Coustillier

One way to maximize the usefulness of its charge attack is to hit-and-run, and this way, Coustilliers are able to diminish even armies of Halberdiers if the timing of the charge is correct. This quirk makes Coustilliers extremely useful against slow-moving units as well; however, micromanagement is very important. Because of this, the best counters against Coustilliers are Camel Riders and Knights, or by outnumbering them with Halberdiers. Monks are also a good counter, as a lone non-Elite Coustillier will always need at least three attacks to kill a Monk with Sanctity, though two charged attacks will take a Monk out. An Elite Coustillier can kill a Monk in two hits (one charged, one normal), but if a Monk successfully converts a Coustillier, the newly converted unit will attack their fellow cavalry with their charge, potentially ruining the momentum of the attack. If used for sustained attacks, Coustilliers are inferior to the Knight line, even if the charge attack is taken into account. This is due to its inferior normal attack and rate of fire compared to the Knight-line. Also, Coustilliers have fewer hit points. Factoring in charge attacks in sustained combat, the standard version can be thought to have +1.19 attack and the Elite version has +1.42 attack, for a total of 10.19 and 12.42 respectively. While the Coustillier can rival the Burgundian Cavalier (the latter has +5 hit points), the Elite Coustillier steeply falls off compared to the Paladin (the latter has +15 hit points and +1 pierce armor; ability to retain value in sustained combat and against buildings), even before considering the cheap Paladin upgrade. However, Coustilliers have a significant advantage, as their cheap cost will make them easier to mass. Also, they do not have to be upgraded in the Castle Age, while the Cavalier upgrade needs some time to research. Despite being subpar to Burgundian Paladins, they can still defeat Celtic and Byzantine Paladins, and crush all non–Bulgarian Cavaliers. When facing some unique cavalry like Cataphracts and Tarkans, Coustilliers can still beat them, and they even cost less. At most times, Cavaliers are preferred in the Castle Age, but if the enemy is an archer- or some infantry–based civilization, Coustilliers perform better than Cavaliers, since their charge attack will be deadly for most archers, and to some degree infantry. They cannot strike down Crossbowmen with a single hit if any armor technologies are researched for the Crossbowmen, but it will be enough to kill them with another common attack. The same goes for the Elite Coustillier against the Arbalester; if the Arbalester has any armor technologies, the Elite Coustillier's charged attack will leave an Arbalester low enough that another standard attack will finish the job. While they are slower than Cavalry Archers, Coustilliers are still a good option to kill Cavalry Archers, as they have enough pierce armor to resist the arrow from the latter. Also, kiting the Coustilliers will give time for them to reload the charge time, giving a potential threat for Cavalry Archers, which are also fragile to the charge attack. Probably one of the best uses of the Coustillier is as a raiding unit, since its charge attack enables them to kill Villagers with Loom with three strikes (two as Elites, or with two charged attacks even for non-Elites), so a powerful strategy is to attract attention at another front so the enemy army is busy dealing with a distraction and then attack the back of the opponent settlement with the Coustilliers. The focus should be on the Villagers only, and not the buildings. This way, the player can diminish the opponent's economy very quickly.