one game late, but having this living legend present in the Civ Battle Royale just feels… right.
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Asir flips and flips back, showing that Afghanistan is still fighting fiercely on their western front, but the number of Turkish units on the front lines is increasing. The assault on Konya has seemingly collapsed, and Turkey is pumping out Automatons like mad, so this plucky underdog might just end up being forced onto the back foot before long.
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That said, being outgunned certainly isn’t going to start making Afghanistan play any less boldly. Here, they’ve sniped Patna from Timor-Leste, turning things around against the top-ranked civilization in an ultimately futile but still very impressive manner. Maw Hteik is currently Afghan, too, so it seems like making peace with the Inca isn’t going to just give Timor-Leste a free run through Southeast Asia.
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Sadly, it seems like Avi Mota’s meteoric rise may be slowly coming to an end, as Afghanistan also makes gains in Central Asia by capturing Guangzhou. Most of the Mohave Biotroopers are off conquering, leaving the south and east of the colony exposed to Afghan incursions that will almost certainly be more successful than last time. Xiangping looks to be the next to fall.
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The Inca, now freed up to focus their efforts on a single front, have begun a push into the Caribbean and taken La Serena from the Arapaho. With practically no Arapaho units in the area to contest the region, even a few Inca units may be enough to secure this region and give the Inca another way to threaten mainland North America. That said, unless they commit more troops to this front, I doubt they’ll be making much more progress, either.
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Angola is once again slain and returned to the grave, this time by Timor-Leste. However, with Power Armor Infantry still surrounding the city, I’d bet on at least one more flip.
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Amazingly, Patna holds as Afghanistan reinforces their Burmese holdings. There are plenty of Timorese units nearby, but crucially, they seem to be splitting up enough that Afghanistan can hold the line… at least for now. In fact, Shwe Yin See up north looks ripe for the taking!
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Pyongyang has fallen to Afghanistan, leaving Han with only one city. Now it’s a race to eliminate what was once the titan of east Asia. I’d bet on Afghanistan, but you can never count the Mohave out. Also: note that Great Ming is, in fact, still alive. Could this mean…?
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Brandenburg’s army has apparently decided to bypass Oranienburg entirely and instead focus on retaking Klaipeda, which to be fair they are very close to doing. It’s a baffling strategy, and one that could very easily backfire, but Turkey has more units attacking the Tuvan exclave of Nesvyzius than defending their new gains in Finland, so it just might work.
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After a long and grueling war across two continents, the Arapaho and Mohave finally make peace, leaving Japan split between the two remaining North American empires. While this outcome might seem disappointing after the incredible comeback the Mohave pulled off last episode, remember: when these two fought in North America, the Mohave got steamrolled. The fact that they’re still standing at all is amazing.
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Right on the brink of retaking all of their lost land from Turkey, Brandenburg… decides to make peace. Sigh. At least it’s in-character. Turkey now has ample time to rebuild their army and a foothold in Sweden from which to finish off Brandenburg later, though at the very least Brandenburg probably won’t crumble too quickly if they don’t disband their new army. Maybe they can use it to finally finish off the Anglo-Dutch in the meantime?
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Both Oxus and Shagonar look about ready to fall to Avi Motan raids, but in return, Xiangping looks like it’s in serious trouble. Afghan troops are swarming the Tarim Basin, and without any quick and decisive peace deal, it seems like Avi Mota is about to be migrating north pretty quickly.
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With a massive middle finger to anybody who counted them out earlier, the Inca have now taken Huukyampye from the Inca, with no troops on the front lines to keep them from pushing even further north! They definitely won’t be breaking through the Arapaho core any time soon, but all of Mexico could be looking significantly greener if those Arapaho troops don’t make their way down to the front lines.
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Avi Mota captures both Oxus and Shagonar while holding onto Xiangping, but they’ve very clearly overextended themselves now. Turkish units are already moving in to retake Oxus, and Xiangping certainly isn’t looking any safer. That said, the Tuvan capital of Kyzyl is now within reach of the Mohave units, so there’s still some potential for something very funny to happen.
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With Japan now as safe as it can reasonably be, Mohave troops in the Pacific are now turning their weapons toward the unification of Hawaii. With the Inca looking elsewhere, Guiyang looks like a juicy and completely free target. Looking at the far left of the screen, it also looks like the Mohave Biotroopers are looking to scrap with Timor-Leste, as well! Good luck with that.
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LunarNeedle here! Emergency narration in two hours! Let’s go!We’re in a brief moment of pause, so we should take stock of the current situation. Yemen’s situation looks very mediocre, but still navigable. Timor Leste, in addition to sharing fronts with Mali and Turkey, are surprisingly sparse, meanwhile Yemen is building up their new frontline to defend along the African East Coast. Good luck Yemen!Bonus news: Arapaho and Kayapo sue for peace.
