Magyars/Strategic Overview

Magyars are the weakest of all the Turkic factions. Unlike the all-powerful Khazars or the Turks, they also can't recruit many mercenaries, beyond the odd Slavic Raider. In contrast, the Khazar khanate attracts many powerful units, and can even host Roman turncoats for its wars. But there is one trick the Magyars have and it is replacing their Steppe Nomads with heavy Kiseret cavalry. This provides them with some flexibility in dealing with different factions, depending on what their needs are.
 * Strengths: Strong expansionist streak, higher population cap grants for larger armies and booming. Access to good cavalry.
 * Weaknesses: Somewhat underpowered and technologically backward, predictable playstyle, especially on water maps.

The most important thing to remember about the Magyars is that early game map control is important. Because Magyar cities are cheaper and they also have access to a greater pool of manpower, it behooves the Magyar player to boom as quickly as possible. Faster villagers means faster resource gathering, which in turn should be invested in expanding the number of cities you control -- especially moreso, since cities in New World Empires are extremely expensive to create. This fast city boom should in turn translate into armies of larger size, which when backed up by your signature heavy cavalry, should find it easy to beat back the smaller armies of other factions wherever you encounter them. The only issue with the Magyars then is their near-lack of technological advancement: this is especially moreso on water maps where the Magyars don't have any proper naval units to speak of. Like the Turks, the Magyars function best on maps with vast tracts of open land where they can expand quickly without needing to jump through the logistical hoops associated with water maps.