Civ Battle Royale ← Episode 7: Ash in the Sand and Ships on the Waves Episode 9: Wars of Words, Warriors, and Wacky Wiles →
Welcome back to another magnificent episode of everyone’s favorite robot deathmatch, the Civilization Battle Royale! This week, your host is me, longtime r/civbattleroyale contributor, power ranker, writer, and person-who-gets-pinged-every-time-there’s-an-airplane-accident, Admiral Cloudberg! I’m sure I’m already familiar to most of you, so let’s jump into this together!
First we have the PR slide—no, wait a minute...
(Courtesy of ExplosiveWatermelon)
As usual, we have our current map, thanks to Vihreaa.
If you have a few bucks to spare, don’t forget to join the list of fine people who donated to the CBR on Ko-fi! Without your donations, this season literally would not have been possible.
The Permians are number one in the power rankings for the seventh week running, but this week was their closest call yet—if just one ranker had changed their mind, Brandenburg would have been here instead.
And with that, time for the action!
On board the Kilwa trireme off Tirunelveli, one of the greatest Swahili cartographers was putting the finishing touches on a map of the coast of Asia. “So there’s this huge bay northeast of Pandya, and we need a name for it,” he said. “I’m thinking something like, the ‘Bay of Bengal.’ All in favor?” And just like that, a ripple of harmony spread out across the multiverse.
On the actual slide, there are a lot of wars going on, namely Kokang vs. Cambodia, Bengal vs. Kokang, and Afghanistan vs. Pandya, but it doesn’t seem like much progress is being made in any of them. Bengal has also settled a new city in the Andaman Islands.
Above the floodplains of the Nile, the sky opened up, a bright light was seen, and the booming voice of Aten proclaimed, “Chieftain Akhenaten has made peace with Chieftain Idriss Deby!” And just like that, the Egyptian capital was saved, ish. Just moments before taking the city, Chad has pulled away, but if Yemen can get a melee unit there in the next few turns, it could still fall. I’m not holding my breath though.
Off the coast of China, it’s settler spam for days. A Ming settler is heading east past Japan, while two Kokang settlers approach Taiwan, and another Ming settler heads north through the Yellow Sea. Where will they settle down? To be honest with you, I have no idea.
In the teeming megacity of Kremoro, Raoni has built the Parthenon, giving him a free, pre-filled great work of art slot, and... that’s it, actually. Not the greatest world wonder, is it? It looks pretty though, or it would if I could find the model in this picture, which I can’t.
Back in Southeast Asia, the second longest running current war on the cylinder comes to an end as Olive Yang makes peace with Norodom Sihanouk. Several episodes ago, this war resulted in Kokang capturing Siem Reap, but not much has happened since then, as Kokang struggled to push through forests, jungles, and marshes of Cambodia.
In the background, Ming decides to have a go at Cambodia instead, as if they would be any more successful.
On the Han-Gokturk front, Guzang is in trouble as the Turkic invaders surround the city on three sides, but farther to the west, Scipio Africanus is leading a Han counterattack. He keeps muttering something about “salting the earth” and “Carthago delenda est,” but everyone just ignores him.
On the steppes of southern Russia, the Permians continue to push against Khazaria. Balanjar fell in Episode 7 and appears secure, but so far, Azykay hasn’t managed to put more than a scratch on the almost undefended city of Derbent.
Off on the far left side of the screen, we catch a glimpse of the first new settler Vladimir has produced since the start of the game.
In Brandenburgish Scandinavia, the Turkish great prophet Bodhidharma has landed near Oranienburg to spread the tenets of Sunni Islam. (I bet that’s not a sentence that has ever been written before.) It’s also worth noting how beefy Lithuania is looking—if they moved that army across the Baltic, they could probably sweep Brandenburg out of Sweden.
Not content with Scandinavia, a Brandenburger settler has appeared off the coast of Scotland, promising to expand Frederick-William’s influence westward toward the Atlantic. But whether he will actually settle on Scotland, or has his sights on lands farther still, remains to be seen.
The Arapaho-Comanche war is rapidly bearing fruit, as Pretty Nose smashes Penataka into the yellow after just one turn of conflict. The city will fall imminently, but whether Arapaho has what it takes to eliminate the Comanche entirely remains to be seen.
Incredibly, the far-flung detachment of Botswana triremes has managed to batter Malanje down to yellow health. I have no idea if they can keep it up, but if they take this city, that would be pretty awesome.
