This is my extremely risky and difficult strategy for starting out on small maps. The idea is to out eco the enemy but still destroy their units. That is, if you pull it off

Start: one archer and one miner.

send your miner to gold and scout the middle with your archer. If they send:

1 archer and one sword, retreat, and try to kite them back to your base. try to target their swordwrath while they do this, so by the time you reach your base, their swordwrath should be at about half health. DO NOT GARRISON YOUR MINERS.
This is where it gets tricky. Now, you have to dispose of their swordwrath with your archer, and keep swapping out miners to be targeted by their archer. It is essential that no miners die in this stage. then, even if your archer is at half health or so, use the miners as cover while you shoot back at their archer, forcing them to retreat, or die. All this time, you should keep making and healing miners as meatshields. If you manage to pull this off, you should have the middle and still more miners than they do.

Of course, there are some obvious flaws to this start. The amount of control and timing it takes to pull this off without losing any miners is extremely high, and just by losing two miners, you basically lose the game. But the reward is so great should you pull this off that you basically win the game.

Ill provide a replay soon.

www.stickempires.com/play?replay=replay1310873&version=1.62

Not the exact situation that I described, but still shows the basic gist.

moar replays

http://www.stickempires.com/play?replay=replay1396254&version=1.62

EPIC WIN MUST WATCH www.stickempires.com/play?replay=replay1396165&version=1.62

one archer one miner is better on long and medium maps, i highly don't recomended it for long maps

but, of course, he can target your archer instead of the miners first.

Quote from nullhead

but, of course, he can target your archer instead of the miners first.

The miners can block the arrows from the archidon, and the archidon can kite the swordwrath and kill it before it reaches the archidon.

Quote from 12121212121212

The miners can block the arrows from the archidon, and the archidon can kite the swordwrath and kill it before it reaches the archidon.

still, if he chooses to target your archidon first, then targets the miners, that is how the unit does it, there is no way to get around the fact that he can micro his way around hitting miners.

Quote from nullhead

still, if he chooses to target your archidon first, then targets the miners, that is how the unit does it, there is no way to get around the fact that he can micro his way around hitting miners.

Please be more clear :O

by the time you reach your base, the swordwrath should be dead and you can then shoot at the archer from BEHIND the miners.

The sword wrath can't die by kiting if the archer is in front. They can simply camp the middle, with superior army and Eco (1 less miner but they have middle).

Would you camp if the enemy was running with one archer? Im pretty sure most people would try to press for the advantage and kill the enemies miners/archer.

And even if the archer is in front, after a few kite/chase shots by the enemy archer, itll now be behind the sword

I still mean it, if you only have the archer, he can target your archer, and won't attack your miner untill your archer is dead.

Quote from nullhead

I still mean it, if you only have the archer, he can target your archer, and won't attack your miner untill your archer is dead.

He targets the enemy archer with his archer. His archer's arrow flies toward the enemy archer, and is blocked by enemy miner or statue.
He targets the enemy archer with swordwrath. The enemy archer kites and kills the swordwrath.

The enemy might retreat and get reinforcements.....your three miners probably wouldn't have mined for long, while he probably could make a couple of miners and simultaneously train archidons and swordwrath to overwhelm you in quickly gained manpower.

Quote from 12121212121212

He targets the enemy archer with his archer. His archer's arrow flies toward the enemy archer, and is blocked by enemy miner or statue.
He targets the enemy archer with swordwrath. The enemy archer kites and kills the swordwrath.

first of all, I'm pretty sure that if he keeps your miner occupied with the swordwraith while attacking your archidon with his, while you're aiming at the swordwraith with your archidon, you may die, it's just a theory, but I truly don't think miners can block arrows, so I think he can attack with both.

whoa, nice thinking I can't think of counter to this strategy too.

Quote from nullhead

first of all, I'm pretty sure that if he keeps your miner occupied with the swordwraith while attacking your archidon with his, while you're aiming at the swordwraith with your archidon, you may die, it's just a theory, but I truly don't think miners can block arrows, so I think he can attack with both.

Any unit standing in front of another unit can block arrows. Even miners.

Quote from jerrytt

This is my extremely risky and difficult strategy for starting out on small maps. The idea is to out eco the enemy but still destroy their units. That is, if you pull it off

Start: one archer and one miner.

send your miner to gold and scout the middle with your archer. If they send:

1 archer and one sword, retreat, and try to kite them back to your base. try to target their swordwrath while they do this, so by the time you reach your base, their swordwrath should be at about half health. DO NOT GARRISON YOUR MINERS.
This is where it gets tricky. Now, you have to dispose of their swordwrath with your archer, and keep swapping out miners to be targeted by their archer. It is essential that no miners die in this stage. then, even if your archer is at half health or so, use the miners as cover while you shoot back at their archer, forcing them to retreat, or die. All this time, you should keep making and healing miners as meatshields. If you manage to pull this off, you should have the middle and still more miners than they do.

Of course, there are some obvious flaws to this start. The amount of control and timing it takes to pull this off without losing any miners is extremely high, and just by losing two miners, you basically lose the game. But the reward is so great should you pull this off that you basically win the game.

Ill provide a replay soon.

Well, my sword wouldn't be half the health, Yourarchidon would. Cuz i'm a really pro kiter, my archidon can kite foward your archer. So, your archer would go back behind your statue. But anyways, my archer is in front of my sword, and i would be shooting your miners without your archer shooting my archer. If you bring foward your archer to shoot me, i would regroup and my 2 swords will be charging at u (3 if u plan to make spear