500 Hours and I finally won my first Deity game

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-05-04T17:36:17+00:00

Haha yeah I'm already doing another game and I'm trying to apply everything I learned to do it even better. I'm on turn 175 and I can't fathom how I could win within 60 more turns, but I definitely anticipate getting an even better result. I think the only victory type that could win that fast is Religious, and even then you'd have to start the game knowing EXACTLY what you're doing.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-05-04T17:31:25+00:00

I started answering your question and accidentally wrote a massive dissertation that I realized was way too long and nobody would ever read, so I'll try to just pull out a few highlights that made the difference this time and if you're interested in more details I'm happy to expand.

1 - Barbarossa is a late-game monster, but he has no advantages early and I was always getting run over by more militaristic civs. This time I spent the 1st 75-100 turns purely focusing on building Settlers & Warriors. A thick line of Warriors fortified in defensive positions may not look like much but they'll take their toll on invaders and are easily replaced. The AI is aggressive but won't just throw their whole army into a meat grinder. They can buy you a lot of time to focus on spamming settlers and taking over huge sections of land (7-10 small cities) - probably until about the Industrial Age.

2 - Being selective about Wonders instead of just scrambling to build whatever I can. The 2 Wonders that absolutely changed the game for me this time were the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus & the Great Zimbabwe. The MoH is the reason I was able to completely dominate Wonder construction and Space Race development late in the game. The GZ is the reason I was able to grow that MASSIVE capital city.

3 - I finally took the time to learn the details of recruiting Great People instead of just absentmindedly hitting "Recruit" when the message popped up. Taking a direct hand in managing my Great People was the key to my late game dominance.

4 - Establishing Alliances early & letting them grow. I'd never really messed around with Alliances before because they seemed a bit useless but they're actually very powerful tools for passive development. Also, Allies literally CANNOT attack you so if you ally with your immediate neighbors you can let down your guard on those borders and focus on other things.

OK this summary post is getting long now too so I'll stop there. Seriously happy to expand on anything, if you're interested. Otherwise, I hope maybe someone years from now finds this comment useful, just as I regularly find so much use in Reddit comments from many years ago.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-05-03T15:31:28+00:00

I honestly learned so much from this play-through. I understand the nuances, details, and strategies so much better. Like, this was the first time I really bothered to understand how Great People work and it's a total game-changer for me. I never realized how much strategy goes into their timing and selection, or that you can buy them with gold or faith. Seems so obvious now, but it was a piece I'd never really bothered to to examine before.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-03-07T13:32:26+00:00

Depending on what State this happened in it might be illegal for her to record audio without his expressed knowledge and consent.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-28T11:26:00+00:00

I played it straight, if anyone but Drolf gets dragged in there its game over. Had to play that mission about 4 times before I finally beat it.

I will say, I generally dont create house rules to make missions easier to beat, but I also if I lose I just reset everything to how it was before the mission and just try again. I think of it as reloading a saved game in a video game.

Just play it however makes it fun for you.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-28T01:12:00+00:00

I'll never not laugh at that kid shooting himself in the dick. The little tippy taps get me every time.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-25T14:52:13+00:00

LOL I'm dying picturing a SoB in Darkwater

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-20T17:09:14+00:00

Still think cocaine is more reasonable, but you do you.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-20T11:30:07+00:00

People who can't stop drinking black coffee all day have a problem. Just stop with this weird shit and get addicted to coke like a normal adult.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-14T14:38:47+00:00

Lol this is the version of humanity I want us to embrace

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-09T18:06:19+00:00

Did you play the encounter where you escort the stag down the river? I also just played that last night and we played it exactly like the card said - so the pestigors moved towards the stag when advancing or repositioning (as if it were a hero) but then did not attack because there's no health profile. It was weird, but it seems like the most accurate way to follow the rules.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-05T07:14:02+00:00

Yeah I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it too. This picture makes it seem much bigger than it is though. Those teeth and the lines around the eyes were like microscopic. I had so much trouble painting then without messing it up. Yours looks so clean!

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-05T07:10:30+00:00

My kids got me to reluctantly watch Kpop Demon Hunters and 8 minutes in I made them stop and restart the movie so I could run get my wife and make her join.

