"Angel: ooh ooh... can I have the Red X?"
"Talon: no, but you can have a bigass bowl of "PUSH THE REFRESH BUTTON, IDIOT""
-Talon/Angel
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| Age of Mythology: Norse Showdown | | | Author: | | | IP: | c-69-138XXXX | | Date: | 11/14/08 09:11 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | Rare game(1) | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 8, Min: 8
Lifetime Rating for KingWombat: 8.2500 |  | 
Introduction
Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to my third official battlereport for BR.com. This one, like the previous, concerns Ensemble Studios' amazing game Age of Mythology. For this one, I would like to cut any unnecessary chit-chat and jump right into the report. If you would like to know more about how Age of Mythology works, please refer to either CrackHeadJeb's report, my previous report, or Age of Mythology Heaven. If you've played before or at least know the ins and outs of the gameplay, then please keep reading. But if you don't know much about the game, I recommend that you check out one of the aforementioned links, because you might find yourself slightly lost once you begin reading.
That being said, please try to enjoy!
The Game
 Once again, I have chosen to analyze a game played by higher ranked players rather than one of my own, because I am as mentioned before a beginner, and games that I play tend to be fairly clear-cut and dry. If I play a good one anytime soon, I might report on it. But for now, my own AoM 'prowess' (if you could call it that) has produced no report-worthy material. Thus, I've instead pulled a game off of AoM Heaven that I thought was really interesting. It is a 1 on 1 between two Norse players, and I think is a good representation of two important aspects of AoM:
a) The mobility of the Norse units.
b) The large impact that proper use of god powers can have on the course of a game.
The
game takes place on the map known as Midgard. A large island, dotted
with numerous hunting locations and small patches of forest, surrounded
completely on all sides by water teeming with fish.The players are:
> JeVeuxGagner (blue Loki), starting at the 6:00 position
> Sir_Micksalot (red Odin), starting at the 12:00 position
Before I start the report, I want to quickly review some units and buildings you might encounter in this report of whose function you might be unsure:
> Gatherer - Norse villager unit, cannot build, can only gather resources
> Ox Cart - Norse mobile resource collection point
> Ulfsark - Norse counter-cavalry unit
> Hersir - Norse hero unit, counters myth units
> Longboat - Norse arrow ship
> Longhouse - Norse infantry training facility
> Hill Fort - Norse fortress for training siege and uber-strong units (aka Jarl, Jarl and Jarl)
> Ballista(e) - Norse ranged siege units, trained at HF
Also as you can see from the map, each player has an empty Settlement near them that can be more or less considered 'theirs' from the start, and there are two settlements in the middle of the map that will probably be disputed over. Without further ado, let's get to the gameplay.
Early Game
The game starts off at a fairly comfortable pace. There is no super-early rushing, both players strive to make good use of the ample resources the map offers. They construct docks and build fishing boats to bolster their rate of food gathering. They send gatherers along with oxcarts to hunt choice herds of wild animals far from their base, in a display of typical Norse mobility. But in other aspects of civilization-building, the warlike Norse are already preparing for the battle to come. Sir_Micksalot builds a house and Temple tightly next to a Tower, to protect the structures in case they come under attack. JeVeuxGagner, on the other hand, opts to build his house and Temple far off from his main, in a remote eastern section of the map, to make them more difficult to locate.
Both players build their Temples at more or less the same time, but Sir_Micksalot has been much less wasteful of his food supply than JeVeuxGagner, having focused less on early economy buildup and more on saving up to advance ages, and is now able to do so under the minor god Freyja, who will give him the god power Forest Fire and allow him to create Valkyries, mounted myth units who can heal friendly soldiers. As soon as he advances, Sir_Micksalot constructs three Longhouses and begins producing Raiding Cavalry. As their name implies, they are excellent for early-game raiding, and if used right can undermine an opponent's economy for good. By the time JeVeuxGagner hits Classical under Heimdall, Sir_Micksalot already has three Raiding Cavalry armed and ready for battle, with more on the way.
