[Mightypeon]

I think it is also possible to defend Communions (at least the communicants) against Earth Quakes with a crystal matrix and a high id master casting a fist turn mistform.
During the confrontation over Mictlan, I would have placed a signficant force in a reserve in a place where they could not be simply sieged.
You would have actually hurt me severly without the thunder bow bug issue, your assasins "actually" killed the relief guy, and that would have made f.e. stellar cascades quite usefull. It would have also screwed up my own advances rather severly by killing commanders that were leading troops.
The fact that my "cunning and unexpected" plan worked (earthquake suprise attack) while your equally "cunning and unexpected" plan (assassins with Thunder Bows, I did not expect that at all) did not for absolutly no fault of your own was huge.
Without thunderbows, your assasins were very managable with bodyguards. If they had the thunderbows, I propably would have needed to patrol while moving, which would have given you time to reorganise, research and root out my own spies.

It was in the beginning an open matchup, until you were hit by the bug (which invalidated at least 30 A gems, quite significant by turn 30ish), subsequently lost battles because my commanders didnt get killed (somethign you propably and with good reason planned to have happening), this meant that the outcome was much close to my initial plan than to yours, and, as Clausewitz states, friction increases the faster the more you already have of it.
If you had a communion with some protection for earthquakes, my own 30ish E gems burned on the suicde attack would have been largely wasted, and the early monomentum could have been in your favor.
I didnt have to reconsider my own plans until Harbingers.
As a note, I was attacking with Alt 6, Evo 6, Enchantment 3, Conjuration 3, Construction 6, Thau 2, and had been in a number of early wars. Given that Pythium does have better research, Having Conjuration 6 for Harbingers (they are 6 right?), Construction 4 for gear and Evo/Alt whatever 6 for battle magic should have not been impossible. I think you made a "mistake" in sending too many mages after Mictlan, it was overkill against them, but also put a lot of your assets in on place where I could very efficently attack them and also reduced your research.


Hindsight is of course 20/20...