Here is a list of "Sayings", that you can cut and paste into message boards etc:

Cry Bacon! And let slip the Cooks of War!

And if ever a challenger wins over the iron chef, he or she will gain the people's ovation and fame forever.

Wow, is the challenger really going to make rhaksha icecream?

Kuisan! yes Ohto?

The challanger is using the dreadlord innards, ground parsley, and a whole shadeling wing!

When I saw it being prepared, I didn't think I would like it, but its really good!

The sweetness of the rhaksha complements the sourness of the ground slaan.

Mmm, the flavor of the dreadlord innards, reminds me of a warm spring day!

This dish, its very reassuring. I feel so selfish!

If memory serves me right...

Feel free to suggest more...

Ash Says:

I welcome the new Cooks to the clan...I've played a lot lately with Aibo, Malloc and Bunger and am very excited with their performance. Aibo in particular is quite nasty with his scout/ranger units, probably the best new Chef (better than I), Malloc never surrenders and Bunger is a bastard when he get in your backlines :)

We had around 6 Cooks online at once last night on Fish's server, with three of the new guys playing away, which is great to see.

Remember Chefs, tonight is practice night, so if we can get the same numbers tonight at 8pm Eastern time we can have a real good practice. Once we get a solid practice or two down and get the strats straightened out, it is time to lay down the gauntlet and challenge others to face us in the Kitchen Stadium!

Speaking of strats, it looks like Rangers are the way to go (my personal fav pre-patch unit was stix/rangers, and now everyone and their mother is using 'em). Fish can get the rangered goons out quick...but they can be kind of obsolete if you get lucky and get a trailblazing hero. One game last night we (Fish and I) both went Nats and early goons...he got the goons/ranger out and I had goons/Nat hero with trailblazing...super deadly. Defense was made by multiple units of stix/rangers and extra harrassing was done by bunger who cranked out scout/rangers. I think thats a good strat...two people go goons early (total of 3 goons squads needed) and are backed up by at least 2 squads of scout/rangers. Fast, mobile, powerful. I can crank out 1-2 goons, still have a good econ and then pump out the defense. At least 2-3 players should make 2 units of rangered stix...these are essential for defense. Fast as hell, good against cavalry units, but their rangers are what do the damage. 4-8 rangers wreak hell against early-midgame units. The Stix really just are a shield until they get to regular/vet status.

But the key thing is to go mages/wizards by the midgame. Rangers are good, but lack the real punch of archers/mages or infantry/mages. The goons and rangered scouts do raiding and full-on assault of the enemy frontline. Rangered footmen do the defense and assist with the attacks while the mage units provide the late-game kick to break the ranger stalemate.

That's my plan and I'm sticking to it :) Can we get a little e-mail thread going between the stratgists of the clan (Fish, Peter, IronChef and others) and debate da plan? Once we'e got something working, lets redo ALL the strats on the site...update with build orders and plan of attack and defense. The main info is good (like the defense pointers about using terrain and walling towns in) but needs some tweaking now in the face of all the patches.

Speaking of the CoWs, I've noticed a lot more engineers being used (key...me and Fish walled off an entire section of the map between us last game :) and Aibo and Bunger are REAL good at raiding, which has been our biggest weakness. They have the talent to get the good raiding units together and the balls to see the attacks through and not run away too early. People are too concerened with saving heros and units (don't get me wrong, experience is very useful with goons) instead of fighting until the last minute...they don't run until almost wiped out unlike lots of other people who run as soon as they see the enemy coming at at them. Good stuff cooks!

Allez Cusine!

Kyth/Vijay Says:

Kahil and I were playing tonight and we saw someone use a pretty nice strat for Ceyah. I forget the guys name, but he had a great build that put him at +0 but gave him a great strike force. The build is as follows:

2 settlers + 2 kohan -> 2 new cities
1 city with blast, 2 with blacksmith
1 unit of 6 skellies, 1 of 5, 4 of 4. Put the Kohan with the big units.

So now you are at +0, but you can easily take over an enemy city or two in early game, thereby crushing their econ and really scaring the shit out of them. With a little back up, that setup can really roll. You can repair the econ pretty easily as well - disband some skellies or convert a blacksmith -> blast furnace with some cash. Of course, if you hold a city, you're already +5.

