Part of the campaign:

It's Groundhog Day again, even though I last uploaded a round just a few days ago. I'm rushing toward the end of Mk. 9 right now, and trying to get a bunch of episodes out before I go to Canada for two weeks and will be unable to work on it. So anyway, this will be round 8, and round 9 is currently in filming. After round 7, Sulu still held onto the lead it acquired in round 3, and no one has challenged it so far.

The second cities are founded, and we have some interesting new settlement choices from Wallachia, Poland, and Benin.

As usual, the first war breaks out around turn 30 when the Vikings declare war on America. This is utterly predictable at this point.

Poland joins the war, which also seems to happen a lot. Poor Fillmore; he's probably the closest this series has come to Mk. 1 Burma since the OG.

Indeed, Poland quickly takes New Orleans, and this time Casimir doesn't raze it, which is rare.

Wallachia declares war on the Massagetae. I'm not an expert here but this seems like a good way to lose Arges.

Gee, who would have guessed!?

Poland declares war on America again, because Casimir woke up and realized that Fillmore wasn't dead yet.

Maurya declares war on Songhai and pours toward Gao with a massive army. It's an interesting change to see Songhai about to get annihilated by someone other than Benin.

And just like that, Poland takes Washington, eliminating Millard Fillmore of America in 21st place. This is honestly really sad.

Konbaung attacks Benin! It's a bold move, but judging by how Ife is already taking damage, it could pay off.

Time for the turn 100 stats! Somehow, Scotland has the largest army. Perennial leaders Leon are just barely ahead of the Massagetae for second place.

The Shoshone have the most food, which is pretty common due to their starting terrain.

Poland leads in production, but only just, as Burundi is only three hammers behind. /u/Lefondesin must be overjoyed.

Anyway, back on the battlefield, Maurya has taken Gao from Songhai, and there's no chance that Askia could take it back.

Nearby, Konbaung has taken Ife from Benin! This is a surprising early defeat for a civ that seems to always do well. In the background, Japan declares war on Leon.

And Burundi sweeps in from the sea to take Tombouctou, eliminating Askia of Songhai in 20th place.

Bohemia builds the great wall! This should help prevent Vaclav from going out super early like he so often seems to do.

Maurya attacks Benin, which seems like a questionable move, because Ewuare's single city is absolutely stacked with the most modern military units.

Japan manages to overpower Leon and takes Oviedo. The Leonese navy should be able to flip it a couple times, but it won't last.

A coalition forms against Venezuela, but it seems like the only civ in a position to do anything is Sulu.

Scotland and the Tanguts team up against Japan! Kyoto is looking more vulnerable than usual, so this could be very bad for Oda Nobunaga.

Benin surprises Maurya by pushing out and taking Gao. Ashoka should be able to get it back easily, but it's a completely unnecessary loss.

Leon is now able to push back against a rapidly weakening Japan, capturing Tokyo.

Konbaung attacks Benin again! Depleted from his war against Maurya, Ewuare will be hard pressed to repsond.

After a bloody battle, Sulu finally takes Valencia from Venezuela.

The Tanguts take Kyoto! Japan may have excelled in the previous two rounds, but this one is going to be very different.

Suddenly, the Massagetae and Poland attack Konbaung! Alaungpaya is busy besieging Edo; could this lead to the death of both Benin and Konbaung?

Indeed, Konbaung takes Edo, but this makes Alaungpaya's situation even worse because he's also at war with Ashoka. Ewuare of Benin is eliminated in 19th place.



Also on this slide: Burundi declares war on Maurya.

Maurya quickly moves in and takes the island city of Amarapura!

And Ashoka also captures and razes Ife. In the background, Bohemia attacks Japan.

Poland captures Inwa, where Alaungpaya had moved his capital.

Five more civs attack Japan, including Rapa Nui and Leon (again).

But Bohemia takes Oviedo before either civ can get to it.

Meanwhile, Maurya has captured Edo using only a handful of units. But remember: Burundi is at war with Maurya!

Tomyris storms the walls of Shwebo, eliminating Alaungpaya of Konbaung in 18th place!

And Burundi pours onto the ravaged plains of what was once Benin, taking Edo.

Almost as soon as the Konbaung war ends, Casimir betrays his erstwhile ally and declares war on Tomyris!

And Bohemia pulls off an incredible snipe, taking Osaka and eliminating Oda Nobunaga of Japan in 17th place!

Maurya has retaken Edo but lost Gao to Burundi.

Poland makes peace with the Massagetae and receives Arges. This definitely turned out to be a good move for Poland. Note that the Massagetae appear to be at war with Rapa Nui now too though.

Sulu attacks Venezuela with a sudden storm of Proas. Barquisimeto is already in the yellow.

