I will Parrot the line about the M7.  from the start it seemed like a fun and different way to cut down the field on this very large map.
My opening moves and chatter were of course based on that and when the pressure on the wizards from the pirates failed to appear, I was badly out of position and over extended.
I had the option of flipping sides and growing at the expense of M7 ally Leprechauns, but decided to try and make it work anyway. And we all know how that turned out 

Good game everyone!
I will of course be willing to play again!




From: Balthazar Logan <baz.dip(at)gmail.com>
To: Warren Fleming <alwayshunted(at)hotmail.com>
Cc: Nathan Deily <ndeily(at)yahoo.com>; mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.com; welsh_stroud(at)msn.com; Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>; githraine(at)yahoo.com; dan.i.sinensky(at)gmail.com; jdtsoft(at)jdtsoft.com; justin(at)darkenedpath.com; markjsmith60(at)gmail.com; hall.jeff(at)gmail.com; kelly058(at)verizon.net; wealllovekatamari(at)yahoo.com; Mike Hoffman <mrh(at)panix.com>; maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; spinozas(at)gmx.net; tomjnkns.il(at)gmail.com; michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com; dc354(at)diplomaticcorp.com; pjh5000(at)hotmail.com
Sent: Wed, May 18, 2011 8:51:03 PM
Subject: Re: dc354 game end - draw!



Helle everyone,




Regarding the starting positions: Like Mike said, in a fog of war game, the Nomad's initial spread and special power worked to their advantage with a wider view of the map, especially if they could hide the fact that they only had one unit in any given area.  In a regular game, they're made too easy of a target.  With the Magicians, their problem is a localized version of the Nomads issue.  With none of their home centers bordering each other, it's difficult to keep a line of defense once their position gets jeopardized.  Perhaps something as simple as making Sable's Swamp a home center and Tarsis a neutral territory could fix it.






The only other starting position issue I could see is the advantage of the Ogres/Samurai in the south and the Knights/Centaurs in the north.  No other power on the board can have an unassailable rear.  Perhaps something to make the map wrap north-south could resolve this.  Maybe splitting Devil's Canyon into an East and West, and then connecting them to Icereach and Crystal Lake?  Just a though, I'm not really sure how it would play.





As far as this game, my initial strategy was going to be to move aggressively against the Elves and Hobbits, eliminate those powers closest to me, and expand from there.  After seeing the potential strength of the Ogres/Samurai in previous games, I tried to organize the Elves, Hobbits, and Leps against them and that also fell through.  Perhaps it was my status as a newcomer to the site that people didn't trust.





Thankfully, Charles reached out to me from the beginning, and I resolved myself to working with him, at least in the early years.  The hardest decision for me was whether or not to stab the Hobbits immediately in spring of 02.  I was seriously tempted, but I didn't have many other alliance prospects.  Once the Pirates were brought in and the Elves were willing to replace my units in the south, I was able to capitalize on the chaos in the middle of the map.  The Nomads and Archers were eradicated fairly quickly, the Pirates didn't bring any fleets in my direction, the Dwarves got hemmed in, and the Faeries were late to the party, allowing me to secure Myth Drannor and Great Glacier.  I think I was able to expand without pissing anyone off (at least, until they weren't in any position to do anything about it), which allowed me to continue working with the Dwarves and Faeries until the very end.





I think the last thing that worked in our favor was that people were clearly concerned about the veterans alliance.  All you had to do was look at their profiles and see what kind of quality players the Rogues, Trolls, and Ogres were.  Anyone joining their alliance was more than likely going to end up as the odd man out by the endgame, whereas our group was more of an unknown quality, perhaps allowing the Elves, Dwarves, and Faeries to think they'd fare better factoring into the draw on our side.





Of course, Garry was the straw that broke the camel's back.  I had hoped we could turn him for a few seasons before he finally jumped ship, but it made sense once he got hemmed in up north.  It would have been a good fight if Garry had stayed with the Rogues, Trolls, and Gnomes and we had to fight it out to the bloody end.





Overall, great game.  This map was the reason I joined DC to begin with, and I had a hell of a time trying to stay afloat.  I look forward to playing with each and every one of you again, especially the next time the Haven map gets played.





-Baz


On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 5:36 PM, Warren Fleming <alwayshunted(at)hotmail.com> wrote:





 I agree with Nathan about the nomads... but consider the poor Magicians, who fell rapidly again. A few things about that spot make them targets imho.



Warren



Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 14:15:49 -0700
From: ndeily(at)yahoo.com
Subject: Re: dc354 game end - draw!
To: mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.com; alwayshunted(at)hotmail.com; baz.dip(at)gmail.com; welsh_stroud(at)msn.com; kielmarch(at)hotmail.com; githraine(at)yahoo.com; dan.i.sinensky(at)gmail.com; jdtsoft(at)jdtsoft.com; justin(at)darkenedpath.com; markjsmith60(at)gmail.com; hall.jeff(at)gmail.com; kelly058(at)verizon.net; wealllovekatamari(at)yahoo.com; mrh(at)panix.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; Spinozas(at)gmx.net; tomjnkns.IL(at)gmail.com; michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com; dc354(at)diplomaticcorp.com; pjh5000(at)hotmail.com







Interestingly the phrase: "There is no honor among thieves" (or Rogues) was disproven and the idea that Knights abide by a code of honor and chivalry was utterly discredited...



 


In all seriousness - I think the model is balancing well but the Nomads seem to me to be at a huge disadvantage relative to any other power...


 


All in all the variant continues to trend positive and I enjoyed my experience (even the utter reaming I took).  


 


Nathan










From: Michael Sims <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.com>
To: alwayshunted(at)hotmail.com; baz.dip(at)gmail.com; welsh_stroud(at)msn.com; Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>; Jason Koelewyn <githraine(at)yahoo.com>; dan.i.sinensky(at)gmail.com; jdtsoft(at)jdtsoft.com; justin(at)darkenedpath.com; markjsmith60(at)gmail.com; hall.jeff(at)gmail.com; kelly058(at)verizon.net; wealllovekatamari(at)yahoo.com; ndeily(at)yahoo.com; mrh(at)panix.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; Spinozas(at)gmx.net; tomjnkns.IL(at)gmail.com; michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com; dc354 <dc354(at)diplomaticcorp.com>;
pjh5000(at)hotmail.com; justin(at)darkenedpath.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 2:08 PM

Subject: dc354 game end - draw!








Surrender or die!


 


You can make demands like that when 4 powers control 2/3 of the centers on the board.  63 to 39 is pretty overwhelming.  The real question that lingers is what might have happened if the game played on for a bit.  Can one do better in the game?  I dunno - nobody has ever managed to solo this variant, and it's already a pretty small draw.  So congrats to our top 4!  Max, Garry, Charles, and Baz.  The other 8 do squeak out survivals, some only half a year away from elimination.



 


So now that everyone has all agreed to world peace, what do you take away from the game?  Has it made you a better person?  Has it altered your love for Ogres and Trolls?  Perhaps your belief in Leprechauns and Hobbits?  And why oh why do such seemingly happy peaceful creatures fight like that?  Why is it that Wizards consistently outperform Magicians, even tho both have access to the same books of spells?  What about those Nomads and Dwarves that start scattered - they didn't so so well this round.  All this, and more, I'm sure, to follow in many EGS's. 



 


I would like to make a few map tweaks and then run another game in a little bit.  So any ideas you have be sure to bring up!


 


Also we're in need of the next Standard GM... so if you want to run a game let me know!


Enjoy,


-mike