I think it's really effective as a skellie rush even with the patch. Coordinate that rush with 1 other player backing up and you could roll someone really early in the game. Not only that, it's a big enough force that teammates will want to help out, thereby exposing another flank.

I think I have the Council build order down for the EBs. I go with 2 big econ cities (woodmill, upgrade, carp, market, blacksmith, bank, iron export -- it provides for a slight gold advantage by going that way, but hey every bit helps). Before the 2nd one is totally built out, I build the 3rd city as a troop city with the carp guild. I later sell the carp guilds for sawmills. It lets me pop out a unit of 6 stixx and another of 6 archers to serve as backup until I scrap them for the wood production for EBs. It's worth scrapping them since they quickly become useless and the wood is more important. If anyone has suggestions in this matter, let me know. I'm supposed to be the Council faction so I should optimize as much as possible.

I was thinking that perhaps we should always bury the council in the back - it lets that player go full on econ and pop out 4 units of EB/rangers in midgame which can really turn the tide of battles. We used it really effectively tonight. If the council player is in the front, he should trade the first city with a protected player (preferrably the Royals since their additional militia makes for a naturally stronger defense). Sure, the city might cost a bit more to upgrade, but you can trade a bit of gold with it so you can do the upgrade. I'd like to test that out sometime. I think it might be worth doing that with the Nats too so that they can go with a slightly weaker military in favor of a strong econ.

Inigo Says:

What is the Highest Damage Number possible?

What is the Highest Possible DV?

I recommend either dividing your forces - Raiding and Defending or assigning roles to various players - one to raid another to defend.

For good raiding defense, consider 5 Footmen/1 Ranger - great mobility and anti-cavalry bonus. Move in skirmish formation. One regiment takes 102 gpm upkeep. Hopefully people are building outposts next to their most important production centers.

What I see tons of is Rangers now. With 1.2, Rangers went from marginal to essential. The triple rate of AV loss with 1.2 means companies walk instead of running and Rangers become more useful. Also, now their damage is Khaldunite instead of Ranged Magical so they are no longer ineffective vs Skeletons. And finally, their rate of fire has increased 20%.

So consider 5 Dragoons/1 Ranger or 4 Scouts/2 Rangers for your raiders instead of the Infantry/Magician combination.

Early Builds:

Cooks of War Clan Battle Strategy, by Peter

We need scouting and engineering. Engineers could serve both roles. They are fast (22) and have a good visual range (7) with the 10% bonus to recon.

We need a force of Tanks to absorb/deal damage. The best Tanks in the game are Elite Guard with Channeler/Cleric support. This requires a Nationalist Player who gets to elites. This also requires a Council player who gives/trades a city to the Nationalist.

We need a raiding party which is fast and deadly. This could consist of 4 companies of Shadow Beasts, 2 companies of Void Beasts, 4 companies of Ranger supported Dragoons, or 2 companies of Ranger supported Cavaliers. This requires either a Ceyah player or a Royalist player.

We need a counter to hordes of Footmen. The greatest weakness of Footmen is morale (only 25). The best counter is Archers/Wiz/Wiz with anything (Foot/Inf) as a screen. Beware the flank! This requires a Council player.

We need a counter to hordes of Skeletons. The greatest weakness of Skeletons is their magic vulnerability. Footmen with Battle Priest support is the ultimate counter.

Frequently, players attack with Infantry/Gauri/Berserkers supported by Mages. The best counter is Gauri, but the second best counter is Infantry supported by Sorceresses.

We need a counter to their raiding parties. Raiding parties are usually cavalry. The best counters are outposts at every settlement greater than a village. The most cost effective counter is massed Footmen. If we build the Footmen early as previously discussed, then we can use them later as our defensive counter.

If we find Anvils or get Golems, we should use them as the counter to Inf/Mage.

So I think the best plans are at least one Council, one Nationalist, and one Ceyah/Royalist (either). The remaining slot can be assigned whatever faction you see fit. We all build 1-2 Footmen or Bone Bows. Then the Nationalist player goes full economy to shoot for Elites. The Council player is key in the middle game making Wizards to break morale. The Royalist player needs to be flexible to go Battle Priests or Sorceresses if necessary, Cavaliers if possible.

