Ottoman Anti Portuguese Strat- Sourced from HG- AoE Patch 1.07

Hello all
Though I'm a very new Ottoman player, I have made up something that might interest you. It is a new strat, and still under testing... so any comments would be appreciated. I have used it and beaten good players and since some people asked me to post it...

WTH is that thing?

Ottoman DePorter (any similarity is just coincidence) is a strat that I have made thinking in ways to beat Portugal with Ottomans (duh). It seems that rushing doesn't work really well, so the only viable strats most of the time are FIs or FFs (The last one also doesn't work so well). Though I have little experience with Ottomans I can say that I know something about Portugal, so I think it deserves some credit

So what should we do?

The main objective is to explore your enemy weakness. It was made thinking in ways to beat Portugal, so I have made it thinking in Portugal weakness (yes, they have them too) but it may also work against other civs. But which are Portugal weakness? The most important of them is the great ammount of food needed to supply their army/economy - they can't power it through Settler shipments so constant Settler production is a must to don't fall behind your enemy.

Other one is the high effect that any kind of pressure has over Portugal. You may think that those damn TCs will just own your army - but to make them shoot, they need to have idle Settlers inside. So, if one of the things so feared about Portugal are their TC power, it means they do garrison a lot, uh?

And, my favorite one: Total lack of Siege Artillery.

Needed Cards:


3 Settlers

700 Gold

700 Wood

1000 Wood

Fort
Important Cards:


8 Janissaries

5 Abus

2 Falconets

5 Spahi

3 Spahi

1000 Food

2 Factories

The Build Order:

Discovery Age:

At this point you just need to do the basic Ottoman Colonial. Build a TP + House with the starting wood and all Settlers go to food. Scout a lot for resources near your opponent's base and also look for treasures. Wood treasures are priority right now. Age up ASAP with the Governor (200 Gold/1 Outpost Wagon)

Now target all your Settlers to wood. Send 3 Settlers to your enemy base and build an outpost covering the most resources you can (huntables are a priority). After you got 250 wood for it, make the Settlers in your base gather the needed resources for a FF. Set the shipment drop off point to your forward Outpost.

Colonial Age:

With your forward Settlers you must lure his hunt to behind your Outpost. Build another Outpost with your Outpost Wagon covering more huntables and, if possible, build it near enough so it can shot his Settlers. Do not forget to send 700 Gold at your base...

When he age up he will face 2 Outposts. Building a Covered Wagon near any of them is almost suicide. That means they can't make their Settlers gather near the TC because they are being shot - so they totally lose the TC covering advantage. He will probably put his TC behind the Outpost line...

Now send the 700 Wood card. Collect it and use it to build at least 2 Houses + Barracks. The rest of the wood you can use for another outpost or any other building that you like. Age up to Fortress with 4 Abus or 4 Hussars. Barrack placement is also important - building it near resources also mean he can't gather there without having Janissaries shooting his Settlers. As soon as your forward Barracks is ready start to build 5 Janissaries.

Fortress Age:

Ship your aged up units in one of your forward Outposts. If you have done it right, your enemy should be confused and will either palce his 3rd TC inside his base or try to go for a place that you aren't "covering". That is what you want him to do - analyze the possibilities well and you should guess where the 3rd TC will go. Move your troops to that place and catch the Wagon if you can.

If it worked, you have surrounded him and has map control now. He has almost no huntables and soon will stop training Settlers or have to make mills/use berries. You should use your shipments to apply pressure: start sending 8 Janissaries/5 Abus/2 Falconets and later 5 Spahis. When you're sure he is locked, ship a Fort to make sure he won't leave. You can also send 1000 Wood and build a Town Center and a Church to power your economy.

Overall:

As you can see this is an Ottoman FF that rely on Outposts to keep your enemy under control. Its a simple strat which just needs some modifications in your normal FF. You lure his hunt, raid his Settlers and can even take his Covered Wagon. In a simple point of view you are herding your enemy, you are taking the control of the game and making he play it. He is not playing his game - he is playing your game.

This, of course, is not 100% effective in all maps. Some such as New England, Yukon or Texas are easier to cover, while in Great Plains there are too many huntables to cover them all. Even in Bayou and Hispaniola (unless he ship boom...) it is effective - these maps are easy to cover and you use the starting wood for an Outpost rather than the Trading Post.

But it is still in testing so any oppinions or tips would be apreciated