Drush Fast Castle
Steps 11 · 6 → 29 pop · ~16 min
Recommended Civilizations
Harass with three Dark Age Militia, then reach Castle Age first with a clean economic and technology lead.
Step Timeline
Follow the villager rail and resource-split columns while you play.
Opening
8 steps · pop 6–23- 6
6 → sheep under the TC - 10
+4 → wood (build a Lumber Camp) - 11 +1 → lure the first boar
- 12
+1 → 2 houses, then a Barracks; keep walling with palisades ↳ Front-place the Barracks for the Drush
- 13
+1 → mine 10 gold, then back to the boar; make 3 Militia and send them forward with your Scout ↳ Pure Drush — do NOT take Men-at-Arms
- 14 +1 → 2nd boar
- 19
+5 → berries (build a Mill) - 23
+4 → wood on the same (1) Lumber Camp; research Loom ↳ Don't delay Loom — a Feudal Scout can snipe villagers
Feudal
2 steps · pop 27–29 12:35- 27 +4 → gold; click Feudal Age, then finish walling and keep harassing with Militia + Scout 12:35
↳ Eco split ~8 wood / 14 food / 4 gold
- 29
+2 → gold; build an Archery Range (2 vils) and a Blacksmith (1 vil)
Castle
1 steps 16:05- 29
Castle: mass Archers from 1 Range; research Double-Bit Axe, Horse Collar, Fletching 16:05 ↳ Castle-first with an eco + tech lead
Strategy Notes
- The Drush is the cheap part: three Militia plus the Scout poke the opponent's eco while you commit fully to the climb. Even one or two villager kills forces them off resources, and the panic alone slows their own up-time.
- This is a true Drush, not a Men-at-Arms rush — never spend on the MAA upgrade. Every spare resource feeds the Fast Castle, so you land Castle Age around 16:05 with the lead intact.
- Wall as you go. Palisades around the boar and woodlines keep your Militia builders safe and stop the opponent from trading the harassment back onto your own villagers.
- Out of Castle Age, mass Archers from your single Range and follow Double-Bit Axe, Horse Collar, and Fletching to snowball the eco-and-tech advantage into a Crossbow timing. Add a 2nd Range only if you want all-in two-Range pressure — the standard line stays on one Range and grabs Bow Saw plus the Crossbow upgrade.
- Strong civs here are the archer powers — Britons, Ethiopians, Italians, Mayans, and Vikings — whose cheaper or harder-hitting Archers convert the Castle-first lead directly into a winning unit.
- If the opponent is already walled and turtling, drop the harassment early and lean on the boom: an early second Town Center behind your walls pulls the eco lead further ahead.