TR
So this was a game I joined to continue moving toward "Pioneer" status, which is playing all 15 Kingdoms. The TR Kingdom had been reduced in power quite a while ago, losing the ability to hire Governors at reduced cost, and being nerfed in battles against EL, so I wasn't thrilled with my chances to do well, but on the bright side, I was glad to see that AN wasn't in the game, as that would allow me uncontested control of Torvale, at least.
Things started pretty well, I managed to swing control of the region on T3, and was the only Kingdom along with GI to be able to do that. I held off from recruiting a ton of troops since I was about to head into my winter, and instead concentrated on magic, politicals, and divinations. Targeted GN (but not UN) for my expansion plans, and leaped in to attack on T7, with a relatively small army.
I won that war of attrition over the next eight or so turns, but on T15, I noticed an UN (who I had declared an Ally, and had seemed neutral to me, not taking sides in the TR-GN war) high-ranking emissary moving into Cradia.
I responded with an Enemy declaration and moving an army to Cradia, although oddly the UN emissary didn't do anything to the city. But it did kick off the next war, and I fought another battle of attrition against both GN and UN in Runnimede.
Although I ended up losing all of my wizards and a large number of emissaries and agents, my armies and navies ended up putting down both the GN and UN, with the icing on the cake being my successful siege of the 46K defense UN capital in the Sea of Mystery on T25.
With that being one of the last GN or UN pop centers in Regions 4 or 7 (the GN had snaked a water village from me in Foreboding and made it his capital, which was a bit of a bummer, but I had done enough damage to his emissaries and armies that he didn't have a lot of other force he could throw at me), I began to look at the rest of the map for a path to victory.
I honestly hadn't been planning to win this game, I was hoping to podium but I was assuming other Kingdoms would be better placed for the win. But as I looked at the board, I noticed GI was right next to me and had two regions. So with GN and UN being mostly pacified by this point (20 straight turns of pounding can do that to you), it was a logical choice to go against GI.
I invaded Amberland with emissaries and Arcania with groups on T27, and over the next six turns, I managed to inexorably gain the upper hand against GI, who had apparently been in conflict with various other Kingdoms up to that point. There was a climactic battle between Army Groups on T30, where I expected to lose, although I didn't lose as badly as I had thought I would.
Planning that I would lose but survive, I then converged ALL of my enormous military back on that same spot (Esteria Vale at UM) and we went at it again, and this time, I won decisively. GI dropped either that turn or the next, and my emissaries and groups went on to take Arcania on T32 and Amberland on T33, and that was the fourth region for the Rex.
Iron-Willed: Lord Alz as the Gnomes, for fighting and fighting and fighting and not giving up, even causing trouble to the end with the taking of his new capital in the Sea of Foreboding and then preventing my groups from traversing the sea to reach Avalon, which delayed my victory by a turn
Infamous: Jhereg as the Underworld, for staying neutral and then joining the fray against me, and for developing a mighty sea fortress which eventually fell, and then voting against my expulsion from the HC which led to me declaring him neutral again and then we had peace.
Chancellor: N/A (Anon game)
Buddy/Ignore List
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