The Avalanche of a Thousand Cuts

[Asophix 45]

Hi All!

The icy blades of two veteran soldiers has been tested, in the frozen wastelands. @ Lord_Chris  and @ Asophix  have battled it out in the map Fjords, a balanced four-player map, where each estate is interconnected with narrow bridges. It is rather tricky to create a defensive encampment, as seen in the coming paragraphs.

As an added difficulty and newfound experience, the game was played on the lowest rank, with no resources and consequently a very limited initial tech. Some food stocks were added to allow some breathing room, and random events haven't bothered the participants to allow for more of a fair fight.

Setting Out

It's only a folly to think that the inability to build a barracks and having no starting troops warrants a peaceful early-game.

Right in the first minute, both players took arms and coincidentally headed towards the top-left estate to gain some ground, with their Lord. As Lord Chris arrived with his first and started claiming the village, while also exclaiming, Asophix decided it is best to summon Shield Maidens to delay the estate's capture, as well as in an attempt to unhorse the enemy Lord, making for an easier capture of the other neutral village.

The red Major was however vigilant and cleverly disengaged, while also summoning his own Maidens. After both sides' Maidens were exhausted, Asophix's Lord could not reach the second estate in time to complete the capture and in fear of retaliation, he pulled back to his home estate to avert damage at home. Lord Chris did use the opportunity to seize the other estate.

Building Up

The next 5 to 10 minutes passed in relative peace.

As both sides built up their initial economy and worked through the first few ranks, Asophix was rather reluctant to sit on his bottom and after building a bunch of Seal Holes and four Wood Camps with a modest stone and iron production, he used whatever gold he could to buy up royal foods for providing honour and recruit 10 starting archers and men-at-arms. The green archers reclaimed the second village estate from Lord Chris, while iron and meat production was greatly extended.

Lord Chris at the same time opted for a more balanced approach, covering all possible economic branches consistently. For the Pantry, all three food production buildings were established, however raw material production lagged a little bit behind. What he correctly identified however, was the importance of honor and therefore kept his honor income consistent. He also used his own Lord to cut down the small band of archers and retook both estates again.

Probing Attacks

Having enough of the constricting situation, Asophix decided to scan the enemy home estate for vulnerabilities and take the initiative. Not minding the status quo, he invested a whopping 110 honor to erect an Ice Tower and recruit a single White Witch. The Witch was sent directly across the map, above the enemy royal food production to at least partially disrupt it. While this prompted a brief response from ~ 10 red Archers and the threat was dealt with rather quickly, Asophix used the opportunity to build the production for Crossbowmen and candles in preparation for the Church.

The next round of skirmish came a little later, as Asophix created a band of 17 White Wolves and sent them to contest the firstly occupied estate, which was under the guard of a light red Archer group. The Wolves quickly disposed of the garrison, however reinforcements were not much far behind. Lord Chris sent a band of men-at-arms recruited from the initial supply, and this group arrived fast to the scene. Even though they were quickly decimated, the Wolves' ranks were thinned out considerably enough that a relief force of ~15 Crossbowmen pushed the invading canines out of the red territory for good.

A follow-up harassment force of 3 White Witches was the nail in the coffin for Asophix's direct threats. As Lord Chris had a nicely running economy that could easily fund cheap units to repel intruders, he started building engine towers overlooking the outer perimeter, with Dragon Harpoons added on each one. The red estates were in relative safety from this point on.

Counterattack in the East

Using his superior funds, the Red player opted for a two-pronged attack. Using White Witches to secure the bridges and a Siege Camp in his other estate, Lord Chris constructed a few Catapults to lightly pummel the walls where the green defenders were rallying. In lieu of immediate response capabilities, Asophix had to spend yet another 200 honor on white wolves to run interception and maul the devilish engines to scrap before they could do much damage.

