Alphabattle Part F: Further Fatalities!

Welcome back to the Alphabattle, where 26 civs battle it out to decide which is truly the best letter of the alphabet! We ended the last part with Minoa facing a potentially fatal attack from Khazaria, while the crossroads of war of Akkad vs Wampanoag and Bulgaria vs Zapotecs was making so little progress that even a naval attack on Bulgaria from Qocho was looking more threatening.

In the strawpolls, Qocho beats Akkad and Lithuania for most likely to win thanks to their impressive stats across the board. Minoa just edges out Normandy as the most likely civ to be eliminated next, while Wampanoag wins the much coveted fan favourite award for their impressive showing in the partitioning of the Ghaznavids. So without further ado, let's see how accurate your predictions were!

We start by seeing Poland be the first civ to take Order, as we get to admire Khazaria's citadelling techniques beautifully cutting off the new Polish capital from the rest of their empire.

It's time for the fifth Ottoman vs Taiwan war! Most of Taiwans troops were marching off towards Eora, but they've made peace now in order to fall back and defend their homeland, or even threaten Marsin. Iberia builds Uffizi to boost their culture game even further.

Meanwhile, Qocho's naval assault sadly but predictably seems to have petered out.

Minoa makes peace with Akkad and Lithuania, but it's Khazaria they really need to be bringing to the negotiating table as they start to damage Knossos, boosted by their newly Autocratic government.

In a shocking turn of events, some concrete progress actually seems to be being made in the Ottoman Taiwan war! Taipei is down to three quarters health and Tainan has been damaged, while Marsin is completely surrounded by Taiwanese troops. Are we going to see a city swap here? In the background, Poland ends their conflictless war with Yukagir.

The crossroads of war is as messy as ever, but it seems Bulgaria and Akkad are the winning sides right now. Off screen, Lithuania joins the Autocracy train, while Qocho builds Brandenburg Gate, always handy in a domination game.

The Ottomans side with Poland by taking Order, and they've brought Taipei down to red, while Taiwan themselves have brought Marsin down to yellow. It looks like both civs are content with the city swap, continuing their age old tradition of weakening each other to no overall advantage.

Ptolemy interrupts to let us know that the AI likes money. In the world congress, natural heritage sites does not pass, while Wampanoag are now embargoed.

In an astounding turn of events, the Ottomans capture Taipei, then persuade Taiwan to make peace, saving Marsin in the process! But in order to keep with their tradition of not actually making any gains, the Ottomans insist on burning Taipei to the ground. What a result. Meanwhile, Iberia and Lithuania declare war on Khazaria, but both are blocked by a neighbour so unlikely to pose a threat.

Knossos is back to full health for now, but Khazaria have enough troops in the area to still be a major threat. Minoa makes peace with the remaining few Ghaznavid units, while Qocho admits they failed in their naval assault and makes peace with Bulgaria.

Our first world project is completed, and it's Qocho and Akkad who are the clear leaders, with Qocho taking first place. Culture starts to become all the more important at this stage of the game as happiness due to ideologies becomes a major point, so this win does actually matter.

Minoa proves their skills in diplomacy as they make peace with Poland, Eora, and most importantly Khazaria. I wonder if Iberia and Lithuania's declaration of war scared Khazaria into this, and if so how much Minoa was involved in persuading those civs into those wars...

Suddenly, Poland find themselves defending on two (or arguably even three) fronts, as Eora and the Dervishes team up against them! While Eora's army isn't the largest, it is riflemen and gatling guns against musketmen and crossbowmen...

The Dervishes split their forces between Krakow and Gniezno, while leaving the Polish exclave for now.

In further exciting news, Vietnam declares war on Lithuania! It seems a questionable move though, as they start firmly on the defensive, with Lithuanian troops even threatening Hanoi.

In similar news, Poland actually makes a naval offensive against Eora, damaging and blockading Coogee, though Eora have a clear advantage on the Lento front.

Akkad makes peace with Wampanoag, ending one half of the crossroads of war, and they even persuade Wampanoag into giving up Shawmut in the peace deal. Quite a prize indeed.

Taipei is burned off the map, and Lithuania and Akkad declare war on the Ottomans in revenge. Lithuania could threaten Marsin with their navy, but otherwise this is largely symbolic.

The Dervishes declare their own symbolic war against Lithuania, while Bulgaria and the Zapotecs make peace, ending the other side of the crossroads of war, and this time no cities change hands.

