Episode 18: Gunpowder Empires – S5

Release Date:

June 02, 2026

Narrated by:

QuantumBotany

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Hi everybody! My name is QuantumBotany, 3 time narrator, and a follower of CBR since the MK.2 reboot. I apologize in advance for the narration being a little short and sweet at times, I have been attempting to move to a new city this past week and it has not gone nearly as smoothly as I hoped! After a lot of roadbumps and frustration with apartment leasing offices, I managed to get everything sorted out, and can bring to you Episode 18 of the Civilization Battle Royale X Season 5: Gunpowder Empires. Without further ado, let's get to the Original Content.

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Here we have OrangeChrisy/Anarkitty’s comic about certain interlopers in the Circassian-Scythian war. I personally really like the unit icon of the Biremes, so I hope they keep showing up in random silly places throughout the game.

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Here is a chart by Aladar / U/IamaCalradianLordAMA visualizing the top 5 activity scores by episode. New South Wales leads the pack, but Episode 17 Tang is pretty impressive still.

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Thank you to all the generous supporters who patronize the CBR. You are making the dream happen!

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This week’s featured PR slide is: the Seychelles! Why? Because The PRs aren't out yet and they are my favorite civ! I imagine they stayed just about where they are in the rankings, perhaps with a bump for the MASSIVE power spike that comes with taking HALF of Ma’in’s Cities. GO SEYCHELLES!!! YOU ARE MY STRONGEST TAX HAVEN. Okay lets get to the episode.

CBR In-Game Screenshot of The rise of the Aniishinaabe and the

6: The rise of the Aniishinaabe and the

The Action! The Anishinaabe forces secure Kadi’u, pushing the depleted Pomo army back to Maka’hmo. A succession of foreign invasions has weakened the Pomo state to the point of collapse- the complete loss of the northeast territories would represent an irreversible contraction in pomo power in the North American balance of power.

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The Xaraguan navy punches through the Yanomami line and brings Nanimapuweteri down to the yellow. A Portuguese fleet of their unique Naus can be seen arriving from across the Atlantic.The invasion of the Xaraguan islands was conceived by Yanomami leadership as an easy win- they are, after all, a quarter of the size. The potency of the Xaraguas’ cutting edge navy, made up from fast-swimming frigates with cannons much more powerful than those of the standard Galleass, and sitting high above the water with a shooting and sighting angles, was severely underestimated.

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Wallachian units, including the Lefegii, their UU which has +20% defense against ranged attacks and heals when ending turn on pillaged farms, are cut down in Hanseatic territory by more technologically advanced counterparts. It would be expected that Wallachia would be a formidable foe given their tendency to spend 80% of their GDP on the military, but in this new era of the CBR, the tech gap increasingly discriminates losers from winners.

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Tech doesn’t win wars by itself however. Last episode we saw Chono and Xavante declare war on Caral. Here we see a Xavante army of dubious modernity bear down on their former city of Wedeze. The surrender of Wedeze represented a humiliation to the royal family of Xavante. Recent decades in the royal court of Apoena have been dominated by a sense that the Xavante state is on the verge of dismemberment and erasure by its neighbors. Internally, Apoena himself has on more than one occasion had to intervene against regional nobility suspected of cutting secret deals with neighboring powers. To restore confidence in the power of the state to protect its constituents, Apoena decided that Wedeze should be reclaimed.

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Ternate makes peace with Caral, surrendering control of the Marianas city of Sampalu. Japan is still at war with Ternate, but it appears as though the war has pitered out. Ternate’s constantly-embattled frontiers recede.

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A fleet of Zazzau triremes batter the walls of Kerouane. In normal circumstances, this would be irrelevant this late into the game, but Wassolou is so enfeebled by its constant struggle with the Aures and Portugal that this could potentially go somewhere.

CBR In-Game Screenshot of Morpeth and Mudgee

12: Morpeth and Mudgee

Morpeth and Mudgee- the newest additions to the burgeoning NSW territory. Miserable places, Morpeth and Mudgee were founded as fishing, whaling, and crabbing outposts, where the business attracted migrants and families from the mainland to work the colonies’ kitchens, packeries, and hospitality industries. Despite the harsh conditions, many people have thus far found happiness in their new remote home, far from the troubles of the metropole.