Mid-Game
 Sir_Micksalot may have the military advantage at this point, but JeVeuxGagner has the better economy. He has constructed three different Docks and his fishing ships outnumber Sir_Micksalot's nearly three to one. In fact, his entire food gathering operation is naval-based, meaning that it is more difficult to reach and battleships must be separately trained just for that end. In fact, JeVeuxGagner seems to sense Sir_Micksalot's raid before it happens (that's right, boys and girls, Sir_Micksalot WILL in fact raid), and invests big bucks in the upgrading of his towers, as well as construction of two Longhouses and some Ulfsarks.
When the raid happens, it is swift and sudden. The raiders charge out of the blackness, take down one of JeVeuxGagner's towers, and disappear before he knew what hit him. Then they come back, but this time they are repelled by some of JeVeuxGagner's newly arrived Ulfsarks. Except for the loss of a tower and a villager or two, no significant damage done.
But what is this? A battle is developing out at sea as well! While Sir_Micksalot was busy raiding on land, JeVeuxGagner was able to sneak some Longboats up the eastern coast and is now attacking Sir_Micksalot's dock (one of them actually, Sir_Micksalot has two at this point). The Longboats number two strong, with two more on the way. Now it is clear what all that economy buildup was for. JeVeuxGagner plans to mass produce warships and cut off Sir_Micksalot's food supply on the water!
 Sir_Micksalot decides that he doesn't have to take this nonsense and dispatches an army of 24 Raiding Cavalry to the east. Here he comes across one of JeVeuxGagner's Hersir, along with four houses and a dock. Easy picking! All the houses go down, but as the dock is going up in flames, JeVeuxGagner's Ulfsarks arrive and chase the Raiders back to where they came from. But back at Sir_Micksalot's base, the poor Ulfsarks are ambushed by the cavalry supported by Throwing Axemen and Hersir. All the Ulfsarks are killed, with only minor losses on Sir_Micksalot's side. Both players have now begun advancing to the Heroic Age, and as if by coincidence, both pick Njord. Myth unit - Mountain Giant, god power - Walking Woods. JeVeuxGagner has also expanded to the settlement west of his initial TC.
But at sea, Sir_Micksalot has used the distraction of his cavalry raid to his advantage, and has amassed an army of warships that challenges JeVeuxGagner's. The forces appear evenly matched at first, but then it becomes clear that JeVeuxGagner's longboats have been upgraded and take down Sir_Micksalot's fleet without complications. Now they are able to go for Sir_Micksalot's helpless fishing boats in the northern waters.
 But back on the land, things are looking different. Sir_Micksalot's combined army of upgraded Raiding Cavalry, Throwing Axemen and Hersir storms into JeVeuxGagner's main and faces some lousy resistance put up by JeVeuxGagner's Ulfsarks. To add to his army, Sir_Micksalot evokes the Walking Woods god power on a nearby patch of forest and brings the trees to life to fight for his cause. The blue base is engulfed in a sea of red. At least momentarily. Having taken down many buildings and ground down JeVeuxGagner's two Longhouses to almost nothing, Sir_Micksalot suddenly retreats, leaving the Longhouses ablaze. He opts to head for JeVeuxGagner's western expansion, where the buildings are a lot more vulnerable and unprotected.
Lo and behold, what seems to be a failproof raid is stopped by JeVeuxGagner evoking his own Walking Woods god power right in the face of the oncoming raiders. There are not enough Hersir in Sir_Micksalot's mix to counter the trees, and Sir_Micksalot wisely pulls back. His raid having been repelled, he decides to reinforce his position and constructs a TC on the centermost settlement, with a Hill Fort next to it. Having been chased out of the waters by JeVeuxGagner's longboats, he begins farming around his main TC with Gatherers. In short, despite being pushed back many times already, he is telling his opponent that he is here to stay.
