Turtle into skull knights
Aztecs
More of a meme build than anything else. However, PsiOniC was able to apply the principles in high level ranked. The build does not require a TP.
Game plan
After a war priest boom behind two warhuts, use the c&alendar ceremony to age up to age 4 (or 5) and flood the zone with shadow teching skull knights.
Age I :
Classic no TP age up. If you have a coin/wood treasure in base, build a market and research hunting dogs. If not, build one house and leave the wood on the floor. Recruit your pokémon army and scout your opponent. Herd agressively. To remain safe, you need to have 3 herds in your base.
- If you suspect agression : Age up with the messenger. Hold your 2nd shipment in transition to ship 2 warhuts as soon as possible.
- If you are sure your opponent will boom : Age up with the elder and put the warhut in base. In transition ship High priest of Ixtlilton (hero card).
In transition, chop for a 2nd house and market+ hunting dogs of you do not have it already.
Age II :
Regardless of what you did in age 1, your 3rd shipment is 3 war priest. Start your priest boom as soon as they arrive. Put your new villagers on the plazza until you have 15 of them. Your 4th shipment is calendar ceremony which should arrive before your 9th warpriest is trained. Once you have your 10 warpriest, switch to the calendar ceremony and sell food for coin to pay for age 3.
- If the messenger is still available, you can use it now. Switch the plazza to XP generation. You will likely need the citadel card early in age 3 to shield yourself from agression. Once the citadel is shipped, switch back to calendar ceremony.
- If you don't have the messenger, you can use the elder for the 2 noble hut travois. For this slow age up, keep the plazza on the calendar ceremony.
Age III :
Macro for age 4 and survive. Minutemen ceremony and jaguars from the TC can help you. If you went with the slow age up, you will very likely be able to click to age 4 right after you arrive in age 3, thanks to the discount from the ceremony. Age up with the warrior.
Transition to age IV
Take all your villagers away from the plazza to coin and switch the plazza to XP. Send 1000w and 900c back to back. The wood will be used for housing and to pay for placer mines. Only keep the minimum of villagers on food to keep the TC working. You want 1500c banked once you reach age 4.
Age IV :
You should have a shipment available and 1500c banked. Set the plazza to produce skull knights. Either pay for the Huitzlipochtli support (more skull knights) or Tezcatlipoca support (jaguars). Both units shadow tech. Ship the skull knights if your enemy plays musk+falcs. Ship the jaguars if your enemy has a big mass of skirmishers and/or heavy canons. Once the shipment is sent, shift your coin villagers back to the plazza to accelerate the production of skull knights. once the shipment has arrived, push.
Follow up :
Skull knights are a "super melee infantry". They are monstrous but quite slow. In age 4 a skull knight can survive a direct shot from a falconet/organ gun, and musketeers have trouble kiting them. However, they cannot survive a heavy canon/great bombard shot and skirmishers can kite aand focus fire them effectively. Here are ways to get around these weaknesses :
- Jaguars (the pets) have no infantry keyword. They do not take bonus damage from skirmishers or heavy canon and can catch them up. If you see the units countering skull knights, jaguars are a good complement. They fare poorly against organ guns and gatlings, but skull knights can handle these.
- Dragoons can outrun both skull knight and jaguars. The slinger shipment is included for that purpose. Against civs unlikely to go for dragoons, swap this for 5 skull knights or 14 Jaguar Knights.
The 1600w is for more housing and switch into a boom with Tcs, farms and estates. If you cannot crack an enemy's base, get back to calendar ceremony to get to imperial. This is a huge power spike.
Variant Fast Imperial
Extreme meme level. Alter the deck to get the 1300c instead of the 1000w. Go to age 4 with the chief and to age 5 with the warrior. You need good hunts in base and camp the calendar ceremony for a while in age IV. The reward is a boosted warchief.