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The Chono army and navy, long inactive, crush down on the unprepared city of Upaca. Qhapaq did not expect such a sudden reversal in Chono relations, but from an outsider’s perspective it can be better understood.

The Scramble for the Pacific has led to a rivalry between the two South American participants, but it was until now understood that, regardless of which island was claimed by whom, and which set of privateers raided which settlement, that relations on the mainland would be largely unaffected. But as the economic and strategic importance of pacific holdings eclipsed their more reputational beginnings, radical ideas began to circulate among the Chono elite. Why do they allow Caral to bully them in the pacific when they, the Chono, are preponderant on the continent. So without Qhapaq’s knowledge nor understanding, Caral’s colonial class somnabulated into a catastrophic provocation, and a war against a Chono-Xavante axis for which they are entirely unprepared.

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Kadi’u is re-entered by a reduced contingent of primitive cavalry. Trotting through the barren, smoking outskirts of the settlement, each individual somberly ponders a number of questions, pinning their thoughts like a paperweight: “Is this time different? Can we hold the frontier? Are we going to lose everything? Why are we losing?” The words remain unspoken.

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The front between Potiguara and Guaycuru sees relevant progress for Potiguara. South America finds itself in a general war for what seems to be the millionth time. Is this time different?

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Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of what would be a powerful empire if it existed anywhere else. Surrounded by behemoths, peers, and Green Ukraine, Hideyoshi dreams of better days, when they had a soft target to their south, Ryukyu. He purposefully does not dream of when they nearly burned his city down.

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French units fail to make progress in taking the city of Inverness, despite having many geographical advantages. Hanseatic forces press down on their lines to the south. Despite having a large army, france is behind in technology, and will likely fail to press forward.

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The Portuguese navy steals Nanimapuweteri from right under Xaragua’s nose. While its doubtful that theyll hold it, Nanimapuweteri (sorry Doc Ido) was a 30 population city, and its reduction will be a statistically significant loss to the Yanomami

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Here we see the beautiful landscape of the Tarim Basin and Tibet, or we would be able to see it if not for the carpet of Orda Horsemen, Qara Khitai’s unique unit. Its abilities have been explained in PRs and episodes before i believe, so check the stat sheet “basic info” tab if you’re curious. QK here has declared on Mysore, going for another grab at Karwar. Will their powerful uniques finally bring the city under their control? Probably not.

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The Umhaill Longa Fada is a faster and weaker galleon that steals xp and gold from its victims. Here we see two of them with their big beautiful models floating by Potiguara.

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The Bay of Bengal looks nice when its not full of half-health galleasses and galleons. While the recent war between Bangladesh, Mysore, and Lanfang had few results, the borders look a lot nicer and more rational.

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Portugal looks a lot better since their catastrophic war with France. Don’t quote me here, but maybe they could come out on top if they attacked france now?

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Upaca predictably falls to the Chono onslaught, and their navy has moved on to Caballete, which has begun taking damage. Caral has begun to mobilize a response, but fighting on two fronts is difficult, and the attackers still hold a large advantage.

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This war is also being fought in the Pacific, but Caral being forced to move units to the mainland has stymied their response. Chono captures the old Bunuba city of Danggu, situated on one of the largest islands in the region.

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Herero, despite appearing large on a map, is very sparsely populated. Only one city, Okahandja, is of a significant size. Otherwise, the kalahari basin is dotted by a constellation of small-to-medium-sized settlements. Perhaps if Herero improved its tech count it could break out of its geographical prison?

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The Kipchaks. Nice carpet. Crap stats Probably could beat Bactria. Or even Scythia if they were quick with it.

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Nanimapuweteri is retaken by the Yanomami, with its population being reduced to a measly 12. The technologically advanced Xaraguan navy has scattered, but the damage has been done. Yanomami is a large and powerful civ; This incident is nothing but a humiliation.

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Wallachia is so gross looking…….. Turnu has been citadel from both sides, leaving a 1 tile salient through which units can move in and out. Wallachia’s expedition into hanseatic lands has failed to even scratch the walls of Bremen. It seems unlikely, however, that Hansa can muster enough forces for a counter offensive in the immediate term. Regarding the long term: If Wallachia wants to keep Turnu, they need to get out of this war and… I don’t know just keep sitting on their ass broke as hell. Its mostly worked so far?

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Escalating border provocations once again boil over, and Australia erupts once again into familiar open war.

