Using Scouts

In this chapter i share my thoughts about using Scouts, or defending against them. In the way i am thinking this game, i try to minimize the amount of Scouts i produce. This is a matter of playstyle and i am not necessarily suggesting you do this, but will still type it down here for everyone to see.

My game style emphasizes strongly on understanding the character of the opponent and on that, my intuition about the choises they are about to make. Thus i wont need the scouting information to make the choises to begin with, and i dont believe the opponent will gain much on having it either. This is why on my composition, there is next to no scouts as i aim to maximize the offensive strength without sacrificing on the defense.

If i can produce next to twice as many troops that can be used on offense than the opponent, i want them to know it. This is part of my Diplomacy and deterrence against enemy aggression. I want them to know, that if they attack my Kingdom, they will not compete on winning the server anymore. This is why i first aim to destroy their Infrastructure, Crop Capitals, ability to produce armies and so on (when others go for the Treasures immediately). To me, the Treasures are at first a tool that enables me to destroy their Kingdom without losses on attacking troops (the fact that they posses and value them over anything else).

This wont mean i wont use them, i just wont specialize in them like everyone else. I value troops instead and it is the gamestyle that suits me the best. When others want Scouts, i want Troops. I am using information as a weapon, but wont need much of it to make my decisions. 

When others are aiming to affect the Troops in the game, i am aiming to affect the one who controls the Troops.This is my play style, and it suits me.

This is a bit like Rock Paper Scissors where i am using Rock and Paper only, and want everyone to know it. The opponent have one Rock, one Paper and one Scissors while you have one Rock, one Paper and one that can be either a Rock or Paper.

This is very advanced, and there might not be many people in existence who can reliably do this in practice. What it basically means, is that you need to be a real Psychic like Rasputin. It also means, that you must be able to rely on what you cannot see.

There is also another aspect to this, which is to build your composition so solid, that the opponent has a hard time choosing what to do even they would know everything you have and you would not theirs. Its because of this foundation, that you can have less Scouts and having more Troops strengthens this foundation even further.