This is just a start to the planning for our game.

8/7/01
I didn't know the OW tourney was heavy on forest. In that case, I would recommend the ceyah player swap a city with the royalist. The Royalist and Ceyah players build 1 IE, and as many Blast Furnaces as they can. Then they both skeleton rush. If the other team goes for archers, we are loving it. Skeletons can use pressed formation to run to the enemy without loss of morale.

Kevin's comment: I suppose the royalist should swap a city with each of the other two factions, so that they can build Battle Priests, if the opponents do the same as us!
Jan: Superclumping IS NOT allowed. So whoever is running skellies must remeber to put them in attack mode before attacking (u can put many companies in the same square.... in pressed formation.... then send them to attack a building... when they are all touching the enemy u change to attack formation) (what this means is that almost all of your guys willl be attacking (hitting the enemy), and their guys can only hit 1 of your at a time...)

Here is Peter's version of Xanax's Skeleton Rush:

The Ceyah and Royalist players both build an Iron Export in their first settlement.
Cost = 132
Time = ~45 sec

All Outposts are destroyed because our economy will be feeble and the outposts will be protecting only villages.

One Kohan is awakened.
Cost = 50

Two companies of four Settlers are created, one with a Kohan, one without.
Cost = 135

The Ceyah player trades the first settlement created with the Royalist's first settlement.
Time = ~2 min, 20 sec

Each player builds a company of four Shadelings to scout the enemy and find settlements to take.
Cost = 24

Another company of four Settlers/Kohan is created.
Cost = 60

3 Blacksmiths are built.
Cost = 180 gold

Five companies of four Skeleton Warriors are created, one with a Kohan, four without.
Cost = 100 gold

Total Gold Spent = 681. Our starting gold is 650. We can earn the remaining 31 gold in time to purchase Skeleton Warriors. Remember to purchase them as soon as you have sufficient iron. You don't have to buy all five companies at once. That last village will be force you to lag behind slightly in getting the final two companies of skeletons. What works well is to have the first three companies of the Ceyah player's four Skeleton Warriors team up with the first three companies of the Royalist player's four Skeleton Warriors for a regiment to attack any scouted enemy settlements. Once they are scouted, they will send troops to defend so we need to hit them strong. The remaining two companies can be sent to reinforce once created, and are also a great defensive/reactive force.

*************************************

Comments on Defense:

Let's say you have just been scouted. You should expect trouble soon. First, let everyone know contact has occurred. The best thing is to let your team know which city was scouted too. "My Drauga settlement was just scouted by Ice." Sell the least expensive component in your settlement to create an empty slot. Now build a wall and in 15 sec, when it is finished, upgrade to Watch Towers. The wall will protect your other components from destruction, increases your settlement HP's by 50%, decreases the cities chance to surrender, and increases your militia's defense by +2 DV. How can you pass up such value in a 30 gold purchase!?! The Watch Towers increase your supply range 30%, but most importantly increase your militia's defense by +4, for a total of +6 DV. Another good deal for only 36 gold and 15 sec. The problem with most people is when they are scouted they don't understand their peril. If you are scouted, hunt the scout to try to kill him/prevent him from scouting more of your settlements, and expect the attack to come to your scouted settlement. The best players scout a settlement and attack a nearby settlement instead, but in general, players attack what they see. Don't wait until they arrive to build the Watch Towers. You need 30 seconds to get them up and your milita might be dead by then.

Everyone should try to get nearby defensive companies into battle formation and the best terrain possible (Jungle>Forest>Hills) and then sit in Guard mode (hit "G" then left click in good terrain). If the enemy takes more than 2 min to arrive, your defensive companies will entrench and earn a further + 3 DV bonus. The reason you use guard mode is to try to set up your defesive companies' ZOC's to extend as far out as your settlement's ZOC. If you have suitable terrain which is actually closer to the enemy than your settlement, you may want to forego guard mode so the settlement's ZOC is about the same as your defensive companies' ZOC's.