New South Wales’ government mobilizes outback militias and constructs new siege engines, ready to march on Darlngunaya. Their way of war involves leveraging their large, dispersed population to establish local levees, and quickly mobilize large forces. Bunuba, unlike their land-advantaged enemy, maintains a professional standing army, one of the few civs on the cylinder to do so at this point in history. The force is defensively oriented, and experienced in manning the Great Wall around which defense of the large frontier is organized.

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What initially seems an irrelevant declaration of war against Mysore is in fact not. The city of Dharwad, located on what i believe to be Christmas Island, is not far from the New South Wales Island city of Ross. Personally, I think it just happened because Mysore and Bunuba have very similar colors

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The Azores are claimed by Yanomami. Since they are still at war with Portugal, I doubt that they will remain under Yanomami control, given the whipping that their navy has received from Xaragua and Portugal

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The conquest of the most populated portions of the Vyatkan realm happened quickly. In a pair of overwhelmingly short conflicts, Scythian horsemen rode down and surrounded the unprepared Vyatkan military, and extracted the submission of its fortified cities through sieges. In the eyes of the great Scythian clans in Gelonus, this was to be the end of Vyatkan resistance. Instead, the occupation of Vyatka proved to be difficult, unpopular with the clans, and very, very, very expensive. Scythian hosts are forced to spend immense energy and resources just to quell constant rebellions, both in the conquered territories and in the overtaxed and overburdened core cites

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Another French mass assault sloughs off of fortified Inverness. Robespierre orders the constitution of another assault force, but this is met with skepticism by his generals, who are beginning to recommend a shift in strategy towards defense, given the lack of successes both against Hansa and Inverness.

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Copano, an ancient settlement on the Yucatan peninsula, is not, as commonly believed, an integrated part of the Teotihuacan empire, but rather a tributary city-state, whose inhabitants are in fact more linguistically related to the Karankawa of the north coast of the gulf. Its tributary status has been relatively stable, but recently, Spearthrower Owl announced the confiscation of countryside territory traditionally held by Copano. This of course was met with outrage by the Copano elite, but there exists scant ways for them to resist the annexation. Now Copano’s territory is fully confined to its city walls, making it entirely dependent on food exports from Teotihuacan, further enfeebling the city-state.

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Heavily armoured Anishinaabe dragoons crash into the city of Ka’tuuli, melting the column of defenders in its path like warm butter. Meanwhile, contingents of crossbowmen shred the manpower of Pomo infantry outside the city, forcing a retreat. Pomo’s defense of the northeast, outgunned and outnumbered, is beginning to lose morale.

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The Chono navy pounds the shores of Caballete, bringing it down to half health. Meanwhile, Apoena’s forces close in on Wedeze. Caral has organized a response in the form of knights and bowmen, but this force arrives too late- they are already enveloped by the massive Xavante force.

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The northern border between the Anishinaabe realm and that of the Tlingit is quiet. The Tlingit state has a complicated relationship with Aniishinaabe. On the one hand, Anishinaabe’s position in the middle of the continent allows it to facilitate trade with the rest of the continent and beyond. In this way, Tlingit is dependent on Anishinaabe for access to products from the western hemisphere. On the other hand, Tlingit sees the Anishinaabe, rightfully, as a challenge to their power. Anishinaabe’s rise has been meteoric in the previous few decades, with leaps and bounds in population growth, infrastructure, and technology, and most recently the conquest of Nanza, the former capital of Ponca. Their army is by far the largest and most successful in the region, save perhaps for the Tlingit themselves. Sheyiksh’s attitude towards the Anishinaabe thus oscillates between a Thucydidean enmity towards the rising power and a prosperous partnership.

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Indeed, the Tlingit have a close eye on the Anishinaabe: here can be seen the Xaa, Tlingit’s unique musketman (whenever the Xaa defeats an enemy unit it provides Culture towards Border Expansion in the nearest Coastal City. When ending its turn on a Coastal Tile, there is a 33% chance it will gain an extra Movement point). Based on the musket squares pioneered by the Anishinaabe, the use of which has enabled great military successes, the Xaa represents Tlingit’s first gunpowder-based military unit.

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Given the lack of progress on the hanseatic front, France signs an armistice with them, instead focusing on cracking the nut that is Inverness. France’s military reputation is on the line…..

