Tatical oversight or game mechanic?

[zz_tophat]

Forgive me if this has already been discussed. I would have brought this up as it happened but i was hoping for an explanation in the following comics.

While i was reading http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0142.html I noticed that the archons were directing the dance fight, so at that moment wouldn't the best option would be to fall back to the dungeon with the uncroaked forces fully intact and the pool of spells not spent?

If the archons couldn't cross zones until the next turn would that not have lead to any coalition units going down to the dungeon to lose their dance dance revolution fighting bonus? Or would it effect them regardless of being able to follow the arrows?

Did parson not fall back in the hopes that he would not have to use the volcanapocalypse he was contemplating? If he was thinking that, this means that he knew he'd lose in the dungeon even with dance fighting. If that is true my thought is: falling back to the dungeon after having initiating a dance fight would have caused Ansome to wait a turn before going down after him. Because Ansome knew he would not win down there without archons due to his troops being lacking rhythm.

Does retreating to the dungeon and waiting a turn just mean waiting another turn to die (if Ansome refused to follow without archons) due to the fact that there is no tactical flexibility being trapped down there?

So what is it? Did he not withdraw because:
-Parson didn't think of it
-he knew he'd lose down there regardless having dance fight or not
-It would not have mattered because if he could not hold the surface he would have had to hit them with a mountain anyway


Other important questions:
There were elves in the coalition and they could not dance? Elves can't dance? Really?
Can wiener rammers dance? Are they any good?
Ansome vs. John Travolta, the disco, at midnight, who wins?

[Decius]

There is obviously some kind of limit to dance-fighting. Otherwise, Wanda and her undead, dancing in the dungeons, after Ansom took his dive.

Or for that matter, dancing in the courtyard after Ansom had been disposed of.

Boop! Once Ansom bit it, a sortie of all available troops should have been able to win; If it was a close battle with Ansom, and Ansom was a significant factor, dropping him should have changed the tide of battle.

Perhaps dancing is limited to one engagement per day for each unit?

[zz_tophat]

I thought that was well (I was trying to figure the rules on dance fighting) until parson suggested Wanda set up safety dance after they had withdrawn to the dungeon.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

I was thinking that if they got into the dungeon, they could directly attack whichever stack they wanted. Like Paron's stack or Sizemore's stack. By engaging outside the dungeon they could possibly without exposing high profile units.

[SeraphRainy]

The problem with just holding the dungeon was that the coelition would know that they couldnt and didn't need to attak the dungeon that turn. And if you remember parson was making the last stand to kill masses of troops if he didn't massivly bolster his ranks of undead before the archons got into the game hed have been screwd. In order to do that he needed to kill mass RCC troops and hold on to the ground on which they died or their bodies would disapear at the end of turn. Between ansome and the archons dancing they were pwning the GW forces by wieght of numbers and near equal bonuses.

So he had to stop the archons but killing ansome would have helped too. But killing him only would have helped because even without his bonus they had packed the courtyard full of "dancers"and would have still steamrolld em. It was his best chance because if he pulled back then the RCC would wait and then curb stomp him while he was trapped back in the dungeons were incedentaly he is less manuverable.

[zz_tophat]

The problem with just holding the dungeon was that the coelition would know that they couldnt and didn't need to attak the dungeon that turn. And if you remember parson was making the last stand to kill masses of troops if he didn't massivly bolster his ranks of undead before the archons got into the game hed have been screwd. In order to do that he needed to kill mass RCC troops and hold on to the ground on which they died or their bodies would disapear at the end of turn. Between ansome and the archons dancing they were pwning the GW forces by wieght of numbers and near equal bonuses.

So he had to stop the archons but killing ansome would have helped too. But killing him only would have helped because even without his bonus they had packed the courtyard full of "dancers"and would have still steamrolld em. It was his best chance because if he pulled back then the RCC would wait and then curb stomp him while he was trapped back in the dungeons were incedentaly he is less manuverable.

This was was I thinking (in regards to him knowing that if he didn't hold the courtyard the fight was lost anyway). but had he withdrawn and not had Ansome immediately pursue on that turn he would have still had the first turn of the next day and could have counter attacked. He would have (as i stated above) lost a great deal of tactical maneuverability due to being in the dungeon but could have gained some of it back by: 1. "wreck everything but the dungeon"

2. Use Sizemore to position the counterattack in a vulnerable part of the field. For example, directly below the healers and archers (this works because they have already shown formations to be necessary to protect those units). with all the forces intact (if he withdrew at the first signs of trouble) he'd be able to do enough damage without dancefight, freeing wanda to uncroak those killed by the counterattack and city wrecking. Wanda then beings leading the dance fight.

Ansome would already be croaked by the time he did this, why? for the same reason he croaked in the strip (i surrender ...gotcha).

There are two options following this:
Direct any remaining thinkamancy at any remaining jetstone (without the infantry and Ansome were there any left?). Without any jetstone to command them the archons would not act (they've already shown that they will not act of their own volition).

Have Sizemore do the dirty work (he's already shown he's quite good at attacking individual units)

Or if neither option is not enough, do both. in any case taking jetstone out of the coalition forces takes the archons out of the fight. No archons, no Ansome no dance fight, GK turns into an uncroaked slaughter disco.

(I suppose worrying about something like this is the reason Ansome attacked the first time without waiting)