Barquisimeto falls three turns later, as the rest of the Proas move on to Caracas.

But Jamalul Kiram now faces a much bigger problem: Leon is attacking his capital with a large and advanced army.

The turn 200 stats show a major surprise: the largest military belongs to Bohemia! In second place is Poland, a full 10,000 troops behind.

The tech race is still totally undecided, with four civs tied for first with 25 techs and five more tied at 24.

Poland leads in production, and the only civ anywhere nearby is Burundi. Bohemia, despite having the largest army, ranks ninth.

We dive right back in with a major event: Leon has captured Bauang, decapitating Sulu!

On the same turn, Burundi makes peace with Maurya, receiving Amarapura and Ujjain. In what can only be described as a terrible decision, Cambarantana razes the 17-pop city and keeps the 1-pop city.

Sulu makes peace with Leon and gives away Dungun, leaving Jamalul Kiram with only two 7-pop occupied desert cities.

Nevertheless, Jamalul Kiram is able to use what remains of his army and navy to capture the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

Burundi declares war on the Massagetae, which seems like a great way to lose Amarapura.

Indeed, Tomyris takes the city with no trouble at all.

Oh shit, this is a big one. Burundi has declared war on Poland!

And in an equally major development, Bohemia declares war on Leon!

Vaclav II manages to captured Tokyo, but it's not clear he can hold it.

Burundi manages to take Lodz after an extremely bloody naval battle that destroyed almost all of the ships on both sides.

Leon seems to have comfortably retaken Tokyo for the time being.

Burundi keeps advancing, however, taking Inwa.

Córdoba decides to finish off Venezuela. This should be quick.

But first, Burundi makes peace with Poland and receives New Orleans. Casimir has been seriously neutered by this turn of events, although he isn't out quite out yet.

And Córdoba takes Maracaibo, eliminating Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in 16th place.

Burundi attacks Maurya again! And holy shit, Cambarantana already has musketmen. Ashoka is screwed.

That same turn, Poland attacks the Vikings, looking for some easy cities. Ragnar will be a tough nut to crack, however.

Leon declares war on Sulu again! Jamalul Kiram really is fucked this time.

Meanwhile in a war I didn't realize was happening, the Tanguts take Mataveri from Rapa Nui.

A huge Burundian tide swarms into Mauryan territory, taking Sarnath.

And Pataliputra falls soon afterward, eliminating Ashoka of Maurya in 15th place.

Leon takes Barquisimeto and begins moving on Valencia.

Valencia falls, leaving only Caracas!

Poland manages to take Copenhagen on the side where Ragnar doesn't have many ships, but Trondheim remains as impenetrable as ever.

The Massagetae and Wallachia team up against Rapa Nui, along with several other more distant civs.

Giving up on Sulu, Alfonso instead decides to attack a tougher target: the Shoshone. Caracas can wait.

Armed with an extremely advanced navy, Tomyris storms Hanga Piko with ease.

The turn 300 stats show that Burundi now leads in military manpower. Former leaders Bohemia have fallen to fourth.

The Shoshone and Burundi are beginning to pull away in technologies.

And Burundi now has a definitive lead in production. Leon has risen to second. The Massagetae and Bohemia have also gained a few places.

And, uh, what's this? Wallachia appears to have sniped Hanga Roa! Hotu Matua of Rapa Nui is eliminated in 14th place.

OH SHIT! Bohemia awakens and attacks Leon again, and this time there is nothing that Alfonso can do to stop Vaclav's enormous invasion force!

Alfonso quickly backs out of the war with the Shoshone and receives Te Moak in the peace treaty.

Bohemia easily takes Tokyo, probably for good this time.

Leon itself soon follows. At long last, Vaclav has brought justice to his eternal tormentor!

Suddenly, Burundi attacks Poland again! The two B-civs are once again on the offensive together on their respective subcontinents.

Casimir takes the opportunity to make peace with Ragnar and receives Bergen.

Meanwhile, with help from a few stray Bohemian units, Nepal manages to capture Te Moak from Leon.

Poland actually draws the first blood in the war with Burundi, retaking Lodz.

Wallachia gives Hanga Roa to the Tanguts in a peace treaty. Now that's not something I saw coming.

The Shoshone, Sulu, and Scotland all jump into the war against Leon. Alfonso is going down, hard!

Bohemia takes Astorga, leaving Leon with only former Sulu and Venezuelan cities.

Sulu won't be able to help much, however, because Córdoba has declared war!

The Shoshone are still doing their part, however, taking Valencia.

And Bohemia takes Bauang. Only two Leonese cities remain!

Meanwhile, Córdoba takes Caracas, eliminating Jamalul Kiram of Sulu in 13th place.

The Massagetae join the war against Poland! Casimir is in real trouble now!

