17 Pop Japanese Man-at-Arms Rush
Steps 11 · 6 → 20 pop · ~9 min
Source: Hera
Recommended Civilizations
Reach Feudal Age around 8:25 and apply the fastest possible Man-at-Arms pressure, layering in Archers right behind the Militia.
Step Timeline
Follow the villager rail and resource-split columns while you play.
13 
3 Opening
6 steps · pop 6–16
Bld - 6 6000
6 → sheep under the Town Center - 8 6200
+2 → wood, drop a Lumber Camp - 10 8200 +1 → first boar, +1 → second boar under the Town Center
↳ Lure at least 2 deer — this is mandatory
- 11 9200
+1 → build a House, then back to the hunt - 13 11200 +2 → hunt (eat through the second boar)
- 16 13201
+1 → Barracks at the front, +2 → food under the Town Center
Feudal
5 steps · pop 17–20 8:25Bld - 17 13301
+1 → wood, research Loom, then click up to Feudal 8:25 ↳ Land with roughly 3 on wood and 13 on food
- 17 11321
2 from the hunt → gold with a Mining Camp; pump 3 Militia and send them across the map - 17 7721
4 off the Town Center → wood; build an Archery Range, start Archers, research Man-at-Arms - 19 7741
+2 → gold; add a Blacksmith and research Double-Bit Axe - 20 8741
+1 → berries and build a Mill; research Fletching and push Archers + Man-at-Arms together ↳ Slowly move villagers to farms before the sheep run out
Strategy Notes
- This is the quickest Man-at-Arms timing in the game — Japanese infantry attack faster, so even a small group of Militia and Man-at-Arms punishes an unwalled opponent hard.
- The plan front-loads aggression: send the 3 Militia out the moment Feudal lands, then convert them to Man-at-Arms and reinforce with Archers and Fletching to keep the push rolling.
- Your economy is deliberately thin, so the early damage has to pay for itself; idle enemy villagers and a slow wall are exactly what you are hunting for.
- Late game is the weakness of this opening — commit to finishing the fight in Feudal rather than coasting, because a contained rush leaves you behind on eco.
- If the opponent walls fast or counters with Scouts, ease off, secure your gold and wood, and transition cleanly into Castle Age Crossbows instead of throwing units away.