22+2 Vils Jurchens Fast Castle Fire Lancer Rush

NOTE: This strategy only works reliably on Deer Arabia-type maps, or similar maps where deer are available. It can be attempted on chicken maps too, but it's more complicated and more likely to fail. 2nd NOTE: This build is written for the Jurchens, but it adapts to the other 4 Fire Lancer civilizations too (Koreans are probably the 2nd best fit for this rush, followed by the Vietnamese). This is an aggressive strategy meant to apply heavy pressure on your opponent right from the start of Castle Age. It takes advantage of the fact that Fire Lancers and Siege units cost no food to produce, and they don't need many upgrades to be effective. It's fairly easy to hit a fast Castle Age with the Jurchens, since their hunt doesn't decay, letting you reach Castle Age quickly without seeding a single farm. This strategy is NOT a full all-in though, keep around 5 villagers on food in Castle Age to maintain 1 Town Center of villager production, so you have something to fall back on if the rush doesn't end the game outright.

  1. [Dark] Send 6 villagers to sheep (pop 6)
  2. [Dark] Send 4 villagers to wood (pop 10)
  3. [Dark] Send 1 villager to boar (pop 11)
  4. [Dark] 1 to make a house then mill (pop 12)
  5. [Dark] 1 to get second boar (pop 13)
  6. [Dark] NOTE: Lure deer (2 at least mandatory)
  7. [Dark] Send 2 vil to hunt under TC (pop 15)
  8. [Dark] Send 4 vils to berries (pop 19)
  9. [Dark] Send 3 villagers to gold (pop 22)
  10. [Dark] Research loom
  11. [Dark] Research Feudal Age (perfect landing time: 10:30)
  12. [Feudal] Nothing to do but stay sharp and watch out for any aggression from opponent
  13. [Feudal] palisades, to protect yourself against melee units. If berries get attacked you
  14. [Feudal] Send 2 villagers to wood (pop 24)
  15. [Feudal] Research Castle Age (perfect landing time: 14:00)
  16. [Castle] Send all 10 vils from TC to wood and make a 2nd lumber camp
  17. [Castle] Make 2 barracks
  18. [Castle] Get infantry armor
  19. [Castle] NOTE: We skip all economy techs for now
  20. [Castle] Make Fire Lancers from both barracks
  21. [Castle] New villagers from TC go to wood/gold (whatever is needed most)
  22. [Castle] when berries run out make farms around the TC with them
  23. [Castle] Get Squires When you can afford it (buy 100 food from market if needed)

What next: The main play is to keep pushing with Fire Lancers out of 2 Barracks, plus Mangonels or Rocket Carts from your Siege Workshop. You can get Arson if you want to go all-in against their buildings. Keep the pressure relentless, this is where the strategy earns its wins. If you get counterattacked, just send reinforcement Fire Lancers to deal with it, or fall back on that one tower you can always count on. You can add a Monastery to support your push, heal your Fire Lancers, and pick up relics along the way. Once your opponent has weathered the push, whether through units, a defensive Castle, or Redemption Monks, fall back into a boom by adding 2 more Town Centers and getting some farms going. Pick up your wood and farm economic upgrades before doing this. The Jurchens' late game is very strong, so if you end up in a longer game, look to win by grabbing the relics and leaning on a strong composition like Hussar plus Cavalry Archers, or Steppe Lancers with Skirmishers in the late game. Grenadiers are always an option too. GLHF!

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