by Will the Great
I am Belial, Prince of Lies. I specialize in Deceit rituals, stealing things and manipulating outcomes, always working from the shadows. For my relics, I have forgone any boons or discounts and instead chosen the Crown of the Kingmaker:
I have until Turn 10 to choose my puppet. It’s far too early. I need to wait and see how the board develops.
TURN 1
Close to three Places of Power,. Andromalius (Jamie) will contest the Theatre of Sloth with Erzsebet (Kleenex). I can’t capture either the Bronze Pyramid or the Palace of Gluttony, but I can isolate them from Erzsebet with a single move. Belphegor (Jake) is not an immediate threat.
Of the two the Palace is more desirable – more prestige, and improves tribute quality. The Pyramid’s ritual slot would be nice, but with only two order slots I have to choose. I Gather Tribute, then issue a Move command to my army.
TURN 2
Unsurprisingly everyone else looks to have done the same as me – move to an uncontested Place of Power and gather tribute (I presume, at least I wasn’t hit with any rituals).
Somebody got themselves a manuscript. Move speed is good – spending this early is a flex, my guess is Belphegor. Tribute haul is mediocre, but that’s to be expected this early. No Darkness – I was hoping to be able to increase my Deceit.
Prophecy and Charisma would be equally valuable to me in the long term. I think I lean towards Prophecy – forewarned is forearmed, after all. I Seek Tribute again, and increase my Prophecy.
TURN 3
Andromalius besieges the Tower of Pride. He doesn’t win it just yet – it’ll take at least one more turn of combat. Erzebet moves her army towards my western flank – funny thing about Hell, the map warps back on itself like a torus. I draw Darkness in my tribute, but still can’t improve my Deceit. Shame. But as Regent I do draw an Event card
I ponder an attack on the Palace of Gluttony. My army won’t take any damage, but whittling it away a little at a time will take too long.
I expect this turn we will start getting into the diplomatic game. I resolve to make the first move.
Each archfiend has a dark art, a unique power or ritual or ability that only they may use. As Belial, my dark art is to frame an archfiend for insulting another – I wager my own prestige, but any resulting vendetta is resolved between the parties and not myself.
I have a feeling Andromalius is the prideful sort. I tell him Erszebet has been spreading rumours of…well let’s just say they were unflattering.
Ooh, he didn’t like that.
The fact that I’ve done this is known to all parties, but nevertheless the vendetta is still to be resolved between them – I am just the messenger.
TURN 4
Erszebet fought and defeated an Abyss Styrider, a neutral monster that appears from time to time and wanders the plains of Hell. She gains a little Prestige for the victory – bringing her to 25, while the rest sit at 23 (I’m at 18 because of my little lie)
Incidentally, Andromalius will have received my message by now. I’ll learn of his response next turn.
Tribute is weak again this turn – no Darkness. Instead of improving my Deceit then, I go to the Bazaar.
Raum is an affordable Praetor, a general for my army and champion for the arena. His stats will help me conquer the Theatre of Sloth. I Seek Tribute, and place a bid.
TURN 5
Andromalius has claimed the Tower of Pride and gains Prestige. A suitable target for my puppet? Perhaps.
He has also taken my bait and declared Vendetta on Erzsebet. This will be interesting.
A dearth of darkness again in my tribute, but at least I won the auction for Raum. I would prefer to advance my Deceit, but I desperately need to progress to a third order slot (unlocked at IV of any rank). Very well. I Seek Tribute, and begin the ritual.
TURN 6
Still no Darkness in my tribute offerings. This is growing tiresome.
Erzsebet besieges a place of power. But failed to send a praetor to the arena.
Andromalius is pulling ahead on prestige, in no small part thanks to my little scheme. I have until Turn 10 to choose my puppet. Would it be too obvious?
My orders for the turn are straightforward, having only two slots still – Seek Tribute, and send Raum to command my legion – I must prepare to take a Place of Power of my own. Meanwhile I have received messengers.
I consider my replies carefully.
