Best way to do a combined Spire and Tournament push

[Jaxom]

My fellowship has gotten to be quite proficient at getting 10 chests or more in tournaments. We added some new players last fall that made a big difference.
And we also have at least 10 members who have become push to the top of the Spire or at least into the top section.
But we have never achieved a Gold medal on the Spire and some members think we should make a push to do so.

It has been suggested that we attempt a combined 10-chest and Spire effort. Members have pointed out that unit boost buildings, like Dwarven Armorer, can help both efforts. And it has been suggested that we promote 0-star trades to help non-fighters stock up on goods so that they can go further than normal.

I remember that before the big change in tournaments that Marble was viewed as perhaps the easiest tournament to fight. This was because Mage and Light-ranged units were very useful in Marble and those units get extra help from boost buildings. Is this still true? I thought that enemy troops were now more random than they used to be.

So I ask for your opinions on the following:

1. Are some tournaments still are easier to fight than others?
2. For non-fighters, do some tournaments have a greater proportion of higher tier goods (which would be more costly to produce/get)?
3. Are there any tricks to help a fellowship do well in Spire and tournament during the same week?

I hope this will prove to be an interesting discussion. Thank you for your input.

 

[Killiak]

So I ask for your opinions on the following:

1. Are some tournaments still are easier to fight than others?
2. For non-fighters, do some tournaments have a greater proportion of higher tier goods (which would be more costly to produce/get)?
3. Are there any tricks to help a fellowship do well in Spire and tournament during the same week?

I hope this will prove to be an interesting discussion. Thank you for your input.

1. Yes. While enemy units have been randomized, the tournaments are still weighted towards the prevalent units of the past. The consensus 'back in the day' was that Steel is/was the easiest.
2. I don't believe so. The cost in goods depends on province / star, and the weight / number of enemy units. This should be a constant for a player at any size, relative to their own size logically.
3. A stupid amount of boosters(, and a Phoenix.)

 

[MinervaOz]

Many people would consider Marble to be the easiest, especially if you have longer range mages (priests or blossoms). Steel (needing mainly LR) isn't far behind. As you say, booster buildings will help with both, and also with the Spire - I find I use mainly mages and LR there anyway. I don't think you need a "stupid" amount of boosts - if you're easily getting 10 chests then the same boosts should get you through the Spire. A mix of catering and fighting is the best approach. Catering is cheaper for smaller cities than big ones, so helping them out with 0 star trades benefits everyone. The real trick is to be prepared, so you don't run out of troops or goods half way through. You might want to have one or two 'quiet' weeks before making the push, to give everyone a chance to stock up.

 

[Killiak]

To clarify, with a 'stupid' amount of boosts I mean 4 of every booster.

I usually only use one or two of each. One if I feel like doing 3-4K-ish, two if I feel like going for 8k. Your mileage may vary, as every city is in a different position.

 

[Jake65]

Sort of related question: is the difficulty level of the tournament in any way related to your boosts?
e.g. Is marble easier for a marble boosted player, crystal easier for crystal boosted, etc

 

[Pauly7]

To clarify, with a 'stupid' amount of boosts I mean 4 of every booster.

That is a lot of combat buildings and not sustainable unless you only plan to do this very infrequently.

The two easiest tournaments are marble and steel. As to which is better is a matter of opinion. There are many reasons for saying the fighting is easier in the marble tournament, but the good thing about steel is that you need mostly LR troops. These always take the first initiative in fights. This is valuable because the way you can play this is just to build several ELR buildings. For a steel tournament I wouldn't use any UUUs or DAs. What you are trying to do is win the fights in one hit. If your troops are not getting attacked then any extra troop health is just wasted.

However, that is just the tournaments. The point is kind of moot because if your aim is to open 10 chests then it should be easy on any one of them. All you need to make sure of is that you have a full team of people who are all going to do their 5 or 6 rounds. If so then you'll get 10 chests with minimal losses for anyone. Problem is that the Spire doesn't follow suit with its troop selections.

To get a Spire gold medal you need (usually) about 17 of you to the top. Think about that. Decide if you have 17 that are capable. In order to fight the Spire you are best off adding a lot of troop health (2 or 3 DAs each, if they are saved up.) It then should be quite painless. However, if that's the plan I probably wouldn't mix it with a marble or steel week in the tournament, because that combat building profile does not suit either of those tournaments.

In summary, though, the Spire gold should be possible. It just needs the whole team to pull together and all know they have to do their part. Oh, and yes, absolutely zero star trades will help. Some of the bigger players will have big stocks of standard goods that can get passed along to the smaller players.

 

[McBratty]

If your FS has never done it before, to lessen the pressure on the group I wouldnt do a push in spire and tournament at the same time. This way they can achieve the top of the Spire and the gold medal and perhaps just achieve the group minimum in the tournament. Making a FS that has never done a double push like this before try to go for this is really throwing them in the deep end. Try just the Spire first and see how they go, then with their enthusiasm raised when they see all the rewards they get you can talk about doing both.