DISCLAIMER:
The title sounds like something you would find in a dirty magazine, but it is not what you’re thinking...

I am a big team player and have an assortment of different strategies I use with different civilizations but this is one I came up with that is truly unique. This is not the strategy to end all strategies; rather it is an alternate rush you can perform to have fun. It is harder to pull off than a standard rush and requires more team work, but every time I have tried it, it has been a blast. And isn’t that what the game is about?

Even if you do not like the rush idea, this team card selection choice is very powerful in Fortress (combined with a Spanish FF) when expensive high hit point units that are cost effective to be healed become available, Missionaries can be replaced in 10 seconds, and +63% damage to artillery is sweet! In other words, a rush is not required to make this team civilization and deck selection useful. It can be a powerful boost late game as well.

Interested? Read on…


INTRODUCTION:
The Spanish have the best priests in the game. Yea Aztec’s are great but they are never used for healing due to their usefulness at the fire pit. Mayan are cheap who knows if you will get them on your map. Surgeons require a shipment, etc., etc. The reason Missionaries are so good is because of their speed, they can get in and out and never slow the army down when moved together (unlike priests with a speed of 4).

Hell with the Age 2 Mission Fervor church technology (200 gold + 200 wood), these guy have a speed of 8.05 and an amazing 405 hit points (450 EHP at range). That’s right, those donkeys can just about keep up with the Sioux WC (speed 8.1) and they can tank. Before they die, they can run away and heal each other.

So what am I getting at? Well, the Russians have an Age 2 shipment called “Team Cheap Priests.” This brings the cost of the Missionaries from 100 gold + 100 wood with a 40 second train time to 50 gold + 50 wood with a 10 second train time! This makes the Missionaries affordable in Colonial and a 10 second train time is a huge boost early and late game!

Now, why would I want a lot of Missionaries? To help spread the word of course. There is another Age 2 shipment for the Spanish called Unction. This grants the Missionaries an aura that boosts the attack of nearby soldiers by 5% within a Range 24. 5% is not much, but what is little known is that the aura is stackable in a non-linear function (does not simply stack 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, etc.). George_uk helped develop the relationship with in-game testing based on his knowledge of teepee aura stacking using the game's editor. The relationship is 100%*(1.05^N - 1) = + % damage output. Here is a table showing the effects for Missionaries 1 thru 10:

# Missionaries.....Aura Effect (+ % Damage)
1.......................5%
2.......................10%
3.......................16%
4.......................22%
5.......................28%
6.......................34%
7.......................41%
8.......................48%
9.......................55%
10.....................63%

Since Missionaries have a build limit of 10, you could potentially have an amazing 63% damage bonus on top of other bonuses! Even with 25 dancers on the fire pit, the War Dance only grants +30% to damage, and we all know how effective that can be. And a 24 radius is large, the same size as the Native War Chiefs auras.


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SPAIN

REQUIRED CARDS:
Age 1:
3 Villagers

Age 2:
700 Wood
Unction

RECOMMENDED CARDS:
Age 1:
TEAM Archaic Soldier Training
Economic Theory

Age 2:
5 Villagers
600 Wood
700 Gold
8 Pikemen
7 Rodeleros
6 Rodeleros
TEAM Hand Infantry Damage
Hand Infantry Hit points

Age 3:
1000 Food
1000 Wood
Hand Infantry Combat
2 Falconets
5 Lancers
4 Lancers
Hand Cavalry Combat
Royal Mint
6 Stradiots
Caballeros

Age 4:
Factory
Industrial Revolution

DISCOVERY:
All vills on food (standard)
First card 3 villagers
Age with 500 food at 15 vills (can use 200 gold + tower at lower levels but will be much harder to pull off)

TRANSITION TO COLONIAL:
1.) Move 1 villager to forward base location (close to Blockhouse for protection) and chop wood when get there.
2.) 4 to gold (~216 gold)
3.) 4 stay of food (~300 food)
4.) 6 to wood (~300 wood)

COLONIAL:
1.) Second Card 700 wood, click this immediately in Colonial
2.) Keep constant villager production with all new villagers going to food.
3.) Build a barracks and another house immediately.
4.) Collect 700 wood and Build a Church at the forward base under protection of Blockhouse but in the rear and as hidden as possible.
5.) At this point, the Team Cheap Priests card should have arrived. The remaining 500 wood will be used to spawn pikemen and Missionaries. Do not go crazy on the Missionaries, make only enough as you have gold (and will only need 500 gold before you can change the 4 on gold to wood). You goal is to have 15 pikemen* and 10 Missionaries before 1st attack with more pikemen being added.
6.) Send Unction as 3rd card
7.) 4th card can be 8 pikemen, 7 Rodeleros, 600 wood, or Hand Infantry Hit points depending on the needs. Definitely send Hand Infantry Hit points before TEAM Hand Infantry Damage (need them to stay alive longer, they will do plenty of damage with the Missionaries)

*NOTE: You do not have to make pikemen. Depending on the opponent, super crossbows, or super raiding hussars may be a better selection! Of course if you choose Hussars, the deck and build order will change but it is very fun as well. Play your game, this is only a guide…

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RUSSIAN
Russia is a support civilization for the most part making either strelets or Cossacks to support the rush of whatever the Spanish player’s main unit selection (maybe even Grenadiers if the Spanish goes Hussars). Their deck can be composed or water or land based cards and the only real difference is the inclusion of 1 card. The rest is optional based on your preference.