A possibility of joint action is appealing. But I don’t want anyone to get too far ahead of anyone else just yet. I pen a third missive.
TURN 7
Andromalius advances to the rank of Marquex. The siege of the woods continues, and I am again regent. Yet still, a dearth of darkness among my tribute!
As regent I now draw two event cards, not just one. Though I may keep only one. This one appeals to my schemes.
I am informed that a vote will be called in the Conclave three turns from now. The Fool would see Erzsebet’s fortunes reverse. The Beggar, I’m not certain who that helps.
With a general at the head of my army, it is time to make a move on a place of power. The Theatre of Sloth is near Andromalius’ domain, but he has left it untouched and his legion is out of position. I can conquer it in three turns of combat.
On the other hand, should the Fair One hire a second legion it would be well positioned to snap up the Theatre before I can deal the final blow. Hmm. I resolve to risk it.
TURN 8
Erzsebet takes the Wood, but her legion is reduced to 1 strength. I make my first attack against the Theatre, as Andromalius marches toward it.
An event wipes Belphegor’s legion (god the card art is so good). Not good for him. But what’s this, a reply from Andromalius?
Still no Darkness among my tribute. It is time, I think, to begin plotting Schemes to raise my prestige – my infernal rank is a hindrance to tribute gain.
TURN 9
Erzsebet’s legion marches home. Andromalius marches…to the mouth of Abbadon, past the Theatre? Is he planning to cut me off from the Palace?
Two of these plots are excellent – stealing tribute and performing Deceit rituals are both things I plan to do. I opt for Lies Upon Lies., and declare it publicly – more prestige gained, and gained immediately if I succeed.
This is the last turn I have to decide on my puppet. I think Andromalius is a fine choice. My legion, meanwhile, executes a move to surround the Palace with my cantons. Let Andromalius have the other places of power.
But instead of seeking tribute, I shall attempt Loot the Vaults. Belphegor outranks me, I’m sure he has some riches he can part with.
TURN 10
No legion movement apart from mine.
Andromalius currently has the least prestige. That would be far too obvious. I vote The Beggar – hopefully I can spend my tribute quickly enough.
Finally enough Darkness to improve my Deceit. But I can’t Loot the Vaults this round, so I will Seek Tribute instead.
TURN 11
Erzsebet uses a ritual – Infernal Negotiations passively gains Prestige as long as it’s maintained, whenever someone issues insults or demands. Andromalius enlists a second legion. The Beggar wins the vote – I should spend what I can.
Andromalius’ bodyguard legion won’t be able to move this turn. That’ll make 2 of 5 rituals for my scheme. Seek Tribute again, hope for Darkness.
TURN 12
Andromalius repositions, but his attempt on the Theatre is stymied. Lel. Belphegor gets a replacement legion.
Erzsebet has issued demands to both Andromalius and Belphegor. Bold – she must think she can win a vendetta. If I time a Loot the Vaults right, I can pilfer any tribute that flows back to her. For now, the little darkness in my tribute allows me to Loot the Vaults from Andromalius.
I use the Masking Mirror to disguise myself, of course.
TURN 13
Andromalius finally captures the Theatre of Sloth
Haha – neither fiend accepted Erzsebet’s demand. A two way Vendetta is going to be painful.
Still no Darkness in my tribute. I have zero now – this is aggravating. I am forced to Seek Tribute again and hope for darkness – meanwhile my legion marches south to the Bronze Pyramid. I’ll have to start spending this other tribute I have piles of next turn if I still don’t get any Darkness.
TURN 14
The Slaves of Erzsebet fight a doomed battle against the Altar of Abomination but make little headway. Andromalius and Balphegor both move on the Mouth of Abbadon as my own legion marches south.
And still no Darkness among my tribute. Seek again and march more south I guess.
Belphegor raises a monument. This is his unique dark art – Monuments fill surrounding hexes with choking smog that do one damage to every enemy legion and place of power.
