Magadha/Strategic Overview


 * Strengths: Good economic bonuses, access to some strong units.
 * Weaknesses: Very few heavy units, cavalry component is too slow and inflexible, predictable gameplay. No mercenaries. Poor wonder selection.

By far and large, Magadha's army — a traditional Indian one — is noteworthy of several things. Firstly, it has a strong navy as well as siege capability (which is in full contrast compared with Gandhara, which is more reliant on mercenaries). Magadha is notable for its use of siege weapons just like the Greeks, which provide her with a powerful means of taking enemy cities — if the elephants don't prevail, then the catapults, along with other siege weapons like mantlets and battering rams, will make short work of them. However, the near-lack of proper heavy units — except for two units or so — as well as the lack of mercenaries means that Magadha in the field often tends to lack staying power, especially since there is no proper access to horse cavalry for Magadha. While Magadha has powerful Heavy Chariots and Varu, their slow speed, and their vulnerability to missile weapons makes them very questionable and difficult to use. Magadha nevertheless has access to Longbowmen (shared with her sister-civ, Gandhara) who in theory can help even the odds and protect your costlier cavalry unti they are separated and cut down.

Despite her cultural sophistication, Magadha is still considered fairly backward owing to her lack of wonders. True, Magadha has more wonders than other "Indian" factions such as the Skythoi and the Tokharoi — yet such a limited number of Wonders will forever damn her ability to negotiate an allied victory to frustration. Against Magadha, it is important to remember that they rely on poor-quality infantry, as well as super-heavy cavalry. One method, as an Indian or Persian player, is to use the same weapons that they have against them — the Achaemenid Harma Drepanephore is thus optimal for use against Magadha as it is against Gandhara, and hoplite-heavy Greek factions. If that isn't enough, then use cavalry — even Greek Hippeis Thessalikoi can work wonders against Magadha armies owing to the inferior quality of their horsemen. For this reason, Magadha is not suited towards turtling, but is instead meant best for militaristic booming. Use your cities' awesome abilities to make them more efficient, thus claiming more land for your farms, and then flooding the enemy with your awesome armies backed by elephants and chariots in the van. Magadha is best used for military strategies — either seize vast tracts of land, or blitz the enemy capitals one by one without any letup until victory or death.