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Xavante forces continue to surround Wedeze, but have yet to strike, instead choosing to wear down the defensive units surrounding the city. Meanwhile Potiguara struggles to fend off Guaycuruan units and citadels deep into their territory.

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Here we see the Atlantic Northeast, featuring Susquehannock Newfoundland. Relations between the two Eastern North American powers are apparently chummy, given that they have an open borders agreement. Bum Onondaga still rocking triremes on turn 242.

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The beleaguered Pomo force retakes Ka’tuuli, but a much larger Anishinaabe force is on its way. Pomo is holding on, but it seems like only a matter of time before their defense collapses.

To the north looms the long shadow of Tlingit. Long the boogeyman of Pomo foreign policy anxieties, the Tlingit empire has long been reluctant to completely eliminate pomo as a state, for fear of strengthening Teotihuacan, Anishinaabe, or some other upstart West American civ. This conceptualization of Pomo as a buffer state, however, stands at odds with the territorial ambitions of the increasingly powerful Sgáanaang church, who have spearheaded efforts to annex more and more Pomo territory, including a recent treaty zone on the Californian Coast in which Tlingit merchants, diplomats, and missionaries hold extraterritorial rights. Faced with the imminent collapse of the Pomo military to an assurgent Anishinaabe, the strategic value of Pomo as a buffer state is diminishing…

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Idk what to put here so lets look at the Lanfang Great Artist, Hiranand. Hiranand was a prominent master court painter in Mughal India active during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His career spanned the critical transitional artistic periods between the reigns of the Emperor Akbar and his successor, Emperor Jahangir.

Hiranand was highly regarded for his contributions to major imperial manuscripts that documented the history and lineage of the Mughal Empire, such as the second major illustrated copy of the Akbarnama

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Portuguese conquistadors claim the island of Saint Helena, christening the settlement there as “Viseu.” Portugal, facing invasion anxieties, agricultural crisis, and urban overcrowding, has seen an exodus of the population to the sea, with diaspora participating in such historic events as the capture of Nanimapuweteri, and settling remote islands.

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Zazzau, now armed with advanced carracks and their unique Yan Lifida, brings Kerouane down to half health. The city will likely flip, but it's unclear whether Zazzau can hold on to it after that.

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Thoroughly blocked by Caral’s capture of Sampalul, Japan makes peace with Ternate, who escapes the coalition mostly unscathed.

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Or so we thought. Humabon, king of the Cebu Stratocracy, sees the weakness of Ternate, and attacks. While evenly matched in sea power, Cebu has a great land unit advantage with their trebuchets and unique amphibious pikemen, the Timawa.

Cebu is so cool I hope they win.

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The Seychelles, a militaristic, hierarchical society coming out of a long period of isolationism, has ceased its invasion of Ma’in, for the same reason everyone else does: Qarnawu is simply too well fortified. Inabba is no small prize however. With more land on the Arabian peninsula, they can cram in more units and cities. With the war over, they now begin focusing on honing their battle tactics after centuries of disuse, learning important military lessons, and gearing up for their next invasion. Their massive and advanced armies may yet sweep across an unprepared Africa and Arabia- Ma’in might have only been an appetizer.

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Not only is Scythia dealing with internal unrest and an economic slump, but the Circassian invasion, initially conceived as an easy way to placate warlike internal factions, is going badly. Initial thrusts on Tuapse and Bygurqal were easily repelled, and now Dymkovo, in the occupied territories, is contested. The internal situation in Scythia continues to deteriorate

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Caballete falls to Chono, but it looks likely to flip back at least once more. Xavante forces camped outside of Wedeze continue to wait.

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Continuing the bizarre war between Wassoulou and Zazzau, Kerouane is brought down to half health. Despite the ongoing attack, The majority of Wassoulou forces are stationed to the north, likely to defend against a possible Portuguese or Aures attack

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The Susquehannock core. It looks significantly more developed than many episodes ago, and city-less dead zones are being infilled. Hooray!

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Umhaill, facing similar migratory pressures as Portugal, as space is at a premium, settle Bermuda

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Bjarmia faces unrest by virtue of assumedly low happiness. If I lived on the Kola peninsula with medieval technology I would be unhappy too ROFL

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Jailolo flips to Cebu immediately. What a potent showing from Cebu. It's 11:30 pm and I'm dead tired from negotiating with this rental company to sign a lease to move into an apartment and they made me pay 30$ to take a picture of my cat to “verify its identity.” I'm pissed.