...Or maybe not, because he makes peace with Burundi at the minor cost of Lodz. The war ends with no net change.

Tomyris surprises everyone by winning the world's fair!

The Shoshone take Dungun, cutting off Bohemia from Alfonso's last city. This cannot stand!

The Massagetae take Arges, but Poland is rapidly assembling a counterattack.

Nepal and Córdoba declare war on the Shoshone! Pocatello barely has an army, but he does have one thing going for him: a ridiculous city strength in Moson Kahni. Cannons would struggle to take down a city with 70 defense, and these civs are going to have to attempt it with crossbows (which can't really handle anything more than 50).

Burundi attacks the Massagetae again, only this time Cambarantana doesn't have any poorly defended coastal cities for Tomyris to capture.

The Tanguts declare war on Scotland, and honestly, it seems like James VI might have the upper hand.

The Massagetae make peace with Burundi and give away Shwebo. This is a terrible decision, considering that Tomyris has so far been the only leader to successfully fend of Burundi in the past, and she easily could have done it again.

Having retaken Arges and made peace with the Massagetae, Casimir begins the next step of his resurgence: an invasion of Wallachia!

In a war I nearly forgot about, it seems that Córdoba has managed to take Dungun, but the other highly defensible Shoshone cities still don't have a scratch on them.

Anyway, it's time for the turn 400 stats. Burundi has the largest army, with over 90,000 more troops than #2 Bohemia.

Burundi is also leading in technologies by six techs, which is an insane lead at this point in the game.

And Burundi has more than twice as much production as #2 Bohemia. I'd say that as long as the western continent remains so fractured, this is Burundi's game to lose.

Bohemia attacks Córdoba, but I've got to say, this does not seem like the logical next move for Vaclav.

Poland captures Targoviste, eliminating Vlad III of Wallachia in 12th place. At the same time, the Massagetae attack the Tanguts in an effort to acquire the Hanga Roa canal.

Burundi attacks Poland a third time. We all know the third time is a charm, but will it be a charm for Poland or for Burundi?

Bohemia manages to take Dungun, but Córdoba has a much more advanced navy. If I were Vaclav, I'd be worried about holding onto this.

Unsurprisingly, the Massagetae capture Hanga Roa, giving them control over the canal.

Córdoba retakes Dungun and also captures Valencia from the Shoshone.

Holy shit, Burundi is not fucking around this time. Washington has already fallen, and Warsaw is taking damage.

The Tanguts capture Edinburgh (or rather, snipe it out from under Nepal), as several armies close in on Glasgow.

Burundi also takes Copenhagen, eliminating Poland's northern ports.

And the Tanguts take Glasgow, eliminating James VI of Scotland in 11th place.

Warsaw falls! Poland is completely collapsing!

Krakow is captured! Burundi is just unstoppable at this point!

In a surprise turn of events, Nepal captures Moson Kahni, eliminating Pocatello of the Shoshone in 10th place.

Burundi takes Arges. Only two Polish cities remain...

And with the fall of Targoviste, Casimir decides it's time to give in. The two sides make peace, leaving Poland with nothing but Bergen.

The Vikings immediately decide that this is their chance to finish off Poland once and for all.



Offscreen, Bohemia has captured Barquisimeto, eliminating Alfonso of Leon in 9th place.

Meanwhile, Bohemia attacks the Tanguts, which will be a tough fight, but potentially rewarding.

On the eastern continent, Burundi attacks the Massagetae, its obstacle on the path to total hemispheric domination.

Ragnar apparently gave up on his invasion of Poland, allowing the Tanguts to take Bergen instead. Casimir III of Poland is eliminated in 8th place.

Nepal attacks Córdoba! Nepal is a serious dark horse in the western continent—could they overcome the empire cutting them off from two of their major cities?

Bohemia captures Glasgow, nearly isolating Edinburgh.

Burundi captures and razes Oxus. I'm surprised by how small an army Burundi seems to be fielding, despite its advanced technology.

Oh snap! Prithvi Narayan captures Córdoba, uniting the two halves of Nepal!

Meanwhile, Burundi takes Jaxartes, allowing the naval flip-fest to begin.

Córdoba strikes back at Nepal, taking Moson Kahni. But this is not nearly a fair exchange for their capital.

On the eastern continent, the Massagetae seem to have not only recovered Jaxartes, but have also captured Arges, which they didn't even hold at the start of the war.

Bohemia takes Edinburgh, but I don't see how they could possibly progress from here.

Oh, well, I guess they won't. Weiming Yuanhao makes peace with Bohemia and gives away Kyoto.

After recovering Moson Kahni, Nepal and Córdoba make peace. Abd-ar-Rahman gives away Tulaytulah and Isbiliya.