Struggling with the lack of a proper frontline, Asophix doubled down on weapon production and added Pikeman equipment production, reaching 120 population. Since this took a lot of time to take effect, the Red adversary used his time to funnel additional forces into both of his villages. As Swordsmen and Pikemen rushed forth to the icy village halls, the total map domination of Lord Chris grew impossible to challenge head-on.

Yet another group of red catapults appeared and started working on the Green player's outer defenses. As Asophix was desperate to build a Lookout Tower to provide bulk and height for his crossbowmen, the White Wolves also lead a second counterattack. This defensive measure proved costly however, as Crossbowmen loyal to Lord Chris had now a safe firing position from the village hall. Out of 25-30 White Wolves only 5 retreated home safely, telling tales of their defeat, provided they could speak a human language.

Using Asophix's own method, Lord Chris scanned his area for vulnerabilities and decided to send a group of 10-15 White Witches around the defenses. There was one area not properly covered with Dragon Harpoons, so the witches were able to successfully pass through unscathed and unleashed their enchanted arrows on ant-like civilians. A second wave of Witches arrived and caused temporary loss of production in the enemy ranks until the hole was sealed and a Dragon Harpoon cleared home skies.

 

Trouble Brewing

Lord Chris had his siege camp still up in the second estate, which eventually weighed in the decision of building out a semi-impenetrable foothold there. As the Red ruler continued developing his economy and constantly strengthened his garrison, Asophix smelled blood. In a daring and ultimately costly strategic decision, he called the Ice Queen forth and sent her on a long march along a remote path to the foothold estate. She passed through undetected and the cold-hearted woman unleashed her icy wrath just on the edge of her ability range. Even though she came under fire, lots of red troops froze to death in their encampment.

 

After the skirmish, Asophix decided it's time to go full evasive mode. Using his gold coffers and his last reserves of honor, he was desperate to find an angle. Replenishing his lost White Wolves and recruiting another 25 White Witches, the icy commando was running and flying around the perimeter, but there was no infiltration point: Lord Chris has built a well-maintained defense network of Dragon Harpoons and Crossbowmen. A band of 40 green Archers was unsuccessful the same way, but they could be repurposed as defense, as the red containment grew stronger.

Eventually, the Red Siege Camp spawned catapults again, this time supported by durable wooden Cats. As troops being repositioned around the Lookout Tower were moving about, the catapults netted juicy shots, thinning out the defensive garrison considerably. A quick response of Asophix's White Wolves was successful dismantling the siege engines and the siege camp, but they all died in the process.

All Hell Breaking Loose

In the next 10 minutes, both sides built up their forces wherever needed. Although the focal point remained in the second estate, the other side got some reinforcements too, which Asophix tried to deter by arming to the teeth with crossbowmen. He also got his core army of 65-70 Pikemen, which he immediately deployed to the frontline. As the pikemen were congregating, Lord Chris also grabbed his colorful garrison and decided to create a combined-arms type of composition with multiple fire ballistae and additional cats.

Asophix also deployed a handful of fire ballistae of his own and started taking potshots at the enemy ranks. This prompted Lord Chris to pull his forces together, while a small band of Frost Giants and Polar Bears marched steadily in their might. What he did not expect was the presence of the Ice Queen, whose icy attack temporarily stalled the towering colossi, then the rest of both main forces arrived. Snow fell from the Ice Queen's hands, White Witches rained down bright arrows, and careful maneuvering resulted in a second clash, this time with support from Lord Chris's pikemen.

With the battle in full rage, Asophix's full attention was caught up in it. He reveled in control and concentrated on dispatching additional reinforcements from the nearby barracks. What he overlooked however was his other defensive front. Lord Chris sent in ten mighty Frost Giants, who easily walked through the thin walls and the endless rain of crossbow bolts, finding their way in the heart of the enemy stronghold. After two minutes of pure destruction, Asophix realized the error in his ways. Overlooking the loss of his town, he committed suicide rather unceremoniously to escape suffering.

Congratulations to @ Lord_Chris  for his victory!