Hello, I am a Greek and I am not wealthy.

But how can this be?? The story follows...

Well, actually, I've become very poor in my 2nd Greek campaign on H/H. My first was M/M, and in that I was making more money than Zeus and basically rolling over all opposition to spread Stoicism across the world. (It must be so, for Ariston to go out of his way to place a pop-up about his philosophy... RITE?)

I suppose part of the reason is because of v1.2, which takes away the option to sell your pretty little map to other factions for thousands.

I started out my H/H Greek campaign just like my M/M one, immediately storming Corinth and pissing off (and only) the Macedonians on the first turn. By turn 3 I have taken the city, and immediately after Macedon calls for a ceasefire, which was unexpected and I accept. This gives me time to prepare the attack on the rebel city of Athens.

Meanwhile, Sicilly is quiet as the factions there wait in the calm before the storm. And exactly like my M/M game, Carthage is the first to break the peace, and lamentedly, as before they choose to attack me instead of the Scipii. Lamentedly for them, that is. They attack at the worst possible time: After I had built the next level of barracks to obtain regular

Hoplites, but before they themselves have any reliable artillery or missiles. And my lively Syracusean governor has managed to find a band of Cretan Archers while he was out strolling in the woods. With the incredible courage born to the Sons of Helen, I drive out the invaders, after the Carthaginians run the gauntlet of my walls. And arrow towers. And burning oil. And missile fire coming down long narrow roads.

The single greatest difference that v1.2 has made for this campaign so far is that the Hoplite is nerfed. Perhaps it is the higher difficulty from Medium, but even from the front, a charge will make the Hoplites buckle initially, before (and if) they push back and reform the line. They don't creep sideways as much, and they are far less powerful and take longer to beat an enemy unit in front. No more neat lines of dead! They are also now highly vulnerable on the move. If the hoplites are attacked while moving, even from the front, the front ranks will engage with swords, BUT you can tap the Halt key and they will switch to spears and grind away at the enemy as per normal. The deep formation actually works now, because a long thin one will immediately crumple, or they will all switch to swords (typically, if the hoplites can't hold off the enemy with spears only, the first rank will switch to swords but their buddies in the back will keep poking with their spears). I actually like the nerfing, it makes it all seem more natural for some reason. They are still formidable from the front like always, only now they aren't super humans at it. I've lost whole units of hoplites, surging them through broken walls and gates, where previously they could be relied upon to pin the defenders down while the archers do their work and I pile the infantry through the breaches. But, ah, such is war.

In the East, efforts are made to turn Pergamum into a military complex in anticipation of expansion in that direction. I gain an alliance with Pontus but it is not so easy with the Selucids. I take the bother of getting my general off Rhodes and into Halicarnassus because it is hard to be lively on a small island. In my M/M game, Pontus and Selucia went to war, but in this one the Selucids attack Halicarnassus, and fail.

Meanwhile, a few hundred rebels appear around Apollonia after I eventually take that city. My first impulse is to crush the upstarts, then I scout the rebels and saw that they were comprised of Greek units, and in particular, 3 whole units of heavy peltasts. I splurge to get them, and they prove handy later when I march towards Thessalonica and a full stack of Macedonians comes to meet me on open ground. In my previous games, I never used skirmishers, a preference retained from Shogun and

Medieval, but after reading so many good things about them in Rome, I decided that I had to use a few of them at least. I've decided that skirmishers like peltasts are good to have if you have nothing better. They can do heaps of carnage if they throw their javelins into a flank or rear, but that sort of opportunity doesn't come by often. Apparently, the speed with which they fire is demoralizing; a few volleys into an enemy that's pinned down by hoplites is often enough to rout them.

They're the fastest moving infantry, so they are handy for chasing the routing enemy from the field. Thessalonica is as good as mine, and the Macedonians were kind enough to build it up for me. But then, in a huge upset, Pontus breaks the alliance and attacks Pergamum, because, I think, I had accidentally wandered into its territory while exercising my governor. But still...!

With regards with the Scipii in Sicilly, I had hoped that they would stay neutral and keep being nice trading partners (thus, with SPQR and the other 2 Roman families as well). History repeats itself and the Scipii come for Syracuse, instead of the surely weakened Carthagianians, a move that reeks of spite rather than logic. Like my M/M game, I am forced to go to war with the Romans early while having to contend with Carthage, only this time there is Pontus and Selucia as well. But the saga is far from over. THRACE tries to invade Thessalonica, so by the mid-260s I am at war with NINE factions including Rebels. On the plus side, Gaul has become my ally. WHOOPEE! I've never played the Selucids, but it sure feels like I'm playing them. In my M/M game, the Macedonians perished at my hand by this time, and Thrace was probably gone or dying, and I would surely have been sailing for the Romans.

And then the volcano erupts. I had completely forgotten about that. I lose an emissary (will of the Gods, eh?) but soon afterwards, Messana becomes mine.

In the East, things do not go smoothly for me. Pergamum becomes a place where it takes forever to get anything done, rather then my envisioned shining city of hoplites, all thanks to Pontus coming around every now and then to say hello with whole stacks of armies. Instead, Halicarnassus is relatively peaceful because eventually I realized there is a bridge there that can hold off the Selucids with a relatively small force. But by then Halicarnassus is well into economy mode.

The time is around 258. The 9 factions at war with Greece have started going neutral or allying with one another and I dread what's coming next: war on all fronts. I had also completely forgotten about the plague, which starts in Thessalonica around this time and brings things there to a standstill. Sicilly is totally mine, conquered by one general and his sons (I lose a general in Lilybaeum to a charge gone wrong). In my M/M game, I would be rolling over the Romans, to wage war with the Gauls, now, I am struggling to build an economy. I am earning about 10k a turn, which is gone in a flash, and there is also the problem of naval blockades, which take place more often with v1.2. I plan on holding off Macedon and Thrace around Thessalonica, to invade either the Romans or Carthage. I need to enslave largish populations to pump up Syracuse and Sparta to large cities (Syracuse is ahead!) and then I can reap the benefits of Spartan Hoplites. The tale continues...

As a last word, I think the Greek strategy is rather ironically symbolized by its flag, the lightning bolt. Greece's collection of Hoplites are the slowest things on the field, and their cavalry are sadder than the Romans (somewhat moot
because the Romans have historically incorrect powerful cavalry in this game) and the barbarians. Their battlefield tactics emphasize close infantry action, and an advancing battle line, with missile support. Well, I suppose this is true for nearly all factions in general, but Greeks in particular because this is all they can do, and do WELL. Another thing is that you need a rock solid economy going. There are 3 classes of archer; short-ranged skirmishers, units with regular range, and the long range ones. It seems that the Greeks get their long range units long before any other of the factions, through Cretan Archers, which populate all of their starting territories. But because they are mercs, they are expensive. And because of the nature of the hoplite, hoplite armies are incredibly weak on the flanks. The majority of my casualties are from flanking cavalry. So, while the Greeks plod around on the tactical field, on the campaign map they need to be FAST. Whether you use spies or siege equipment, the Greeks need to take the cities as quickly as possible. On open ground they present their weaknessses, but in cities they are unbeatable. I've played Julii, Germania, Britannia, but only the Greeks I've enjoyed so much that I'm doing them twice.

So, like the cockney Greek General says: Now is the time for Greek courage! And always remember: Front Towards Enemy!