Under the Microscope: The Celts - Part I By _t_a_l_o_n We you look at the most popular civs, the Celts almost always come to mind. With their unbeatable first-rate siege and infantry, they are always a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. When playing as the Celts always remember one thing: always go siege. If your enemy prevents you from making mangonels, scorps or rams than you have a mega problem. You major goal should be to take advantage of that wood bonus and to also advance as quickly as you can to Castle, with about 30 villagers, 35 in a team game (depending on the population limit). If it's a water map make at least 5 more boats than the enemy. Now we can't stress this enough, take advantage of your wood. After making it to Feudal, build a blacksmith and a market/stable and before jumping right to Castle. Don't delay in making more then the required two buildings to Castle, you will have time to make them later on. While castling add another precious barracks and upgrade to Men at Arms. You should make as many as 5. Depending on your resources, make another mining camp for stone, and upgrade the first wood tech and Forging, in that order. Once in castle upgrade to Long swordsman at build a TC by your gold/wood operation. If you can, also build a siege workshop. Start booming from your two TCs. Keep on making long swordsmen and Rams. After you have 4 rams make a two mangonels. You should be rocking with about 45-50 vills and a nice 20 infantry army. Advance to the nearest enemy with your army. After they are half-way there send 5 villagers from your wood. Have them build a TC, three barracks, and a workshop near a mine or a forest close to the enemy. One of my favorite things about Celts is their siege are fabulous. Your five rams can take down any building the enemy can throw at you. It takes about 15-20 seconds for 5 Celtic rams to take down a castle, even less for a TC. Make the gathering points for your forward base the center of the enemy camp. That way, you have unlimited reinforcements. Have your long swords take down some houses or something, but make sure they are in close range to the rams and they can kill the knights your enemy is almost certain to throw at you. If he attacks with archers, no problem. Your two mangonels can quickly destroy a force and the piercing armor on your rams can withstand a ton of shots. Stop making villagers around this time and start upgrading. Get as many of the infantry techs you can, followed by the economic techs. Stop making Longs and transfer your production to a small army of pikeman. From your forward base send 5 villagers to construct two TCs and a castle by the gold/stone in your enemies' base. By now you have a huge army. Sell the excess wood you probably have for gold. Take some guys off wood and make some more farms. Now you should try and hit Imperial as quick as you can. Attack the next person on your list, building a castle, two TCs, a couple barracks, and two siege workshops in that order near his base. You should have a nice 10-ram army that can take anything he has. The only potential snag is if he makes archers. In this case, retreat to your forward base, and start pumping out mangonels, Woad Raiders, and Skirmishers. Once you have about 6 Mangonels, 10 or so Woadies, and 10 or so Skirms advance back to the enemy. This can take any archer support he has, even Arbalests. Use the mangonels to have cover fire while the bad-ranged Skirms get into range. Woadies are as fast as cavalry, so they can be everywhere, guarding your mangonels or killing the archers. By now you are definitely in the Imperial Age. Start your villager production up to full speed. Buy some stone and make another castle at your forward base. You should continue making trebs, champions, onagers, Woadies, and rams. This attack usually works in most games, and you typically won't get this far for 1v1s, and occasionally, 2v2s. Just make sure you keep moving your forward bases and move your villagers along with them. For example after one mine gives out don't go north for the next one go to your forward base by a mine and do it there. With this strategy your army is continually moving and it doesn't give your main base very good protection. Other than that it works great!