how do you play them? any experience, tips?
As pocket they should be fairly good, can counter strong paladin civs with cheap camels and else go paladins themselves.
they also have a great late-game potential
as flank though I struggle to use their bonus.. trash just never really works for me in TGs, crossbows + knights kill it so very effectively. staying defensively (with stronger buildings and counter units) is also rather disadvantageous, you still have to build army and the enemy will just go to your pocket.
I thought about two possible strategies:
1. going imp directly after a flush, without adding TCs. if you can keep your army alive, you can have 30-40 arbalests around minute 27, which scares all knights away. but how to push without siege? you don't have enough eco for rams, I'd say bbc are the best choice, but one small knight raid in your base will end everything - would need a full wall to do this strategy.. would at least make good use of the stone
2. doing a small boom, and then a late-castle push with pikes and mangonels/rams on either flank or pocket enemy. Castle age siege isn't strong though, and a few enemy mangonels will quickly kill your entire siege
I don't want to accept they're a trash civ (speaking of value)
I love that aoc has many distinctive civs, it hurts to see that most land games are ruled by 4-5 unit types
just impossible most of the time to do a good castle age push when you know that a few minutes later you'll be cleared up by either elite eagles or chevas, because the other side let their enemies boom more
As pocket they should be fairly good, can counter strong paladin civs with cheap camels and else go paladins themselves.
they also have a great late-game potential
as flank though I struggle to use their bonus.. trash just never really works for me in TGs, crossbows + knights kill it so very effectively. staying defensively (with stronger buildings and counter units) is also rather disadvantageous, you still have to build army and the enemy will just go to your pocket.
I thought about two possible strategies:
1. going imp directly after a flush, without adding TCs. if you can keep your army alive, you can have 30-40 arbalests around minute 27, which scares all knights away. but how to push without siege? you don't have enough eco for rams, I'd say bbc are the best choice, but one small knight raid in your base will end everything - would need a full wall to do this strategy.. would at least make good use of the stone
2. doing a small boom, and then a late-castle push with pikes and mangonels/rams on either flank or pocket enemy. Castle age siege isn't strong though, and a few enemy mangonels will quickly kill your entire siege
I don't want to accept they're a trash civ (speaking of value)
I love that aoc has many distinctive civs, it hurts to see that most land games are ruled by 4-5 unit types
just impossible most of the time to do a good castle age push when you know that a few minutes later you'll be cleared up by either elite eagles or chevas, because the other side let their enemies boom more