Cool; thanks for that very specific advice, Seasoned Alcoholic!

I feel like a sellout after starting this post, but I'm trying a Brutii Imperial Campaign (H/H) YET AGAIN with the intention of wiping out Egypt before they can destroy another faction. This time I was a bit more methodical and patient.

I took Appollonia on turn 1 and started to build an Egypt Assault Army. I got an alliance with Macedon and trade rights with the Greeks; of course that lasted all of 3 turns. By the time my 1-stack army was halfway across the Mediterranean, the Macedons attacked and threw me out of Apollonia. I started to go into the hole a bit, but was able to take Alexandria and get back into profit.

This time, rather than sack towns, I accepted that I'd have to stay put and hold them until Egypt was utterly dead. The last couple times I tried this I would take the town, exterminate, and raze all buildings -- but when I left I'd get a stack full of the Uber Golden Peasants for my troubles. No more of that, thanks. I took and held Alexandria and Memphis, and currently I'm right outside Thebes. I know Egypt has Jerusalem and Sidon, but hopefully they don't have Antioch yet... oh who am I kidding. I'm lucky the Seleucids are still alive; their map information showed they only have 2 provinces, far away from each other. Maybe Parthia will be the big power in this game... don't I wish!

My plan is to destroy Egypt, then get out of that part of the world altogether and go back to fighting Greece & Macedon. As I conquer in the middle east, I'll plant Roman temples & buildings to make my eventual return that much easier. I know my economy will take a hit when I leave all those rich towns, but I should be able to make it all back by disbanding and taking Greece.

I'll let you know how it goes. So far the Egyptians haven't done anything "cheaty", and I'm hoping to stick with this... for real.

As a side note, I noticed the Scipii have taken that town on Corsica or Sardinia... the island west of Sicily. They have that town plus 2 towns on Sicily (Carthage stil has Lilybaeum). I just thought it was interesting that the Scipii actually expanded beyond Sicily in a 1.3 game... To be honest though, I'm kind of looking forward to fighting a strong Carthage by myself at the end.

CountMRVHS