17 Vils Teuton Tower Rush

NOTE: This works well on maps with deer or Chicken Arabia, since we won't be using either resource in Dark Age. This is meant to be the strongest, most all-in version of a tower rush. There are gentler ways to do this with a generic civilization, like sending 5 villagers forward, or using Spearmen/Skirmishers alongside one or two towers, but with Teutons we go all the way: send 10 villagers forward IMMEDIATELY. This works because of the Teuton bonus that lets you garrison 10 villagers in a tower instead of the usual 5, for extra arrows. As a general rule, you always win a tower-versus-tower fight, so it doesn't matter if your opponent tries to counter-tower you. The only real risk is getting cleared out before or right as your first tower goes up, there are a few tricks later in this guide for preventing that. The overall goal is to pressure the opponent hard early, deny them any real strategy, and slowly catch up on economy back home. If the game isn't won in Feudal Age, look to close it out in early Castle Age with an all-in Knights follow-up, or even a forward Castle to finish things off.

  1. [Dark] Send 6 villagers to sheep (pop 6)
  2. [Dark] Send 2 villagers to wood (pop 8)
  3. [Dark] Send 1 villager to boar (pop 9)
  4. [Dark] Send 1 vil to hunt under TC (pop 10)
  5. [Dark] 1 to make a house then mill (pop 11)
  6. [Dark] 1 to get second boar (pop 12)
  7. [Dark] Send 5 vils to hunt under TC (pop 17)
  8. [Dark] Research loom
  9. [Dark] Research Feudal Age (perfect landing time: 8:25)
  10. [Feudal] Move 1 vil from hunt to wood
  11. [Feudal] Move 2 vils from hunt to stone and make a mining camp
  12. [Feudal] Send 10 vils from hunt forward towards your opponent
  13. [Feudal] if he runs his scout past. Most players wont realize you have only 1 vil and will continue running away from the TC
  14. [Feudal] NOTE: Do NOT get any economy upgrades for now
  15. [Feudal] Make villagers and send them to hunt under TC
  16. [Feudal] Make your first tower around 8 tiles away from his woodline or berries

What next: First, wall in your initial tower with Palisade Walls. If your opponent rushes you, fight underneath the tower with your villagers, this is the single most important phase of the rush, and the tower must be protected. Keep fighting with villagers until you can seal the wall around the tower's base, and garrison low-HP villagers inside the tower during the fight. One trick: as long as you leave one corner of the tower open (a corner, not a side), you can still garrison villagers through it even with the rest of your base fully walled. If your opponent doesn't rush, or their rush fails, keep chaining towers with all your villagers. Space each tower 6-8 tiles from the last so their ranges overlap, this is called a tower chain, and it needs to be maintained all the way through the rush. Keep your home economy balanced so you can afford both villager production and a steady stone supply for more towers, around 5-6 villagers on stone is usually enough. Pick up Blacksmith and Fletching once you can afford them, and get Double-Bit Axe and Horse Collar once your economy has stabilized. Once the tower rush winds down, or your opponent pushes you off, take a forward resource with your villagers to stay efficient (tower it for safety). By Castle Age you'll have three main paths: an all-in Knight push with forward Stables, a forward Castle with Bodkin Arrow, or a Siege/Monk push with Bodkin Arrow and Guard Tower/Ballistics when you can fit them in. That's the end of the strategy guide. GLHF!

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