A bit late, but technically I haven't missed a week of game recaps, just posted the last one to a different site. This week: My two favorite players, both returning faces who both won in their past entries, in an absolutely wild match.
This was game 2 of a Saturday Smackdown, played on Saguenay. Aizamk won game 1 and elected to go with Japan. Boneng countered with Russia. Russia vs Japan is certainly an interesting matchup and generally one where the outcome is clear fairly soon. Either the Russian player successfully thwarts the Japan boom or Japan gets away with it. But did you think a game between Aizamk and Boneng would be normal?
Yeah... Strap in.
Openings
No 10/10 Ninja rushes or Tori Gate/Daimyo pushes for Aizamk. He lays down an early consulate, allies with the Portuguese, and begins his shrine boom. Boneng also plays standard, aging up with 14 villagers and building a forward blockhouse to get some early pressure going once he hits colonial. He does build the blockhouse with 4 villagers, however. He's in a bit of a hurry to get Japan on the defensive before its boom kicks in. That's how basically every matchup vs Japan works. The non-Japan player is on a clock. Stagnate Japan before time runs out or else.
Boneng on the Offensive
As soon as his first shipment of 5 Cossacks arrives, Boneng moves in. The cavalry, supported by a first batch of Strelets, march into Aizamk's base and just knock over the small force of Yumis inside. (A bit of a mistake, I think, to train Yumis versus Russia. But not really my place to critique the play of a Brigadier.)
Aizamk is immediately put in an awkward position. His villagers are stuck in the town center and he doesn't have enough coin for his sentries to push away the Russian force. He's not in danger of losing his town center or anything, but it's generally hard to win Age of Empires games when you can't gather resources.
"I sense a short game coming here." -ZutaZuta
A shipment of 5 Yumi archers arrive for Aizamk and Boneng decides to back off and boom, having killed some villagers and slowed the Japanese economy down mightily. Now he could have gone for the throat here, and perhaps that would have been the better move, but this is the safe one. He's ahead. No sense in throwing a lead away by over committing. Besides, it wouldn't be a Boneng game if he didn't get to at least age 3. He begins what winds up being a massive spam of fishing boats (109 will be made when it's all said and done) and prepares for the long game.
But this doesn't mean he's done pressuring. Once his mass of Strelets recovers he sends them right back into Aizamk's base. In the brief lull between pushes he threw up walls to protect himself and is there anything prettier in AOE3 than a really efficiently made wall? I don't think so. Aizamk's wall is certainly pretty, but there's a small gap in it that the Strelets march straight through and now Boneng has the best of both worlds. He's outbooming Aizamk and at the same time applying strong pressure. But we all know how things go in this series. The tide will turn.
IT'S A TRAP
Having corrected the hole in his wall, Aizamk knows the next push is likely going to be on the unprotected left side of his base, where his villagers are currently gathering coin and wood. He plops down a stable in the back and moves his small army over to protect it. Right on cue, Boneng moves in with his Strelets. They push the outnumbered Japanese army back. The villagers flee from the mine and the Yumi retreat up to the northernmost corner of the map. The Strelets pursue, sensing an opportunity to wipe the enemy army out.
"He's gotta be careful here not to overextend into a big pop of cav." -ZutaZuta
And for the first time in this series, Zuta is dead on. Naginatas pop out of the stable 2 seconds after he says this. Boneng is immediately on the retreat. He sends his Cossacks in to intercept the Japanese cavalry, and for a moment it looks like he will hold it off just fine, but Aizamk focuses the Russian cavalry down and reinforces with even more Naginatas. Once the Cossacks are down, the Strelets stand no chance.
Boneng positions his units as well as he can, in the thick of trees next to a friendly blockhouse, but Aizamk's trap works perfectly. The Strelets are slaughtered and the blockhouse falls soon after.
It is now Aizamk's turn to decide whether to go for the kill or play it safe. He's secured his base for the time being, but Boneng still has the longterm advantage and controls the entire trading post line.
Aizamk's decision: To out Boneng Boneng.
Aizamk at the Gates
While sieging down the trading posts and harassing the Russian town, Aizamk heads up to Age 3. And a minute or two later cues up Age 4. Meanwhile he ends relations with Portugal and makes a new best friend in Spain, which will make his shipments come hard and fast. And since he trained a Daimyo, he will be able to send them straight into the heat of a battle.
The armies meet again, and what looks like an even fight is quickly made into a massacre when Flaming Arrows arrive straight out the behind of the Damiyo. Boneng is able to escape with his musketeers, but the Strelets get wrecked.
Aizamk now has full momentum. He strikes at the heart of the Russian base. The walls crumble and soon it's a street fight. Falconets arrive for Russia. Soldiers pour out of blockhouses and try to swarm the Japanese army. Aizamk slips up and doesn't focus down the Russian units very well, and half his army gets preoccupied with tearing down walls instead of fighting.
Cossacks come out from the stable and make a beeline for the flaming arrows. It would be nothing short of a disaster if they reach them. But Aizamk still has a trick up his sleeve. Or rather, units up his Damiyo's anus. 29 Soheis pop out the Damiyo and chase the Cossacks away. 3 of his 4 flaming arrows survive and fire away at the Strelet horde. But Boneng is not beaten. The Russians are nothing if not resilient. Three blockhouses pop out batch after batch of units, more Cossacks arrive to take down the flaming arrows. Unable to reinfoce, the Japanese army is repulsed. Aizamk's push doesn't come close to accomplishing its goals. . Once again, Boneng is in control.
The Heroes of the Japanese Empire
What remains of the Japanese army takes down the trading post line for the second time. Boneng lets it happen and follows Aizamk up to age 4. He's not concerned about trading posts. He's got another, much more devilish plan.
He's spamming Oprichniks.
If you are unfamiliar with these villager-hating, troll-loving units, these are unique Russian cavalry that can only raid and kill artillery. They are weak to all other units, but absolutely wreck villagers and have enormous siege potential. Boneng spams dozens of them and gets them upgraded, then sends them straight for the underbelly of Aizamk's base. With his army away sieging trading posts, he has nothing but a castle protecting the majority of his villagers from Boneng's cavalry.
It is a desperate time for Japan. Yet, in this moment, two heroes emerge.
Two Hatamoto Samurai pop out of a monastery just as the raid begins. It is two samurai versus no less than twenty oprichniks. And it is more than enough. In a moment as glorious as it is hilarious, the entire Russian army turns tail and runs. And they were right to. Hatamoto hate Oprichniks as much as Oprichniks hate villagers.
The Fall of the Japanese Empire
There is, however, one small problem to trying to defend your entire empire with 2 foot soldiers.
Pushed off but not deterred, Boneng sends his cavalry to the south, and uses his infantry to push the Samurai away. Unable to reach the cavalry now, Aizamk has no choice but to watch. Town centers fall in under 10 seconds. There is a terrible sound of screams and then nothing.
I did not do a great job of describing just how effective Boneng's water boom was, since there was just so much to cover on land. He tries it again in game 4 of this series. Will he get away with it again? Go check it out for some bonus fun.
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