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After sufficiently pressuring Dymkovo, Circassia secures a white peace with Scythia. This will only serve to further aggravate discontented factions in Scythia. Despite the size of the conquered cities, Scythia has yet to annex any of them. Embarrassing!!

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The Guaycuru-Potiguara war continues inconclusively. There is bigger news on the far left of the shot, however, as Xavante has begun to damage Wedeze. If they are able to take it and hold on to it, it would be a major upset!

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Mysorean fishers and crabbers have settled scant bits of livable land on the cylinder’s bottom edge. While a lucrative business, they live in constant anxiety of discovery by New South Wales, with whom Mysore is at war. As of now, either NSW hasn’t noticed them, or is ambivalent to their activities, preferring to dedicate resources to more important theaters of the war.

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Wedeze falls down to half health as Apoena’s mass-mobilized force crushes down on the city, vastly outnumbering Caral’s technologically superior force.

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The Great Tang, with all their regional preponderance, still makes designs to cripple its many neighbors to assure they remain subordinate. After a failure to destroy Cebu power in the South and East China sea, Tang strategists have waited for an opportunity to strike when Humabon is weak. Perhaps this time has arrived, as Cebu is embroiled in a fierce and attritional war with Ternate.

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Orda cavalry pour through the mountain pass, aiming to capture high ground positions around Karwar. One by one, they are destroyed by entrenched artillery set up on vantages over the pass. Despite their force’s 20:1 superiority over the defender, geography favors the defenders. It is unlikely the city will fall.

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The morning atmosphere in Minghuang is loud and oppressive: the sound of jungle birds and monkeys, mining equipment, and the typical hustle and bustle of a large city permeates the still-hot air. Now looming over the city skyline is Luo Fangbo’s newest palace, so imposing over the surrounding buildings and so well guarded that it is dubbed “the forbidden palace.”

2/10 usefulness in a Battle Royale score on the stats sheet

+1 Culture

+2 Delegates in the World Congress

-10% Unhappiness from Population in non-occupied cities

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The remaining independent Ponca polities quietly go about their day the way they always have. Wain-Xude and Hubdon are entirely cut off from one another by the rocky mountains, making them all but tributaries and vassals of the Anishinaabe. The historical capital of Nanza and the wartime capital-turned-refugee-camp of Xada-De now make up the “Governate of Poncan territories,” and are slowly being integrated into the fabric of the Anishinaabe tax and tribute system.

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Wedeze is held now only by a straggling group of defenders, who, if given the opportunity to evacuate and retreat, probably would. Since the city is all but surrounded by the bloodthirsty armies of Apoena, however, this isn’t an option. The only choice is to go down fighting.

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Portuguese pioneers reach the South Sandwich Islands, and begin to set up camp. Further south, an unlikely group has set up a fishing and whaling station in the Antarctic: Xaragua.

If only Xaragua had put this kind of settling energy into the early game!

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The Australian war continues, as a flotilla of New South Welsh ships surround Yuwa, managing to nick its defenses. To the north, a Bunuban relief force musters, preparing to challenge the blockade. Near Darlngunaya, the New South Welsh force has not managed to seriously damage the city, and judging by the razed tiles on their side of the border, Bunuba has snuck in some counterattacks.

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Fresh off their victory against Ma’in, The Seychellois pivot to their next target in their invasion of Arabia: Sumer. While their forces are indeed larger and more advanced, Seychelle’s main productive centres are far away from the front, while Sumer has a home-field advantage. This war may stall initially for the Seychelles, but as the war goes on the production and tech gap will begin to show.

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Jailolo (so fun to say) falls back to Ternate, but it is apparent that Ternate is running out of steam. Cebu continues to prosecute its offensive, taking strategic positions on Sulawesi and Mindanao.

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The Bunuban generals in charge of the pacific islands decide that While Chono is on the back foot in the Pacific, They should attempt to expand their insular holdings. This may not be a very good decision. Chono’s garrisons on the islands sport frigates, while Bunuba’s military presence here is small at best.