If the Spanish goes pike men, I suggest massing stelets initially.

REQUIRED CARDS:
Age 2:
Team Cheap Priests

RECOMMENDED CARDS:
All of your standard Russian cards, only 1 shipment is required of Russia to make this happen so only slows them down slightly (but can benefit from free healing the entire game).

DISCOVERY:
Standard age-up

TRANSITION TO COLONIAL:
Move 1 villager to forward base location and create a Blockhouse or stable depending on the supporting unit you will make (Spain will typically go pikes or crossbows but hussars are also possible).

COLONIAL:
First Colonial Card should be Team Cheap Priests so your Spanish ally can start the Missionary production quickly. Although it is possible, but requires teamwork, to amass an army first, then work on the Missionaries once a counter rush is determined not to be happening

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STRENGTHS
1.) Unction is stackable up to the build limit of 10 Missionaries. Since every Missionary available grants 5% to damage, a total bonus of 63% will be granted to all of the Spanish units (non-linear function). With the Team Cheap Priests Russian HC shipment, they can be quickly and cheaply replaced. The card allows them to be spawned in 10 seconds (opposed to 40) at 50 wood and 50 gold (opposed to 100 wood and 100 gold).

2.) Can heal ally’s units quickly with 10 Missionaries running around. Although strelets typically are not the ideal unit to heal, this will change as the game progresses and artillery and cavalry can be easily repaired.

3.) Sending in Missionaries with a raiding force can be very helpful, not only for the bonus damage (very useful when raiding), but to heal when damaged, and strike again with the same units… And don’t forget, they are faster than hussars (with or without Mission Fervor) and make excellent scouts.

4.) Mission Fervor is available in Age 2 but I do not think it is necessary since Missionaries have a lot of hit points and the enemy will be firing on the siege. The Unction area of effect is 24 so it is easy to move the priests to safety if being fired on but still receive the aura. Late game, definitely use this upgrade as it makes them extremely fast and even stronger.

5.) Lets look at some Colonial statistics:

Crossbow +63%:
29 Range damage (6 can 1 shot kill a villager)
13 Siege damage

Musketeer +63%:
37 Range damage
21 Melee damage (63 to cavalry)
32 Siege damage

Pikeman +63%:
13 Melee damage (65 to cavalry)
52 Siege damage
*15 of these guys can take down a TC in less than 30 seconds.

1.4 Rodelero +63%:
16 Melee damage (56 to cavalry)
16 Siege damage

War Dogs +63%:
27 Melee damage (wow!)

Hussar +63% (Missionaries are faster than Hussars so they can keep up):
48 Melee damage (4 can 1 shot kill a villager)
32 Siege damage

That may not sound like a whole lot, but this is in Colonial and a lot of damage can be done with Spain’s ultra fast shipments. Also, the aura stacks after other upgrade cards have been played (same as Iroquois WC). Mathematically that is equivalent to the upgrade bonuses multiplying a higher base damage so you get more for your buck.

6.) A few Fortress units:

Falconet:
326 to buildings
489 to infantry

Lancer:
96 damage to infantry (without the Caballeros card)

Etc. etc.


WEAKNESSES
1.) A slow but powerful rush with anti cavalry, anti building, and anti HI and a soft counter to light infantry but is susceptible to strong Age 2 skirmisher units.

2.) If the opponent goes full crossbows and hussars, then you will probably lose. Once the pikemen die, the hussars can wipe out the strelets. Of course Cossacks will help take out crossbows and pike men can kill the hussars, this is a battle of micro and how fast you can take down a TC.


MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1.) Always heal the most expensive units after each battle.

2.) Yes it is easier to make more pikemen than a church and missionaries but the missionaries will benefit the game indefinitely. While no strategy is full proof, it is a fun strategy and something out of the ordinary to try with a different set of benefits.


REPLAYS
I had a few games using this strategy with success but against lower ranked opponents. Now my Russian ally that is also my rank is back to school and I haven’t seen him in a long time. Moreover, I started playing Aztecs but thought I would share this strategy in the hopes of acquiring a Russian player to play with that is also around my rank (1st Lieutenant / Captain). As soon as I can an equally ranked Russian ally, I will post some records.

[This message has been edited by Cyclohexane (edited 08-14-2007 @ 12:20 PM).]