Day 47 - The March Begins

Delicious.

This is about the only word that can completely convey the position that our clan finds itself. Nothing stands in the way of the Krampus legions and Eric's domain. We have free reign to his palace. Reader! See the map of the lands. Victory shall be mine! The scourge of Eric of Ebola shall be wiped from this plain. Oh, and look, Neighsayer Matt destroyed the other remnant of Eric of Ebola's legions.

This turn, as regent, I must choose between two event cards:

• Un-excommunication: This would help Eric of Ebola
• Stop ritual spells for 3-6 turns. This would stop ritual favoring Gormash James and Neighsayer Matt

As Eric of Ebola shall soon be destroyed, there is no need to un-excommunicate the soon to be destroyed.
What has happened in the ministerium?

 

Ah. The Usurper's Own have been upgraded.

Action Items

• Move to Krampus and Usurpers own to Eric of Ebola's palace
• Destroy Eric of Ebola's palace

Day 46 - A day of News

The minion's drank a little too much in seeing off the Screaming Bastard's in their move to war, leading to our scribe's recording of the previous two day's activities to be unintelligible.
The cursed Eric of Ebola has decided to test his ultimate powers and attack the Infernal Conclave Palace of Power. As much as I hate the Conclave, I am not foolish enough to attack them yet and risk the wrath of excommunication.
The wrath of the Conclave was swift. Eric was excommunicated from the Conclave and now does not participate in the Infernal Conclave machinations. Here is what he gets for his attack:

• No more access to the Bazaar
• No more event cards as the Scepter of Regent
• No warning of attacks
• Last place in the order of operations

Eric of Ebola must know something that I do not and is making a power move against those of us still comprising the Conclave.
Eric has used his excommunication to surprise attack the Neighsayer Matt. His attack will fail against the reinforced ramparts of Neighsayer Matt.

Since Eric of Ebola is excommunicated, the Krampus clan no longer needs to prostate itself before the Conclave to be able to attack its favored prince. Yesterday, our Usurpers Own, using the power of the Wicked Wain have attacked and destroyed the Disciples of Ebola on the battlefield.

Beautiful, just absolutely beautiful attack. Let us look at how the Usurper's fared in the battle.

Yes, they have indeed distinguished themselves. A feast for our champions upon their return.
Now, let us have a look at the lands before us after the fighting has ceased.

Devils! The flank of Eric of Ebola is exposed. Now is the time for our forces to finish off the scourge of Eric of Ebola! Move forward Krampus Legion and Usurpers! Maybe the Infernal Conclave will give our clan a reward in gratitude for eliminating those who would rise up against them.

Day 43 - The Unholy Crusades Arrive

The combat card for the Ten Thousand Screaming Bastards was assigned and our minions provided the Bastards with a feast to send them off.
The minions shall enjoy the food, for today's actions I am sending them out to seed manuscripts.

Day 42 - A fighting chance

As the one in charge of the Conclave this round, I have seen to it that accountants responsible for yesterday's accounting mishap have been shown their new dwelling location in the Abyss. Additionally, the others can learn of the Unholy Crusade!
The Unholy Crusade requires every clan to submit a legion for war. The Screaming Bastards/Demons will be representing the Krampus clan. Luffy once said: "If you cannot win the fight, then you will not fight for me." The Screaming Bastards will be proving themselves in the war, should they be successful, they will be a welcome addition to our legions.
Ah, the minions approach with the Ministeriums daily activities:

Nothing exciting occurring today.
With the relative weakness of the Screaming Bastards, I will give them a fighting chance with a strategy card giving the legion a +2 in melee.

An examination of the prestige of the day shows our clan in the second worst situation of the group, only Gormash James is behind me, but he is a blood vassal to Neighsayer Matt, so that means all prestige goes to him.

 

Day 41 - Confounding Messages

I awoke this morning feeling more... charismatic.
I must try out my new found powers next turn by coercing the minions to seek out curiosities. Perhaps they can find the missing two portions of the scroll.
The minions approach with today's ministerium activities:

The Infernal Conclave is in a constant state of confusion. We have heartless lawyers and soulless accountants here in the Infernum and yet, their accountants are unable to properly keep track of who should be here. Today's event highlights the Conclave's accountant's ineptitude, someone let in souls with trace amounts of good in them. On top of which, the Conclave is now demanding that the clans make up for their ineptitude by giving them souls from our coffers!
Neighsayer Matt has sent a message:

"A lesser demon who I've since destroyed for "knowing too much" settled near me today, smoking a cigar and also smoking from the flames. Looked over to me and muttered something about your enemy. Said he hadn't a brain or a wicked bone in him. Not a single one. I thought that odd... odd indeed."