Still stung by the loss of San Juan del Monte to Indonesia, Aguinaldo decides to save face by attacking Cambodia. It’s unclear how he thinks he’ll be successful when his attacking army is smaller than Cambodia’s defending army, but you know, I don’t think he was thinking that far ahead.
After a somewhat sleepy start, the Maori are finally picking up the pace of their expansion into Oceania. The city of Whatiwhatihoe is the latest addition, and another settler is heading northwest, possibly toward Australia. Could we soon see player three entering the continent?
This pair of settlers from Europe was spotted in the Sahara last episode, and it seems they’re still there, heading to some unknown destination. Are they searching for an oasis and some mining resources? If so, there are plenty to go around. Otherwise, though, they might be out of luck.
After all the talk about how hard it would be for North Korea to capture Tajihi-Sarugake, Kim Il-Sung proves that North Korea is, in fact, the greatest country in the world, or at least the greatest negotiator. That’s right, Mori Motonari has given away his Korean colony to North Korea in a peace treaty, kicking himself off the mainland. Bravo, Mori, bravo.
Anyway, is it just me, or is North Korea starting to look kind of beefy?
The Gokturk horde encounters its first battlefield success as Bumin Qaghan rolls into Guzang on horseback. The assault on Linzi has been much less successful, but who cares? Victory is victory, and for the Gokturks, this is a pretty important one, all but ensuring that Han is boxed out of northern China. One Han settler remains in the area, but if Wu isn’t careful, it’ll get snapped up in a hurry.
A couple of distant South American civs declare war on the Seminole, but it’s unclear how they’ll reach Cuscowilla. This would be a good time to mention that the Seminole are also still at war with Central America, but so is FDR, so they’re protected for now. A few damage notifications in the bottom left indicate that naval skirmishes between Central America and America are ongoing.
The Gokturks settled an undefended city right next to the Ainu, and Shakushain responded by... declaring war on Turkey? There seems to have been some turkfusion.
Aha, Shakushain has a friend! Vsevolod of Vladimir also jumps in with a declaration of war against Turkey, and this one could be serious. Adana is sitting on the wide open step with nine defense strength and a single warrior protecting it, while a large Vladimir army lurks just across the river. Unless Ataturk has friends in high places, this city could fall.
Also on this slide: settlers from Lithuania, the Permians, and Vladimir compete to settle northern Russia, while the Permian siege of Atil, the Khazar capital, looks set to begin.
Although it was a valiant attempt to bring down a behemoth, Ian Khama is forced to conclude that his war with Angola has failed, and he agrees to make peace. Botswana didn’t capture any cities, but they did manage to keep Angola on the defensive the entire time, which is really saying something.
An overview of Turkey suggests that their army is a little thin, although they may have more units down off the bottom of the image attacking Egypt. That said, it’s not clear who besides Vladimir could even threaten them, so maybe it doesn’t matter that much.
Make sure to glance in the top right corner, where the Permians have bombarded Derbent down into the red.
After just a few turns of war, Arapaho forces overwhelm Penateka, reducing the Comanche back to one city. I suppose it was fun while it lasted!
Over in Asia, Bumin Qaghan decides to stop while he’s ahead and makes peace with Han, keeping control of Guzang. The Han settler has escaped, however, and seems to be heading toward Manchuria.
The Permians continue to advance against Khazaria, capturing and razing Derbent. With only one turn to take it back, Khazaria will almost certainly be unable to prevent its destruction. Besides, Bulan’s attention will soon need to turn to his capital, which has begun to take damage as Permian units close in from the north.
Despite the fact that most of Australia still hasn’t been settled, the Wiradjuri seem to be focusing their attention on wider Oceania, settling a new city in the Bismarck Archipelago. Of course, just remember that this will all one day belong to its rightful owner, Timor-Leste.
Afghanistan and Pandya finally make peace after 60 turns of war. According to Babylonian records, this was the oldest ongoing war on the cylinder, having started on turn 45, back at the very beginning of Episode 3. That title now moves to Central America vs. the Seminole, which has been going since turn 48.
Also, while we’re here, let’s give Pandya a round of applause for not giving away a city in the peace treaty this time.
Han settled the undefended city of Pengcheng on the doorstep of Pyongyang, taunting Kim Il-Sung to declare war. Kim is told of the provocation, but like the style god he is, he declares war on Turkey instead, because that’s what’s fashionable these days.