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Oh Mohave…These cities aren’t insanely technologically advanced, lacking food to really stall out their tech maxed opponents. Depending on how long this peace lasts, they’re likely to be outgunned on both their central Asian and Japanese front. If Mohave gets removed from Japan, their game might be over…exactly halfway across the planet from where they started. Say what you want about their city-capturing priorities, but Irataba has been anything but boring.
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The Graveyard of Empires clashes against the low-tier god that is Timor-Leste who somehow maintains dominant fronts on three continents. No units pass beyond the border, as the aforementioned Graveyard of Empires UA will chip away at the HP pool of the rather squishy front.Plane count however is a very good front for Timor Leste, with 9 v. 5, so this front might stall for some time. I expect a few peace deals to be coming from both of these empires in the coming turns.
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On the east Chinese front, Mohave battles with the Timor-Leste city on the main Japan island chain while Han and Great Ming both are completely surrounded. In an attempt to aid in their continued existence, they sue for peace. One less problem to worry about, I suppose.
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Afghan sues for peace with Tuva, strengthening the fight for Mohave as any of the units freed from their arctic duties can now rain down on Irataba’s parade. Same thing that applies to Timor-Leste versus Afghanistan applies here, making potential recapture of Xiangping even harder than it already is.
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Brandenburg solemnly left Brandenburg Gate behind them, finally freed from its Turkish war, can begin to beat down more and more onto the smaller European nations, like the Anglo-Dutch who find their Power Trooper units shredded by the mostly stocked carriers parked outside the Hague. I expect this to flip back and forth in the interim.
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A nigh indefensible empire stuck in the north with their capital almost off screen sues for peace, helping to secure their life for a bit longer. Although, does Tuva even have a chance? Unlikely, but given enough time, Afghanistan’s border is probably the hardest to defend against a full carpeted empire. It would take many strings of good luck for Tuva to reclaim their previous empire, not to mention anything more when an empire greater than the Roman Empires remains just past the Tuvan capital. The sad existence of being a minor against super empires.
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Yoink! It’s mine! Anglo-Dutch recapture the Hague, and begin moving their units within capture range. Keep a track of the carriers nearby, as they are Brandenburgs strongest asset, having all of the planes that I can see in this image on their two Super Carriers.
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When I see stuff like this, I remember why peace must sometimes be declared, as eventually cities require too much combat power to be defeated. I’m just thankful that there’s no plane spam deleting these units like against the Moors in S2C2. Let’s cross our fingers and hope the AI doesn't know that planes can attack units. Haha!
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Mohave move more of their army toward Kyzyl, proving that the crab bucket analogy is correct again. Irataba wants to ensure that if they lose, they’re doing as much damage as possible. But to what ends? Oxus is definitely gone, and Izhma is undefended as Afghan units crash towards Avi Mota. It would be so cool if they could hold and expand even more, but it seems unlikely…
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Yep, I don’t think that’s going to work, Mohave. Moving all your units which should be sacking Shagonar in favor of defending your core, but you do you. Also, the Hague is back in Anglo-Dutch control. Also, -look- at all those FW improvements in Turkish lands. +4 to +5 food on all of those improvements from the Hydroponic Domes and river access. Turkey is going to win peacetime unless it’s short.
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Hoo boy, did Mohave get lucky. Their only opponent is an overstretched Turkey who’s adjacent to all of Old World’s greatest empires and thus needs to spread out it’s limited units over a wide area. Let’s just hope those Future World improvements go online for Irataba soon!
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Yep, I don’t think that’s going to work, Mohave. Moving all your units which should be sacking Shagonar in favor of defending your core, but you do you. Also, the Hague is back in Anglo-Dutch control. Also, -look- at all those FW improvements in Turkish lands. +4 to +5 food on all of those improvements from the Hydroponic Domes and river access. Turkey is going to win peacetime unless it’s short.
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The Turkish/Afghan front sees many high speed Chimeras caught in their favorite activity, standing in city-range, staring at each other while the slightly stronger Bio-Titans move upward into the less contested fertile crescent. Heavy plane advantage with Lashkargah in the red while Konya maintains perfect health.However, this is not war. This is peace, so the northern Afghan cities seem to be getting bombed by… Mohave… Okay, maybe this peace was ideal if anything so these AI’s can focus on defending their border and core territory instead of max distance bombing. Maybe. Hopefully.
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Afghanistan probably made the correct call, allowing them to build up against both supermajors, but the annoying presence of mountains through the Tibetan plain makes navigation from north to south Afghanistan annoying at best. Perhaps Ahman Shah Durrani knows best.
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Ain’t no way. This would be criminally epic. Terminably epic. Was this the reason that they left Han alone?! They even peace’d out with Ming to ensure Han’s death. The scientist nearby is going to watch a certified epic gamer moment, or the greatest fumble of all time.
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Brandenburg, who owns half of Scandinavia and majority of UK, peaces out - leaving them with little but a few small cities with little helpful Future World improvements. The Hague, meanwhile, seems secure. I see one of the super carriers with 4 planes. Did some of the winged friends get lost?