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Wedeze falls to Xavante, whose units immediately split between consolidating their position there, and launching a new attack on Huaricanga, one of Caral’s largest cities. While chances that Xavante could hold onto Huaricanga are slim, the threat of a flip could be enough to convince Caral to accept the loss of Wedeze.

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Kerouane falls! It will probably flip back, but the flipping will significantly weaken Wassoulou’s already-miniscule productive capacity.

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Facing similar problems as Qara Khitai, Pakistan’s armies continue to file in through a 1 tile pass to assault Sarepta. Sarepta is very difficult to take from this direction, so it may remain Phoenician until either Circassia attacks them again or the advent of indirect fires.

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After the umpteenth failed attack on Inverness, Robespierre throws in the towel. Having made peace with both of his rivals, it seems unlikely, barring a coalition, that France will break out of its squeezebox. Especially since Scotland’s science is so much higher- France’s chances are slipping away by the day.

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Nanimapuweteri has been reduced to 5 population from its previous 30. While a few Xaraguan frigates still remain around the island, the worst of the assault appears to be over.

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God the wars between Estonia and Bjarmia are so asinine. They both suck complete ass, and are in a classic crab bucket situation, where they are both stuck in the bucket, but keep pulling each other down, making it so that their bucket-bound status self-perpetuates. Estonia has crap production. Bjarmia has Crap science. If one ate the other, they would be by all metrics in a great spot. Too bad that they can't stop pulling each other down.

76

Kerouane flips again, as Zazzau units pile into Wassolou territory through the Aures. If this war goes on long enough, could Wassolou be eliminated? If so, Zazzau would attain some very ugly borders.

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Beautiful Bangladesh. Aretas III, IRL the king of the Nabateans and the “friend of the Greeks,” spawned as a great merchant. Bangladesh also settled Faridpur near Dhaka.

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Teotihuacan, smelling blood in the water, declared war on Pomo. Their targets are E’lem and Ta’tem. The terrain is very difficult, but this might be made easier by another event notification: The Tlingit have decided that the era of Pomo’s usefulness as a buffer are over, and have so lost confidence in Pomo’s ability to defend itself, that a wholesale partition of the civilization between the 3 North American players now is on the table. Get your popcorn.

79

Dihya plots her next conquest, this time aiming east, towards the Hyksos. The Aures military is not well concentrated in this direction, and while frigates are a big advantage over galleasses, numbers matter, and The Aures don’t have them right now

80

Ka’tuuli is secured by the Anishinaabe, and the assault on Maka’hmo begins. To the Southeast, the city of White Earth is founded, further pushing Anishinaabe’s frontier west. In the Pacific North West, skirmishes are already beginning between Tlingit Xaas and Pomo Longswordsmen. Pomo’s core seems hollowed out, and further losses seem likely.

81

A view of Ethiopia’s core, much more built up than previously, though still sparse in terms of cities. Despite their war with Zazzau being something of a Pyrrhic victory, Zazzau citadels have encroached on their former city of Fatika. Ethiopia could probably make gains in any direction save for the Seychelles, but any two fronts would put the civ in grave danger. Ethiopia must play the next few episodes well if they want to crawl back into relevance.

82

More Bjarmslop. YAWN. Gee I wonder if anything will happen in this war? Vinuskogr has taken damage, but the limited approaches to the city will make a capture difficult. After all, it's Estonia we are talking about. Even if they take the city they'll just give it back at the end of the war.

83

Caral retakes Danggu, much to the chagrin of Bunuba, who probably want the city back. Caral has a meaningfully strong fleet here, and it's possible they could sweep through Chono polynesia. Though this area is so fluid it's difficult to ever know what’s going on.

84

Low level conflict continues on the two-tile border between Ponca and Susquehannock, but its largely irrelevant. Also visible in this slide is what I believe to be our first glimpse of the Susquehannock Unique Musketman, the Iae’aetsin, which has 1 more movement than a regular musketman and can pillage tiles for no movement cost.

85

Accused of collaborating and enabling the Chono invasion, as Caral regains its footing in the war, it issues a as-of-now symbolic declaration of war on Rapa nui. The island, ever reclusive, did not in fact participate in the naval campaign against Caral, given their expressed lack of a navy. But if Chono peaces out, it could be lights out for the most impotent and glue-eating civilization in CBRX5

86

Here we see the line that is Luba, stretching from the gulf of Guinea to Zanzibar. Their army is big and scary looking, and could in fact deal some serious damage to their neighbors if they decided to.

