CFB Risk Episode 24 – DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS (RIP Oregon)

Pre-Recap Announcements:

• Here are the ways for how you can choose your level of involvement with the team – use only one method within the same turn:
  • Michigan Rebel Base:If you would like to see/discuss overall strategy and choose your daily mission from a list of approved targets, use the Discord link (https://discord.gg/DRQyjp56kP)
    • Note: if already using Discord, please do not change to another method.
  • If you want a simple order to follow without overthinking or hassle, use the new orders distribution website (http://www.whataremyorders.com/). 
  • For any new players or those that want to “go rogue” (or are having problems getting access to orders through the other options), feel free to hit any of these territories tonight to help the cause!
    • Syracuse (New York)
    • Miami Valley (Ohio)
    • Bloomington (Indiana)
    • Greenville (North Carolina)
    • Norman (Oklahoma)
    • Ruston (Louisiana)
    • Chihuahua (Mexico)
    • San Marcos (Texas)
    • El Paso (Texas)

 

“The shield is down!  Commence attack on the DEATH STAR’s main reactor!” – some fish

After successfully bringing down the defenses around the home region of Texas A&M, the Michigan Rogue Force© began taking their fight into the very heart of the DEATH STAR itself – making deep forays into A&M territory in Texas and also breaking into their region in Mexico.  The Aggie forces have been putting up staunch resistance and have even managed to reclaim one of their regions in the Great Plains.  Matters could have been dire if it were not for Iowa State flying in from off screen (complete with screaming Wookie) to break up the A&M region in the Southwest that was unreachable by Michigan.  We have a chance to put the DEATH STAR completely out of action – time to finish it! 

We are counting on you, Michigan Rogue Force©, to continue the assault: your targets are listed above.  Now let’s blow this thing and go home.

Overall Michigan had another relatively neutral night in terms of the vicissitudes the game.   While the assault into the DEATH STAR progressed, osu (with its lesser apprentice wisc) sensed an opportunity and launched an attack against our Canadian positions from both in the east and west and was able to cause some disruptions.  They also managed to wrest an entire region away from their supposed non-aggression pact friends, Georgia Tech.  osu actually had the best luck last night (statistically) of any team in the game and gained a number of territories that were not expected… and are now in the lead.  (They might be in for a beat down tonight on the ice though).

Keep in mind that the final “winner” for this game is the team holding the most number of territories when the clock strikes zero on Day 45.  We are now in 3rd place, one territory behind Texas A&M and five behind osu.  The game is still in a highly fluid state and we are only a few days into the second half… and we are known as a second half team.

Fortunately Michigan is *still* the most powerful team in the game in terms of participation and raw power and has done a reasonable job of maintaining that position, as you can see in these convenient plots:

We saw a modest uptick in players last night while most other teams saw little to no gains; our lead in total player count over osu and A&M continues to increase.  This is just impressive – keep it up!

We need to continue our growth to stay ahead in this game so if you haven't already - get involved!  If you already have, the get *someone else* involved!  Recruiting. Matters.

Here is the boilerplate information on regions again:

A quick explanation of “regions”, since we will be discussing them more and more going forward:

The game is moving into phases where teams will be competing to control entire “regions”, which are groupings of adjacent territories.  The map is divided into twenty regions, as shown below.  Just like in the classic Risk game, there are incentives to control whole regions – but in this game it is a mathematical bonus to *all* attack/defend odds in favor of teams holding regions (those bonuses are not limited to actions taken within held regions – they apply everywhere).

Controlling regions is good.  Preventing opponents from controlling regions is also good.

Got it?  Good.  Here is why it matters:

Those region bonus multipliers can make all the difference in this game; the right side of the chart shows what the adjusted stars are (with bonus effects included) – these are the stars that are actually going into battle today.  Here is where the negatives from last night can be seen.  After losing our region, osu gaining one region, and A&M swapping control of one region for another (no net change)… all three teams are almost even in true strength for this turn.  Time to break those regions!

 

This would be a good time to have a high level view of the war: some way to visualize how things are progressing... like a map (now with added region boundaries and sea-routes, for your viewing pleasure).

We’re in.

News from the fronts:

• Canada: Michigan still holds most of the center, though wisc and osu have managed to insert themselves slightly.
• Pacific NW:  Wisconsin expanding and trying to wrest away this region from us; they were able to move up the coast towards Alaska. 
• US East coast: osu took a number of territories from Georgia Tech and was able to secure a region while simultaneously breaking one of Tech’s regions.
• Greater Midwest: Michigan in the north, fighting osu in the Great Lakes.  A&M in the south Plains.  Wisconsin mostly gone.
• US Southeast: Tennessee and Bama still not doing much but fighting with Georgia Tech on their periphery.  Florida lives.
• US Rockies & West coast: Oregon with a horribly unlucky roll – killed, despite having a 91% chance of survival, by Wisconsin, Nebraska and Oklahoma.  Texas doing… something?  Iowa State just happy to be here.
• US Southwest & Mexico:  AGGIE DEATH STAR has met the Michigan Rogue Force© and is having technical difficulties.  *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*  Stay tuned.
• Caribbean: osu dangerously close to securing this region – watch for them to try to kill off LSU and remnants of Oklahoma and Florida.