Also, this be it for my emergency narration. I’m still ‘ere being my usual self. I’m also still around for some help for the next season, so I’ll always be here. Always be watchin’ 👀 -LN
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Hi all, TopHatPaladin here to take us through the rest of the episode! The current wave of peace declarations also sees the end of the war between Arapaho and Brandenburg, leading the current Iceland–Greenland border to crystallize.
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In a particularly nimble peace deal, Wu of Han— on his deathbed— manages to talk Afghanistan into giving up their offensive. The various biotroopers that were besieging Linqiu stick around, but now they’re here for purely sightseeing purposes.
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The Timor–Mali war also comes to a close; tragically for Angola fans, Savimbi doesn’t end up getting anything in the armistice.
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It’s been no surprise that peace is being declared so freely; after all, lots of empires are looking pretty exhausted. Even the North Pacific, a popular destination for useless navy overflow in previous seasons, is sporting no units except an Arapaho Great Musician.
This particular musician is Prince Buster, a Jamaican artist who was known in our timeline for his seminal 1960s recordings that shaped the course of reggae and ska.
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Another Great Musician has emerged in Thebes, where the subaltern Egyptian population appears to have a burgeoning trip-hop movement. Accordingly, the band Portishead (British trip hop pioneers in our timeline’s 1990s) has emerged in Thebes here.
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Meanwhile in the Anglo-Dutch lands, the preferred genre of music appears to be MPB (música popular brasileira), a genre that fuses Brazilian styles like samba with foreign music like jazz and rock. In the CBR, Elis Regina is an Anglo-Dutch great musician; in our timeline, she was a Brazilian singer who was hugely popular between 1965 and her unexpected death in 1982.
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Our musical tour continues in Incan Chile, where Radiohead has emerged. In our timeline, Radiohead became stalwarts of 1990s and 2000s British rock with alienated, electronic-influenced albums like OK Computer and Kid A. They presumably play a similar role here, though their music is likely more driven by the existential angst of living through total war.
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While a lot of civs have declared peace recently, war is still continuing in some regions: for instance, two Arapaho nexuses (nexi?) are surrounding the badly damaged Gaochang. The Göktürks’ final stand may be at its end.
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Also still at war are the Arapaho and Inca, where the Inca have been chipping away at the Arapaho Caribbean. Since the start of this episode, Pretty Nose has lost Managua, Tegucigalpa, and Olinda to Incan advances.
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Afghanistan has declared peace and Turkey isn’t paying much attention to this front, so the Mohave colony in Central Asia is able to send a cheeky expeditionary force north to attack the Tuvan capital of Kyzyl. It’s a bit of a risky move, if you ask me, but it’ll be undoubtedly hilarious if it succeeds.
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Though Turkey has retaken Taizz again, Yemen remains determined to try and get back Sana’a— Arwa continues shipping Power Armor Infantry and Automatons across the Red Sea to the battlefield. Conversely, Yemen’s African colonies seem to be completely beyond Turkey’s logistical capability to attack.
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Irataba might actually pull it off! Kyzyl is down to about a quarter of its health, and there are still half a dozen Mohave units in the immediate vicinity. Meanwhile, poor Tuva is so battered by the war that they have next to no way to resist the assault.
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Oop, I think I offended Ataturk by saying he wasn’t able to do anything to Yemeni Africa— he’s captured Aden just to prove me wrong. A fairly impressive play, but I’m keeping the bulk of my praise in reserve unless he shows he can *hold* Aden for the long term.
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Turkey has also captured Kyzyl, right after the Mohave had been softening it up for themselves! Irataba has just been cheated out of a maneuver that was both ballsy and hilarious— he’d better not take this lying down.
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The Turkish advance against Yemen does indeed seem to be a capable one: they’ve held onto Aden, driven Yemen from the Arabian peninsula, and are staging an amphibious assault on Ibb. Yemen still has a decent number of units around, but not enough to protect them from the risks of being Turkey’s number-one target.
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Ming’s glorious ride might be about to end! Afghanistan declares war, and they’ve got an expeditionary force moving in from the northwest. Yongle has gotten Nanjing’s city strength up to 66, which is better than it was at the start of the episode, but it’s not nearly enough to hold off against Mech Artillery and Bio-Titans. The Ming will survive to the end of today’s episode, but I doubt they’ll live for more than a turn or two next week.
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The capture of Kyzyl wasn’t just done to spite the Mohave— instead, Turkey seems intent on waging a serious conquest of Tuva! Turan and Teeli fall to Turkish forces, leaving Tuva pinned on the east side of Lake Baikal.
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However, focusing on Kyzyl means that Turkey can no longer pay as much attention to the African front. In the final slide of the night, we can see that Yemen has managed to retake Aden— although Ibb remains firmly in Turkish control.
Total war has ended, but the excitement is still raging! This is TopHatPaladin (and LunarNeedle, NopeCopter, and Pineapple) signing off, and we’ll see you next episode!