Carthage/Epirus

[Jaywalker-Jack]

@Jaywalker-Jack

I don't know where one would get this sizable garrison for Taras, though. Even getting rid of those Elephants (they're pretty darned useful, too) you start off losing ~5000 mnai per turn. What did you do?

So far I've conquered Pella and Demetrias, and the Macedonians have accepted peace. The rub is that they have a MASSIVE army just outside Corinth.

As for Carthage, that's what I thought. It would actually be pretty easy right off the bat it seems to me, since you pretty much have a full stack army just waiting in the Carthage area.

Re Epirus, keep the elephants, the ability to assault a city without waiting a turn is a huge advantage.
Instead, disband all your fleets except one, which will suffice for ferrying troops between Ambrakia and Taras later. (As long as a fleet is in a port, it is invulnerable to attack, and the short distance between the ports of those two cities means you will never have to end a turn with the fleet exposed in the open ocean. As a result you only need one naval unit.)
You also start with a lot of light cavalry, keep maybe one unit of those to accompany Pyrrhos and disband the rest.
A stack of 4 or 5 levy phalanxs plus a few light troops in Taras should keep the Romans at bay for the time being. That means you have to build your MIC there to level 2 ASAP.
As for the remainder of the Macedonians - youve got a breather now - they are at war with the KH, and Athenai blocks the route from Korinth into your territory. If you wait a little while, the Macedonians will probably use that giant army to attack one or more of the Greek cities. Both sides will be worn down by this conflict, so you should be preparing a reinforced army to swoop in and conquer the Pelopponese for yourself!
Afterwards, youl have the finances to take the fight to the Romans.

With Carthage, just watch out for the fact that like the historical Hannibal, the commander you send into Italy will not be able to rely on reinforcements from home. As long as your economy is strong though (through taking lots of eloutheroi settlements) you will be able to afford mercenaries, of which in Italy there are plenty.