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View Full Version : Americas Campaign: Tarascans



frogbeastegg
09-03-2007, 15:03
This topic is for the Tarascan faction in Kingdoms expansion's Americas campaign. This faction needs to be unlocked before you can play it.

Xipe Totec
10-07-2008, 18:28
Thought I'd give this one a go because no-one had posted here, and because Xipe Totec was one of their favourite deities. Probably had a skinful as well at the time.:beam:

As you start with plenty of good warriors but only two lands you obviously need to start conquering fast, as your income is miniscule at the start and the armies darn expensive. To the south the mighty Aztecs clash with the mighty Tlaxcallans in their flowery war and the Spanish arrive all over the place with steel, guns and horses. No fun to be had there then for a cautious general like Xipe.

:idea2: Why not ally with your historical enemy the Aztecs, and let them fight the Spanish hordes whilst you build up an empire to the North? There are a few decent rebel settlements who can't stop you siegeing them and then just a wasteland of rebels, Apaches and Chichimecs, none of whom can fight Jaguars, Eagles and your other heavy infantry so just charge and hack em up before they can shoot you with their nancy bow and arrows. By the time I was satisfied with my early gains to make peace with the rump left of the Chichimecs (as a buffer against the Apaches and later Frenchies), unexpected things developed in the South. :inquisitive:

The Tlaxcallans wiped the floor with the Aztecs, and made themselves the no.1 power in the world, as the Spanish lost their last heir and turned rebel. As the Tlax looked like getting more and more powerful the longer I left them alone I decided to throw my three stacks at them before my allies the Aztecs folded completely. So far so good I am scaring them into running and then slaughtering the prisoners to make my generals even more scary for the next battle. Of course lots of assassinations help to increase your faction leaders dread.

My strategy is pretty basic though. Build mostly Jaguars and the scary heavy infantry for the middle, with Eagles on the flanks, and run at them, surround and chase. No cavalry can make for a frustrating chase sometimes though, and worst of all the M2TW weird thing where as soon as an enemy unit breaks the attacking infantry just stops and says orders completed, without chasing. This drives me nuts as I frantically try and get my elite warriors to remember what fighting is all about. Pause needed here or the enemy will escape every time. Also, assaults seem to be very costly whatever you do, and best avoided unless you are against only a few units.

I'm hoping the Maya will squish the Aztecs and hurt the Tlaxcallans Southern front eventually, with the Spanish dogs now gone. Still seems a bit of a grind though just hacking away with Jaguars. Eagle warriors seem to die too easily in prolonged melee so I use them more like light cavalry. I was disappointed that you can't build Arrow Warriors for some skirmishing before the attack. Your archers suck.

The visuals are of course colourful and the armies represent what was there. I love the Tarascan flags too. Perhaps not the most exciting way to play this campaign though. :wall: