Matchmaker Mayhem

Master Matchmaker Mayhem in Captain Blood. Learn strategies for Bryan the Bold or Roxanna of Edenvale, including destroying Roxanna's Arbor Lodge.

Bryan the Bold

Bryan the Bold begins in the Herne's Wood map and primarily uses Runestone sites.

1. Herne's Wood
   Objective: You win when Roxanna's Arbor Lodge is destroyed. You lose when your Runestone is destroyed.
   You begin this map in a very defensible location, fortified by a great wall. You have an unusually large and decorative Runestone in this map, which is purely aesthetic - it functions the same as any other Runestone on any other map besides having a lot more hit points. The same applies for Roxanna's Arbor Lodge.
   As usual, immediately produce another Basal Golem with your initial mana supply. It is also worth inspecting the item locations close to your Bloodforge in case there are any mana orbs lying about. Get your Basal Golem count up to at least eight, then start producing Wizards as often as you can.
   Fortify the single entrance to the wall protecting your lands by placing several Wizards in such a way where nobody can walk through. Make them two lines thick, as the back line of Wizards can help any melee units that engage the front line. Once you're well defended, explore the entirety of your side of the wall, as it is possible for several items to spawn in your area and you don't want to miss out on any mana orbs that might be lying about. I also suggest knocking out the lesser wall surrounding your Runestone to allow you easier access to it.
   Send a single Wizard to explore the immediate outside of your wall, in particular the area around the destructible gate on the east side. It is unlikely that the AI will destroy this structure to get behind your lines, but you can never be too careful and having a visual on it will allow you to respond to any attempts. Once you've done this, have him approach the enemy Arbor Lodge so you can have a visual on units between you and it. You can order him to attack it, if you like. He'll likely be quashed by a defending force of Druids and Rangers, but it doesn't matter too much as long as you hold your own defensive line.
   As there are no other foundations to expand to, all that is left once you have established your mana supply is to crank out a sizeable army of Wizards and overwhelm the enemy Arbor Lodge, which won't be too hard to do. A force of six to eight Wizards should be enough. As usual with the first level in any given map, it might pay to grind some experience points by pumping out more units than you need while you are in a position to do so without any contest. Save up your experience points for later levels. If you must spend them, don't do so to research the Gnome, as you will unlock it automatically in the following level and it will be a waste. It may be a good idea to save up for and research Stone Golems in this mission - whilst you will unlock them automatically in the final mission of this campaign, you will be able to use them to good effect in the second map.
   Note that whilst it is unlikely you will have access to the "Flame" spell unless you grind out Wyrms in this level, the foliage, high foliage, and brambles terrain in this map are immune to "Flame". If you try to burn them, you hear a strange voice say, "Touch not these woods!" and they will not be destroyed like they normally would.
2. Web Mountains
   Objective: You win when all three keys are dropped on your camp. You lose when all three chests are dropped on Roxanna's camp.
   Begin by creating another Basal Golem, as always. I also recommend moving the Gnome that you begin the map with to your Bloodforge and transforming it into a Basal Golem for an early mana generation boost. Have it check a couple of the item locations on the way, in case they happen to be mana orbs.
   If you have enough experience to research Stone Golems, consider doing so. Creating a couple to blockade the bridges leading to your territory can go a long way to helping you focus on your goals. Try to position them so that three of them are covering an entrance to a bridge that can only hold one unit at a time - they will quickly overwhelm intruders.
   Beware of Roxanna's Griffins. She begins the map with one, and she can now create them as well. They can't hold items, so you don't have to worry about them stealing your objective, but they do have respectable combat statistics, and the layout of this map allows them to cause you some grief if you don't have defenders near whatever they choose to attack. Always keep at least one Stone Golem near your Runestone, backed up by a Gnome. It may also pay to keep a Stone Golem or a couple of Wizards near your collection of Basal Golems.
   There is a Troll guarding a bridge to the east of your Bloodforge. I normally leave it alone, as it prevents many incursions into your territory until it is finally overcome. Ensure you blockade the other bridges leading to it, though, because you don't want any surprises from a force large enough to take the Troll down.
   Once I have Stone Golems at all of the chokepoints leading to my territory and have backed them up with Gnomes, and also have secured my Basal Golems with a couple military units, I normally expand to the foundation at the southern end of your territory, and build a Crypt there. If the enemy has a mystical site there and you want to save yourself the trouble of destroying it and building there, just destroy your own Runestone instead and replace it

Roxanna of Edenvale

Roxanna of Edenvale begins in the Edenvale Castle map and primarily uses Arbor Lodge sites.