One SC powers can come quite handy. Offer to help them survive in return for being your janissary.

Of course this depends on how they are placed. Units behind your lines threatening only you can be annoying. These need to be zapped.

when they have the choice of going behind the lines or not, offering survival, and following through, can be an economical way to in effect gain a unit, and at the same time stave off a serious breach in your defense.

this is one reason why it is best to avoid vendettas in the course of a game. if you're doing it right, this guy should still be willing to work with you even if it was you who got him where he is.

Another bit of usefulness that they have, now that I think about it, is that the direction they flee through often weakens another power. Let's say you're Russia, and facing a France/Germany partnership. Sometimes, if you break Germany hard enough, he'll run for Marseilles and thence to Spain/Portugal, aiming for a survive. Effectively crippling the hell out of France, making them ripe for the picking.

Following on from SacredDigits points, an army in Tunis isn't a threat to anybody and so can safely be left alone; however, a fleet in Tunis can threaten Spa, Rom, Nap and Gre. It takes 3 fleets to bottle it up there, but only 2 to destroy it. An army in Por can be blocked by occupying Spa, but a fleet in Por requires occupation of Spa and MAO to block it in ... or destroy it.

spyman +1 for introducing the word "janissary". I'd have said "vassal", but janissary works too.

I like using small powers to annoy a larger one. Not occupying a Tunis or a Portugal to let that army roam elsewhere can be quite useful.

Meh, I often will throw one unit at the one unit if it's an annoying fleet in Tunis or Portugal, and just keep bouncing off it. Because even if it runs to another SC, I can make sure it stays with only one SC total.

Yeah, if it is in your backfield, you can just have one unit following it so that it can never have more than one center. And then clean it up at your convenience. Sending a bunch of units after it to get that center in your control isn't worth it if it means the other larger countries gain position on you.

If a one-sc power is bothering you you've done something wrong. The real trick is in solving these problems before they come. Either time your conquest to finish rin fall or make sure that your support is coming from the best retreat areas. For instance, if you have a fleet in gulf of both and an army in Norway, wait until fall to take story to prevent a retreat to Finland. If you're going for London, try and support from nth instead of the channel. If you can't be sure of preventing annoying retreats, don't take the SC. A passive fleet in Liverpool is a lot less troublesome than a vindictive English navy cruising into Mao. That's my 2 cents.

Read stp for story. Stupid autocorrect

+1 Thucy and spyman
I've turned a nagging 1 unit into a support unit in a few games and it's always rewarding. It's also to their advantage as much as it is yours.

Many people are willing to take a survive if you can offer it to them. As spyman said, make them into your Janissary and it works well for everyone... and if you're ever in a position where you need 1 more center to gain the upper hand, having them at your front lines, surrounded by your armies, works out wonderfully.

Pests is the wrong title. These are kamkazes, or mercenaries (depending how sane they are after a bad game). If you're not commanding them someone else is...

What thucy said. Never let it get that far. Bringing someone to the brink of extinction, then resurrecting them as your partner in crime is a great way to have a strong, loyal ally. They are happy to be alive, you have units in place to stomp them out if they get too big or the person decides to go for revenge.

Ivo +1 (sc)

I agree with fortknox and Thucy, and have had many games where I do just that, but what do you do in the unfortunate event that the other player simply won't listen to you. In the School of War grad game, I was england, and France had two destroys. instead of destroying his fleets and taking the survive I offered him, he destroyed his armies and kept his fleets harassing me in my backfield. I was forced to send, I think 3, fleets after him and hunt him down.

I just don't understand why someone would value a survive in a WTA game. If someone wins, then you lose whether you have centers left or not. Far more fun to harass the big guy in the backfield. Did it keep you from soloing?

the game is still going on, so we'll see. The link is in the grad game thread

@Alderian - because survivals count. Sometimes it's the only reasonable objective. What would you do in a situation where the only one willing to work with you and not kill you is the guy about to win, you'd still fight him while the others are killing you???

patzicool wrote: "Many people are willing to take a survive if you can offer it to them. As spyman said, make them into your Janissary and it works well for everyone... and if you're ever in a position where you need 1 more center to gain the upper hand, having them at your front lines, surrounded by your armies, works out wonderfully."

Indeed creating janissary powers is the secret to winning diplomacy.

"The Janissaries were kapıkulları [door servants]...They were subject to strict discipline, but they were paid salaries and pensions on retirement, and were free to marry;"

"He[a janissary recruit] was prohibited from growing a beard, taking up a skill other than war, or marrying."

from two parts of the same wikipedia article...

but the general impression i get is using christians in your turkish/islamic army is seful, but they will quickly become the dominant political force in your empire...

The Janissary, about 50,000 of which came from Bulgaria, we're nothing more than an extension if the long tradition of semi legal conscriptin - a tool shared by other overextended empires (e.g. Rome, England). If you have two sons one is 'drafted' when still a kid. After a decade of training and brainwashing they're send to serve at the other corner of the empire.

Too many typos... the iPhone is really bad for this.

@Alderian: "I just don't understand why someone would value a survive in a WTA game. If someone wins, then you lose whether you have centers left or not. Far more fun to harass the big guy in the backfield. Did it keep you from soloing? "

The bottom line is that as long as you're alive, you can participate in a draw. Thus, if the only way to stay alive and hope for a draw is to do whatever the only guy who can kill you says, then by all means, do it to survive. If the potential for a stab later on presents itself, then you've lost nothing and have everything to gain.

I love being that guy. Its so liberating to only have the one unit but know you still have influence. I'm definitely not content with hanging out in Portugal though, I'd much prefer to do serious damage to whomever I choose not to win.

Yes, exactly :)

If you're planning on replacing in as Italy, a fleet in Tunis usually makes the best janissary unit.

The simple rules of play diplomacy:
1.) Survive
2.) Take part in a draw
3.) Solo

In a WTA game, if the other 'powers' won't keep you alive to prevent a solo attempt, then it is better to survive than be wiped out. I put that on the opponents for that folly, not the stoolie to the winner. This is why people strategize throwing a game to a player to keep people from eliminating them. It's annoying, but it works.