Qocho and the Zapotecs declare war on Taiwan, and Qocho could actually do some damage with their navy if they wanted. Iberia side with Poland and the Ottomans by taking Order as their ideology.

Remember how I said culture and tourism were important now? Here we see some of the effects of this, with Akkad's empire struggling to stay happy.

Meanwhile Iberia is quite content, while the Ottomans must be very grateful to Iberia for joining their side.

Looking back at our original Order civ, Poland current capital has been taken down to the yellow by Eora... but guess what new UU I see... https://youtu.be/Pad2uTeEcQE

Vietnam have cleared most of the Lithuanian units out of their lands now, but Saigon's not quite safe yet. Poland celebrates their Winged Hussars by joining the symbolic war on Taiwan.

Lento is down to the red, but Coogee is entirely undefended, so Poland could potentially manage a swap here...

As for their other front, the Dervishes are struggling to make any real progress. Krakow has been stuck at 90% health pretty much since the start of the war. They adopt Autocracy in an attempt to fix this.

Romania also joins Autocracy, while Taiwan has actually taken the offensive against Qocho, harrassing their navy by Yarkend. Offscreen,
the Zapotecs end their diplomatic war against Minoa, while Vietnam builds the Hanging Gardens, which was somehow still available on turn 214..?

Eora's attack on Lento really slowed down, and after Lento even managed to recover back to the green, Eora admits defeat and makes peace, as do the Dervishes after equally making no progress. Those Winged Hussars really did turn the tide for Poland!

It seems Romania looks to put Normandy out of its misery! There's no route through on land, but Romania's navy could even finish the job, especially given they carry the first Ironclads that I've noticed on the cylinder.

The Zapotecs seem to miss fighting through a one tile space, as they declare war on Wampanoag! I don't expect much more to come out of this than came out of the crossroads of war though.

Vietnam has really turned the tide in their war, as Gardinas looks to be in danger. They also have full control of the seas which could even worry the Lithuanian capital itself. In the background, Wampanoag adopts Autocracy, Taiwan builds the Porcelain Tower, Khazaria is not embargoed, natural heritage sites is not enacted, the Dervishes end their symbolic war against Yukagir, and Lithuania ends their own symbolic war against Khazaria. In other words, not much.

Caen starts to take damage as Iberia also makes white peace with Khazaria. With three effectively 60 strength ironclads threatening the 55 strength city, this could actually prove fatal for Normandy.

The Zapotecs settle this one tile island, and celebrate by ending their war with Wampanoag, after the one tile grind proves to be just that.

Vietnam takes Gardinas down to they yellow! Meanwhile, Akkad is fielding the first planes of the game in Shawmut.

Ibn Battuta interrupts to tell us that Qocho are currently leading in tech, while Lithuania have slipped down since last part.

Caen falls to Romania in the first successful naval attack of the cylinder! Those pikemen won't be enough to flip it back, thus eliminating Normandy in 20th place! Normandy started poorly, settling a very questionable second city in the desert, then exiting their first war against Romania just before they had the potential to make any gains. After slipping in tech due to two poor cities, a long grind with Qocho saw their capital taken, before their old enemy Romania put them out of their misery. Press N to pay respects.

As one war ends, another begins! Qocho declares war on Jomon, as do the Zapotecs while making peace with Taiwan, though the Zapotecs will struggle to get any units to the front without some new open borders agreements. Right now in fact it seems that Jomon has the upper hand, as the only units that Qocho has near Andijon are a collection of useless archaeologists...

In more exciting news, Iberia declares war on Eora! Eora's forces have yet to recover from their attack on Poland, so this could spell serious trouble for them. Iberia bring along a well balanced and technologically advanced army too, even fielding a decent navy. This could be a bloodbath...

To the south west, Akkad continue their settling bonanza, in one tile snow cities that only the AI could make profitable. Offscreen, Romania makes peace with the remains of the Norman army.

Gardinas flips to green! This is a serious blow to Lithuania, especially given they started out the war looking threatening to Vietnam.

Jomon starts damaging Andijon, and have even brought their navy along to help out, a surprisingly strong play for the AI.

Meanwhile Iberia are making Eora fans very worried! Parramatta has fallen to the yellow, Coogie has fallen to the green, and Eora's army is looking smaller and smaller next to Iberia's.