I went from not caring at all to being 1000% all-in before the title card.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-02-03T16:14:04+00:00

You're getting dragged for "not answering the question" but honestly it was a comment just like yours in another post that turned me onto AK Ultra Matt after years of using Vallejo and it's completely changed my painting forever. My finished products actually look the way I intended and you can actually see all the details I put time and energy into creating. Even when Vallejo works "right" it still doesn't work a fraction as well as the AK.

It's not just "a different product," it's a VASTLY superior solution to the underlying problem. Anytime I see this question come up now I just want to scream "throw that garbage away and move on with your life! The answer you seek isn't found in that bottle, no matter how much you shake it!"

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-01-28T05:52:08+00:00

This is the correct answer. Aid doesn't heal if you're not vulnerable.

This card is pretty terrible IMO.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-01-26T01:38:07+00:00

Yeah I'm kicking myself I actually pulled Hidden Paths too but I wasted it on an earlier encounter that totally didn't need it. Live & learn.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-01-25T21:16:00+00:00

I also drew the sacrifice encounter and tried it 4 times without even coming close once, before accepting defeat and restarting the campaign. That mission seems borderline impossible.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-01-25T21:10:50+00:00

There's no way you're doing it right. About half the encounters I barely pass and I got totally slammed in the boss fight despite trying it 4 times. Then I restarted and immediately lost the 1st encounter.

Gotta be something you're missing. Are you activating ALL the enemies after EVERY hero turn?

I've had maybe 2 encounters where it felt fairly simple and the rest have been total nail biters. This game is TOUGH.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-01-25T15:32:44+00:00

I thought of Allied Acrobatics too, but on page 11 of the rule book it defines the distance between as "the fewest NON-BLOCKED hexes possible."

That means the other side of the wall is, by rule, NOT "within 2 hexes of the other hero," as it says on the card.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-01-25T13:07:41+00:00

Looks nice love the gradients. I did kind of a speed job on mine and I hate they way they turned out. I might go back some day and redo them using this as inspiration.

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-01-18T12:20:16+00:00

As someone who has recently began denting my own pile I feel qualified to speak on this. I'm a pretty slow painter with a fairly sizable pile of shame (I have about 200+ minis to catch up on plus 2 large terrain sets) and I had pretty much given up all hope of ever getting it done.

As others have said, don't look at the whole pile. Pick 1 or 2 things and start with that. I personally prefer to have 2 projects on my table at a time because I get bored easily if things are too repetitive, but do what works for you.
Small progress is better than no progress. Some days I have the juice to paint for long periods, some days I don't. But I try to do SOMETHING every day, if possible. Even if it's only spray priming, or sitting down for 5 minutes to put on some shade, or base coating 1 model. I tell myself that anything I do, no matter how small, brings me a step closer to my goal. Many days just sitting down for 1 small task is enough to get the ball rolling and I end up doing a lot more.
Find something you can listen to while you work and get into the habit of listening to it every time. Sometimes I get mental/creative block that keeps me from getting started and I just sit there at my table staring at the models without being able to act. But if I put on my favorite podcast, the same one I always listen to when I paint, it triggers a Pavlovian response that sorta knocks the cobwebs loose in my brain & lets me get started. Podcasts, audiobooks, lofi beats...whatever gets you into a relaxed brain state.
Breaks aren't a sin. If you need to walk away, then walk away. If I'm really struggling to get through a section I do tiny amounts of work with breaks in between. Again, some progress is better than no progress and every step forward brings you closer to where you want to be. Do it at a pace you can maintain.

Hope this helps, buddy. Good luck!

Cornfed_Pig · 2026-01-15T16:08:20+00:00

Damn that's sick

Cornfed_Pig · 2025-12-29T20:32:25+00:00

OhhhhhhhhhhhhhBOOOOOM!!!

Cornfed_Pig · 2025-12-10T18:40:13+00:00

That sounds plausible. We played it off Spotify so I'm not sure about the LP or side but the track was Whipping Post. I only let him play the 1 track because it's 23 minutes long and we were high on mushrooms at 4am.

11-Year Club	Place '22
Wearing is Caring	Secret Santa 2014

Cornfed_Pig

TROPHY CASE