Andromalius attacks the Mouth of Abbadon with two legions, doing massive damage. Erzsebet crashes her legion into the Altar and sees it vanquished? What game is she playing at?
Oh this is just perfect – at least I got some darkness finally before it hit.
As Regent I draw a new event card – since I can’t seek tribute this might actually be worth taking, to buff up my sole legion. So bolstered, my legion might take the Pyramid in one attack.
TURN 16
Andromalius completes his conquest of the Mouth.
I mixed up the order of operations and forgot that my promotion doesn’t take effect until this turn – my legion attacks the pyramid but is unsuccessful.
And now I understand Erzsebet’s play – with Death on holiday, her bodyguard legion resurrects immediately. She’s just whelping hers into this Place of Power until she wins. Smart.
God the card art is so good.
Amusing. Doesn’t affect me, but Erzsebet’s two-front war is cancelled. Good for her.
Another vote comes before the Conclave. Obviously, I cast my vote for my puppet.
Using the promotion event I embiggen my legion for melee combat, and queue up a Loot the Vaults on Andro since I can’t seek tribute.
TURN 17
Victory!
The Pyramid is mine at last, and with it a bonus ritual slot. Meanwhile, my Loot ritual fails against Andromalius’ resistance, wasting my last darkness. By coincidence he is hit with a nail of torment.
Belphegor won the vote for bonus prestige, and another resolution comes before the Conclave.
Interesting. Actually I wonder if I can broker something here…let me come back to that, for now I visit the bazar.
I consider the Sword for my legion, but melee is not where it needs strength – against the Theatre of Sloth, Infernal is the phase that will kill it. I need the Sigil but cannot afford it. I would love the Finger of Betrayal if I had any damned Darkness
I issue a move order and Scheme, while I pen a message…
I tell Belphegor that in return for his vote I will execute a sham vendetta, earning him some of the prestige I gain.
I make essentially the same offer to Erzsebet. Let’s see what they say. In three turns Erzsebet will be Regent, and thus even in a tie will cast the deciding vote.
TURN 18
Erzsebet finally captures the Altar. Belphegor repositions his legions south of my territory – what’s he playing at?
Meanwhile, a message from Andromalius – and a veiled threat.
I draw a collection of new schemes to plot.
Abjuration Mastery seems apt – I ought to be running either of those anyway. Then again manuscripts can be fun. I declare the latter.
Death’s holiday finally abates. I can again resume tribute-seeking.
Andromalius has made a demand of Erzsebet. This could be a prelude to another duel. In any case, I issue double Seek Tribute orders – I need to make up for lost time.
TURN 19
Erzsebet has replied.
Way to ruin my immersion, Kleenex.
My tribute earnings contain a distinct lack of Darkness, which I bloody need for my rituals. But observe my choice of event cards as Regent. Hah. If I’m poor, so is everyone else! Well, at least I can increase my infernal rank at last.
As Marquis, I will have better tribute draws and my word will carry more weight in the Conclave. Meanwhile, I spot a Praetor that can help me with my Darkness shortage. Though it will exhaust all of my Ichor reserves.
Oh well, I’ve been getting loads of the stuff.
TURN 20
A very uneventful turn. No legion movements or rituals.
Oh ho ho! Let the riches roll – and what an opportune time to loot the vaults.
Belphegor writes back his approval. Let’s see if this scheme works.
Now, I am about to lose some tribute, so I queue up a Deceit ritual to stymie Belphegor’s march to Pandemonium (behind the masking mirror so my identity remains secret), and place a bid on a treatise fragment in the bazar. Spend as much as I can before I lose it, I guess.
TURN 21
My ritual works, and Erzsebet cuts off Belphegor. Otherwise not a lot of movement.
All my tribute is confiscated, but I gain prestige!
Per arrangements with the other fiends, I issue demands – they will gain the prestige I wager when they refuse, and I will simply fail to seek vendetta. But I also need my order slot and some tribute, so I start with Belphegor.
TURN 20
Belphegor has raised an infernal smokestack near my pyramid – it will drain its health by one each turn.