Gardinas flips back and forth between Lithuania and Vietnam, and based on the troops around the city, that may well not be the last flip we see...

In more peaceful news, Bulgaria continues their own settling spree by joining Qocho on Atlantis.

We take a short mid-part break to get a full look at the various beliefs each religion gives! I'll leave you to take these in yourself, or just skip forward four slides if you don't care.

Right, that's enough peaceful talk, back to war! Qocho has sent a large naval force towards New Taipei, and while it's lacking Ironclads, it could still easily be enough to capture the city.

Andijon is surrounded on land, but Qocho's navy has cleaned up Jomon's. Qocho now also have an airforce, which has already taken Medina down to the yellow, not that that's likely to bother Jomon any time soon. Meanwhile, Akkad and the Ottomans end their conflict-less war.

Eora's fate gets darker still, as Poland's winged hussars want their revenge and join Iberia in the war, along with the Ottomans and Taiwan, who find themselves on the same side for a change. Coogee is now in the yellow while Parramatta is in the black, though Iberia don't have that many melee units nearby, meaning Poland could potentially take all the rewards. In the background, Lithuania ends two non-wars to focus on their defence against Vietnam, while Romania builds the Autocratic wonder Prora to keep their people happy.

Vietnam joins Akkad and Bulgaria on Zealandia with the tundra city of Can Tho. Akkad continues to churn out settlers to claim as much of the land as possible, though Bulgaria currently have a clear lead on the island.

Parramatta falls, and Iberia do manage to take the prize! It could well still flip a couple of times though, and Coogee is still anyone's game. As if Eora weren't doomed enough, Khazaria also joins in the war, looking to gain Ziryanka in the partitioning.

In the centre of the island, Vietnam and Lithuania make peace, with Vietnam retaining Gardinas! It's a clear victory for the Trung Sisters.

In a powerful diplomatic move, Taiwan adopts Autocracy, persuading the autocratic Qocho into making peace with their new ideological allies, doubtless saving New Taipei in the process. This also means they now have a different ideology to the Ottomans, as if they needed more reasons to restart a war with their old enemy...

Parramatta does indeed flip back to Eora, but Iberia's still ready to recapture it, while Coogee falls to the black with both Polish and Iberian melee units hoping to deal the final blow, and Khazaria's forces start to arrive at the gates of Ziryanka, as Finland also joins in the war.

In a shocking twist, Eora persuades Iberia into peace at the cost of only 39 gold per turn, even managing to keep their capital! It's not all good news for Eora though, as Poland is still eager to capture Coogee, while Khazaria's forces have cleaned out the remains of Eora's military and look hungry for both Ziryanka and Parramatta.

Eora's not the only empire in trouble though, as Romania, Vietnam, and most importantly Wampanoag declare war on Minoa! Wampanoag have the clear tech advantage, but the tricky terrain may yet save Phaistos.

In the East, Qocho have more or less managed to clear the Jomon forces out of their borders, plus they've bombed Medina down to the black, but they've no land forces to support their air force. Jomon adopts Autocracy, but this fails to be enough to persuade Qocho into making peace this time.

Coogee falls to Poland! Parramatta looks next in line, as Khazaria's forces descend...

...unless that is they get distracted by Minoa, who they've just declared war on! At the moment, Khazaria have no forces in the area, and Minoa could even make gains, but that large army that's currently threatening Eora could very easily change direction and cause some serious damage.

The Zapotecs return to their tradition of declaring wars through tiny passages, this time going back to war with Bulgaria, who have just adopted Autocracy offscreen.

They may come to regret this though, as Bulgaria send their navy towards the Zapotec's island exclave Zaachila!

Qocho have made their way through the Jomon troops and Norman refugees and finally got a unit to the gates of Medina. Unfortunately, it's a ranged unit. We could be here a while...

The newly annexed Ziryanka has fallen to the red, while Polish winged hussars and Khazarian lancers and GWI continue the battle for Parramatta. But even more excitingly, Iberia are fed up of not making any war gains, and declare war on Yukagir once more, managing to take Andrushkino down to the yellow in one turn! The tech difference here is clear, with GWI supported by planes for Iberia against Yukagir's riflemen.

Ziryanka falls to Khazaria! Prepare your E keys, it's now not a question of whether Parramatta will fall, but to whom.

