Team: Lakota Push

Throwing Away The Rulebook

At first sight, Lakota seem to be a relatively weak nation because of their lower rate of food production early in the game. Where fishing is unavailable, less food slows economic expansion, hindering both the creation of villagers and infantry, as well as making the Lakota prone to rush attacks.

The Lakota do not seem to have been compensated for this weakness by their special ability to site cities on neutral territory. But think again - as channel for team tactics, Lakota have the ability to deliver victory by aggressive city placement.

The Bigger Picture

Step back from the detail for a moment and remember how most team games are won or lost. Watch an average 3 v 3 game (say) played on a land map, and you recognise this pattern:

• Your team comprises of two warring wings (sides) and a pocket (middle) player whose mission is to boom;

• The wings enter into combat or become embroiled in a border pushing contest at an early stage;

• The pocket player combines forces to fight alongside the wing players or sends out raiders to assist them;

• Winning the game is achieved breaking through the wings, or the pocket player out-booming the rest.

In short, your average game is a series of battles on the wings where the need for military action is more pressing than in the centre.

Fighting In The Wings

In an average game, it is not surprising that all the fighting occurs on the wings, because an attack directed against the enemy’s centre is relatively slow, inefficient and risky:

• It takes infantry more time to march to the opposing pocket players capital than the nearby wings;

• While they are marching, they are not fighting or causing damage to the enemy;

• Once they arrive, reinforcements are far away, and there is no friendly city nearby to garrison in;

• The attackers can be flanked by the enemy wing players;

With the introduction of Lakota, following this familiar pattern of team play is no longer mandatory, because now the team has the opportunity to overcome these difficulties and make a combined push into the enemy’s centre.

The Lakota Push

Lets have a look at a new tactic that enables your team to launch a sustained attack against the enemy pocket player much early on in the game than has been possible until now:

• A Lakota villager walks across the centre of the map and builds the second city close to the border of enemy pocket player;

• The wings build their 2nd city within the borders of the second Lakota city, effecting a border push against the centre;

• The team quickly build barracks, combine forces and attack the opposing pocket player, with a view to knocking him out;

• The game is then won either by overrunning the pocket, or crippling his economy so he can be finished off soon after.

In short, the Lakota Push is a way of establishing a “forward firebase” from which your team can launch a combined attack and size the initiative from your opponents.

Once your team starts its attack, all the fighting will takes place near to the second Lakota city where your team is now the strongest.

Talking About The Revolution

So what is new? Is this not an old tactic dressed up in Lakota clothes?

In some ways the Lakota Push is a more advanced variant of leapfrogging, which also involves team members building cities in each other’s territory to gain control over the centre.

The Lakota Push achieves the same objective as leapfrogging without having to wait for the team’s border to slowly creep towards the centre, the only difference being that it results in an aggressive border push much earlier in the game.

What is revolutionary about the Lakota Push is benefit from attacking the centre and combining forces:

Your team takes the strategic initiative by attacking the enemy pocket player, thereby forcing the enemy to fight in the centre of the map around the Lakota "forward firebase" where your team have built their barracks;

Your team can concentrate forces to achieve tactical advantage of having 3 team members combined against one or two opponents at a time.

Remember the days when the starting bell rang and your opponent was in the pocket? He thought: “Ah, easy life – I can sit back and boom”? Well not now! He has scout and fight like hell as if he was a winger.

Walk The Talk

How does the Lakota Push work in practise? Well, it involves a lot of walking and…you guessed it….talking.

When the start bell rings, at least one Lakota villager (ideally 2) must walk across to the far side of the map to build the second ‘floating’ city as near to the enemy pocket players border as is possible. Keep an eye out for ruins on the way – make the walk pay its way!

Your team mates will need to send villagers to the same location to build barracks and their second cities nearby, so good coordination is needed now. You will need to talk or signal to each other – a good location for the second Lakota city helps with the collection of wood, vital to your plans.

Once you and your team mates have built barracks, you create infantry to rush the enemy capital. This is all unfamiliar at this point, but don’t forget that your barracks are not far from your intended victim, you will have the benefit of surprise and your team will get the sack bonus once the enemy capital is captured.

The initiative is seized from your opponents as soon as your attack starts because the pocket player will start sending out desperate requests for help to his team mates. Speed is therefore vital – you must attack within the first 5-6 minutes as the risk of loosing grows rapidly for every moment you delay the attack. Check out the Rush guide for some attack plans.

As soon as the attack starts, your opponents will have to abandon their plans to attack you and will be forced to defend their pocket player from being overrun.

Threats And Opportunities

Discovery

Assuming that the Lakota city is discovered early, this strategy carries the risk that your opponents will focus their attacks on your forward position is an understatement - they must attack you immediately or risk defeat, so always assume that you will be discovered early, and that an enemy attack will soon follow.

Teamwork is therefore vital to the success Lakota Push, as your teammates have to provide back up from the start by being ready for an early rush. The upside is that as soon as your team has established a string cities in the centre of the map, it has becomes more difficult for your opponents to attack and easier for your team to defend.

Counter attack

Assuming your initial assaults have succeeded, and you have over-run the central pocket player's capital, you can expect a swift counter attack from both sides. Cities may be captured, then taken back, and fighting may break out on either side of the floating Lakota city, but as long as the team combine their forces, they will be fighting no more two enemy team members at a time. This is were signalling comes into its own.

Once your opponents counter attack, it becomes hard to combine aggressive play whilst developing your economy, but it must be done to replenish your military strength to sustain the attack.

Caravans

There is trade problem with the floating Lakota city, which is situated far from your capital. Although you can look forward to a generous bonus from your caravans when they complete their route, the longer time they are in transit means that gold income from trade will be delayed by 2-3 minutes, or worse still, may not arrive if enemy raiders find them.

So early on in the game, make sure that you maximise the amount of gold earned from completing Temples, Markets and from scouting for ruins and consider researching taxation, as gold will be need to create archers that will see off any counter offensive.

Alternatives Debated

Why build in the floating Lakota city in front of the enemy pocket player? Since scarce or rare resources are usually situated near the centre of the map, a central location should assist your boost your economy, plus having an uninterrupted line of sight with your capital may be useful for trade.

Why should your opponents build their second cities near the floating Lakota city? Once their second cities are built and borders become joined, there is no room for the enemy pocket player to expand and potentially surround you. The ability to create villagers enables your team to speedily construct barracks, towers, and stables.

Conclusion

Lakota are interesting, because of their flexibility when it come to locating cities in neutral territory, a unique ability can be used in a team game to launch attacks through the centre of land maps.