A final reminder: it is strongly recommended to join the Michigan Discord server and coordinate with our friendly team leaders for assignments/orders, but the new orders website is also a good option.  This is how to *most effectively* use your attack & defend moves to get us closer to actually winning the game.  However… fighting for your school, your team and your home is always a good thing, even if you have your own ideas about how to do that.  In the end, it’s still a game and the purpose is to have fun.

CFB Risk Top 25 Team Standings

We are now down to 13 surviving teams in the game from the original 130, with some not likely to last much longer.  Final rankings are beginning to take shape.  Here is where they stand thus far (teams are ranked by # of territories first, followed by a mix of metrics examining how efficiently they used their players & stars:

1.     (an) Ohio State (43 territories)

2.    Texas A&M (39 territories)

3.    Michigan (38 territories)

4.    Georgia Tech (23 territories)

5.    Wisconsin (9 territories)

6.    Alabama (8 territories)

7.    Nebraska (6 territories)

8.    Tennessee (5 territories)

9.    Iowa State (3 territories)

10.  Texas (3 territories)

11.  Oklahoma (3 territories)

12.  LSU (2 territories)

13.  Florida (2 territories)

14.  Oregon (killed Day 23)

15.  Hawaii (killed Day 18)

16.  Stanford (killed Day 16)

17.  USC (killed Day 14)

18.  Washington (killed Day 13)

19.  Georgia (killed Day 12)

20.  Notre Dame (killed Day 11)

21.  Virginia Tech (killed Day 11)

22.  UCF (killed Day 11)

23.  Minnesota (killed Day 10)

24.  Baylor (killed Day 10)

25.  South Carolina (killed Day 10)

 

So remember to drink your Ovaltine, submit your move before 10:30pm tonight and have fun storming the castle!

 

Steps To Play Every Day

(1) Sign up for a reddit.com account if you don’t have one already

(2) Visit collegefootballrisk.com – Click Sign in with Reddit – Select Michigan as your team

3) Join the Michigan Risk discord by going to https://discord.gg/DRQyjp56kP (this is now a permanent link, so there should not be problems accessing it) OR (get your orders from http://www.whataremyorders.com/. Don't do both)

(4) Go to the "vetting" channel and type in your MGoBlog username and Reddit username.

(5) Once vetted, get your orders from the "orders" channel.

(6) Return to collegefootballrisk.com – Click on the blinking "target" icon at the bottom of the page (3rd button from the right), and then click on the territory you're attacking or defending.

(7) Talk trash with your fellow Wolverines as we prepare for tonight's roll.

How Does the Game Work?

It is up to each team to recruit players and coordinate moves. You can choose to defend any territory that your team currently holds or attack any adjacent territory. A "roll" happens each evening to calculate which teams have won which territories that turn based on the moves that were made by individual players. The ultimate goal is to conquer as much of the map as possible for your team. There are a number of different ways to do this, such as through recruiting players in sheer numbers or forming alliances with other teams.

 

Previous Recaps

Day 0 intro: College Football Risk is BACK - Season 3 is now LIVE!

Day 1 recap: College Risk Again!!! Sign up.... 1st in the books!

Day2 recap: No update

Day 3 recap: No update

Day 4 recap: CFB Risk Day 4: IT BEGINS

Day 5 recap: CFB Risk Day 5 - And THIS is Why They Nerfed Us

Day 6 recap: CFB Risk Day 6 - This Feels a Lot Like Real Life (Sparty Gon' Die)

Day 7 recap: CFB Risk Day 7 - F*cking Sparty (They Still Gon' Die)

Day 8 recap: CFB Risk Day 8 - WE NEED YOU TO AVENGE THE ORANGE BOWL (also, sparty's dead)

Day 9 recap: CFB Risk Day 9 - We Kicked Georgia Out of the North -- Now We Go South

Day 10 recap: CFB Risk Day 10 – The King in the North! (also, sorry about that Penn State)

Day 11 recap: CFB Risk Day 11 – ANN ARBOR HAS BEEN TAKEN!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!

Day 12 recap: CFB Risk Day 12 – It’s Groundhog Day…again (also, Notre Dame is finally dead)

Day 13 recap: CFB Risk Day 13 – NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN HO-HO-HO

Day 14 recap: CFB Risk Day 14 – EPISODE XIV: THE AGGIE MENACE

Day 15 recap: CFB Risk Day 15 – You Come at the King, You Best Not Miss

Week 2 recap: CFB Risk Week 2 Recap - I'm Back....and I'm Annoyed

Day 16 recap: CFB Risk Day 16 – WELCOME TO THUNDERDOME, WISCONSIN

Day 17 recap: CFB Risk Day 17 – WISCONSIN ON THE RUN

Day 18 recap: CFB Risk Day 18 - No One Likes Us, We Don't Care

Day 19 recap: CFB Risk Day 19 – YO, LISTEN UP HERE’S A STORY ABOUT A LITTLE GUY WHO LIVES IN A BLUE WORLD

Day 20 recap:  CFB Risk Day 20 - The Michigan Rogue Force (Read for Orders)

Week 3 recap:  CFB Risk Week 3 Recap - Risk Bot! And I'm Seeing Boosted Stars

Day 21 recap:  CFB Risk Day 21 – WE’RE GOING IN. WE’RE GOING IN FULL THROTTLE.

Day 22 Recap: CFB Risk Day 22 – Third time’s a charm.

Day 23 Recap: CFB Risk Episode 23 - A New Hope: Last Night's Skywalker