Strat Clut better than Gwined

[mercurydawn]

After my first win, taking over Ireland as Dublin's Vikings (can't recall what they call themselves) I experimented real quick with other factions, but found to my frustration Gwined, which just seemed so rightly positioned with a apparently strong ally, sucked balls. I'd either have to immediately jump into a pointless war in the very beginning or break the alliance, and face a immediate invasion, and and expansion to the Southeast was a check board shuffle with remnants of the Anglo-Saxons there.... and civil wars would pop up, or West Seaxe would show up, once even the Irish showed up, multiple factions, landing and taking all my land.

So I saw Strat Clut. Didn't play it before, or know it's terrain, just knew it had a hard defence. I started off in my very first turn killing the rebel army in one battle, then taking a neighboring settlement, and this caused me to enter into a war against a total of two factions to my south, much larger combined.... Oh ♥♥♥♥! But strangely enough after taking a bit of both factions lands and asking for peace, they decided okay, and sent forces south to expand. I worked on my economy, conquered the island where castletown is, hoping the Irish would capture or at least keep Dublin occupied.... and found my southern neighbors southern push was a disaster..... and Northumberland (or Northumbria, Northumbyr, or however it is written) was pushing north..... so I arrested this northern movement, and started pushing south, knocking out armies and capturing land.

Only thing that kept in in check in my southern advance was a civil war breaking out.... despite giving out estates. Kept Scotland at bay, refused a plot for a preemptive attack on them, threw me into war with another faction, but Cicernn took the border region and hushed them up for me.

After a long while, of occasional expansion and juicing up my economy, and a opportunistic attack on my kingdom by a Irish faction, I'm finding myself with a decently secured kingdom. I have a patchwork of bufferstates to my south between my kingdom and the Anglo-Saxon unity kingdom, my north is in slumber..... Ireland is constantly at war.

First time in England I've felt comfortable enough to feel I could survive a random war with anyone and not be obliterated with a random stack out of nowhere. That's always happened to me prior to the 20-30 turn mark, a bizarre stack showing up from across the map taking the longest way hitting me sideways, as my economy stagnates.

Thinking might be wise to storm the islands and peninsula to my northwest, and hit Scotland on four fronts. But they are bound to be allied or join in against me prior. If I invadeIreland, I can undoubtedly pick off a state, and throw the local alliances into chaos, but have friendship packs with half, even a marriage. Gotta be careful where I land I guess. Dublin or Northern Ireland?

Scotland is slowly expanding. I need to build two good armies, without the resources... can any of these spots pay for them with a invading army? I dunno. Do know this game is being saved and specially marked. I did already with a short victory on it (dunno why). So many different directions to go right now. Gotta face off against Alfred eventually in the south. Seems to have constant uprisings down there.

I owe it all to the bizarre trait of a frantically retreating AI that insists on avoiding me, and instead invades and conquers enemies in the opposite direction of me, as I penetrate the rear. Feels like the allies invasion of Western Europe as the Nazis rushed East, making decent advances as they slug it out hard elsewhere.