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Chinese Matchup Notes

Byzantines

  • Pro Scouts of course. sometimes you would play for delayed pro scouts
  • Making early units, going for the archers and horseman pretty good if they make javalins
  • Castle age timing with Knights archers
  • After relics, we add a Barbican, keep dealing damage, keep harassing, play fast and defend with archers.
  • They usually go for mass infantry, so NoB is very good
  • Their main way of winning is with a cataphract archer timing

Japanese

  • Probably the hardest matchup for chinese.
  • Ram push with Japanese to cut out they gold, archers and spears at 8 minutes, force them into yumis.
  • You cut their gold and then go for your own castle age.
  • Consider Barbican on their gold if they don't have another safe gold.

Abbasid

  • Only civ in the game you need to go for a feudal all in versus
  • Make archers, rams, and kill their TC

Ayyubids

  • Pro Scouts, depending on how much food you have
  • Go for spear archer and cut their gold. Works great if they build a bunch of stables

Chinese (mirror)

  • Just play better
  • Disrupt their pro scouts before going for you own.

Zhu Xi’s Legacy

  • If you can pro scouts into quick castle, this is great
  • Perhpas mass archers into pro scouts into castle
  • Basically you wanna get to castle
  • Play Knights Crossbows

French

  • Open spears to protect your scouts.
  • Disrupt their pro scouts.
  • Horsemen are great.
  • You wanna take a good fight at minute 8 and go for FC.
  • Your goal is to get to castle.
  • Knights spears are great in castle

Jeanne d’Arc (JD)

  • Likely similar to French in early behavior.
  • Be careful of Jeanne abilities.

Knights Templar

  • Still a developing civ, but often go 2TC.
  • Pro Scouts, FC
  • If they make units, make units and pro scouts
  • Deny their pilgrims

Holy Roman Empire (HRE)

  • Your main task is to deny relics.
  • Early game is pro scouts.
  • Sacred sites control
  • Recognize if they stay in castle or Swabia.
  • If they go for Swabia, you have to do a Knights Crossbows all in with rams.

Order of the Dragon (OOTD)

  • Very similar to HRE.
  • Watch out for 2TC and burgrave. In that case, Pro Scouts into FC and then Palace Guards.
  • Go for a 2nd TC if they build a 2nd TC. You need to have a better economy.
  • Seige is rather bad vs them.

Delhi Sultanate

  • Good matchup for Chinese
  • Start spear horsemen (spears first), then go archers when needed.
  • Deny their Sacred Site control.
  • A Barbican on middle SS can delay their game plan significantly.
  • You need to hold them with no sacred sites for about 12 minutes.
  • Anticipate Castle Age, catch scholars en route to relics.
  • Late game is Elephants. Bombards ayooo.
  • Horsemen are good vs ranged elephants.

English

  • You can't punish them early.
  • You need to scout really well vs English.
  • Go for early song and a bit of units and then go castle to defend agression or white tower drop.
  • You can also add your own 2nd TC.

The Demon Civ

  • You likely can’t stop the Manor Boom.
  • Take all the deer (consider 7 scouts!) and rush Castle.
  • Knights and crossbows for the relic game, then try to kill them with trebs, go for their manors.
  • You can try an archer ram push. Especially if they open spears.

Malians

  • Easy matchup.
  • You just play Fast Feudal into Horseman and archers and pro scouts.
  • You play long feudal matchup and kill pit mines.

Mongols

  • Focus on reacting to Mangudai harass.
  • In general, the way to counter Cav archers are walls, towers and seige.
  • Archers with pro scouts to kill Mangudai. About 2-3 archers per Mangudai.
  • Barbican on one side of the woodline and units on the other one.
  • Put mill towards the wood.
  • In castle you would play Knights archer.
  • Trebs + Crossbows very good vs Fast Imp Mongol.
  • Be careful all-ining vs Mongols that aren't actually going to imp.

Ottomans

  • Feudal all-in could be effective.
  • Usually ottomans wants to get to imp with full military schools.
  • Spears + Zhugenu for a longer feudal
  • Palace Guards are effective.
  • Spears are rather bad vs them due to the amount of springalds
  • I think the optimal comp is Palace guards, archers and NoB

Rus

  • Harass their scouts early with fast unit production.
  • Then at around minutet 7-8 you make 7 scouts and pro scouts.
  • Archers in feudal to kill their scouts.
  • Wall a lot.
  • You should scale better after minute 20.
  • Scout the Golden Gate to track their income plan.
  • Horseman in the relic game to secure three relics. If they build knights you can go for crossbows.