Kohaku wins
And another intense session has ended. So intense that appspot started 5 instances. This would have been the cause of all those errors you were experiencing as when they start up, it can take a minute or so for them to get going properly. Still, excellent strategies all round, guys.
Crowns should be awarded in the next hour, server time.
Edit: The 5 instances show that appspot is doing its job as intended and expanding to cope with load. Technically, we have no control over the lagging issues as it's all down to appspot. Lag is just a part of the experience. When that lag happens, is a surprise to us all.
My slaves worked well at the end. Next time, I'll use them to build a pyramid instead.