They follow that up with decent archers as well: the 80% faster University means you can exploit that small window of early Ballistics to pressure your opponent and potentially wipe their archer army, meaning Malians can sometimes best actual archer civs. That same infantry is a serious threat to Town Centers in Castle. While it doesn't mean you can expect them to kill archers (well, in Imp they feel like they can due to the sheer HP and the mass dynamic of Imp), they do tank long enough that if you support them with Skirms or Archers of your own, enemy archers will simply not have a window to kill your Infantry and then fight your other unit. To top it off, I feel like Malians is one of the very few civs in the game where their infantry are truly an option: that extra pierce armor means they tank their own counter very well.

Otherwise, they have everything you could possibly want alongside a top-tier bonus.Ģ) Malians - Their early eco experiences both a wood and a gold bonus, making them very flexible. The only missing tech you can make an argument for being notable is Hussar. The only downsides this civ has feel like luxuries compared to the perks: things like not getting Siege Onager or Redemption. We've had plenty of tier lists and tournament performances, but I'm less interested in statistical analysis here and more interested in who you personally feel is the best civ and why.ġ) Britons - Civ gets a Dark Age food gather bonus, a bonus to how quickly it produces archers (which is crucial since archers are all about that deathball mass), a range bonus that is ridiculously obnoxious to be on the receiving end of, and then to top it all off, the civ actually has really respectable Champs and Cavaliers, meaning they're fully capable of going Infantry or Cav when needed.

Aoe 2 best civ