Indians/Late CtW

Blood and Iron
Playable factions

Although the Indians have a fairly desirable position in Blood and Iron, it is by no means a guarantee for success. They remain mostly isolated from many other factions, as well as the prerequisite territories that they need to invade in order to win. It is true that they control the Kuru Iron Ore mine, so naturally they can easily stop most factions from obtaining an Iron Ore victory. However, the paltry number of Supply Centres nearby, as well as the fierce resistance that can be expected when invading the Middle East are all potential barriers to a quick victory - there are sixteen different Supply Centre regions, with most of them concentrated in the northern Middle East, as well as Eastern Europe. Ergo, quick action and shrew dealing is necessary in order to win.

Your first steps should be to seize control of the traditional "Indian" lands - that is, Bengal, Kalinga, the Irawaddy and Nanyue. Capturing these won't just free up the Supply Centres in the Bengal and Irawaddy regions, but will also allow you access to Nanyue's Iron Ore strategic resource, leaving you with only just six more territories of either Iron Ore or Supply Centres to obtain. While it is theoretically possible to win by occupying more Supply Centres, the vast number of Iron Ore areas as opposed to Supply Centres in Asia means that it is better for India, as it is for other civs present in Asia, to buy or conquer more Iron Ore-producing regions. Many of these are now located due north of your position - it may simply be better for you to accumulate tribute to buy the Iron Ore areas of the Middle East and Europe, while fighting northwards through China to obtain the rest.

So the task for India remains simple — move east to increase their holdings, then seize control of the Chinese heartland, one territory at a time to take control of all Iron Ore resources in Asia. It will not necessarily be easy, however — the three Chinese kingdoms of Bach Viet, Chu and Zhou are quite huge and powerful. On one hand, Bach Viet is the weakest of the three, yet on the other hand a strategy of watching and waiting until one kingdom conquers the rest and weakens the entire Chinese lands for conquest could well be more profitable, but it has its risks - for one, conquering the Himavani region is not an easy task. You may either need to take out Bach Viet from the south first, or else try your luck by crossing the Himavani to reach to China, but in an era of Bronze Age warfare it won't be easy.

CtW objectives

• Either:
  • Seize control of eight Supply Centres, or
  • Seize control of eight territories that bear Iron Ore.
• Secondary tasks:
  • Conquer the four southeasternmost regions - Bengal, Irawaddy Basin, Kalinga and Nanyue to obtain a Wonder of the World card.

Initial start:

• Territories: Sindh (level 3, Cattle), Kuru (level 2, Iron Ore), Margu (level 1)
• : 50
• : 1 x Population Explosion, 1 x Missionaries, 1 x Science Eureka

Strategic Overview
Basic gameplay	Rising Tide	Blood and Iron