RISK Domination XI: Finished!!

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Christ almighty.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I'm not sayin' nothin'. But yes that's my assessment.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

3 on Nebraska

Please attack Nebraska to Kansas, do or die. Put 'em all in Kansas.

I guess we'll take a gamble here and attack Oregon to Idaho to Montana to North Dakota to South Dakota. I hate to do it, but await further orders. Wanna see how many guys I'm left with.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I actually like those five where they are, so end turn.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

The way I saw it, I wouldn't have been able to hold a region whichever way I went. If I challenged Matt in Washington or California, it would've been a crapshoot: I could've lost, and my armies would've been totally depleted... or I could've won one state and my armies still would've been depleted. I just didn't see the reward there. I could've gone down into Utah/Colorado/Arizona/New Mexico, but that would've been tough too. If I'm going to have a bunch of states with one army in them, I'd rather have more than less. I'd also rather face nine states with one army each than one state with nine armies.

I won't be around long anyway.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

If anyone was going to deprive Hagrid of the Plains, Jas was the most likely suspect all along.

I did not assess such a move to be in my interest.
And, not that it matters much, I still don't.

Good to know.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Okay...

3 on Idaho
2 on Wyoming
2 on Nebraska
2 on South Dakota

Attack South Dakota to Minnesota, do or die. I don't know if this is clear, but if I win without losing any armies, send four to Minnesota and leave three in South Dakota. If I lose one army, split it evenly. If I lose two, send three. If I lose more, I still want to attack with the maximum number of dice, so just transfer the armies however you have to.

Please await further orders. Thanks Joe!

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Tactical move one from Kansas to Nebraska. That'll be all for this turn.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Gotta say, that's actually very interesting.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Gotta say, that's actually very interesting.

Since Matt had no real hope of holding the Southwest, it made no real sense for him to fight to temporarily take it.

I am a bit surprised by Jas.  The de facto truce with Tyrion makes sense as there's an excellent chance Snowstalker will attack him to secure a card, if nothing else, and if not attacked by Snowstalker, Tyrion would be a fragile ally who could move against Snowstalker and/or Polnut while Jas looks towards the west.  The only surprise I have is I'd have thought that if he moved against the Matt/Hagrid pairing this turn, it would have been to put all 6 reinforcements in Iowa and attack Iowa->South Dakota, or if he wanted something RISKier, all in Oklahoma and attack Oklahoma->Kansas.  There was a reasonable chance Matt would go after Colorado next turn, but now it's pretty much inevitable that Matt will attack Jas next turn.

I don't want to comment too much because obviously I have a stake in this, but I think the benefits of going against Matt in New Mexico are more immediate for Jas than the benefits of going against me in South Dakota. Adding South Dakota to his collection of territories only elongates a strange "arm" of land that will be difficult to hold onto. Attacking NM keeps his territories close together, heads off what would have been Matt's inevitable attack on the South (with two regional bonuses behind him), and at least gives Jas a chance at securing another region. Meanwhile, his nine armies in Arkansas are threatening enough to prevent me from encroaching too far on his holdings.

I say it's an interesting move because it's not necessarily what I would've done but I still understand it.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

If Jas were to attack you Hagrid, it wouldn't be for the purpose of gaining territory to hold, but of depriving you of your regional bonus.  Iowa->South Dakota would have been the surest way of doing it while Oklahoma->Kansas would likely have worked and kept Jas from being too strung out.

Altho to be fair I think his best choice for this turn would have been to split his reinforcements between Oklahoma and Missouri, attack Missouri->Illinois and then tactical move some armies from Arkansas into Louisiana.  He has little to gain from denying Tyrion the Southeast himself this turn, and Illinois and Mississippi were the only 1 battalion territories bordering him for a quick card pickup.  While Jas can't prevent a determined effort to deny him the bonus for holding the South, he could prevent a casual one in a way that wouldn't really adversely affect his ability to strike next turn.

No, I understand. I guess my way of playing though has always been "me first, others second." As long as I set and achieve my own incremental goals (and avoid making enemies whenever possible), I'm satisfied. Y'all can have whatever bonuses you want.

But I'm shutting up now, lol.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Be interesting to see what happens.  Hagrid can take out Jas and get his cards, but in doing so, he'll put a target on his back and his territory is not at all defensible.  Taking just one state for the card (either Washington or Iowa if he wants a compact border) and beefing up his borders might be a better choice.

This is definitely "the" decision. My mind still isn't made up yet, so we'll see. I won't keep you guys waiting for too much longer though, so don't worry.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Eh, what the hell?

1 on South Dakota
8 on Kansas

Attack Kansas to Oklahoma. Can I wait to see how it goes before I decide how many troops to send over?

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Let's just go with the big swoop around.

Send the maximum into Oklahoma. Then attack Oklahoma to New Mexico to Texas to Louisiana to Arkansas to Missouri, do or die. Refortify by sending the maximum back into Kansas. If I don't make it to Missouri for that move, please await further orders. If I make it but don't have anything to move from there, please also await further orders.

Ugh. This type of move always makes me nervous...

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Chris Christie shut down a bridge.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

It's more like 19. Which gives me a lot to think about. I've been pondering for a while and am still pondering now. So I hope no one's in too much of a hurry, lol. This is a bit of a big one.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I think I know what I'm going to do...

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Okay, I'm trading in a set of cards, but I'm having some trouble with the URLs. I want to cash in these: Kansas infantry, Michigan cavalry, Minnesota artillery.

Since I have possession of Kansas and Minnesota, I guess I get two armies on each, right? Excluding the state bonuses, I have 19 armies to distribute.

Please deploy as follows:

7 (+2) on Kansas
12 on New Jersey
(+2) on Minnesota

Attack Kansas to Oklahoma, all in. Then attack Oklahoma to Colorado, all in. If I don’t defeat Colorado, please await further orders. I don’t really know what I’d do in that situation, but it’d put a sufficient funk in things that I’d want to re-evaluate.

Next, attack New Jersey to New York to Connecticut, do or die.

If I ended up with more than one army in Colorado, please refortify by sending the maximum back to Kansas. If there are no men to move, await further orders.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Ew. Carry on with the New Jersey to New York attack, but don't go on to Connecticut if the opportunity arises. Stop attacking if I end up having to strike with less than three dice.

Await further orders.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I'm actually laughing my ass off.

The interesting thing is, I always assumed that if I broke through New York (and that was a big if), I'd be down to such a small army that going onto Connecticut wouldn't be a long-term thing. Well, the reality's a bit different. So this is another one I'm gonna sleep on. Ha.

Sorry Joe.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

My apologies, etc., etc.

Please carry on by attacking Connecticut from New York. Move the maximum number of armies into Connecticut.

Refortify by moving five armies from Minnesota to North Dakota. End turn.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Annndd, we're back to the status quo.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Quite a few of us have pretty depleted forces. It's gettin' interesting.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

 

Since I have possession of North Dakota, I’ll take an extra two armies there, please! Not counting those armies, I believe I have seven to distribute.

Please deploy as follows:

7 on Connecticut
(+2) on North Dakota

Please attack Connecticut to Rhode Island to Massachusetts to New Hampshire, all in. Once in New Hampshire, please consistently launch attacks into Maine using one army only. When I win Maine, just send in the one batallion. Continue by attacking Vermont from New Hampshire, all in.

Await further orders.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Attack Nebraska to Missouri to Arkansas, do or die.

Await further orders.