Romans 5 Man-at-Arms Rush
Steps 12 · 6 → 19 pop · ~9 min
Recommended Civilizations
Reach Feudal Age around 9:15 with five Militia ready, then convert them to Man-at-Arms and lean on the Roman infantry armor bonus to grind down the opponent.
Step Timeline
Follow the villager rail and resource-split columns while you play.
Opening
6 steps · pop 6–16- 6
6 → sheep under the Town Center - 9
+3 → wood, drop a Lumber Camp - 11 +2 → lure and eat the first boar
↳ Bring the second boar in when the first is about half eaten
- 12
+1 → build a House, then a Mill on berries - 16 +4 → berries
- 16
+1 → build a Barracks and a House at the front of your base
Feudal
6 steps · pop 19 9:15- 19
+2 → wood, research Loom, then click up to Feudal 9:15 ↳ Land with roughly 5 on wood and 13 on food
- 19
Move 2 off food → gold, then 2 more off food → wood (ends ~7 wood, 9 food, 2 gold) - 19
Pump Militia up to 5 and walk them at the opponent ↳ These 5 are the core of the push — keep them alive; as the hunt runs out, send those Villagers to the straggler trees and seed 5 farms
- 19
Research Man-at-Arms, then Double-Bit Axe - 19
Send new Villagers to the straggler trees; build a Blacksmith once 5 farms are down and research Infantry armor (+2) ↳ Roman infantry armor makes this push extremely resilient
- 19
Pressure with your Scout plus the Man-at-Arms together; pick fights you win
Strategy Notes
- The whole opener is built around five Man-at-Arms backed by the Roman +2 infantry armor — that extra armor makes each unit far more resilient, so your group trades up against archers, Scouts, and other early infantry.
- Get the Militia out early and keep all five alive; the damage they do to undefended Villagers and Houses is what buys time for your slightly slower economy to catch up.
- Pair the Man-at-Arms with your Scout so you can chase down stragglers and pin the enemy in their base while you finish the Blacksmith upgrades.
- React to what they build: add an Archery Range with Skirmishers if they go Archers, and keep walling and dropping farms behind the aggression so you do not stall.
- This opening stays flexible into Castle Age — fold the farms into a fast Castle behind a Market and wall, then continue with Long Swordsmen and Scorpions, switch to Knights, or simply boom and grab Relics if the rush has bought you the lead.