This is a problem. I can only assume it’s a prelude to aggression.
TURN 23
Andromalius has risen again in rank. Troubling. What is not troubling is I finally have Darkness again. I prepare a Loot the Vaults targeting Belphegor’s swollen coffers.
TURN 24
With Belphegor’s vault looted, my scheme is complete and I gain prestige. Some good tribute, too.
Andromalius sends me a message.
Oh I will, sir. I will. But I must replenish my Darkness reserves, so I shall plot and scheme again this turn.
TURN 25
Oh Andromalius, what are you doing so close to the Dark City?
Shame for His Largesse. God the art is so good though.
Three Rituals should be simple enough to complete successfully. Especially as I have gained darkness from my tribute finally! I shall raid Belphegor’s vaults in the hopes of gathering Hellfire, so I can finally take the Palace of Gluttony near me.
Turn 26
Curses. At least my Loot the Vaults went off.
Hoping to capitalize on my weakened pyramid, Belphegor issues a demand. I will not give him the excuse he desires. I hand over four of my worst tribute tokens.
At the bazar, Andromalius beat me to the Meketrix Sigil. I’ll need another way of capturing the Palace of Gluttony. I raise my Destruction, hoping that offensive rituals will give me the edge I need.
TURN 27
Andromalius and Erzsebet have a little scuffle between their legions. No other movements of note.
I hope Belphegor enjoys the tribute he extracted from me. Oh, but has he heard what Andromalius has been saying about him?
TURN 28
The legions clash, and Erzsebet is victorious. How embarrassing!
Elsewhere, Belphegor demands tribute from Erzsebet just as news reaches him of Andromalius’ insult. How unfortunate – I hope this doesn’t diminish your prestige in the eyes of the Conclave.
The profane disruptions continue – I am forced to bide my time and gather resources, hoping for it to abate. I shall plot a third scheme while I wait.
TURN 29
Erzsebet futility assaults the Theatre of Sloth, while Andromalius hires another legion. Belphegor takes my bait and challenges Andromalius to a praetor duel. The profane disruptions finally end – thank Hell – and I can use rituals again.
Of these schemes, Pinned Down I think could be done the easiest. I need an easy win, not necessarily a big one.
I queue up Loot the Vaults on Belphegor, and Dark Augury on Erzsebet. That’ll be my three rituals for the earlier scheme.
TURN 30
Andromalius continues his march on Erzsebet. My rituals go off without a hitch, and my scheme is complete.
With this vote before the Conclave I will hold off on ascending rank for now. Other events: Andromalius failed to commit a Praetor to his duel with Belphegor and lost by default. Belphegor insults Erzsebet. And Andromalius’ vendetta against Erzsebet was successful. Not looking good for the Duchess of Excess.
Ah – Deceit 4 is nearly within my grasp. This round I will do naught but Seek Tribute and hope I can gather the 5 Darkness I need.
TURN 31
Darkness at last flows in my tribute. But what’s this?
Belphegor reduces my Prophecy. Irritating, but at least it wasn’t Deceit.
Tribute limitations prevent me from ascending this turn – you can spend no more than 8 tokens at a time, so I will consolidate some of my lower value tokens in order to gain Deceit 4 next round.
TURN 32
Erzsebet summons a legion, and resumes Infernal Negotiations. That’s not a bad idea actually. Andromalius snatched the Finger of Betrayal from the Bazar – if I’d known he had that much darkness I’d have looted him more. Perhaps I should get my wards online…
Again Belphegor demands tribute. And again, I am in no position to refuse. I give him some of my weakest tokens…
…and use the rest to power up my Deceit to 4. I’ll earn it back.
TURN 33
Belphegor raises another Dark Pylon to fill the air with smog. Someone really should do something about that.
Now at 80 prestige I can rank up to Duke, and with 4 Deceit I have a third order slot. Time to do some lootin’ – I queue up a Loot ritual against Andromalius hoping for Darkness.
I include Expose Treason as well, in case my suspicions about Andromalius prove true.
