For a long time I think about “alternative counter concepts for Knights”. As atm there are only 3 (pike/camel, monks and walls) which all have disadvantages that hold them back, especially on “open” maps.
This results in cavalry play dominating the meta game even there where other unit types should be more effective, but the mobility of the cavalry just makes more than up for the advantages these other unit types may have.
Also, as Cavalry only has these 3 counterplays, the various cavalry UUs are effectively almost indifferent to each other. They have different gimmicks, but in reality these don’t really make big difference in most cases.
With one more element to counteract Cavalry there is way more freedom in design for both Cavalry but also non-Cavalry units which then can see more use, specific to the choice of the opponent to counter the Cavalry.
The Concept I now propose has one major disadvantage: It is mapbound. The Robber Baron Holds need to be placed by the map script.
So what is it?
It is basically a Donjon that fires1 arrow which has +2 attack against melee cavalry. But it starts with half HP as a gaya hold. And every time it is killed by a player it doesn’t get destroyed but instead switches colours to the player who killed it. Also when it was already in possession of a player.
So positioning these Robber Baron Holds on the map gives “save spots” for expansion for the players. They just need to #### ### #### hold (for example with some vills) and then gets a nice shelter for the farmers nearby.
It is a tradeoff, cause you need to epand specifically to the Robber Baron Holds which reduces the effectiveness of a self-build base. But it is more effective against scattered Cavalry raids as it provides much more shelter room than a regular expansion.
There is also an intended secondary effect. It gives some secondary utility to MAA openings. When the opponent manages to defend well against and MAA would be useless to deal direct damage, the MAA could be used to kill the nearby Robber Baran Holds of the gaja, changing them to the MAA players side. Which gives him vision, map presence and potentially even the chance to deny the opponents expansion later on. As we are speaking here mostly about open Maps, this is intended to at least allow for some maa openers there - as in these maps the miltia line usually sees almost no play.
The Robber Baron Holds would be less effective against Ranged units, as those could manouver between the ranges of the different defensive structures and deal some damage to the eco from safe distance. Which in result means, with using this strategy to counter cavalry you make different unit options for the opponent stronger. And when he never went as much into cavalry as you thought you might have blundered already big time.
The Robber Baron Holds alone also won’t stop massCavalry, even with Murder Holes. But they should be able to buy enough time for the slow cavalry counters of your choice to get to the point of attack and force it back. If they fail in this task the HP would need to be increased slightly.
This would give map scripters a nice tool to control the potential expansions and therefore defensive setups of the players. Ensuring the Map gets the intended variety of playstyles without having to adapt the map cause players have figured out setups that weren’t forseen. But also ensuring the Map won’t just become a pure Cavalry raiding feast as it is too open for the slow counters to work effectively.