Lithuania becomes a nomadic horde, which seems like a good government type for a civ with such a large army. The question is, are they going to use it against anyone? For now, Lithuania seems content to spam settlers, as I can see two of them heading into the wilderness in the upper right. Two Vladimir settlers can also be seen, but it’s hard to say where they’re going yet.
Having run out of space for new cities in South America, the Inca have begun to look west, into the vast archipelagos of the Pacific. A settlement has already been made northwest of Easter Island, and another settler can be seen near the Galapagos. I didn’t expect the Inca to become a major player in Polynesia this season, but this could spice up the region.
In the background, Bengal and Timor-Leste declare war on North Korea, probably as part of an underhanded deal with the Turks.
A Malian army seems to be crossing the Sahara to assault the Norman city of Capua, but Robert Guiscard is responding with an African expeditionary force of his own, which he hopes will be able to flank the attackers from the east.
Off the coast, Spain has settled a fourth city on the island of Madeira.
Also worth noting: there are now two Yugoslav settlers in Africa. Don’t forget to wave as they go by!
Up in Europe, the Brandenburg-Yugoslavia war is still a grind-fest, with no signs of progress by either side. Canute can be seen off in the corner of the battlefield yelling, “I’m here too!” But he should watch out for Lithuania, because if Gedeminas declared war right now, he would be in enormous trouble, given that those Lithuanian UUs are swordsman replacements.
Continuing its impressive expansion, Brandenburg has planted another city in Scandinavia. Lithuania is settling too, however, with two settlers visible here, including one which will probably demarcate the border between these two great European powers.
An overview of the Tuva-Permian border suggests that neither side is really interested in the other, as units are almost totally absent. Worth noting that Izyur still being on 1 pop despite having plenty of salt tiles to work is not doing anything to help the Permians’ low stats.
The Gokturks settle Taraz in the snowy wastes—good luck ever growing that city, since the only source of food in range is a single flat tundra tile. Another settler is also heading east, hoping to link Kengu Tarman with the rest of the empire before the Ainu get any funny ideas.
After many turns of brutal attrition warfare, Tuva has finally put a lick of damage on Qarakhoja. But Qocho seems to have plenty of archers left in defensive positions, so I would say they’re probably not going anywhere any time soon. At this point the walls of Qarakhoja are probably constructed mainly from the bodies of dead Tuvans.
Akhetaten’s health is beginning to recover as it seems the Yemeni and Turkish attacks have been repulsed. A surprise outcome for the civ that entered this episode in last place—the power rankers, at least, thought they were done. Instead, the mighty Aten seems to have pulled through for his #1 stan after all.
Up in the North Caucasus, things are not going well for Turkey, as Vladimir has knocked Adana into the yellow, and the single Turkish warrior defending the city has not received any reinforcements. With only nine defense strength, I’d be shocked if Adana didn’t fall in the next two turns.
Meanwhile, Khazaria is putting on another impressive defense as the Permian assault on their capital seems to have failed. Khazar units are now taking up defensive positions around Atil, and the Permians only have one unit in range to attack it, a single archer. Although they have lost several cities, Khazaria really has been tenacious.
My speculation earlier has proved correct, as the Maori become the first foreign power to settle a city on Australia! Pukearuhe is in a great position, with access to the Great Barrier Reef, and has room for additional cities on either side, should the Maori decide to build them. This is a bad sign for the Wiradjuri, and it’s not the only one either—that Yolngu army seems large enough to take a city or two, should war break out in the Outback again.
One of the most consequential wonders in the game finds its home, as Brandenburg builds the Great Wall to keep out the Yugoslavians! Brandenburg was already a tough nut to crack, but this is only going to make it harder for any other European power to bring them down a notch. It’s almost overkill, considering that Brandenburg is such a strong offensive player that they barely needed to think about defense even before this. Will this be what finally convinces the power rankers to bump them up to the number one spot?
Let’s also take a moment to note the Brandenburger great prophet Akiva ben Joseph converting Roskilde—although since Brandenburg doesn’t have a religion, it’s unclear how they got the prophet, or even what religion it belongs to.
Mori great admiral Peter Easton has been surrounded by Kwakwaka’wakw triremes off the coast of Japan. What they are doing here, nobody knows. But Easton is nervous. There’s a lot of kwakking in the distance, drawing closer with every passing moment...
