Civilization Match-up Discussion Round 6 Week 14: Portuguese vs Slavs

Writing this from my hotel at ECL 11

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Hello and welcome back for another Age of Empires 2 civilization match up discussion! This is a series where we discuss the various advantages, disadvantages, and quirks found within the numerous match ups of the game. The goal is to collectively gain a deeper understanding of how two civilizations interact with each other in a variety of different settings. Feel free to ask questions, pose strategies, or provide insight on how the two civilizations in question interact with each other on any map type and game mode. This is not limited to 1v1 either. Feel free to discuss how the civilizations compare in team games as well! So long as you are talking about how the two civilizations interact, anything is fair game! Last week we discussed the Khmer vs Koreans, and next up is the Portuguese vs Slavs!

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Portuguese: Naval and Gunpowder civilization

• All units cost -15% gold
• Ships +10% hp
• Can build Feitoria in Imperial Age
• TEAM BONUS: Cartography available in Dark Age
• Unique Unit: Organ Gun (Light artillery siege weapon)
• Unique Unit: Caravel (Galley-esque warship that deals pass-through damage)
• Unique Building: Feitoria (Slowly generates all resources at the cost of 20 pop space)
• Castle Age Unique Tech: Carrack (Ships +1/+1 armor)
• Imperial Age Unique Tech: Arquebus (Ballistics for gunpowder units)

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Slavs: Infantry and Siege civilization

• Farmers work +15% faster
• Tracking free
• Siege Workshop units cost -15%
• TEAM BONUS: Military buildings support 5 pop space
• Unique Unit: Boyar (Heavy cavalry with massive melee armor)
• Castle Age Unique Tech: Orthodoxy (Monks +3/+3 armor)
• Imperial Age Unique Tech: Druzhina (Infantry deal 5 trample damage)

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Below are some match up-specific talking points to get you all started. These are just to give people ideas, you do not need to address them specifically if you do not want to!

• So this one seems quite Slav-favored on Arabia at first glance. I'm not saying that Slavs are not favored, but upon reflection, Slavs may have some amount of difficulty dealing with large numbers of Organ Guns/Gunpowder in a straight up fight. With that said, Slavs have the far superior economy so I would still favor them. Thoughts?
• On Arena or other closed maps, both civs possess very powerful, but different, late game armies. Portuguese have gunpowder, arbs, and even BBT, whereas Slavs have Druzhina infantry, Siege, and possibly Boyars. Who wins out in a late game battle here?
• In a team game, both civs are very good, if not quite very top tier, in their best respective positions. Portuguese are quite good on flank with good archers, monks, halbs, bbts, organ guns, etc., whereas Slavs possess an incredible eco and fully upgraded cavalier, as well as good siege and infantry. However, Portuguese lack a significant economy bonus, and Slavs miss that crucial Paladin upgrade. Which civ would serve you better in their preferred role?

Thank you as always for participating! Next week we will continue our discussions with...... idk yet I don't have my Excel sheet in front of me here in Manchester 11. Still, hope to see you there! :)

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Previous discussions: Part 1 Part 2