Inernum's rumblings about Neighsayer Matt's poetry being similar to the Volgons had always struck me as exaggerated, I have been proven wrong.

  

Action Items

•  Buy Screaming Demons - they are going crusading
• Play the Great Unholy Crusade

Day 40 - Internal Machinations

There are few days in Infernum that things go the way that you planned. Today is one of those days. I planned for downtime between the houses and have received it. Our house spent the previous day consolidating our resources in a bid to commit the tribute necessary to increase the Charisma/Diabolism attribute.
Gormash James burned some more offerings to garner 10 Prestige Points from the Infernal Conclave. What is the purpose, he burns tribute before whom? Does he invite members of the conclave to his house and puts on a show before them? Surely the conclave members have seen a fire before. Perhaps the conclave is made up of bigger fools than I previously thought.

Actions:

• Increase Charisma
• Demand Tribute

Day 39 - Intelligence is an Asset

The ministerium provides a trove of information each day, and yet I choose to haphazardly ignore it. During discussions with Gormash James, it was learned that Eric of Ebola had purchased the WALKING FORTRESS! Recognizing that the English language for screaming in text is done through exclamation marks and capital letters, I am still not putting enough emphasis on my concern for Eric of Ebola's purchase. No more threats against Eric of Ebola unless I make it a surprise.

The good news is that the Krampus clan is in charge of the Sceptre this turn and as such get to choose from two event options. Filling the coffers will mean that everyone must make tribute to the Infernal Conclave versus the Unholy Crusade, which means that the others must submit their legion to the attack against Heaven. Definitely taking the Unholy Crusade.
Gormash James decided to burn tribute in return for 10 Prestige points! The fool!

Meanwhile, I must focus on increasing my stats or else be picked apart by the others. I am going to focus on the Diabolism so I can try and find the remaining parts for the Unholy machine.

A recent check of the prestige chart shows that Eric of Ebola, Backstabber of the East, will not be winning the Infernal Conclave's respect.

My actions:

• Consolidate Tributes for the next turn
• Demand tribute from the minions.

Day 38 - Acquiescence

The humans from the 1st level of hell play a game called, Ing of the Hill; an odd name I admit, but the terror on their face and cats on their tongues may have meant a loss in pronunciation. They race up to the top of a hill and try to maintain dominance of the top of the hill. It is fascinating to watch how quickly those at the bottom form allegiances with those also at the bottom to conquer the human at the top, only once on top, betray those who have helped them achieve this point. The only human most in danger is that at the top, it is a dangerous place. Well, second dangerous if the humans make the unfortunate move of playing on Sisyphus' hill, then when the boulder goes down the other side, lo be to those below.

Eric of Ebola's position is similar to that of Ing of the Hill. He is at the top and everyone is gunning for him. Neighsayer Matt and Gormash James sits there and blasts away with whatever super powers they have, I demand tribute of Eric of Ebola.

So problematic is Eric of Ebola's position is that he gave in to my demand for tribute! What horrible a fate it is to be at the top.

To the Ministerium:

I have purchased the second part of the four part Machine of Agony, I am trying to build this machine to bring down the cowardly spell casting duo's powerful blasts and secure a victory after Eric of Ebola's defeat.

Day 36 - Awareness

The minions around the Krampus house are an interesting breed. They do my bidding out of allegiance, fear, and concern of what may come should we lose; the stories of Lefison's plight of being locked away in the Barxet dungeon permeate through the minion's whispers. Yesterday, I dispatched a pair of minions to march to approach the Infernal Conclave and deliver my demand for tribute from the one known as Eric of Ebola, betrayer of boundaries. I demanded not, one or two, but the full four tributes allowed by the Infernal Conclave in preparation for Eric of Ebola's declination. Once he declines, the vendetta can begin, and the reclamation of what is ours shall begin once more!

Meanwhile, what is everyone else up to.

Neighsayer Matt has been elected Master of the Infernal Bazaar, meaning he gets half of whatever anyone buys from there. No matter, he will waste it on hurting Eric with his spells.
Exceptional delivery of tribute to one of the Great Houses of Hell. I am inclined to say the only great house available would be that of Krampus, but I do not see anything exceptional in our tribute space, so this must mean someone played an event card to bribe the Infernal Conclave.

The map of Day 36:
The Legions of Krampus house sit as guardians of the right flank. The outstanding truce between Neighsayer Matt and Krampus house is still in effect and protects the left flank. Gormash James has finally taken the tower in front of him and Neighsayer Matt appears to be threatening Eric of Ebola's borders.

Day 34 - I am still alive

Infernum is a desperate place, people are constantly trying to invent new devices, spells, or machines or discovering new unspeakables even to us Clan Lords. Fortunately, most of the people who survive to harness these unspeakables succumb to their want of power and try to sell their wares at the Bazaar. If the Lords could discover things like what I have just purchased, this world would be for the humans. Behold! The wicked wain!

The purveyor of this fine wagon described it as an amassing of body parts. Initially, my reaction was to have nothing to do with this infernal contraption, until one of my minions hinted that I should read its powers. Read. Read. Rea....

Dark Aura - All damage from ranged attacks is negated
Finally! Eric of Ebola's range heavy legion will taste the edge of the abyss with this card! Supplementing my Blood of Krampus legion will be these guys, the Mountain Crawlers.

Disappointingly, their ability to crawl over mountains is useless as their access to mountains is limited by the Infernal Conclave's rules on crossing claimed cantons. The rule is, you cannot cross claimed cantons unless you are in a vendetta or blood feud. I await the day when I no longer have to bow to the fools from the Infernal Conclave.

And on the Gormash James makes a move front, he has finally captured the Tower next to him. Gormash James purchased a praetor and the Infernal Totem to secure the Tower's capture. Good for him. The problem is that he now contributes prestige to Neighsayer Matt.

Current Goals

• Regroup all forces and prepare for another vendetta with Eric
• Throw another Vendetta at Eric of Ebola in the mean time
• Get to 100 Prestige
• Destroy Eric of Ebola

Day 31 - Luck Favors Krampus

The game of life moves in mysterious ways... Until one figures out that their enemies all have one thing on their mind-deception, cunning, and a thirst for more. Eric of Ebola, desiring the complete destruction of my forces saw his opportunity with the Blood of Krampus on their haunches. Sensing his provincial strategy, I simply sacrificed the canton and moved north, leaving the Blood of Krampus unscathed.
My wish would be to see the look on Eric of Ebola's army as they march ready for battle under their leader's banner only to arrive at the battlefield to find it empty.
HA!
The only downside to this is that Eric of Ebola is now right up against the City of Dis. Need to check and see if he can take the City with his Ballista of Doom.

Current Goals

• Recover from Vendetta's fallout
• Plan for Eric of Ebola's destruction

Day 30 - Who is on Offense

My awakening this morning to Sisyphus' wails reminded me that those who do not win are made to suffer the agony of defeat. The minions sense my anger over the loss of the three legions yesterday and approach me with trepidation as they hand me the day's events.

It has come to my attention that the Infernal in Infernal Conclave is not a location reference, it is an adjective. The cursed Conclave's rules in vendetta fulfillment meant that I should be the aggressor. However, Eric of Ebola, has reconquered the Tower of Eden (officially named the Garden of Delights). Who has this vendetta!

What about God's Wrath? The guy has a penchant for humor; the two highest skills that I have went untouched and He decreased my cunning, to which He should have known by watching me down here that my clan is absent of any tact or cunning. A slight moment of enjoyment as the other clan leaders read the news of attribute loss.

And then Eric's landing spot after taking the Tower of Eden is one of my Canton's! Bless the Infernal Conclave!

The Infernal Conclave rubs the salt in the wounds by announcing my one turn left to kill an Eric of Ebola legion. They must be laughing.

Again, the fall is tough.

Blah blah blah. Ooooh, this is interesting, a Legion was bought by Gormash James. Maybe he has some spunk in him and he will attack Eric's Lemures legion. The Lemures legion is so weak, a feather landing on it would kill it.

What is there to do. The Krampus Legion is weak even with the -3 ranged attack, no way to kill Eric's legions of doom or take back the weakened Tower of Eden. Fortunately, Eric cannot take the City of Dis, it would kill him.

I have the Sceptre of Regent so first turn to me. To the map of the realm:

Count. Count. Count. Calculate. Blast! The Eric of Ebola tower cannot be taken, worse yet, he could attack the Blood of Krampus and destroy them. I have two options:

• Option A: Retreat to Canton up and left to avoid any assault by Eric's unit on the Blood of Krampus.
• Option B: Stand the ground and hope that Eric does not charge. 