Kokang has settled Long Htan on Taiwan, giving us an excuse for a complete overview of their empire. Our favorite lesbian warlord Olive Yang is up to a respectable nine cities, with two more settlers looking for space to make that 11. As a reminder, she’s also still at war with Han and Bengal, not that you’d know it—neither foe seems to have been able to penetrate the mountains on Kokang’s borders.
Allende continues to solidify his hold over Patagonia by settling Maipó in Tierra del Fuego. There’s still room for a couple more cities down here too, and so far there’s no sign that anyone other than Chile is likely to grab them.
On to the Falklands next?
The race for the Sahara begins bearing fruit, or maybe just salt, as Yugoslavia settles Split directly in the middle of the desert. There’s still plenty of space, though, and settlers from Tetouan, Chad, Yugoslavia, and the Kyivan Rus’ are still racing to grab it. The Sahara is definitely shaping up to be a mess.
But anyway, I suspect you noticed the notification at the top of the screen...
Fun fact, in Russian “vladi” is derived from “vladet’,” meaning “to possess” or “wield,” and “mir” means “world,” so Vladimir means something like “Ruler of the World.” Vladimir has a long way to go in that regard, but the capture of Adana from Turkey is an important step, to be sure. And honestly—Vsevolod should consider attacking the Permians next, because they’re looking shockingly weak.
For the first time in several episodes, we get an overview shot of the Kwakwaka’wakw. Right now, they have five coastal cities all in a neat line, with a sixth in the Aleutian Islands apparently on the way. The Cree look set to grab the inland areas, however, with a settler heading west into the Yukon.
Brandenburg is leading an expeditionary force around the western border of Yugoslavia, led by Victoriano Huerta, who in real life was famous for overthrowing the democratically elected government of Mexico in 1913. Yet more evidence that Brandenburg is the villain of this season.
Also on this slide, the Anglo-Dutch appear poised to settle in western France, but a huge Castilian army in the area might give them second thoughts.
Against the odds, Mali is actually mounting a credible attack on Capua, and with only 10 defense strength, the city is very vulnerable. The Normans have only a single chariot archer with which to defend it, and that might not be enough, given that reinforcements are having a hard time getting to the scene of the battle. Many of them seem to be on track to get intercepted in the Sahara by the main body of Malian forces.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay, time to totally revise my analysis. Sundiata Keita has thrown a wrench into the situation by joining up with the Anglo-Dutch to attack Tetouan, which seems at the moment to be a major overextension. Fez is distinctly vulnerable to naval attack, and unless Mali can pull off a miracle, Tetouan looks set to recapture the city. Furthermore, Tetouan units can attack the forces sieging Capua from both directions, so the Normans might just be saved by the fact that Keita’s eyes are bigger than his stomach.
Everyone is scrambling to settle northern Russia west of the Urals! Since we last saw this area, Lithuania and the Permians have settled, while two Vladimir settlers are going for two of the last remaining spots. Another Lithuanian settler is also heading east, but one of the Vladimir settlers will likely settle first, so it may need to change direction and head into the snow.
And then there’s the question of who is going to seize Tomyris’s copper supply. We all know it has to happen eventually.
In a fascinating turn of events, the Kwakwaka’wakw triremes that were previously sitting around Admiral Peter Easton licking their lips ominously have moved on to find a new target, namely North Korea. Unfortunately for the Kwak fans, Willie Seaweed has only sent six ships and a couple of scouts. This might have been enough to grab Tajihi-Suragake, but to reach Chongjin they have to run a gauntlet of composite bowmen on the mainland and Jeju island, so they’ll be lucky if they even damage the city.
Yemen is still trying to assault Akhetaten by landing catapults and warriors on Egyptian shores, but with Moses to part the Red Sea, it’s hard to imagine that they could get enough units across to defeat the three composite bowmen now defending the city. Yemen has founded Hudaydah across the sea from Akhetaten to bring down the required travel distance, but it’s unlikely to make much difference. Arwa al-Sulayhi needed Chad’s help in this war, and without it her forces are dead in the water, literally.
Around the besieged city of Qarakhoja, Qocho defenders are starting to look a little thinner, and more Tuvan units are beginning to close in around the flanks. The city definitely looks more vulnerable than it did a few turns ago. This has occurred despite the presence of a Gokturk great general blocking the way after seemingly getting confused about which blue army is his.
