In my Broken Crescent campaign my vendetta against the Mongols is almost complete. The enemy broke through my cordon west of Samarqand, and were marching on lightly held Balkh, but before they could reach it my armies surrounded them, and in a series of massive battles all but annihilated them. Their sole remaining general, Khan Ogodei, retreated and escaped with fewer than two hundred men, fleeing all the way south to the Herat region. I have vowed that he will not survive long.

To elucidate, I declared a vendetta after the Mongols brought over eight thousand men to exterminate Bukhara despite the most valiant defense my men within could offer. Since the declaration my field armies have done nothing but march directly towards confrontation with the Horde. No more waiting behind bridges, we went on the offensive.

There have been some horrific defeats. Over two thousand javelin men died to drag down a hundred and fifty heavy lancers, and I counted it a small price to pay. Twenty five hundred mixed tier one spears and archers fell to drag down five hundred more Mongols, including Khan Jochi.

There have been some defeats more sweet than heroic victories too, including a battle in which two hundred elephants slew three thousand Mongols... but were driven amok, and lost the field.

And, of course, there have been a few heroic victories, with mixed force armies including AI reinforcements butchering whole stacks of Mongols.

All in all it's been the best solo campaign I've played yet. Just to put it in perspective, the power of the Mongols and the improvements in the battle AI, I have 54 provinces and 12 generals. And I didn't blitz either, the **** Mongols just keep killing my commanders. Even in victory they often die.

Next I'm going to thrash the Seljuks a bit, even if my Ghorid vassals protest, and finish up the campaign.

If you haven't tried Broken Crescent, I highly recommend it!