Burundi retakes both Arges and Jaxartes. If only Tomyris could have made peace while she was ahead.

Bohemia, fresh off the Tangut invasion, joins the war against the Massagetae!

And the Vikings declare war on the Tanguts, instantly bringing Bergen down to black.

Burundi makes peace with the Massagetae, receiving Amarapura, Aral, and Hanga Piko! Hanga Roa is now cut off from most of the Massagetae fleet, making it much easier for Bohemia to capture.

Nepal attacks the Tanguts! Is this the next stage in Prithvi Narayan's long-shot world domination plan?

Meanwhile, the Vikings have recovered Bergen, but they'll have a hard time preventing the Tanguts from flipping it with their huge fleet of privateers.

Nepal might be helping with that, however, as they take Mataveri, one of Weiming Yuanhao's two major shipbuilding ports.

Suddenly, Burundi attacks Bohemia, and a large fleet immediately takes Barquisimeto and drops Dungun to red! This is mad news for Bohemia, which is over 10 techs behind Burundi at the moment and just can't field an effective naval defense.

Dungun quickly falls as a few meagre reinforcements appear near Bauang.

Bohemia takes Hanga Roa from the Massagetae, opening up another avenue for Burundi to attack. This is a terrible mistake.

Literal (IRL) seconds later, Burundi casually takes Hanga Roa with a single great war infantry.

Backed up by planes, Burundi also takes Bauang with only a handful of units.

Nepal continues to eviscerate the Tanguts, taking their capital of Xinqing.

Burundi also continues to tear through Bohemia with hardly any units, taking Astorga with two GWIs and a nearly-dead artillery. (Spoiler alert: planes are doing all the work.)

Time for the turn 500 stats! Burundi obviously has the most soldiers, but Nepal really isn't fucking around either.

Burundi holds the lead in tech but 10 techs over Nepal and 15 over anyone else. This is really the key to their victory right here.

And the production contest really isn't even a contest. Burundi already has more production than everyone else combined.

In a surprise move, Córdoba attacks Bohemia and sends a large army through Nepalese territory to lay siege to Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, Nepal takes Xiazhou, eliminating Weiming Yuanhao of the Tanguts in 7th place.

Córdoba takes Edinburgh, but Vaclav is diverting some troops to deal with the threat.

For the first time, Burundi makes additional advancements on the eastern front, taking Oviedo.

Suddenly, Nepal joins the war and instantly captures Kyoto! Even though Vaclav has made peace with Córdoba, he can't fight against this. He's done for.

Burundi sweeps in and takes Osaka...

Nepal grabs Glasgow...

Burundi takes Tokyo...

Nepal gets Leon, at least briefly.

Burundi captures Litomerice...

Somehow, Bohemia has recaptured Leon. This won't last.

Indeed, it flips back to Burundi immediately.

Plzen falls and Prague is on the ropes...

And that's it. With the fall of Prague, Vaclav II of Bohemia is eliminated in 6th place. This is by far his best performance.

Nepal attacks Córdoba, its last remaining competitor on the western continent.

But almost immediately, Burundi declares war on Nepal! Córdoba uses the opportunity to retake Isbiliya.

But Nepal does manage to take Edinburgh. Just keeping it warm for Burundi!

Cambarantana storms Kyoto!

And Glasgow...

And Xiazhou...

And Moson Kahni...

And Pokhara and Tulaytulah...

And Mataveri...

Nepal flips back Pokhara, only to lose it to Córdoba. Burundi captures Córdoba itself, however, along with Xinqing.

Córdoba takes Biratnagar...

And Córdoba gets Kathmandu! This is an unexpected twist!

Then Burundi captures Lalitpur, eliminating Prithvi Narayan of Nepal in 5th place.

41 turns later, Burundi rolls over in its sleep and kills the Massagetae. Tomyris is eliminated in 4th place.

Six turns after that, Burundi turns against the Vikings!

Trondheim falls two turns later...

And the turn after that, Bergen is captured, eliminating Ragnar Lothbrok of the Vikings in third place.

After a further ten turns, Burundi finally attacks Córdoba.

And after just two turns of battle, it's over. Cambarantana has taken both Caracas and Kathmandu, and Burundi has won round 8!

Obligatory aftermath slide. The score now stands as follows:



Sulu: 1.5

Benin: 1

Venezuela: 1

Burundi: 1

The Vikings: 1

Leon: 1

Japan: 0.5

The Shoshone: 0.5

Konbaung: 0.5



Thanks for reading! I can't say I'll be back soon, though, because I'm visiting friends in Canada from the 1st of August to the 15th, and I probably won't be able to release any episodes during that time. Rounds 9 and 10 (and any necessary beyond that) will have to wait until after that, unless round 9 finishes filming extremely early. So, see you all in a bit!

