Didn't Need An Army

[Provengreil]

They were nearest to Azure City when they came out of the caves.

And sans the army, Xykon has Teleport and no reason not to use it. The only question left is which gate is likely to be easiest to take with just the three of them, which they probably figured was Girard's based on that they went to the desert before the arctic.

You were the one insisting I was not taking into account the personalities, and when I do you accuse me of dishonesty?

Is this you?

Now I freely swap between modes as one or the other offers the best benefit.

Is this also you?

let me present an outline of one possible way Team Evil could have gained unfettered access to the throne for two months without an army.

You can't swap between it being specifically team evil, who have characterization and the psychological quirks that come with that, and them just being pawns in a game against a GM that only you can see, and say you're making an honest argument.

Either it's an undefined lich and cleric subverting A city, or it's THIS lich and cleric subverting THIS city(You'd find a Kubota type either way, so I'll concede that part). And THIS lich and cleric cannot even be seen once in THIS city without calling in the full alert, yet have shown no significant ability to do so beyond possessing a basic utility spell. Nor would THIS lich be content to sit around, as ecarden aptly pointed out two posts up. He'd find someone to hurt for fun, over and over, and the only reason it didn't bite him in Azure City was that they had total control of the city already.

I also note that Team Evil, in your plan, have done little more than give Kubota permission to do a coup, rather than be actors themselves. In fact, soon as they make contact, the best thing to do mechanically is literally bury Xykon for a while and have Redcloak cast extended buffs on the ninjas for assassination missions while staying in Kubota's attic. Your entire analysis treats them this way, as if they've become NPCs to their own plan. Recloak would probably swallow that, he's taken worse in service of the idea of controlling Xykon, but would Xykon himself take it? I'm thinking no.

On that note, by making them so passive, you haven't let Team Evil seize the throne, you've let Kubota seize the throne. Team Evil's help has been hidden from everyone the whole time, and you plan on selling the idea that the Sapphire Guard were working with undead, to strengthen Kubota's lie. Given that sales pitch and the fact that there's no way TE spills the beans on the gate, I can't think of a single reason for Kubota not to sell them up the river before Shojo's corpse cools. Again, of course, covered upthread by ecarden.