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Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:33 am
by Sun_Tzu1
In your opinion, is there a place for sending the discovery, coloniel, or fortress age Farm Travois cards - assuming you're not taking the Land Grab route?

I'm asking because getting 1, 2, or 3 Farms in ages 1, 2, and 3 is exceptionally good value - 1, 2, or 3 x 400 wood = 400, 800, 1200 wood.

Clearly, it's inefficent to start farming early age 2 with hunt/berries still around. However, having a farm around does give you access to the discovery age Great Feast (+10% allround food gathering - 75 coin, 100 wd) and the coloniel age Harvest Ceremony (+15% all-round food gathering - 125 coin, 225 wd) upgrades, etc. A boost to your hunting/berry gathering until you have to fall back on farming.

If you research on your farm, you'll spoil being able to play the later Agrarian Ways card. However, this can be offset by playing the Aztec Mining card (+40% mining) instead - in combination with the Market Place +10% Placer Mines - and focusing on early fast-rate mining rather than on collecting the 800 wood necessary for a plantation.

Any thoughts or ideas? Can't make up my mind if Farm Travois are worth it or not?

All input welcome.

Sun Tzu

Re: Aztec Farm Cards

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:37 am
by I__CHAOS__I
I have a deck with the age II - 2 farm travois that I use on maps with little hunt, like Rockies. It's good value (800w) and grants 160 XP as well.
Like you said, getting the upgrades is nice too.

Re: Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:44 am
by Sun_Tzu1
Do you get the XP for a Farm Travois? I thought shipped in units/travois didn't give XP? 160XP points is quite a big deal. If that's right, it's a good chunk towards your next shipment.

Re: Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:13 am
by I__CHAOS__I
yes, 80 xp per farm
you can also fatten herds if you got any

Re: Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:09 am
by Sun_Tzu1
Thanks for telling me about the Farm Travois XP bonus! I've seen it with my own eyes - you're right.

You also get +50 XP per Warhut when you send the 2 Warhut Travois card.

Btw, while on that point, I thought only economic building were supposed to give +20% XP. So why does building a warhut give you +20% XP also?

Re: Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:19 pm
by I__CHAOS__I
I dunno why you get 50 XP for warhuts

don't forget that those auto-building items also save up the walk-time and build time of a villy.
It takes 50 sec for 1 vill to build a warhut, so if you ship 2, you save up at least 100 VS or 50 wood. (it's even more with walking time included)

Re: Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:59 pm
by Cyclohexane
Typically, you get 10% of the cost for military buildings and 20% for economic. However, for towers (and Russian blockhouses) you get 14%. Since it is a cross between a tower and barracks, it should be different, but not 20%. It should be 14% like the Russians (but they also provide 5 pop). Maybe it is a bug or possibly for balance reasons (which would not make since).

You also get 60XP for a noble hut (300 res to make so also 20%).

Re: Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:47 pm
by Sun_Tzu1
If it's a bug, don't tell Ensemble! :). Need all the help I can get. Just teasing.

I've double checked. The Warhut Travois gives +50 XP per Warhut when you complete building it. Just building an Aztec Warhut in the regular way gives +50 XP per warhut, and, I just watched a reply where I was against Sioux and the Sioux player also got +50 XP when he built a Warhut.

Re: Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:30 am
by Macabee
Any thoughts or ideas? Can't make up my mind if Farm Travois are worth it or not?
No, they're not. They never seem to be quite what I need at the given time I consider sending them. I never have 20 free villagers when I send the card, and there's always a more urgeantly needed card I have to send in colonial - or I'm already headed to fortress.

700 wood is better. I can use it for anything wood is needed for, including a farm. I can even build a farm and have the wood I need for farm upgrades.

In Fortress, the 1000 wood is better than 3 farms even more so, as I always seem to need a plantation or two as early as possible in that age.

Oh, and I almost forgot ... After going to age 5, more farms are kind of silly - imho.

Mac

Re: Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 2:41 pm
by I__CHAOS__I
Well, I still think they are worth it on certain maps, don't forget the upgrade also affects hunt and berries. Just have enough different decks.
700 wood should be in each deck. Best card in age II.

Re: Aztec Farm Travois Cards

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:18 pm
by ruminator
As Aztecs tend to stay in age 2 quite a while, I always played it late on/while aging. You can then have 2/3 farms ready to upgrade with agrarian ways - build a second t/c as soon as you can in age 3 and boom away.

30 natives on farms will keep enough food coming to spam new natives from 2 t/cs as well as keep military production up.

The balance is tricky - you need to have wrecked their military in age 2 to take this route, otherwise they will be hitting you hard with fortress cards and you will need to save the shipment while aging to have 2 fortress military cards in fortress yourself.

If there has been plenty of combat in age 2 then the xp will be rolling in so you can have firepit on WP production and move settlers off to the farms as the WP are produced. A trading post is also recommended as Aztecs have so many good cards you want to play all of them!