Navarone's China Slam

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Navarone_Guy
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Navarone's China Slam

Post by Navarone_Guy »

This is a guide to the China rush I've been doing for a while now.

Here goes:


The basis of this strategy is to rush your opponent as quickly and as hard as possible, to take him down before he knows what hit him. You age at about 2:45 and are in his base within 5:30 with a steady stream of guys. Your economy is shafted, but his will be too due to your rush.


CARDS


Necessary cards:

Age 1:
300 food
Northern Refugees (1 vil per village)

Age 2:
8 Chu Ko Nu
9 Qiang
7 Steppe Riders
Mandarin Duck Squad (Flamethrower and 8 CKN for 500 food)
300 Export

Age 3:
None are crucial

Age 4:
None are crucial

Recommended cards:

Age 1:
None

Age 2:
700 Food
700 Coin
700 Wood
10 Rattan Shields for 500 gold

Age 3:
10 Arquebusiers
11 Changdao
13 Chu Ko Nu
14 Qiang
7 Hand Mortars
4 Iron Flails
10 Steppe Riders
Repelling Volley

Age 4:
1 Shaolin Monk
Western Reforms
Old Han Reforms
Manchu Combat


WALKTHROUGH

Age 1:
Send one vil and your goat about halfway to the enemy base and make your village there. Get the vil on a hunt nearby, and if you can steal one of the opponent's hunts. That'll help you contain him when you rush him. Other than that, do a standard age 1, but split up your monk and disciple for greater scouting, especially on herdable maps, such as Texas or Saguenay. The monk alone is enough for most treasures anyway. Once you get 300 food, eat your FB goat with your FB vil and send 300 food as your first card. This way, you should have 800 food around 2:45. Build the 400 food/banner army wonder in your base with four vils. Put about 5 vils on wood and the rest on food while you're aging, so you should be able to make a few vils while aging and have 200 wood by age 2.

Age 2:
Throw down a rax at your FB village and send:
8 CKN if against a heavy inf civ.
9 Qiang if against a cav civ.
7 steppe if against a light inf civ.
Que up an old han army from your rax and send your first shipment to your forward village. This should give you 13-15 guys. Attack with this little army and try to be in his base at about 5:30. After that, make another village, keep sending shipments, and keep making old han banner armies. If you can, make vils. Just keep spamming into his base and you'll gain enough momentum to outspam his TC fire. If you end up with 5 or 6 villages, send northern refugees to boost your economy. If you do this, make another barracks and commence spammage out of both barracks and your consulate. If that still doesn't bring him down, send 700 gold and get to age 3. The wonder is up to you.

Age 3:
This time, focus on massing veteran CKN and qiang to protect your hand mortars while sieging his base from long range. Play more conservatively from this point on, as you should wear him down with hand mortars and then move in for the kill. If that still doesn't work, go to age 4 and ready your final attack.

Age 4:
If it gets to this point, you have one last trick up your sleeve: Old Han Reforms. Get guard CKN and qiang and mass about 100-150 of them. Then send old han reforms and you will have an army of 2.75x base stat guys. Then just flood his base. He shouldn't be able to do anything against you. If THAT doesn't work, then good luck.


TIPS


Go for food and wood treasures in age 1, as unless you manage to get 170 gold it will be worthless.

I'd suggest going for the British consulate, as it gives solid units and a good bonus.

If he has a tower or TC shooting you, send in your monk in cover mode first. He will be a 1500 ranged hp meatshield, and in early age 2 that can make or break the game.

Never underestimate cover mode. If he has ranged infantry, send in your qiang in cover mode as a meatshield and use your CKN to do the damage.

If you get a lot of herdables at your FB, send another vil or two to gather them more quickly.

If you have 500 food right from the start in age 2(400 from the wonder), you may want to send the mandarin duck squad, as at 5:30 he will most likely not have any cavalry or enough infantry to kill it.


That's the majority of the strategy! There are several rec games of this in the rec games section.

Best of luck all, and enjoy playing China!
Groovy.
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Lokelo
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by Lokelo »

Great stuff Nav. I have to try that some time :D

I already thought that I want to try out China, now that I more or less can handle the Brits (although there is still much to learn for me). Just to get some more variety in my games.

Edit: I just tried this vs a expert computer (Brits) and failed miserably. I have to practice it some more ;-) I was in her base at about 6 min, but there were towers everywhere.
Navarone_Guy
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by Navarone_Guy »

Yeah, don't try it against computers. All they do is turtle. No humans really do that.

Anyway, you need to practice this a lot as it's a hard strategy to perform well. It's damn fun, though! Best of luck with it!

If anyone needs any help doing this strategy, feel free to post it here! I'll do my best to help out.
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Killahsquirrel
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by Killahsquirrel »

^Yeah, comps like to spam towers if you attack them 8O
This looks cool, although I don't play China I might try it out :D
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IndyBrit
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by IndyBrit »

I found the comp is not bad practice for the timing. I really turned the corner when I got fast enough to get in the comps town before he built guys. The expert comp has towers and guys at just over 6 minutes, and this strat can take them out before that. It is very fast in putting the pressure one. ( although my losing streak has continued :) but it's not a failure of the strat )
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Lokelo
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by Lokelo »

Err.... to start aging up at 2:45, do you produce villagers before aging up? Or do you save all the food to age up?

Edit: hmm... I probably just have to look at a couple of recorded games ;-)
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by TheRam »

Nice guide mate, I've been using this strat (roughly) since I saw you beat Ranger with it, and I've been winning about 80% of my china games.
What would you recommend vs Japan though, that's the only civ that's beaten me lately (if I recall) and I find that I can get a hard rush, usually go for duck squad here, but I always go for the steppe rider/CKN army, would old han be better vs japan? I assumed with the steppe riders raiding/decent siege/counter yumi it would be wiser to get them and ship the qiang relatively early for any extra siege/naginatas (can't recall if they get nags in age 2).

Also, is tend to put a few more on wood for that second village ASAP, and I've beaten a few rank 32s, even a PR32 Japanese fiend!
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Zenze
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by Zenze »

Since the strat is so fast I usually end up sending qiang just for quick and extra siege.
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by Navarone_Guy »

I used to go standard army just to be different, but old han is just more practical. Against Japan, send 8 CKN first in age 2 and send 7 steppe as your second card (for yumi). Pick off his ashi with your CKN and then send in the steppe riders.
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by Soccerman771 »

I've been reading about the China Boxer Rebellion Rush. Is it viable or even worth-while to use? Has anyone in the clan tried to use it and/or had any success with it?
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by I__CHAOS__I »

tried it once and it just didn't feel right, but no real testing though, just one game
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by Sporting_Lisbon »

If he has a tower or TC shooting you, send in your monk in cover mode first. He will be a 1500 ranged hp meatshield, and in early age 2 that can make or break the game.
Nice tip :)
WALKTHROUGH

Age 1:
So with how many vills do you start aging to colo?
Navarone_Guy
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Re: Navarone's China Slam

Post by Navarone_Guy »

The boxer rebellion rush can possibly be useful, but against impossible opponents (the ones you would most likely use it against), they just don't do enough damage (x.5 to vils for NO reason) to really get the job done. Also, collecting 160 gold in age 1 can screw you up, and you need the age 1 card for 300 food to age at a half-decent time.

I don't keep track of how many vils I age up with, although it's usually about 12. I pay more attention to the aging time. (I try for 2:45.)
Groovy.
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