DOOM

[parone]

yeah.  elephants would have been a good idea.  but i have had some past disasterous(though admittedly amusing experiences) with them

[Haerdalas]

Yeah, Tien Chi is about as squishy as I dare go for my Nations. It is notable that in my SP games so far I have been EA Ermor, MA Ulm (when trying to decide for this game) EA and MA Tien Chi and Formoria. I dont like being vulnerable to arrows. I like my tower shields and 10+ protection basic units.

Hey, its not like they do much good later, but against indies they allow a good bit of momentum. Sometimes.

[Wingedflamez]

I think that it is arcoscephale that gets elephants. Bandar is just demon monkeys who throw sticks and poo. And die all over the place.

[parone]

both arco and bandar get pachyderms

[Phobos]

I would hesitate to use elephants for early expansion.  A group of 5 will set you back 600 gold, not to mention upkeep of ~40 gold per turn.  Getting a fast return on that outlay would be challenging, more so if you plan on fielding multiple squads. 

Once you are fighting a war, it becomes a little different.  My mindset becomes less about getting a return on gold spent and more about making my opponent spend more than me.  Elephants can be a great tool for forcing someone to waste a lot of gold or turns to implement counters, which can help build momentum during a campaign.

I don't really have any experience using elephants, so someone may know some cost-effective means to deploy them.

[Wingedflamez]

True they are expensive with small gain back immediately. But against pretty much any Indys short of cavalry are going to get crushed. A group of 3-5 elephants in the center with some type of infantry flanking them.  The elephants charge theiddle the flankers keep everything contained after 2-3 rounds of the infantry being trampled they rout. Wash rinse repeat with every Indy in the area. 4 elephants and about 20 infantry and 1 commander.  Only real problem is if the elephants take enough damage to rout.  But that is also what the Flankers are for is provide distraction

The elephants can easily take multiple provinces with no problems. So in the short term they are expensive but long term they are really good. At least that is my experience.

[Haerdalas]

Yeah, the impression I have received from reading on forums and such is that Elephants are really good at clearing indies, just don't use them against any opponent with a soul, as they are easy to counter.

[parone]

ten turns, no stales, not even a delay request.

good work all! ;D

[Haerdalas]

Is that particularly unusual?

[undercovergeek]

Lol - on here?

[parone]

haerdalas:  stales can really mess up games.  to quote mr mackey "stales are bad, mmm, ok?"

i don't know if it's unusual, but im happy everyone is making an effort to get their turns in!  it's a sign of a healthy game.

[Haerdalas]

Oh, I knew they were bad, just wasn't sure how common they are. Still, I am glad that people seem to be completing turns early. I like a couple of turns a day when each turn only takes about 10 minutes to complete.

[W8taminute]

ten turns, no stales, not even a delay request.

good work all! ;D

Yes very good.  I really like how things are shaping up in this game.

[Wingedflamez]

Had my first truly bad event so far this game.  Stupid Barbarians.

[Faux]

Had my first truly bad event so far this game.  Stupid Barbarians.

I got troglodytes.  >:(