ts

What a day.... we battle it out here and there and just about everywhere.... there are losses but nothing we can't afford to lose and we gain so much. Mana, gold and a few other things. It was a glorious start.

Bah, got sloppy and lost a good unit unnecessarily.

Day 2 - battles went as planned, we're wounded and in need of healing but we can't complain with our progress so far. One good note... income is now positive!!!

Haven't received this yet.

Strange, you're not the first to say turns aren't arriving after I send them . Turn resent.

Picked up a new hero today.

Day 3

A couple of battles, lots of troop movements, things going well enough. Must heal up a bit in the night, our ponies are getting closer and closer to gold, soon they'll be able to help us heal!

ts

day 4

Made a small mistake in one battle... had to retreat and we really wanted to move those troops further today. Oh well, we'll recover. Darn patrolling troops bothered us but all in all it was a good day.

- Official reminder for Springheel -

I haven't received the new turn yet.

turn resent (let me know if this one doesn't arrive)

got turn, will play tonight.

Day 5 - hmmmmm battles do not go as well as we would have liked... need some serious healing....

But, we're starting to move towards our objectives a little bit more so that's encouraging.

- Tournament warning for Springheel -

Springheel, please respond within 48 hours or game will be forfeit.

Turn sent.

[This message has been edited by Springheel (edited 09-24-2010 @ 09:26 AM).]

Day 6

We steal a boat from Grumish.... methinks he would have grabbed it tomorrow with his frog.... now he'll have to build a transport.

Elsewhere... things going well enough.

Suddenly the enemy is everywhere.

Day 7

Hmmmmm a strange flyer is scouting around... most unfortunate, we'll try and chase him down but not today

Elsewhere... things continue to progress according to plan.

We send another boat to the bottom, and get an idea that should have occurred to us days ago.

Day 8

Hopefully that idea won't cost us too much....

In the end we make a few decisions as well, not sure how it will cost us... we'll see.

Had my ass handed to me by independents, losing a hero in the process.

Furio day 9

We watched Gruumsh's troops get beat up with the indies... we debated if we should go in and finish the troops off and then thought better of it, we saw another 7 stack of weak troops nearby and figured we could take out those 2 swashbucklers and supports. We summoned another efreet to help our cause so our hero and 3 efreet took down that 7stack of cannon fodder. With the loss of the other stack to indies that must severly weaken our enemy in the south. We know there are lurkers out there we cannot see but we're not sure what else is out there.... hopefully our hero can get to safety before he is attacked.

Elsewhere.... lots of activity as we pick up a couple production resources, a couple items, and lots of other things. Yes, quite a busy day for us.

Another loss in the east, and a glimpse of a strong army elsewhere. Hope's end indeed.

Furio day 10

I love it when something that is supposed to take 4 days to produce ends up getting completed in one turn!!! Most excellent.

We find one frog on the waters, and we finally catch up with that darn dino-bird. Can't see any more scouts out there near us, that is good. Wondering where Gruumsh is hiding.... (or working).

ts

Furio day 11

Gruumsh has wandered too close, he must not think our ranger and efreet are a threat, but we do not know... he has another hero, frog, herbalist and weakened maceman... hmmmm.....

Our ranger and efreet close in, our other efreet that killed that bird yesterday heals up and joins the attack, our dwarf berserker catches a lift on the skiff and wanders across the river, oh goody, our pegasus rider can just get there, and for good measure.... we summon another efreet. Our 6 to his 5... we attack!

Gruuumsh has been slain! Victory!
________
Thx for the game.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are standing here with Enginerd and Springheel who have just battled each other on HopesEnd. Gentlemen, what did you both think of the map? And Enginerd, congratulations on the victory! What was your approach to this map?

Analysis: This was the game I was most worried about in Round 1 for me. I figured Springheel would be my toughest opponent this round and this map really isn’t that strait forward. I didn’t take a lot of time to check out this map, I only playtested Furio’s side and not Gruumsh. However, this was my plan….

I quickly decided that I would make the most use of the efreets. Day 1 I cleared out everything underground I could and I also started working on a Wizard Tower 2 and Casting Chamber, plus researching Casting Specialist. This way, I would have 50 casting points soon, as I explored into the underground my domain would grow and I could summon efreets anywhere I needed to…. Every day!

Above ground I knew the prisoner site near the swamp was a key location so I rushed troops there to capture it and free the prisoners, and to clear out the recruitment site and treasure sites nearby.

My next objectives were to get that frostling town in the east and also to get the production resources above ground to get my champion guild for the Pegasus riders. Rushing troops/scouts east, buying the bear and then killing off those frostling troops went well. Springheel troubled me with a flying scout but it was just a minor nuisance. My main stack above ground cleared out a couple crypts in the center, giving me plenty of gold and mana. They were ready to continue on their hunt to find Gruumsh as one lone hero and couple efreet were scouting out the southern lands. Above ground things worked out well. I made a few mistakes here and there but overall nothing to complain about.

My only worry was a quick and fast below ground strike. I knew that Gruumsh could get underground quickly and might be able to sneak in that way. I had very limited resources there and fortunately, Springheel choose to stay above ground. By day 5-6 I had scouts in place to watch for the attack and was prepared, it never came. By day 9 I’d seen enough to know that Springheel was in trouble, my scouts confirmed that he was slow in his efforts and his turn logs weren’t far from the mark explaining those difficulties. I had seen him lose a hero and support stack, I killed another support stack so I knew he was weakened but didn’t know how strong Gruumsh was getting. I was expanding well and prepared to clear out the dwarven city underground and everything else over there. I was ready to push forward and invade.

Lucky for me Gruumsh appeared in an unlikely spot and I don’t think Springheel realized I could muster up that many forces… I was planning on a slower and longer game chasing him down but it worked out to catch him unawares. I got lucky and my first Pegasus was produced a few days early, that was nice. I had a few missteps here and there but nothing critical. All in all it went well enough. Here’s a screenshot of the final battle showing where I brought in my troops to catch him.

I probably should have done more advance work. I didn't playtest the map at all and didn't really get a clear sense of what my strategy should be. I also didn't realize that losing your heroes lost the game (though to be fair I don't think that knowledge would have given me much of an advantage...at best I would have dragged it out longer).

Clearly I'm more than a little rusty.