Civilization Match-up Discussion Round 13 Week 1: Britons vs Sicilians

The battle of Ornlu's ancestral civs lol

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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 Burgundians vs Mayans, and next up is the Britons vs Sicilians!

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Britons: Foot Archer civilization

• Town Centers cost -50% wood (starting in Castle Age)
• Archer-line and Longbowmen gain +1/+2 range in Castle/Imperial Age
• Shepherds work +25% faster
• TEAM BONUS: Archery Ranges work +20% faster
• Unique Unit: Longbowman (Powerful long-range foot archer)
• Castle Age Unique Tech: Yeoman (Foot archers gain +1 range; Towers gain +2 attack)
• Imperial Age Unique Tech: Warwolf (Trebuchets 100% accurate; gain blast damage in 0.5 tile radius)

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Sicilians: Infantry and Cavalry civilization

• Start with +100 stone
• Castles and Town Centers built +100% faster
• Land military units (except siege) receive -50% bonus damage
• Farm upgrades provide +100% additional food
• Donjon replaces Watch Tower-line
• TEAM BONUS: First Transport Ship free (next patch it's Transports cost -50% and have +5 LoS)
• Unique Unit: Serjeant (Heavy armored infantry that can build Donjons)
• Unique Building: Donjon (Powerful, expensive tower replacement)
• Castle Age Unique Tech: First Crusade (Each TC spawns 7 Serjeants, up to 5 TCs; units better resist conversion)
• Imperial Age Unique Tech: Hauberk (Knight-line gains +1/+2 armor)

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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!

• Alright, so this should be an interesting one! For 1v1 Arabia and other open maps, Britons have always been hanging around near-ish the top, but Sicilians have certainly seen a bit of a renaissance with their recent buffs. Britons are still going to be stronger right off the bat with their faster bonuses, but are they going to run into trouble against the many heavy armor options of Sicilians nowadays?
• On closed maps like Arena, Hideout, and Black Forest, both of these civs are excellent. Britons are a top pick on all of those maps, whereas Sicilians are still kind of being figured out, but are nonetheless a popular pick for 1v1 Arena and 4v4 BF. Britons like not having to worry about mobility as their ranged units nuke half the map, but Sicilians still have siege ram and many other ways to close the gap vs Britons. How do you see this one playing out on closed maps?
• For team games, Britons are and always have been a top-tier flank civ. Not only do they play heavy archer play with many ranges quite well, but their team bonus is incredible for the other flank player. Sicilians, meanwhile, are again still being figured out, but clearly their strength lies in the pocket position. The question becomes, how valuable is the extra armor and bonus damage mitigation when the enemy team has access to Paladins? Considering how well the may do vs all the Briton archers might be useful in determining how good of a pocket they are these days.

Thanks as always for participating! Next week we will be OUR 200th DISCUSSION!!! To celebrate, I am picking the civ match up, and only believe it fitting to do the Bohemians vs Poles. Hope to see you there! :)

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Previous discussions: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3