If your settlement is still overwhelmed despite Watch Towers and entrenched defensive companies, make sure to sell all components in your settlement. My rule of thumb is if my settlement is down to 50% HP, then I sell everything. If all my militia has been killed and they are beating down on my settlement, I sell the Watch Towers, too (44 gold).

I always talk positively to myself if the enemy has committed so much force to taking this one settlement. With the +6 DV and terrain bonus for my militia and +3 DV entrenchment plus any terrain bonus for my defensive companies, I smugly tell myself their victory here at this particular settlement was very costly and may turn out to by pyrrhic. I have done my job for the team and extracted the maximum use out of my units. I will send the Nationalist player 75 gold from my sold components and ask him to build a new settlement for me. Psychologically, I will be at a low point. I just took a beating and it is common for me to start talking about surrender. "It's over. I did my best and still I couldn't stop them." My teammates need to rally here. "No, no - We're hurting them on the other side. We're sending you help to shore up the defenses over there." If you can't send troops to help the assaulted player, then try to attack our opponents with a force sufficient to capture a city (12 Inf/Skel or 18 Footmen).

To summarize: Never let your opponents take your settlement before you have sold all components. Use terrain, entrenchment and battle formation to maximize defensive companies. Use Watch Towers and proactive building to maximize a scouted settlement's defense before they hit you. Beware your personal morale loss after you lose a settlement. Try not to lose hope. Get the Nationalist player on the mission to build you a new and improved settlement.

Cooks of War Clan Battle Strategy, By David

As for games, Tuesday at 8:00 translates to about 3:00 am. Basically we can do games that take place before one in the afternoon weekdays or weekends, or after eleven in the evening on weekends. I don't know about the possibility, but this is the most feasible for us.

Theme Ingredient: Rangered Dragoons, By Peter, 8/20/01

These companies are perhaps the best raiding parties in Kohan. They are cheaper in upkeep than Void Beasts or Rangered Cavaliers, but have greater mobility than Shadow beasts. This company requires four component slots to produce:

• Woodmill
• Blacksmith
• Barracks
• Library

Vulnerabilities:

• A. Expense
• B. Cavalry
• C. Morale
• D. Flanking

A. These companies are costly. You need at least 400 gold in components/upgrades from a village settlement. If you can find the Nationalist Town or Royalist/Council City that is producing these companies, you have hurt our opponents badly. Because these companies are so costly, you will usually only see them in the middle to late game (barring an opponent finding a Nationalist Town or Drauga/Gauri/Haroun). Since you will see them later in the game, you usually will have time to establish a military force of your own and perhaps some outposts to see what the enemy is sending towards us. Most players announce when the opposition has developed Shadow Beasts, Void Beasts or Cavaliers. Consider announcing Rangered Dragoons as well these companies have tremendous mobility and may show up later.

B. As these companies are cavalry, Footmen become very cost efficient counters as Footmen receive +5 to attacking cavalry. Pure Footmen companies can be built anywhere for cheap, and it won't hurt your economy too badly to produce 4 full companies of Footmen (-48 gold) temporarily to defend against Rangered Dragoons. Usually company slots are the limiting factor.

C. Rangered Dragoons can usually fight off militia and massed Footmen, but eventually their morale begins to wear down. If you can get one of these companies to rout, they are dead. Just keep following the router and harrass the company back to its home or grave.

D. If at all possible, flank these companies and kill the Rangers. These elements die easily in melee so besides rapidly decreasing combat effectiveness, you force the opponent to lose the company's trailblazing modifier. When these companies are slowed down, it makes it easier for your allies to send their Footmen into the fray.

Kevin says:

I tried Nats at 650, one settler (no kohans). CarpGuild, Lib, upgrade, barracks, blacksmith, rangered goons, blast furnace (or blacksmith in 2nd town if you really cannot affor the extra 12). +20 econ. Dont build in the second town till your goons are out.

Then 2st town market, woodmill, bring out rangered scouts. +18 econ.

Or team up with pressed scouts from another player.

Scouts + Goons can take out a city at the town level.

Also you have enough mana to double ranger if you have enough cash.

Battle history

8/5/01