To Destroy, Capture or merely Threatenby Christopher Dexter
Some Tips on Population Center CombatSo now you've got a powerful army you put together with extra commanders, some mages and various troop types in large numbers; and you've decided to go thrash upon the enemy to make them sorry that he/she ever thought of getting into this game. Well, there are some things that you should take into consideration before you go out to make the other players fear and tremble when they hear your name.The first is that when you give the order to "Destroy" a population center, it is not only that population center you are destroying. That population center is not going to let you come in, tear it apart and kill everybody there. They are going to fight back, and if there are any fortifications, they are going to fight even harder. So, you are going to lose troops while destroying the population center. As you lose troops, your army gets smaller, and because it does, you are awarded less victory points on the turn that follows, and, of course, your ability to attack other population centers and enemy armies is diminished. All you get out of it is a couple of points of command rank for your commander, and increase in your army's training and morale, and a pile of ruins that used to be a population center. Perhaps some may get overwhelming joy by sending a 3x5 card to the vanquished foe with a message that boasts of great destruction, but really that player loses more than they gain. The order to "Capture Population Center" accomplishes the same thing only that the population center is not brought down to ruins , but is reduced by one size. Now, if there is an enemy army targeted population center, then issuing any of the above orders will cause your army to do battle with them as well. Which means that you lose more troops and may mean that you won't even have enough troops left to be able to attack the population center. The least painful way to take a population center is to use the "Threaten" order. If your army has enough troops combined with War Machines to threaten the "Population" center (see Rulebook pp. 22- 23), then essentially what happens is that the Commander says, "Surrender to us and no one will die!" Then your army goes into the city, takes down the enemy flag, hoists up your nation's flag; and then the troops meet the mayor, visit the taverns, do a little shopping, see the sights, kiss some fair maidens, insult some ugly ones and then they're off to the next place of conquest. As a result, you haven't lost a man, the Population Center then produces for you rather than for its former owner and it all adds to your victory points. No deaths, no loss of armor or morale, everyone has had a good time, How much better can it get?! So if you want all other players trembling at the mention of your name, have them tremble because you can take their cities and keep right on going without losing a man.
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