Aigyptoi/Strategic Overview

When it comes to military matters, the Aigyptoi are very deficient. The bulk of the Aigyptiot army consists mainly of vintage New Kingdom designs - the time-honoured Light Chariot, shared with the Nubians to the south, as well as the usual spearmen, axemen and archers that typified Aigyptiot armies ever since the days of the Pyramids. It goes without saying that owing to Aigyptos' own seemingly god-like fertility, it can be played like a cheaper and faster-building version of the Achaemenids, but is vastly inferior owing to the lack of good mercenaries or cavalry.

The Aigyptiot civ does have access to Greek-stype shipping, and can also bring in a couple of Aethiopian or Hellenic mercenaries, but it is overall a civ that works only in the early game, and while it can build a few Wonders, it is not going to help it in any way or form at all. Wonders Aigyptos does have, but these are probably more useful for speeding up the task of obtaining an early to mid-game victory. Of the 17-odd wonders, the Aigyptoi have access to four: the Ammonium, Grand Library, Mausoleum Complex and Asklepeion. Broadly put, the Grand Library improves early game research, the Ammonium and Asklepeion serve to protect your cities and your units while the Mausoleum Complex is helpful for increasing your Metal gather rate and your units' affordability. As a result, when it comes to Wonders, the main task of Aigyptos is simple - build all four Wonders, wherever possible, to prevent enemies from gaining a Wonder victory, and then use the boons granted by the former to build as massive an army as possible. Otherwise there is always the danger that the Aigyptiot player can be overwhelmed either by the might of the Persians or one of the Indian factions, or a civ with advanced units such as Macedon or Athenai.