For those who don’t know me, and sadly many of you don’t, I’m a civ idea crafter at heart, have been for nearly 2 decades now, but sadly they say Ideas are worthless, which I kinda despise as an idea heavy person. Anyway, Civ Time
Courtesy of Seicing! Go upvote him until he suffocates in butt loads of cash!
Toltecs - Oh boy its the civ I’m the only person I know ever makes. That makes me the cool crafter… right? I’m the cool kid!
The Toltecs were an ethnic group of Pre-Columbian Mexicans that was forced to relocate in the 490s by other Mexican tribes. Though some put it around 674.
They built the city of Tula, which withstood for many years against invading Chichimeca and other tribes and Mexican peoples.
They invented a new forms of sugar and utilized Tortillas for convenient way to transport food for marching armies. This isn’t a joke
Many of the Toltec’s feats are a bit blurred by conflicting codices, but it is known that the Toltecs worked with metallurgy and tended to be ahead of their enemies in military training.
The League of Mayapan formed in 987 in response to Toltec invasion. Quickly thereafter began the decline of Toltec power. They lost territorial control over much of the Yucatan peninsula. In 1122, the Toltec capitol of Tula was burned to ashes and its final defeat followed a Mexica invasion. After the Toltecs fell and Tula was destroyed, large portions of the Yucatan population disappeared and a power vacuum grew in Mexico . It remained for at least a century or so until the Aztecs took to power, building on many of the same tactics and ideas of the Toltecs before them.
The Toltecs as a civ represent a pre-European time when there were no horses and mass diseases. Just lots of spears, swords, macanas and Eagles… too bad the Toltecs didn’t really master them very well. But they’re definitely more defensive than their neighbors and always have been.
Toltecs: A Defensive Civ
- Skirmishers +1 damage vs archers per age (+ 3total)
When the name of the game is enemy Mayapan, you gotta think about stopping Archer Rushes and FAST. This bonus is brutal, perhaps too much so? Either way it deters archer play. If too much, reduce damage at points.
- Start +75w, 75s
A defensive Tula with the finest walls and forested wood.
- Town Center Techs have 60% less cost and research time (excludes Age up)
Not the most historical but don’t underestimate this bonus. You’ll find that not only are you 75w and 50s ahead of your enemies, when you click Loom you are also 15s and 30g ahead leaving extra gold for Drush militia. It’s no Viking Wheelbarrow bonus but don’t underestimate it!
Team Bonus: Blacksmith, Dock, Monastery 2x build speed
Workrate is overrated and used a few times as is. Great for getting the smithing up faster and if you build both faster you’re on your way up the Ages that much faster. Also decent for water maps
So far it has a decent early age. Let’s give it some tech tree!
Missing Techs:
- Barracks: Elite Eagle Warrior
- Archery Range: Cavalry Archer, Hand Cannoneer, Parthian Tactics, Elephant Archer
- Stable: All of it!
- Siege Workshop: Heavy Scorpion, Bombard Cannon
- Blacksmith: Scale Barding
- University: Bombard Tower, Heated Shot
- Dock: Heavy Demo Ship, Cannon Galley
- Monastery: Fervor, Faith
- Economy: /
- Castle: Sappers
There it is. The missing eagle. A majestic Elite upgrade and you can’t get it! You get nothing! Well, do you? You get almost everything else a meso gets it seems. But lets run some unique features.
UU: Xochilite - Half pop archer with the power to kill siege but no other bonus damages.
| Xochilite | Stats | Elite |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 25 | 30 |
| Attack (Pierce) | 3 (+5 vs Siege) | 4 (+8 vs Siege) |
| Range | 5 | 5 |
| LoS | 8 | 8 |
| Movespeed | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Armor | -1/-1 | 0/-1 |
| Cost | 25w/15g | |
| Train Time | 9 | 8 |
| To Elite | 600w/550g | 35s |
The basic gist is that Queen Xochitl, in a desperate, move gathered many Toltec women and trained them for war in a desperate bid to win against the Mayapan. She lost and died in the battle so these units being half effective but almost everywhere feels kind of fitting. While they weren’t archers specifically, this civ could benefit from the anti-siege power very specifically.
UT 1: Tortilla - Food income increased by 20%. Farmers no longer need to move around the farm while they gather food.
400f/400w, 45s
Don’t laugh, Tortillas were like flour based bags to carry your rations in. Just eat your carrying case while fighting on the go!
UT 2: Metallurgy - Melee units charge up an attack that deals 5 more damage every 25 seconds. +2 for ranged (+1 for skirms), buildings and galleys and they get attack range +1 range as though you researched another Bracer tech.
Cost: 1250f, 800g
Maybe it’s not expensive enough but to present the punch that these guys were usually ahead weaponwise compared to the rest of Mesoamerica is quite the point I’m trying to get at here. It’s also a major overcompensation for the loss of Elite Eagles. Years ago this effect was simply just Blast Furnace and Bracer but that doesn’t work in today’s Definitive settings
Strategy: You know your window. It’s earlier than later, and it sorta opens up again really late in the game once you have your UT. The power spike is kinda like a canyon, strong early, strong very VERY end game. Early on, Skirm and Spear is a safe combination, enemy depending. Foes who rely on archery strats are going to not like fighting you although Britons can easily outrange your lack of a super fast reliable Elite Eagle eventually. There’s plenty of options from Halbs with extra damage to Arbs and Skirms and of course flooding the map with Xoch archers, but wait, I forgot a ‘unique’ building. Hold on, this is how you push forward!
UB: Toltecatl - An artisan building. Costs 150w/25g has 1200Hp and grants all nearby buildings extra bonus damage resistance and regen. Multiples will not stack up the effect.
So now you know where their late game might comes from. This civ is a slower pushing power that forward builds as they try to gain grounds instead of raiding their way forward.
Best of luck dear Toltecs!
