The Difference in Your Strategy Between 5p Evolved vs 5p Massive?

[Virtuoso]

Hi folks

So there's this upcoming 7p CM tourney that's going to start soon. https://www.majorcommand.com/tournaments/2199/

I've finished my first, and am in the midst of a 2nd low-player CM game, and I've realized that the approach I take to playing (say) 6p Classic Evolved, when used on CM, puts me massively behind in troop count once the game starts going. In my current 6p game, it's round 17, and I'm like 200+ troops (about 50%) behind the leaders already, with no real viable means to make the gap up.

In CE, I tend to avoid continents and wait for the reserves to get large enough in order to attempt a chain kill. It seems with low-player CM, you need to collect continents, otherwise you'll be massively behind in troop count. So that's kinda what I'm seeing. Anyone agree? Any other insights? The tourney is starting soon and I'm definitely thinking I don't have enough experience with the conditions of the map to know what I'm doing yet.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Virtuoso]

Ok - so I'll start with some observations of CM compared to CE. I'm discussing escalate only.

1. Players will collect continents. It seems there will be a player or two who manages to get a big section of the map starts to grow it (e.g. all of NA, all of SA, all of Africa, etc). This person(s) will have the troop lead or be near it. On CE escalate, you wouldn't see this phenomenon of someone having 30+terts and still have others competitive in the game. With this person gaining 25+ deploy each round, do they eventually get eliminated by others gaining cards from eliminating yet other players, or do they get so strong that they metastasize the entire board? i.e. usually, is the winner the player who conquered the biggest section of the map, or the player who most effectively strategized by killing weak players in a chain kill? (as can be done in CE)

2. Is it better to have one big block of the map and expand from there, two smaller blocks, or multiple islands of troops?

3. Approximately when do the games end? I can tell you for my CE escalate games, the beginning of the end tends to be when the reserves hit around 30 to 50. What is the "average" reserve strength endpoint for 5 or 6p CM escalate? Ballpark? In my 6p, the troop counts are so high, that eliminating other players (even though it's escalate), seems to lead to a loss in troop strength.

 

[The-Swede]

I'll peak at this thread on the weekend when i have time to think and brew. I normally like those maps with more players but i've enjoyed the few smaller ones i've played and i've noticed you doing extremely well in every classic massive game i've ever been in with you so i'll certainly dig through this for info and hope others can bounce some ideas of you.