On A Sudden and Dramatic Change of Plans.

[Silverlocke980]

Also subtitled " What to do when booped by a large sword-swinging chick."

Well, Parson is in deep boop now. Assuming his dwagons can't overpower the Archons, Julian, and the Gwiffons, which I must say seems bloody unlikely, than he's lost the hammer he's been hitting the siege with. Now, he's made a huge dent in Ansom's forces- sixty percent is nothing to sneeze at- but it's recoverable for Ansom, especially with the sheer numbers he possesses.

(How do I know the losses are recoverable? Ansom was trying to save the siege. If the siege had already taken irreparable losses, to the point that what was left couldn't take down Gobwin Knob's defenses, he wouldn't have bothered wasting the forces.)

So Ansom's packing enough siege to still make the walls fall. Now, Parson's options are varied and many- half of this comic seems to be revealing the heretofore "hidden" (or perhaps "unknown" is a better word) capabilities of the two sides- but I'll go along with what we know for the moment.

Firstly, Parson still has a bunch of "B" dwagons, all of which might still be in range of the siege. The major problem with their use was, of course, the lower move they had. Parson could circumvent this by simply waiting until the siege got closer to Gobwin Knob. If he puts Warlords on those dwagons, he can then pick the siege apart when it gets closer to Gobwin Knob in the same manner as he did with the A dwagons. It'll be harder now that Ansom's up on the trick, but since it's a hit-and-run and not an actual stand-up fight, he should still be able to pull it off.

Secondly, Parson can give up the siege destruction as a dead plan, and assume that, while he didn't get all the siege, he's definitely hurt that plan. He can then hope Ansom switches emphasis from the walls to the tunnels, which would be what Parson was hoping for in the first place, or alternatively now try to devise a winnable solution for dealing with a wall siege now that he's greatly weakened his opponent's ability to do so.

Thoughts? Comments? Brilliant plans? Parson needs 'em and I'd like to hear 'em.

[SteveMB]

Now, he's made a huge dent in Ansom's forces- sixty percent is nothing to sneeze at- but it's recoverable for Ansom, especially with the sheer numbers he possesses.

Nitpick: He lost over 40 percent of the siege units (i.e. about sixty percent is what he has left, not what he lost). That said, you've correctly identified the basic issue (has the siege train already been damaged too badly to be effective, or not?).

(How do I know the losses are recoverable? Ansom was trying to save the siege. If the siege had already taken irreparable losses, to the point that what was left couldn't take down Gobwin Knob's defenses, he wouldn't have bothered wasting the forces.)

True -- it makes sense to assume that the siege can go ahead, if he doesn't lose too many more of his siege units, since otherwise it would be foolish and futile to take risks to save the remainder.

Firstly, Parson still has a bunch of "B" dwagons, all of which might still be in range of the siege. The major problem with their use was, of course, the lower move they had.

That's not an issue now, since they're all deployed right near the column. Parson's original plan (before discovering that Ansom's fog-of-war intel gave him some additional options) was to have the B dwagons hit siege units on their way home to GK on the turn after the initial round of raids. He could still do that, if he doesn't lose the remaining warlords.

Parson could circumvent this by simply waiting until the siege got closer to Gobwin Knob.

If Parson waits, the main body of flying units will be recalled and the column's air cover will be restored.

Secondly, Parson can give up the siege destruction as a dead plan, and assume that, while he didn't get all the siege, he's definitely hurt that plan. He can then hope Ansom switches emphasis from the walls to the tunnels, which would be what Parson was hoping for in the first place, or alternatively now try to devise a winnable solution for dealing with a wall siege now that he's greatly weakened his opponent's ability to do so.

That may be what Parson is stuck with, if the wounded dwagons and the three (er, two) uncroaked warlords with them are taken out.

[Ripsaw]

Parson's next step could be any number of things, depending on any number of other things.

Firstly, how Ansom acts. Remember, to move anywhere, Ansom has to leave his forest units in the dwagon's nest. If he stays, Parson can collapse the dwagons into the "base" hex and potentially croak or capture the coalition's Chief Warlord, along with two of the coalition leaders/warlords. If Ansom flees, the remaining dwagons can hit what's left of the siege, and go home.

I think that Parson's overall plan is (or at least, my plan in this situation would be) to try to present Ansom with many of his own choices, all bad. If Team Plaid Tool can maintain control of the rhythms of the battle, then they can win by forcing the enemy into a series of bad choices. Since Stanley's forces move and attack first, it should be relatively simple for Parson to keep Ansom off-balance and confused.

The downside is that once Ansom realizes that Stanley has found a new chief warlord, one who has the tactical and strategic abilities that the Tool lacks, he (Ansom) will start acting more cautiously, rather than responding from his assumption that Stanley's team are idiots.

Secondly, I have to applaud Parson's tactical thinking in hitting Jillian rather than the Archons--he seems to have instantly realized that the Archons are escort units, rather than the main threat...remove the Warlord from the equation, and the escorts become much less of a threat.

I can see a few ways to pull Gobwin Knob out of the frying pan. Unfortunately, I'm not sure yet how our friend Mr. Gotti can avoid hitting the fire under it on his way out.

[sihnfahl]

Secondly, I have to applaud Parson's tactical thinking in hitting Jillian rather than the Archons--he seems to have instantly realized that the Archons are escort units, rather than the main threat...remove the Warlord from the equation, and the escorts become much less of a threat.

Or he could just be aiming to even the odds by removing the Warlord Bonus (since, you know, Jillian's a 9).

That would weaken the Archons and the gwiffons, increasing the likelihood of success.

Course, he may lose Manpower (he IS only a Temp). It's not over until the Phat Lady Singh.