Read part one here.
This article has been long delayed- my family has been hit by quite a number of illnesses over the last few months, which have been a huge drain on my energy, and even taking a few minutes a day to take a turn, and write it up, has been a challenge. This month, I have finally bounced back enough to get through the second Succession card and hope to keep the momentum through the rest of the game. Sadly, in addition to the delays, most of the turns are just going to be 'this happened', as opposed to any meaningful thoughts on them, but I will try to do better in the next article.
I did get a little bit of feedback about the previous session report, and the use of some extra graphics to highlight changes to the images was positively received, so I will try to do so going forward.
After the dynasty card, the game continues, with no change in eligibility. The next card drawn is Uprising in Daulatabad (card #15). The Delhi Sultanate bot once again ignores the event, and draws for Command + Decree, electing to Govern first. This places Governors on the map or allows such pieces already on the map to remove opposing pieces and build Qasbahs (which will allow them to Conscript more troops, or support attacks better in the future). For Govern, the bot makes the following plays:
In Gujarat, they remove a Raja, and add a Qasbah.
In Orissa, they remove an Amir, and add a Qasbah.
In Tamilakam, they remove two Rajas and add a Qasbah.
In Andhra, they remove two Amirs, and in Madhyadesh, they remove an Amir and a Raja. This Command costs them a total of five resources.
For the Decree, the bot chooses to Collect Tribute, gaining two cavalry markers, and eight more resources. I suspect we will see some more combat soon, so Delhi having more cavalry markers is certainly going to help them.
The Vijayanagara Empire bot looks through its choices and ends up doing a Limited Command (preserving its eligibility for next turn, but only affecting a single area). The bot chooses to Rebel in Karnataka, putting it under Vijayanagara control. This deprives the Delhi Sultanate of points, taxable resources, and gives the Vijayanagara two points.
Next card is a Mongol Invasion card, with me making the choices. I choose Amass, which adds one Mongol Invader to Mountain Pass, Punjab, and Delhi (technically, it adds three to Mountain Passes, they just overflow down to Delhi as they reach four Mongols in a space).
I then choose Attack and Plunder in Punjab. The Mongols roll 4, 3, 3, 1, scoring four hits, and Delhi rolls a 5 and a 3, generating two hits. Because there are remaining Mongols in Punjab, they remove two Delhi resources, and causes the Sultanate to remove troops from Jaunpur and Orissa.
Next up is another Mongol Invasion card (this time controlled by the Vijayanagara bot)! Rough timing for the Sultanate. They choose to Advance four cubes into Punjab, and then attack, with the result being the destruction of the Delhi piece, and the removal of six resources and six Troops (three from Andhra, two from Tamilakam, and one from Rajput). Just a disastrous two turns for the Sultanate, but it gives me and the Vijayanagara bot some space to play around!
Next card up is Capital Relocated, a 'Stay Eligible' event, which reads "Move up to four Delhi Sultanate Units from any Provinces to adjacent Provinces. -5 Delhi Sultanate resources". I choose to take the event, moving Governors from Andhra and Tamilakam into Karnataka (hoping to complicate the Vijayanagara situation), from Orissa into Andhra, and a Troop from Jaunpur into Malwa. I forget about the resource deduction for several turns, but eventually I do apply it correctly. Doing this piles onto the Sultanate player, which is great, and I stay Eligible, which is also great!
The Vijayanagara bot then chooses to draw for a Command & Decree, and proceeds to Build a Temple and then Rebel in Madhyadesh which falls under their control.
Next card up is Mongol Army Repelled (card #2). The reeling Sultanate bot choosing Command + Decree, starting with a Tribute Decree for seven resources, and then a Conscript command to add five Troops to Delhi, and two Troops each to their provinces with Qasbahs- Gujarat, Malwa, Orissa, Andhra, Tamilakam. With most of their Troops on the board, they can start pushing everyone around again.
I choose a Command, electing to Rally, adding an Amir to Bengal, and two Amirs to Gondwana and Maharashtra.
Next card is Hindu-Muslim Marriage (card #35). Only the Vijayanagara player is eligible, and they choose a Command + Decree, electing to Tax for five resources, bringing them to seven, and then they Rally, putting four Rajas in Karnataka, one in Maharashtra, and two in Madhyadesh, meaning every one of their Rajas is on the board. At this point, almost every piece is on the board, so some conflict feels imminent.
Next card up is Empire Building (card #25) with me and the Delhi Sultanate eligible, in order. I debate taking the Stay Eligible event, which would provide a free trade, but decide that I need to try to spread out, and choose a Command + Decree instead, starting with a Migrate. I move one Amir from Bengal into Jaunpur, one into Orissa from Gondwana, and two into Madhyadesh from Maharashtra, and then pay to shift the Deccan Influence one in my favor because I moved into a spot where Vijayanagara units existed. I am pretty poor at this point, so I Trade for six resources, and take two cavalry tokens from the Delhi Sultanate.
The Delhi Sultanate is limited in options, and elects to take the Event, which keeps them Eligible for next turn. The event ends up placing a Troop in Andhra and removes a Raja there.
Next card is Musunuri Nayakas (card #18), with Vijayanagara and Delhi as eligible. The Vijayanagara bot chooses a Command + Decree, building a Temple in Maharashtra, and then Attacking in Karnataka (removing two Governors, and losing two Rajas) and Madhyadesh (removing a Governor, but losing a Raja). Each of these attacks was supported from the neighboring province, replenishing some of the losses (although, I should mention, I did realize as I was writing this that I've done this incorrectly, and will need to fix at least the movement of Rajas from Maharashtra into one or both of these provinces- it will be fixed before I work on the next part).
The Delhi Sultanate elects to take a Limited Command, placing a Governor in Orissa.
Finally, for this blog post, the next Succession card, Rise of the Rebel Sultans comes up. This provides a special action for each player and helps identify how close we are through the game (about halfway through).
The Delhi Sultanate gets a free Campaign, and targeting my region with the fewest pieces, moves a Governor from Andhra into Jaunpur, and adds a Troop from Delhi to join it.
I get a free limited command, which I use to Rebel in Bengal, putting it under my control, and I gain three resources.
Vijayanagara moves three Rajas from Karnataka to Maharashtra, and gains three cavalry tokens (taking one from me). The migration also lets them shift the Deccan Influence one.
So, at the halfway point, our current scores:
Delhi Sultanate: 12 points
Vijayanagara: 7 points
Bahmani: 5 points
I am still losing to the two bots, but the gap is not too bad, and I am in good position to make a play for a few provinces on the eastern part of India pretty early. I need to get more Temples out, to make my Amirs a bit better defended, and to get more points. Delhi, to me, seems to be in a pretty rough situation, because they have a huge horde right on their doorstep, so even if they stay ahead of me in points, I can hope the Mongols drop them down at the end game.
Vijayanagara seems to be in an enviable position, with strong coverage in a few provinces and little Delhi interference. I am going to have to take the fight to them in order to get ahead of them. Something to keep in mind as I enter part three of this playthrough.