https://www.warzone.com/MultiPlayer?GameID=21595691 Andre Laufmoller vs Ilpeggiore Aka recruiting time !
PICKS
notes:
- there are 3 ftb (first-turn bonus) combos, one in Denmark, one in Austria and one in Russia, the former has no direct counter.
- the Austrian combo includes Balkans, not the most efficient bonus, the Russian combo includes S.Russia which is slow and can suffer a late counter, Denmark is protected but it s a little gain and 2 picks in a remote area.
Strategy
Andre decides to spread, spending second pick on Bulgaria. He risks losing Ireland (unlikely with 2 possible ftb) but gains information and coverage on 3 areas of the map. Moreover he has distance from me, with only Iceland possibly bordering him in the early turns.
Ilpegg goes for the combo. Fast income to win. The issue is that with Andre not picking those combos, he has no intel nor map coverage. Instead of my 4th pick, i should have picked islands. I still value a good combo in center.
PICKS Ilpegg 6 (?)/ Andre 7
Game
Turn 1-2: Ilpegg gets both combo, Andre takes the safe Bulgaria. Turn2 I take the wrong decision. I charge Slovakia but I dont develop my other bonuses. 0-1
Turn3 : ilpegg goes toward Belgium and develop both his bonus not knowing Andre s position. Andre instead of developing Belgium decides to deploy in Slovakia, Nostradamus. 0-2
Turn4 : Andre takes Belgium go Iceland and moves Slovakia; I takes Balkans and border Belgium. Risky move, i invested 8 armies for Balkans +2 for S.Russia. 1-3
Turn5 decides the game. I have first move and I want S.Russia. Unfortunately Andre choose the right border in Belgium. Had it gone the other way he would have lost 3 income and would have faced a difficult decision between charging Austria and retaking Belgium. Instead a big stack takes France, I get S.Russia and Andre moves in Czech to threaten Austria. 1-4
Turn6. He has more armies in Swiss /+16/ but -7 in east. I can clean Czech but he run toward Russia. 2-5
Turn7 Andre uses armies for Iceland but he is blocked in Swiss and do not arms Slovakia. I can stop Lutsk but not get rid of it.
Turn8 again he invests in Lutsk, and uses his center stack to menace Slovakia. I start taking another bonus in Russia
Turn9, Andre attacks west, I defend east... 2-5
Turn10, unable to stop his little Russian armada, I can at least take Slovakia.
Turn11 he goes for UK, fearing I d get rid of Russia, I expected him to be sure to save Russia. At least I can conservate my bonuses in center. 3-5
Turn12 he secure the Russia stack, I have him far from my borders, my situation in center improves.
Turn13 I free center. Only Swiss remains. But I see he is developing elsewhere. My strategy now is to break UK while stalling in Russia ... but then I discover Bulgaria is ready to back-stab.
The games ends turn22 when he reads me and I don't break Bulgaria.
Comment
Indecisiveness. My game suffers from not knowing how to invest my initial income, then i develop 2 bonus at the same time, then I never really try to stop him from reaching Russia, then i don't attack Bulgaria.
Andre on the other side is able to read me well, has a clear target in mind. He has probably made some mistakes ( the way he takes Iceland is truly unorthodox to be gentle) and won a lot of gambles, the most important in Belgium and Lutsk when I had first move. Nonetheless he managed the space well, being able to make me waste my greater income against his stacks.