Ming is the latest civ to pile on North Korea, but Yongle seems to have made a critical error—he doesn’t have a navy. And it’s a good thing North Korea doesn’t either, because if they did, he’d probably lose his newly settled island city of Guilin. You know who does have a navy here though? That’s right, Timor-Leste—and they’re approaching Chongjin to back up the Kwaks!
Potatau te Wherowhero has signed a decree: all of Oceania shall one day be his. And so far, he seems to be backing that up, as he has landed another settler on Australia. And the Wiradjuri don’t look like they’re in a position to stop it—their population is pathetic, they barely have an army, and they have no navy at all. I honestly was not expecting them to look this bad.
It’s been a few turns since we saw the Comanche-Arapaho war, but surprisingly, not much has happened—Pretty Nose has yet to construct a credible siege of Quahadi. What she does have is Father Damien, a Roman Catholic priest and Saint famous for running a leper colony on the island of Molokai in the 1800s. Do the Arapaho have a leprosy problem?
Farther to the west, the Kwakwaka’wakw have settled a city on the Aleutian Islands, while a phalanx of outdated cities heads down across Japan to join the fight against North Korea. Just want to say though, while Dzawadi is a cool city name, nothing is going to beat Xwalkw. (Yes, I just wanted to make DocIdo pronounce that, hehehehe)
An overview shot of Ireland reveals a solid empire with every city (except Rotterdam) having at least 10 population. Their army and navy look decent too, but they could stand to fill out their islands a bit more, or Brandenburg might do it for them. That said, the Brandenburger settler which was seen near Scotland earlier this episode seems to have vanished.
An overview of South America reveals one, no two, no three green and gold civs. Good god, what a visual nightmare! Anyway, two Kayapo cities are now over 35 pop and their capital is approaching 40. Those are the populations you expect your cities to have when you’re about to win. Compare that to the Inca capital, which has 9 pop. Madness.
In this slide, we can also see no less than three Inca settlers, even though there are only two valid tiles near their borders where a city can even be founded. There’s also a Kayapo settler, which shouldn’t have any trouble, since their borders have grown so far they can settle new cities without even leaving already claimed territory.
Oh, and I almost forgot—Brazil has used a great general to steal some territory from the Kayapo. Not that Raoni will notice; he’s got plenty enough as is.
In the battle for North Africa, Sundiata Keita has sent a fleet of triremes north in a desperate attempt to relieve the besieged city of Fes, but he’ll have to move fast, because Tetouan now surrounds the city on four of six sides and is rapidly dealing damage. And in more bad news for the Malians, a couple of Norman units have broken the siege of Capua and threaten to take down the only remaining ranged unit which can hit the city. Not a good day to be Mali!
After a long but mostly uneventful war, Central America makes peace with America, presumably to fight their real enemies, Left America and Purple America. The real news here, though, is that a settler which appears to be Brazilian has landed on Hispaniola, narrowly beating a Muisca settler which seems to have been heading to the same place.
After several episodes of seemingly forgetting how to expand, Greenland abruptly notices there’s still quite a lot of land nearby and settles two new cities in eastern Canada. An Arapaho settler is moving in to claim the rest while it still can. Let’s also take this moment to dunk on Vermont again because holy shit lmao
In the Caucasus, Vladimir has fully secured control of Adana, and some skirmishes are taking place near Bursa, but with the mountains in the way, it’s unlikely that Vsevolod will manage to make more progress. The same can be said of the Permians, who are somehow still struggling to assemble a siege of Atil. I mean, how hard can it be!? That’s probably what Azykay thought, right before checking out a copy of “How to Siege Cities Good” from his local library. “I bet this book would teach me a lot if I knew how to read,” he thought, before loading it into a catapult.
The East China Sea conflict begins to heat up as Kwakwaka’wakw and Timorese triremes pound Chongjin down to yellow! Of course, the flaw here is that if they do manage to take the city, they won’t be able to hold it, because it’s surrounded by North Korean land units, but you know what, I believe in the dream. Timorse Korea is coming soon!
Some Permian units close in around Atil, dealing a small amount of damage, but Khazaria responds by spawning their unique great general replacement, the Bek. In addition to the normal great general effects, it adds XP to mounted units when stationed in a city, and converts enemy cities within two tiles to their religion. Considering that Khazaria has neither a religion nor any horses with which to build mounted units, I don’t expect this to be terribly useful.