Hope is a course of action for those who wish to be Sisyphus.
Action Plan

• Strategic Retreat, avoid worse results from vendetta
• Demand Tribute to purchase praetors / legions / manuscripts to destroy Eric
• Reach 100 prestige.

Opponent's Goals (Now in order of threat)

• Eric of Ebola - Destroy the Blood of Krampus since it is weaker than his Disciples of Ebola. Capture additional cantons
• Neighsayer Matt - Jab at Eric to knock him off of +5 prestige per turn.
• Gormash James - Aide Matt in knocking Eric off of the prestige game. He should purchase the relic in the bazaar to give +1 prestige and +1 Command Rating.

Prestige Chart

Everything looks rosy over time. I will be losing 14 prestige points next turn for failure to destroy Eric of Ebola.

Day 29 - Balance

One of the better tributes that I receive are souls. My penchant was for the souls of the pirates from the 15th century, while a barbaric lot, they have a calming technique to ensure victory. Burn the boat you are on and make sure you take the boat you are attacking, because there is no retreat. Ah, those rapscallions.
The vendetta came through and seeing the coming victory before me, there was to be no complications in attacking the blessed Eric of Ebola. I wagered 14 prestige and bet that I could kill a single legion in one turn for 30 prestige. Then the ugly consequences of Event Cards betray me.

Eric of Ebola, or the minions still upset about my Creeping Doom purchase, has played the Loyalty Check card against me. The Infernal Conclave is a suspicious lot, their investigation into any of the other beings in this realm would show the same issue as I: You cannot trust bad guys.
The irony that is missed by the others is that the Order of the Brotherhood was offered a chance to improve a function last turn when it defeated the Garden of Eden. I chose +1 to Range instead of +3 to health points, and...wait for it... +2 to Loyalty. Who needs loyalty in this realm... Ha!

Now that the legions are disposed of, I can play my event card: Wrath of God! Muhaha. In just in time, as Gormash James is now capable of burning tribute cards (the fool).
Wrath of God!
I only wish the Nox voiceover could be said at the same time it is played.

This is what a canton field looks like without that many legions on it.

Turn 27 - An enemy's friend is still an enemy, just not the one with the knife at their throat

Every day I awake to the wails of the Sisyphus and that infernal boulder of his falling down the other side of the hill. I have felt the Sisyphusian nature as of late as I sit here plotting with no plots coming to fruition. But enough! Dawdling is for those who wish to be destroyed.
I charge into the hall of ministerium to see what the minions have brought forth.

Today, the fruits of jealously have paid off. Neighsayer Matt and Gormash James have conspired together to play an event card causing the Tower of Eden to revolt against the one known as Eric of Ebola. Apparently, the people of Eden did not feel the revelry enough and decided to revolt. This pays off two-fold.

1. I had sent out the demand for Tribute in hopes of capturing the City of Eden, now I can use Eric of Ebola's upcoming denial of tribute to go after his legion that initially captured the City
2. I am the controller of the Sceptre of Regent, which means that I get to go first, so even if Eric of Ebola tries to take it, he will be blocked by my capture of it first (If I so choose) and I do.
1. I harbor a concern about Gormash James and Neighsayer Matt's ability to forecast in the game. They waited to play the insurrection card until this turn, which means they knew I would go after the City of Eden. If they did this on purpose, they are truly better strategists and need to throw more effort at their demise than I first planned.
3. This is bad in that now Eric will know that my vendetta is against his Legion, so he may run for the hills.

The Tormentor's are now under my control. They are not particularly powerful, but they can move 4 SPACES in flying mode! I can now threaten everyone from a single position. The fact that I won it means that people were not paying attention to this fact, or I outbid them (I placed an extra three sulfurs on the bid, to sway the auctioneer). Oh the wonder.

And now the attack. Simply move the Order of the Brotherhood into the City of Eden, with the forces assembled, success is guaranteed. The minions are betting more than their honor on this.

As for the Event Card, I must choose between the Wrath of God, a card that will take one attribute point from all players or A Paladin in Hell. I cannot afford to lose a martial skill at the moment with all the units on the board. The Wrath of God will be good to use later on as James has hinted that he has been leveling up his characteristics and I believe the other two are doing the same. That means they will have burned a lot, and we mean a lot of resources toward the building of items.

Opponent's Goals
My taking of the City of Eden benefits Neighsayer Matt and hurts Eric of Ebola. However, it makes me a dangerous leader in the prestige generation field now with +5 per turn.