But so is JeVeuxGagner. He has constructed his own Hill Fort next to his initial TC and is now building a Market, obviously intent on reaching Mythic and perhaps adding to his gold income via Caravans. When he does begin researching Mythic, it is under Hel, the most badass of the Norse god(esse)s. Hel allows the summoning of the mighty dragon Nidhogg, he who gnaws at the roots of the World Tree. Also, despite the fact that she doesn't have any unique myth units of her own, she instead allows the summoning of all three Norse giants: Mountain, Frost and Fire. A great deal, if you ask me.
Endgame
 During JeVeuxGagner's advance to Mythic, some relatively important things come to pass. First, Sir_Micksalot evokes the Forest Fire god power on the woods near JeVeuxGagner's western expansion, taking out one of his buildings. He also breeds an army consisting largely of Hersir, Throwing Axemen and Raiding Cavalry. The army is fresh and eager to fight. They build a second Hill Fort for Sir_Micksalot and then charge into JeVeuxGagner's main yelling traditional Norse war hymns. But JeVeuxGagner has now hit Mythic, and calls upon the Nidhogg to defend his base. Sir_Micksalot's armies do a rapid about-turn and run away from the fury of the enraged dragon.
Things might have ended peacefully, but now JeVeuxGagner presses the advantage and begins pelting Sir_Micksalot's forward Hill Fort with Ballistae from his own HF. Sir_Micksalot's forces return, this time in greater numbers, and fall upon JeVeuxGagner's main in a desperate attempt to defend their expansion. To make a long story short, they are massacred by a combined force of Ulfsarks and aerial bombardment from the Nidhogg. JeVeuxGagner is quickly able to rebuild whatever little he lost in the attack.
Things are now looking grim for Sir_Micksalot. Most of his army has been decimated, and he has to rebuild rapidly in the face of rising odds. Some of his Throwing Axemen repair his damaged Hill Fort and erect a third one next to it, and he trains some additional myth units from his Temple. But will that be enough? Turns out, it's not. JeVeuxGagner strikes at Sir_Micksalot's forward base with Ulfsarks, Nidhogg and Ballistae, and takes down two of the Hill Forts, erecting one of his own in its place. As his third and final Hill Fort comes under Ballistae fire, Sir_Micksalot vainly tasks all his remaining Throwing Axemen to repair it, but it is not enough and the last stronghold falls just like the ones before it. JeVeuxGagner presses relentlessly onward, razing Sir_Micksalot's forward Town Center.
Sir_Micksalot now decides to play his final and best card. Having advanced to Mythic under Baldr, he now evokes the Ragnarok god power. At the sound of Gjallarhorn, all of his gatherers and dwarves are instantly and irreversibly converted into powerful Heroes of Ragnarok. The glowing midgets pour into JeVeuxGagner's base from all directions and begin chopping away at his base as if it were firewood.
The Nidhogg goes crazy, spitting fire all over the place in an attempt to defend his master's domain, but he is powerless to stop the onslaught. As JeVeuxGagner's last settlement falls, he resigns and Sir_Micksalot finds himself lord and master of the snowy island of Midgard.
Post-Game
In retrospect, I think this was a fun game to watch and write about, and it must have been a fun game to play. As I mentioned in the introduction, this game underscored how mobile the Norse civilizations really are (bases and positions were fluid, constantly changing) and how game-changing god powers can be. The Nidhogg almost won JeVeuxGagner the game, had it not been for Sir_Micksalot's last-minute Ragnarok. Ragnarok is, in fact, one of the most difficult god powers in the game to use, because if it is not used right, it can guarantee a total collapse of a player's economy. But if used correctly, as we have seen here, it can win someone the game.
In summation, a great game. I myself play almost exclusively as Loki, and watching another Loki player in action really added to my understanding of the god's capabilities and how to use him to full effect.
See you later,
KingWombat
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