TURN 34
Andromalius amasses his armies on Belphegor’s border. Something is shaping up.
Everybody is trying to extort Belphegor at once.
A powerful artefact is up for auction. I put in a bid at once.
TURN 35
Armies continue to position – and I have won the auction for the Golem! Though it nearly bankrupted me. Seeing as everyone else is declaring vendetta on Belphegor, I decide to join the fun and issue a demand of my own to recoup my losses.
I order the Golem transferred to my legion, and queue a march order following.
TURN 36
Several battles occur here. Belphegor attacks the Mouth of Abbadon, but Andromalius’ legion acts first and leads a suicide charge.
So weakened, the Mouth’s defenders put down the Defilers in the subsequent phase. Andromalius has leveraged his position in turn order to turn defeat into victory.
I dealt severe damage to the Palace of Gluttony, but miscalculated and lost my legion in the battle. Stunning Blow apparently doesn’t work on Places of Power.
Belphegor lets fly two of his machines, dropping my Charisma and Wrath to zero. Luckily I don’t use those, but irritating all the same. Somebody’s getting Looted.
I hire another legion from the Bazaar to finish off the Palace while my guard reforms.
I’ve had enough of Belphegor’s contraptions. Time to ensure he can’t make any more.
TURN 37
The great armies continue to clash, while my new legion arrives. Unfortunately, fate has other plans.
I have only one legion to contribute, so I will have to take the prestige hit here. This crusade is more likely to succeed the more legions are sent, and there’s a chance any that survive return decorated with a free promotion.
Hahaha – as expected, already fighting a war on two fronts Belphegor opted to accept my demand rather than risk a third. I send my Hammers of Hell north toward the Palace of Gluttony, and increase my Prophecy to offset the damage caused by Belphegor’s infernal device.
TURN 38
Erzsebet and Andromalius each destroy a Dark Pylon, clearing the skies on their respective borders. Meanwhile Belphegor captures the Wood of the Suicides from Erzsebet. I think he’s won this vendetta.
Andromalius was the only archfiend to send a legion on the crusade. That bodes poorly for him.
I send my Hammers to finally capture the Palace of Gluttony, and use my newly restore Prophecy to perform Dark Augury on Andromalius – I want to get a look at his Deceit score and attempt, if I can, to steal the Finger from under his, well, fingers.
TURN 39
The Hammers take significant losses but the Palace is finally mine.
My scrying goes off successfully – I know Andromalius’ attributes (except Charisma, which I know is his strongest) and vault contents. I queue up Pilfer Artifact to steal his Finger of Betrayal. I’m the deceit guy, that’s my thing.
TURN 40
Belphegor is having a heck of a time with Erzsebet, and weathers a counterattack on the Woods. The Finger of Betrayal is successfully stolen, and I use an order to place it in my stronghold before taking a look at new plots.
Dark Gem seems straightforward enough, I declare it publicly – in fact I have enough tribute that I can complete it immediately.
TURN 41
Erzsebet takes losses against Belphegor and fails her vendetta, while Andromalius rallies another legion.
Reallocation hits and some other lucky bastard got my Dark Gem. Funnily enough I come out slightly ahead overall – the scheme was scored the moment it completed, and I get my prestige anyhow. I Loot the Libraries on Belphegor (no more of his accursed contraptions, no thank you sir) and put a bid on a treatise manuscript in the Bazaar:
TURN 42
Empowered by the Finger of Betrayal, I successfully loot Belphegor’s libraries – but oh, what is this?
Belphegor has outright declared vendetta. This is troublesome – and as Regent he’ll act before me. My personal guard has reformed, but my Hammers are out of position – I order them south, likely too late to defend my Pyramid. I prepare to cast Strategic Confusion anyway – I have a plot, remember, to attack a legion after cancelling its orders.
