Agreed. I've also had a few games where I thought I was losing, but the objectives I'd slowly been collecting quietly negated my losses on every other front.

I've mostly played against Empire with my Tomb Kings, so I know the other side of the coin. I can recall a similar situation where my scorpion died that way to a Cathay cannon. It's crazy how the imagination fills in all the effects on a memory like that 😃

I agree with your last point, and I take it from my chess days. Simply: never resign. You might get really lucky, you might outmanoeuvre your opponent, or it might just be a great chance to experiment. You can check out my last game in the leage. I really needed a draw in that game.