• Eric's Goals - Take back City of Eden
• Neighsayer Matt - Hurt Eric and whittle his prestige down to victory
• Gormash James - Support Neighsayer Matt, hopefully he had the hand behind the throne to take victory away from Neighsayer Matt at the end.

Turn 25 - Impending Doom

Ah, my minions are on edge again. This time from the fear of my most recent purchase, the Legion of Creeping Doom, it really gives the fear I need to them. The Creeping Doom is a (0/10/0) fighter perfect for supporting units in the field. I plan to move this against the Eric of Ebola's Garden of Eden!
To this end, I need to start the diplomatic relations process. I have to make a demand of Eric of Ebola in the Infernum Conclave and then after he denies it, I can claim a vendetta. Okay. I demand four tribute from the Prince of Hell to ensure he will deny it. Once done, it is curtains for his precious Garden. Ha!
Gormash of James has sworn a blood oath allegiance to Neighsayer Matt. This means the two are now allied! What infernal concept this is! Now, Gormash James can throw all of his powers into aiding Neighsayer Matt!

Overlay of the Land

Action Plan

1. Take the Garden of Eden or Kill the Legion of Ebola. By being vague about this in the Conclave, I can kill Eric's Legion and then hurl another insult to capture the Garden of Eden.

Day 20 - The Fall of the City of Dis

Victory is mine! The minions have done their part and delivered better logistical a

Day 19 - Languish

My demands of the minions to bring forth tribute has brought them less wrath as they bring me the tributes that I require to rebuild the empire. As I sit on the throne of Krampus, I recognize the difficulties that the rulers of Infernum must deal with as one handles internal and external disputes.

Without any method of attacking the City of Dis successfully, I sit here with two legions throwing stones at the city.

Wait. The Legion of Maw damaged the City. How low is it? 5 health. The Brotherhood Legion can take it with the addition of a combat card that reduces ranged combat of the City of Dis by three. With the assignment of the Praetor, victory! We shall attack at dawn!


Operation Pavlov Update
In discussions with Gormash James, he admitted that he did not have the resources to execute Operation Pavlov. Additionally, my incident with Eric of Ebola drew and focused my ire. The fun thing is that Eric could have simply held off on the extra tower and we would all be having a more ritualistic attack oriented battle.

Opponent's Goals (listed in order of current threat level)

1. Eric of Ebola - He just sits there. No movement. No action. Just sitting there. Eric of Ebola's plan must be to increase his attributes and then move from there to stop whatever attacks may be leveled against him.
2. Neighsayer Matt - He continues his encroachment into the Eric and I's open canton land. I am not sure if he is trying to goad Eric. The good news is that Matt needs to focus on Eric and with whatever extra stuff the two of them have while I was goofing around moving units, they can destroy each other.
3. Gormash James - He sits there also. For the next game, I need to develop a turn to tribute ratio developer. The cost of moving versus sitting and collecting tribute.

Day 18 - Defeat!

Those damned minions! As the leader of a clan, fear keeps most of the followers in line, but this is usurped when something that invokes more fear is threatening. The minions convinced me that the Order of the Brotherhood would provide enough power to defeat the City of Dis with the Legion of Maw. The Legion of Maw has been defeated! There were never enough stats with the supporting units, it really needed the help of the Praetor.

Lessons Learned

1. The minions were deathly afraid of the Legion of Maw and lied to me about the battle to get the Maw killed.
2. Bring all guns to bear in a battle

State of Affairs
The clan of Krampus is in a bad place. Without the Legion of Maw I am unable to take the City of Dis. All is lost. I will be brooding in my lair. Demanding tribute from the minions. As I am now no longer a threat, the rest should leave me alone.

Day 17 - Preparations

The minions have told me that the Legion of Maw will be unable to take the City of Dis without an additional legion providing support. As Krampus, I must sometimes listen to the minions' advice and make decisions accordingly; as such the purchase of the Legion: Order of the Brotherhood is now underway (Ranged: 5, Melee: 5, Infernal: 0).

I shall move the Order of the Brotherhood next to the City of Dis, then slingshot the Legion of Maw into the City and destroy every inhabitant, taking it for my own along with the prestige it brings.

Opponents Goals

1. Eric of Ebola - Hopefully someone uses an event card on him or he slips on a minion in the Abysmal Pit. Now that Eric has taken the final tower with that Ballista of Doom, he does not need to do anything else until the end of the game. He probably will buy a Praetor and start causing problems. Or he has been leveling his stealing ability.
2. Neighsayer Matt - I have no idea. He keeps saying he is going to do something, but their is no movement on this front. I believe that he will buy a praetor and then challenge him in dueling. This does not help me kill Eric's legion or eliminate the plague of Ebola from this map. Hopefully he has been leveling his have opponent's minion trip Avatar spell.
3. Gormash James - He just sits there, worshiping the Tower of Wrath. He must be collecting a king's ransom in tributes.