87

The invasion of Sumer begins, and the Seychelles unveils a weapon not yet seen on the cylinder: the cannon. Raining projectiles at a distance and fire rate greater than any trebuchet, the cannon shreds through the composite bows and pikemen of the Sumerians. In the age of gunpowder, the world belongs to those who can keep up with military technology.

88

The Tlingit declaration of war against Pomo was perceived as a betrayal of the terms of the previous peace treaty, and Pomo reserve militias were called up to reestablish control over the Po’tol treaty zone. Tlingit ships in a corps of Xaa, but in the face of Pomo numbers, can it hold out?

89

Huaricanga takes damage from the advancing Xavante force. If indeed Apoena takes the city, the Xavante could transform themselves from a moribund polity into a legitimate player in the center of the continent. The bulk of Caral forces are focused on retaking Caballete, where the Chono attack appears to have stalled.

90

Having all but secured Jailolo, Cebu Timawa land on the Island of Ternate itself. Could Cebu take the capital? If they do, they would once again be officially the frontrunner of the CBRX5 in number of capitals. Please please please please please….

91

Okay if I’m being honest I did not know Susquehannock and Karankawa were still at war. Well they aren't anymore, and Karankawa gives all 1 tiles of Copano to the victor. Lets try lore.

In response to repeated Teotihuacan encroachments on the city-state’s traditional rights, the elite of Copano sought a foreign security guarantor. The only obvious option was the rising Susquehannock empire, whose influence in the Gulf of Mexico has steadily grown as metropolitan Karankawan territory has contracted. While not a perfect partnership. Copano is now capable of balancing the interests of the two powers on either side against one another, allowing for an amount of diplomatic leverage, so long as they don’t push too hard…

92

Jailolo flips one more time, but the main pressure has shifted to the capital. Get ‘em Cebu!!!

93

Oop! I already somewhat talked about this earlier so here's the lore section that was supposed to be the second paragraph over there.

The Iae’aetsin is the Susquehannocks version of the Anishinaabe Ogichida, using larger muskets that produce greater firepower than the small, mass-producible ones of the Anishinaabe. Due to the heavier weaponry however, Susquehannock musketeers travel very light, and live off the land to a greater extent.

94

Tlingit masses muskets and Cuirassiers on the Pomo border. The city of Bati’Kletcawi, located on the rogue river is captured, though it is likely to keep flipping. Flipfests favor the civ with greater production, which is definitely Tlingit.

95

Perhaps taking my advice, Ethiopia attacks Hyksos. Both forces are sparse at present, but if the war goes long, Ethiopia has a definite advantage. Conversely, the longer the war continues, the greater possibility that Ethiopia is drawn into a two-front war.

96

After countless hopeless mountain offensives, Qara Khitai gives up once again on Karwar. It’s okay buddy, maybe when artillery comes around?

97

Dagon is losing territory on all sides to citadels. Even from Yunnan. Any bets on who gets eliminated next?

98

Right next to the Tang Capital, which is by the way very small, is Isaac Newton. You might know him as the Apple Guy. But actually, Isaac Newton didn’t even know what an IPhone was, let alone work on them.

Less importantly, Tang has completed the Porcelain Tower, the only 10/10 wonder before the Future era. The tower grants:

Free Great Scientist

+50% Science from Research AgreementsI personally do not know how research agreements work in Civ 5, but I imagine the utility of this wonder in a battle royale setting stems from the fact that there is an extraordinary amount of diplomatic dyads that Tang can leverage for research agreements, making the mechanic generally more powerful than games with only 6-12 civilizations.

99

The Guaycuru-Potiguara war continues, with Potiguaran forces pressing down on Catu and Jacu being under threat by the surprisingly large Guaycuruan navy. It’s too bad that all of Potiguara’s cities are in sheltered harbors, with only 1 tile of attack surface, meaning that Guaycuru will have difficulty in taking them with Naval power alone.

100

Po’tol is reclaimed by the numerically superior Pomo force, while Bati’kletcawi remains contested. Pomo has very few melee units, meaning that any flips will be difficult to flip back.

Meanwhile, Teotihuacan crossbowmen enter into Pomo lands from the south, but have yet to approach any city.

