NOTE: this is only for high level Ottoman HCs. Atleast level 30 (for the alternate power play).

Required cards:
3 Villagers
700 gold
700 food
5 Spahi
1000 gold
20 sheep
Fort
6 Spahi
Factory
Factory

Recommended additional cards:
5 Janissaries
700 wood
1000 wood
2 Falconets
2 Great Bombards
9 Corsairs
5 Mamelukes
Mercenary Armies

~~~

Basic idea:
Instead of trying to turtle to Industrial, you secure your position by ruining, slowing down, disrupting and putting your opponent off balance.

~~~

Step by step:

Put down a tradepost ASAP with your explorer.

Do the fastest age up to colonial possible with the 200 gold + Outpost. If you need explaining how to do this, stop reading now, go read the "general hints" thread.

Put up that Outpost in a forward base, not so close to enemy base that it's easily spotted, but do try to make it reasonably close, and try to cover a mine and some hunts with it.
After clicking age up to Fortress, use this Outpost as the shipment dropoff point.

Age up to Fortress ASAP, eat sheep, get treasures, whatever it takes (should arrive there by 6:30), age with the 4 Hussar Politician.
If your HC is not high enough for that politician, the alternate power play is to age up with Exiled Prince. Your attack will come 60 seconds sooner, but will be weaker. If you are using the alternate power play, ignore the references to Hussars below.

SCOUT with your explorer for enemy villagers that are not right nearby the TC or their own Outpost. Don't be careful with the explorer, let him take damage if necessary, but find those villager locations.

Make sure you have a shipment and 1000 food the SECOND you arrive in Fortress. Send 5 Spahi asap (if you can't get 1000 food in 1.5 minutes, this strat is not for you). Put nearly ALL villagers on food it you have to (don't get housed, though).

By 7:10-7:20 you'll have 4 Hussars and 5 Spahi very close to the enemy base. Your explorer is stil nearby, right? If your enemy has advanced to fortress, put the Spahi and Hussars in the same group, you'll need to kill his age up troops (8 Pikes, 3 Dopplesoldners, 6 Skirmishers, 6 Cassadors, etc). If it's anti-cavalry counters, use both Hussars and Spahi for maximum punch. If it's light infantry or Cavalry, send in Spahi alone after these while sending the Hussars after villagers furthest away from the TC.

If enemy has NOT yet hit Fortress by the time you have your cavalry in his base, go directly after villagers. Split Spahi and Hussars into two groups, 4 Spahi in one group, 4 Hussars and 1 Spahi in another group (the one Spahi will do area damage and slow down multiple villagers at once, which the Hussars don't do as well by themselves). MICRO your cavalry, don't let it run around stupidly getting in the way of themselves.
When villagers start to get close to the TC, fall back, just take the fastest and most direct path away from the TC. You don't want to lose any cavalry if you can help it.

Meanwhile at home, you should be sending:
1000 gold
Fort
20 sheep (build a single pen)
1000 wood
In that order. Most of your villagers need to be on FOOD. You need 2000 food and 200 gold. Do not take villagers off food while aging up to industrial. You will need 1200 food once you reach it.

After you hit age up to Industrial and you have reached 1200 food, switch to 1/2 on wood (houses) and 1/2 gold, as you may need Mercantilism (and later Mercs).

Have the 2 Falconet card in your deck. If your opponent wants to rush, or if your raids had too many casualties, you'll need these 2 Falconets right after the Fort.

After your cavalry has fallen back for ~30-45 seconds, come back in with the explorer, find out where the villagers are now. Raid again. Repeat the entire procedure based on what troops the enemy has (he has to be in Fortress by now, or he royally sucks). Fall back just as villagers are about to Garrison.
Oh, don't fear Outposts. 4 Hussars and 5 Spahi take one down surprisingly fast and don't lose all that much HP. When the outpost is about to go down, most people panick and have their villagers leave it in hopes of reaching the TC. They're dead then (Spahi area damage). And they're dead if they don't leave. Your opponent will be forced to get troops out, probably Cavalry counters, which is exactly what you want.

Meanwhile at home, age up to Industrial with 3 Spahi.

Raid again during age up to Industrial. CONVINCE your opponent he should be getting anti cavalry, if he isn't by now.

Once you hit Industrial, your first shipment is 6 Spahi. Take your 14 Spahi (best case scenario, if all Fortress Spahi survived) and whatever surviving Hussars, raid again. If your opponent hasn't clued in he should be building anti-cav, he will be now.

You'll have hit the 25 villager limit by now. Build that church, research the cap increase and atleast the 300 food train speed upgrade.

Your next two shipments in industrial (don't care how you get 'em, Mercantilism, spaming houses, adding more trade posts, whatever you do, get them ASAP) are the two Factories. Research Mass Production ASAP. Set both Factories to produce Great Bombards.

If you haven't been already doing so, put villagers on wood and start making houses. You'll need alot of them ...

NOTE: if your raids weren't going well, and your opponent has some strength, he will consider you weak after age up to Industrial and hit you with everything he's got. In this case, ship 2 Great Bombards before you ship the factories in. Factories are useless if there's not enough troops to defend them. Otherwise ...

Anti Cavalry, meet Great Bombards.

Put down a Barracks, make 15-20 Janissaries (remember the sheep? You did build a pen right? Time to collect the food, even if it's not fully fattened yet, go for it).

If he's not braindead, he'll try to make suicide runs at your Great Bombards with melee cavalry (in 1.06 it can be ranged as well, just set to melee mode). If he makes Culverins, thank him. He is wasting resources producing them, while your Bombards are Factory produced, constantly replaced.

Keep raiding, you want to keep him out of Industrial, or arrive there with an even more horrible economy than you've already left him.

If your opponent masses culverins or cavalry, that's when the Janissaries come in. Upgrade them to atleast Veteran, Guard if you have the resources. Also keep in mind that you can just waltz in and shoot Culverins to pieces with Janissaries, they don't even make a dent in these 300+ HP monsters. If your opponent managed to produce or ship in light infantry troops or Mercs, remember those 14 Spahi ...?

Now I really shouldn't have to say how to finish this game.

Remember that much of this strategy rests on what you do with those 5 Spahi and 4 Hussars in the 7:00-7:30 time frame. Or using the alternate power play, what you do with 5 Spahi in the 6:00-6:30 timeframe. How well you use them, how much you disrupt with them, will determine how safe your age up to Industrial is, and how difficult it will be for your opponent to catch up.

Keep him from expanding. Keep him scared. Keep him making the wrong type of troops. Control the game, don't react to it.

[This message has been edited by Ender_Ward (edited 04-13-2006 @ 11:40 PM).]