I don’t yet know the terms of Belphegor’s vendetta. I assume it’s capture a stronghold. The Dark Stalkers will defeat my Bronze Pyramid, but be reduced to 5 health in turn. My Children are within striking distance, and have a ranged strength of 6 – sufficient to destroy them in combat. Belphegor will win his vendetta and gain my Pyramid, but I will defeat his legion and complete my scheme.
TURN 43
Someone tried to redirect my legion, but the ritual failed! You can’t out-deceit me! I’m the deceit guy!
Belphegor must have attempted that ritual instead of marching first, which means Strategic Confusion triggers and discards the Dark Stalkers’ orders. My Children get absolutely bodied in the fight, but I complete my scheme and earn prestige – and the pyramid remains in my control!
As Regent this is the one chance I have to move before Belphegor. I’ll repeat Strategic Confusion and stymie his conquest again, as I move my Hammers into position to defend.
I’ll also recruit a new legion – this should help me defend against the Dark Stalkers, if it can survive the Melee phase at least. Enfeeble might help me out there next round.
TURN 44
Erzsebet the fool tries to steal an artifact but my Deceit resistance is too strong. Glad I kept that ward ritual up – I gain a little prestige every time it protects me.
I move after Belphegor so I expect I will lose the Pyramid. I send my Engineers to sacrifice themselves against the Dark Ones, and my Hammers to assault the Pyramid assuming it’s going to be lost. Also, not shown, I Raid the Library before both actions to ensure that events play out as I anticipate. I may lose the vendetta, but if I’ve calculated correctly I will retain control of the Pyramid and destroy Belphegor’s strongest legion.
TURN 45
Belphegor used this buff to strengthen his Stalkers and then attacked the Pyramid with his personal guard, which I did not expect. As a result he captured the pyramid with no damage, and both my legions were utterly destroyed. I have been bested.
Belphegor is now the Conclave’s favorite. I consider a Blood Vassalage gambit – the Lord gains the Vassal’s prestige total, and the Vassal is guaranteed second place should the Lord win by election.
One can only swear Blood Fealty if one’s prestige is less than half that of the leader – in this case, I have ever so slightly too much prestige to be a valid blood vassal.
I could be Lord to Erzsebet, but my position is not strong enough to manage that I think. Better to wait, consolidate my power, rebuild my forces and prepare to strike again.
A promising Praetor. She will enter my service, though it will nearly bankrupt me.
TURN 46
Andromalius made a demand of Belphegor, who refused. This could be my chance to weaken him a little – I use Vile Calumny to plant an insult from Erzsebet. Would he dare fight two vendettas at once?
I make a demand of Andromalius for tribute. If he refuses, I might be able to swing the prestige scores in his favor with a forfeit. Oh what a delicious, tangled web we weave.
TURN 47
Belphegor redeploys his legions to Andromalius’ border, while he prepares a praetor duel. And oh, oh dear:
5 turns with no tribute or offerings, oh my – that’s going to hamper things significantly for me. I issue a demand to Belphegor – with my legion reformed I might be able to press for the Pyramid and retake it should he force Vendetta.
With no offerings or tribute coming for the next five turns I must be sparing with my rituals. I plot a new scheme, and send my legion to stand next to the Pyramid.
TURN 48
This gets worse – deprived of tribute, and then one quarter of all vaults depleted. Belphegor rejects my framed insult, and Andromalius acceeds to my demand of tribute – a small mercy indeed.
With the rotund one’s formidable army massing at the Tower of Pride north of me (Hell is circular, after all), and the one-two punch of income denial and vault rot, things are growing dire indeed. While he faces two praetor duels in the arena, the outcomes are uncertain. I had hoped to have higher Deceit by this point in the game to be able to bribe praetors, but luck has not been on my side with respect to tribute draws.
I resolve to take drastic action.
The prestige rankings are, currently, just right to allow this. If I cannot bring Belphegor down, perhaps I can still raise my puppet up.
TURN 49
Andromalius pre-empted my offer with, well, the same.
I accept without hesitation. Belphegor, meanwhile, raided my vaults at the same time he accepted my demand for tribute. Very well, two can play at that game – I queue up a Loot the Vaults on him right back, and re-establish Expose Treason with the Hellfire he so graciously granted me.