101

Like I predicted earlier, Xavante makes peace with Caral, successfully regaining Wedeze, along with a whole lot of land! Huge win for Xavante bros, if indeed you are out there. Caral seems to have regained its footing in Caballete, and the frontline now seems static.

102

Ignoring irrelevant war declarations against poor, poor, Phoenicia, here is a fantastic shot of the Tang-Rouran border. Since Tang completed the Porcelain Tower, their science lead over Rouran is likely only to increase over time. With all those knights, Rouran is incentivised to strike now while the iron is hot, and not wait until Tang has an unassailable advantage.

103

A very interesting aspect of this shot is that apparently Anishinaabe gave open borders to Tlingit. A detente between the two dominant powers may have been reached, and after the dismantling of the Pomo empire, North America may in fact settle into a stable balance of power.

104

France, having failed to achieve anything of note in their war against Scotland and Hansa, sit idle. Their science is poor, their neighbors are strong, and their prospects are weak. Have we already witnessed the apex of French power?

105

The Mysore salient in northern India tightens as Pakistan citadels Mangalore. Despite Mysore’s fantastic stats, it would take a miracle or a coalition war for them to exit their geographic prison. Their potential is directly inversely correlated to that of Bangladesh and Pakistan, both of which seem unlikely to spontaneously combust any time soon.

106

Kerouane is now firmly under Zazzau control, and Yan Lifidas keep pouring through Aures’ borders to attack. Bissandugu’s defenses have degraded severely since the last time we saw it, and only time will tell if it will be the next capital to fall

107

Seychelles pushes into Sumerian territory, where musketmen shred through the composite bowmen that stand in their way.

To the south, Seychelles has elected to join the Phoenicia hate train, and declared war. If Ma’in did not exist, this war would be a lot more interesting. Sadly, they still live, and thus, there exists only a 1 tile wide corridor through which Phoenicia can throw away its caravels. Free XP for Seychelles I guess?

108

Further progress is made by Tlingit against the cities of Kaci’Badon and Catca’mkau. Pomo is holding on for now, but how long can they keep this up? Further north Anishinaabe continues to attack Maka’hmo, but no damage has yet been done.

109

In a terribly twisted and sad turn of fate, Caral directs its Frigates to attack Rapa Nui instead of defending Caballete. Anakena is already at half health, though no melee units are nearby. Its always easier to punch down I suppose.

110

Vinuskogr drops into the deep red, meaning that its capture is possible! But I have my doubts. The Phoenician land Bireme continues to chill unabated. Bi visibility :)

111

Ternate’s capital takes damage! With a trebuchet set up on Mindanao, Cebu has a chance to take the city if they can keep the pressure up. Go Cebu! Simultaneously, Foramadiahi, a brand new Ternate city, is taken into the deep red.

112

Ethiopia pushes masses of armoured cavalry into Hyksos territory. Given Hyksos’s abysmal production, these losses are not easily replaced. This war could go slow, then all at once.

113

Despite still being at war, New South Wales and Bunuba have deescalated their conflict. Active fighting only continues around Jijidu and Yuwa. This is Lameeeeeeee. I think that Bunuba getting the Great Wall is going to singlehandedly ruin NSW’s game in the long run. They need to expand towards a continent, but Great Wall combined with open terrain and the ability to stay technologically relevant means that New South Wales just needs to wait until dynamite (at which point the great wall movement reduction effect stops working) to kill Bunuba. Sad :(

114

Anishinaabe continue to make some progress towards Maka’hmo, but still haven’t damaged the city. Tlingit is in a similar boat, but in every one of these shots, Pomo has fewer and fewer units…

115

Another boring useless shot of this boring useless war. Potiguara is crap. Guaycuru has decent Poblometrics but had too terrible of an early game. Bit of a Estonia-Bjarmians vibe going on here.

116

And for our final shot of this week, we have a IGE screencap showing that Bangladesh has constructed Wat Phra Kaew. It’s a pretty good one. A 7/10 on the wonder rankings, Wat Phra Kaew gives:

+3 Science

+1 Great Scientist Point

+1 Science from religious buildings in all cities

+20% science in this city.Thank you all so much for reading/listening, and thank you to the showrunners, power rankers, and community for being great and bringing joy and entertainment to our lives. This episode was a very eventful one and a fun one to write and I hope you all tune in next week!This is QuantumBotany, now a 4 time narrator, saying goodnight.

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