Erfworld 64, Page 58

[sihnfahl]

Ansom's decision to personally lead the charge into the middle of a large force of dwagons, cut off from the majority of his forces by trees, may not have really been his decision.

We know he was going into that hex even before the latest panel. That was part of his original plan, before they realized just how strong the dwagons were.

...rationalization to committing himself (and the Arkenpliers) to an attack and possible trap when he presumably has a column full of strong allied warlords who could borrow the carpet.

It's not the carpet that's important here. It's the Arkenpliers. They 'dust' most uncroaked. Ansom's primary target are the uncroaked warlords that are 'in the hex'. Since there are 3 warlords to dust, you'd need a strong warlord to take them all on plus the dwagons. As far as we know, Jillian, Vinny and Ansom are the only high-level warlords that are in range of that hex. And, given Jillian's penchant for getting captured, he's not going to give the Arkenpliers to her...

[innovan]

Evidence is leaders don't get croaked in combat, but very gently taken prisoner for ransom. I forget which video game this is from.

The authors may be planning to make Ansom a new hostage/guest at Gobwin Knob, with Jillian and Vinnie the new leaders of the forces.

Certainly the banter would be interesting between Tool and a captured Ansom. And it would change the Parson-Tool dynamic to Ansom doubting Parson every step of the way and Tool actually backing his man up just to annoy Ansom.

It's a tough call because of the one page format. Do you get all the main characters in one place so the plot can move faster? Or do you keep flashing between the two strategy rooms and the battle front results to show who's got the shorter OODA loop http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/22622
which slows things down to Matrix-mode, but allowings showing how small well made choices can have large effects, making the combat a series of deft like dance movements. Can this audience handle there not being a punchline at the end panel for a few weeks? (Can Gumps even dance? much less deftly.)

I'd *love* to see if Parson's glove allows him a Matrix-like slow-mo deft optimization of the micro-battle with some cool dwagon positioning at the micro-hex level, all of the elves dead, and the Arkenpliers delivered to Tool by Ansom's hand by pink, red and blue dwagon express.

I'll be sad if these dwagons get killed too. They've got far more personality and expression than the stupid ewok-elves.

[Overdark]

I had to create an account just to post this. Had a thought. Have a feeling it's either already been suggested or is completely worthless.

I'm wondering if maybe, the wounded dragons are actually spread out into other tiles with full health ones, and the center hex is, in fact, empty.

You mean like the last 10 guys IN THIS THREAD that have suggested that????!

You are not a reader, are you?

[Berat]

Evidence is leaders don't get croaked in combat, but very gently taken prisoner for ransom. I forget which video game this is from.

The authors may be planning to make Ansom a new hostage/guest at Gobwin Knob, with Jillian and Vinnie the new leaders of the forces.

Remember, that was before Parson. I don't think Parson will want to keep potential enemy reinforcements lying around.

[Airshark]

I had to create an account just to post this. Had a thought. Have a feeling it's either already been suggested or is completely worthless.

I'm wondering if maybe, the wounded dragons are actually spread out into other tiles with full health ones, and the center hex is, in fact, empty. Then using the 3 dragon "weak" hex as bait to get Ansom's forces to full on charge to punch through, those dragons actually leave the hex and allow them into the center, then re-close the circle trapping them.

Now I think I remember reading that enemy units that stop next to a hex you occupy, you will auto attack. If that is correct, and all of the troops with little or no move left are in the center, all the dragons in the circle auto attack the central hex at once.

Like I said, I'm probably wrong. But it just came to me and wanted to share a thought.

Woof, I wonder how many people are going to have this same set of thoughts. Your first theory has already been posted many times. The second one has been disposed of already (you attack only within the same hex - if you didn't, Vinny couldn't have reconned the rear hex with his doombat).

[Waldgeist]

I don't know whether it has been discussed, but:

Ansom orders Vinny's bats to stay behind... If that leaves the bats in a vulnerable position at the end of Ansom's turn, Parson will easily destroy all his intelligence... That will blind Jetstone completely ...

[Curxzed]

Ansom didn't leave them behind to sit around. He intends to scout the center hex (if he makes it that far) and then to put at least those fliers in the column along with whatever other fliers can make it back. I don't think the column will be as unprotected the second time around, no matter what happens in the platter. Parson is ambitious, I don't think he is going after the siege again. He wants battlefield supremacy. That means he needs to take out the warlords. But maybe he thinks he can get both, warlords and siege.