Wampanoag start to make small progress against Minoa, though slightly questionably they choose to build the Louvre rather than more troops. In the World Congress, Pears are now banned, while Natural Heritage sites again fails to pass. The Zapotecs join the Autocratic movement that's sweeping the cylinder.

Andrushkino falls to Iberia in their first city capture of the game!

It then flips back and forth though, as Yukagir prove they aren't giving it up without a fight. To the north, Parramatta is still in as much trouble as ever.

Poland decides to actually try to make something of their war with Taiwan, as their pirate ships capture some of Taiwan's powerful War Junks UUs, and start to threaten New Taipei.

Phaistos has fallen to the yellow, though whether it's thanks to Wampanoag's cannons or Khazaria's planes is unclear. Either way, it's in trouble. Khazaria start moving more land forces in Minoa's direction too. Will Minos be able to pull off another act of diplomatic genius, or is his time running out?

Zaachila has taken damage, but it's not proving enough to be a threat unless Bulgaria bring many more ships along.

Medina remains in the black, as Qocho finally brings a melee unit within range of the city. Jomon makes peace with the Zapotecs just in case.

Parramatta falls, and it's Khazaria who claims the prize, eliminating Eora in 19th place! Eora was too slow to expand, only ever settling two cities. They eventually captured a third from Yukagir after a long grind, but their troops were too tired and out of date when all their neighbours teamed up against them to seal their fate. Press E to pay respects.

In the east, Medina finally falls to Qocho, 22 turns after they declared war, proving that Qocho is a big fan of the slow grindy war.

Jomon proves that building a navy in a wee inland lake wasn't a useless idea after all, as they recapture Medina, only for Qocho to flip it back again.

Back in the south west, Andrushkino looks firmly under Iberian control, but it doesn't look like they'll be making much more progress any time soon. In Minoa on the other hand, Wampanoag have given up on Phaistos and gone straight for the juicier prize of Knossos, while Khazaria seems to have had the same idea, together taking the capital down to the yellow.

Pliny interrupts to tell us that the Order civs of Iberia and the Ottomans are struggling with happiness due to competing with most all of the rest of the cylinder in the ideology battle.

Qocho manages to keep Medina for a turn as their navy threaten Korekawa, but Jomon aren't done yet, and it looks like Medina should ready itself for many more colour changes to come...

Suddenly, Akkad declares war on Lithuania! Their air force in Shawmut combined with their navy have already brought the Lithuanian capital down to the yellow! But Shawmut itself could also be in danger, as it has no land troops whatsoever to defend itself with...

...and on that cliffhanger, we arrive at the InfoAddict stats! Strawpolls will be at the end of the stats and in the comments as usual, so don't forget to fill out your predictions! Not much change in the population charts at the top...

...or indeed at the bottom, though Taiwan have taken quite a hit from the loss of Taipei.

Qocho maintains their lead in production, while Vietnam is on the rise at the cost of Lithuania.

Jomon are a new sight at the bottom of the production charts, which could prove dangerous given their war with the production leaders...

Qocho also lead in military, while Khazaria have leapt up to 6th place, not a comforting sight for Minoan fans. Akkad and Lithuania are actually fairly well matched for military, so who knows how that one will go.

It's the familiar four of Minoa, Taiwan, Yukagir and Jomon at the bottom here, while Wampanoag also makes a surprise appearance. Maybe Minoa's got some hope left after all?

Iberia have actually taken a (small) lead in tech now, while Finland prove they're still relevant despite staying quiet this part by taking the number two spot joint with Qocho and Akkad, proving that you can still produce science in a land of tundra and snow.

Yukagir and Minoa could clearly use some advice from Finland as to how they've managed that though, as they once again find themselves at the bottom of the tech stats. Poland and Bulgaria are also struggling in tech, and will need to step up their game to stay relevant.

There's no religion map this part I'm afraid, but it's got to the stage where things have settled down slightly as most cities haven't changed religion since last time.

And that's it for this instalment! Two more civs have been eliminated today, but who will be next? Will Minoa be able to fend off Wampanoag and Khazaria? Will Qocho or Iberia make any more progress in their flip-filled wars? Will Akkad or Lithuania come out the victors in their new war? Watch this space!

Here's the strawpolls for your predictions and opinions:
Who will win? https://www.strawpoll.me/15746248
Who will be eliminated next? https://www.strawpoll.me/15746250
Who do you most want to win? https://www.strawpoll.me/15746251