In North Africa, Mali is locked in a race against time as its fleet of triremes pushes desperately to prevent Tetouan from recapturing Fes. Unfortunately for Sundiata Keita, it doesn’t seem like they’ll succeed, as the city is already in the red. Farther to the east, the news is equally bad, as a large Norman army has pressed into the Sahara and all but destroyed the once-might Malian detachment that was heading toward Capua.
Time for a few government reveals! Most civs are tribes, but Afghanistan is a populist Republic—that’s not gonna end well—and Babylon is, amusingly, a “monarchy in exile.” In exile from what, I wonder?
A few more governments—Castile is a principality, and Timor-Leste is now a populist republic, presumably because Timor-Leste is popular. That’s what that word means right?
Willie Seaweed is now PRINCE Willie Seaweed. You WILL address him by his proper title! As for Kayapo, they are now a populist republic as well, as Lawspeaker Raoni tells the very very large population exactly what it wants to hear.
Mori is now a monarchy, although Petty Kingdom seems more fitting, seeing as they only have two cities. The Mohave, meanwhile, have become a peasants’ republic, which is extremely based, shoutout to our anarchist Mohave fan, you know who you are.
The Prince Archbishopric of the Anglo-Dutch and the Islamic Imamate of Turkey both proclaim that there is only one God, and it’s obviously their God and not the other civ’s God, but they also worship the same God. How strange.
The Yolngu have become a nomadic horde, which checks out since they don’t have any cities. Lmao take that
Thought that was all? Nope, there’s a few slides to go yet. In this one, we note that Kilwa and Angola have made peace, although this war was effectively over after Kilwa captured Kuito, since a lake blocked any further conquest.
This scene is all about settling! We catch our first glimpse of Masaka, Uganda’s third city (finally!), as well as a new Chadian city near Egypt. Turkey has also moved a settler into the region, looking to settle on top of the remains of the destroyed city of Assur. The Kyiv settler, though, still seems lost. How long will it wander before it finds what it’s looking for?
In the vast expanse of Polynesia, an Incan settler heads west. What will it find across the great turquoise sea? There are rumors of something called the Maori. But what would be funnier is if it met that Lithuanian scout just west of Whatiwhatihoe. That guy is a long way from home.
Another war breaks out in the Mediterranean as the Normans attack Turkey! Memphis is barely defended, but Turkey only has three triremes in the Mediterranean, so it will probably be fine. Other than defending Memphis, though, the Normans will have a hard time waging war, since their might is primarily naval, and Turkey’s coastal cities are almost impossible to attack from the sea.
Over near Salerno, you can also see the Normans’ great general replacement, the Conqueror, which gives units extra movement and strength after disembarking and can be expended to construct a courthouse.
The Permians were previously a tribal horde, but they have now established a monarchy. Not quite what I would have expected—they seem better suited to the nomadic lifestyle.
Let’s also note the absolutely brutal citadels which Azykay has constructed near Oxus, stealing land from two Massagetae cities at once. Tomyris must be fuming, but there’s very little she can do against the longtime #1 power.
Almost as soon as the last war ended, Kilwa starts another one by attacking Uganda. However, this seems ill-advised. All of Uganda’s cities are behind hills, mountains, and lakes, where Kilwa can’t possibly capture them. In contrast, Mbarara is right out in the open, completely undefended, with only 9 defense strength and several Ugandan spearmen nearby. If Kilwa doesn’t rush a bunch of units in their quickly, this could end with a surprise Ugandan victory.
Although Malian triremes now outnumber Tetouan triremes in the Atlantic, it’s too little too late, as Sayyida al-Hurra triumphantly rides back into Fes. Cheering crowds try to ignore the fact that she was the one who gave it away in the first place.
The curtains appear to be closing for the Comanche, as numerous Arapaho and Mohave units bear down on Quahadi from all directions. The city hasn’t begun taking damage yet, but the writing is on the wall. With only three defensive units remaining, Iron Jacket’s days are numbered.
In the background, more civs continue to pile on North Korea, although none of them are nearby.
We end this episode with a scene announcing the construction of everyone’s favorite wonder: Petra! Windradyne has constructed in the Australian Outback city of Loowee, which has plenty of desert, so it’s hardly a waste. It’s just a little bit sad that there aren’t many desert HILLS—in that regard, the Mohave capital would have been a much better location. Still, in most seasons, the location of Petra has been considerably more disappointing than this one, so we’ll call it a win and end this episode on a high note.
Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you next time!