The larger issue is that I have been doing stuff. Actual action items of movement, whereas the opponents merely sit in their locales laughing at my predicament, without a single tower.

Day 16 - Attack on the City of Dis

An initial review of the City of Dis numbers showed an unfavorable result of the attack. To solve this problem, we are going to purchase another legion, the legion of the Skull!

Day 15 - After the City of Dis

After the blatant violation of the treaty by the treacherous Eric of Ebola, I must turn all forces to the capture of the City of Dis. As is stands, the forces are all the way on the far side of the world near the tower of Tyrants. Once they return near the tower, they should attack the City. My initial calculations show that the minion feared Legion of Maw will be able to defeat the tower without the use of the praetor.

I have not talked to Eric since his treaty proposal, so I have no idea what he is doing now.
Action Goals

1. Take City of Dis with Legion of Maw
1. Move Legion of Krampus to provide support

Opponent's Goals

• Eric of Ebola: Take other towers to compete with Neighsayer Matt
• Gormash James: He is simply building a super-character, unable to take the tower in front of him
• Neighsayer Matt: Plotting against Eric of Ebola, hopefully his elimination

Day 13 - New Plan

Eric of Ebola is a treachorous turncoat and should go down in history at the same levels as Benedict Arnold, should I survive this battle to be the writer of history. Eric of Ebola took the Tower of Eden. After capturing the Tower of Tyrant's using the Batista of Doom (+4 Range), he turned around and captured the Tower of Eden. I wasted all that time moving to the City of Dis. I am made to look quite foolish.

Okay. Let's build on this.

What can I do. I need to definitely take the City of Dis. Destroy Eric of Ebola. Fortunately, if Eric of Ebola were to try and take the City of Dis with his current configuration, he would be stopped. Unfortunately, I will not be able to secure the buffer area from Eric in my movements because he is currently first in the movement orders. I need to go around his movement patterns. Neighsayer Matt has now moved across the bridge he claimed to just use as a defense, my belief is that Eric and Matt are working together to pick over my current situation. James continues to sit in his safety world not taking the tower, leaving me to wonder what the discussion with Matt and Eric was, if any.

The really good news, is that Eric is now garnering more prestige than Matt.
The thing about this game I need to remember if we play again is that one must disassociate their opponents from the good things they know about the real-life person and only believe in the deception they are capable of.
I chide myself at this moment for not realizing the incentives involved in this game.

Day 10 - Legion of Maw to the Rescue

As the Legion of Maw marches off to take the City of Tyrant's, the minions have come off of their nervous edge. While they make a great legion, the cost of having them around the palace is their propensity to eat anything in their way, including a number of minions. Without a nose, ears, face, or eyes, anything wandering by its mouth too closely finds itself as an appetizer to satiate their never-ending desires.

 

The legion of maw is progressing over the grounds. It should reach the Tower of Tyrants within a three turns. While en route I shall strengthen it with a combat card and then deploy the Praetor from the original attempt with the Legion of Krampus. 

Let me give a layout of the board as it stands right now. 

Neighsayer Matt

Neighsayer Matt captured the Iron Staircase (+1 Prestige) and the twisted tree (+2 Prestige) and now sits at the border threatening to attack Eric of Ebola and the Tower of Tyrants. Here is layout of Neighsayer's holiday tour.

Eric of Ebola

Eric of Ebola has left his legion next to the Tower of Tyrants and is probably acquiring tools from the bazaar to attack.

Eric's Legion of Lemures is currently poised to take the Chalice of Malice if he can apply the right numbers. I need to find out what these will be.

James of Gormash

James' Gormash disciples should attack everything within their path. His Melee of nine is out of control. In discussions with him, he stated his goal was to not take the tower. Yet, he noted that Neighsayer Matt was pulling away from the pack with his two recent captures. He also entreated me to take action against the newly minted number one, Neighsayer Matt. We conspired to enact OPERATION Pavlov! The plan is to hit Matt every time the conclave casts a vote, which should be any moment now, in an effort to make Matt fear the conclave's vote.

Prestige Chart and 40 Turn Projections
James of Gormash's concern for Prestige projections made me pause and take a look at the situation. Here is the handy-dandy projection.