There is little else to do, with my coffers depleted and no tribute to gather, so I scheme again.
TURN 50
The pact is sealed.
Andromalius is now the leader at 283 prestige. Belphegor trails him at 224. If Andromalius wins by election, my Kingmaker prediction will trigger and place me on the throne instead. How delicious. As expected, Belphegor offers a pact of Vassalage to Erzsebet. I expect she will accept, putting Belphegor at 270 prestige. I must endeavour, therefore, to keep my Lord strong and his adversary weak.
Little I can do this turn, with two ritual slots, no ability to gather tribute, and my access to diplomatic actions revoked. I loot Belphegor again in the hopes of starving him, and let my other two actions go empty.
TURN 51
Shame I missed the full screen art for this, it’s cool.
The endgame is upon us – when the Conclave has drawn five tokens, the game will end and the Lord of Hell will be crowned. This will take, on average, about nine or ten turns. Notably, Erzsebet’s offer of vassalage has been discarded unresolved by the conclave, meaning Belphegor remains at his unadjusted prestige total. With all schemes revealed, Belphegor now has 245 prestige, Andromalius 280 and Erzsebet 92.
Tribute faucet is still off, so I Raid the Library on Belphegor again. Little else to report.
TURN 52
The gates of hell reopen at last and I can resume tribute generation. Andromalius declares a praetor duel with Erzsebet, meanwhile Belphegor surrendered a praetor rather than provoke vendetta. I seek tribute three frickin times because I’m tired of being poor.
TURN 53
Successful in his duel, Andromalius pulls well ahead in prestige counts – 325 to 257 now. I seek tribute and consolidate, creating larger volume tokens to maybe finally raise my Deceit to 5.
The Conclave draws another token. Each token drawn increases the odds of drawing the next one, I forget the exact probabilities but I do know that at 4 tokens drawn the odds of drawing the 5th reach 100%.
TURN 54
Belphegor raises another of his pylons, damaging both Andromalius’ legions and the Tower of Pride. He also tries to steal my Finger of Betrayal, but again my warding rituals thwart him.
We are nearly to the end. These turns will be fast. I consolidate once more in pursuit of Deceit 5, and Raid the Libraries once more to ensure no more surprise ability loss from the artificer.
TURN 55
I worry that Belphegor’s legions are positioning for an attack on Pandaemonium
There are four ways to win Solium Infernum. Election victory, by being the player with the most prestige when the final Conclave token is drawn; Manipulation victory, which requires your puppet or blood lord to win by election; Elimination victory, where each other archfiend’s stronghold has been razed or captured and you are the sole remaining player; and Usurper victory, where you capture the Dark City of Pandaemonium and hold it for a number of turns as every other player now has vendetta against you. Belphegor I suspect is maneuvering for Usurper if he cannot secure election. Luckily, I am first in turn order.
I cast Forged Orders on his personal guard, to send them marching away from the Dark City. Unfortunately I have only one open ritual slot, so this will have to suffice. In case the game runs longer, I play the event card I drew as Regent.
An angelic host will, hopefully, deplete his legions enough that he can’t attempt a usurper victory.
Jamie messages me out of game, and I have a moment of panic.
Thinking fast, I tell a lie and back it up with the truth, something I’ve bitched about to him previously:
He buys it. And I laugh, as he adds:
Oh this is too good.
TURN 56
Forged orders go off as planned, and the angelic host descends right in the middle of Belphegor’s troops.
I never thought I would thank the Tyrant!
The fifth token is drawn. This is the final turn. I need only hold out.
ENDGAME
Orders go off, the status quo is unchanged. 
Andromalius has won an election victory.
But what’s this?
Cue ominous evil laughter…
Jamie might be ruler in name, but I am the true power behind the throne. As it should be.
Will the Great is editor, erstwhile games journo, and part-time shitposter for the Legionnaire. He enjoys pineapple on pizza and movies about sailing ships.
