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OK, the Carthaginian economic system isn't the best in the game. They don't receive huge bonusses like Shang or Phoeni but they also don't lack woodupgrades like Persia or the wheel like Macedonia. Besides, civs like Hittite and Sumerian also don't get economic bonusses but nobody complains when they get them from the random civ God. I think in an economic point of view, Carthage is OK, nothing more, nothing less.
Carthage gets all the tool age units but that's no big deal since most other civs get them too.
This is probably the reason why nobody likes Carthage, they don't get CA's or compies. "So what?" I'd say, Carthage has a lot of other good units. Their hoppers aren't as fast as the Greek ones but they have 25% more HP. And the Carthaginian stable is OK too: both camels and cavs are available. Sure the range only offers the improved bowman but what do you need archers for with such a stable? But if you really need missile fire then I suggest some offensive towering. They also have broad swordsmen available in Bronze what can't be said of Greek.
Carthage really peaks in this time frame. They have on of the best fleets with those aggressive fire galleys and fully upgradable triremes. Their stable offers 750 HP armored eles and heavy cavalry. And while archers were as good as unavailable in bronze, Carthage has plenty of them available in iron: HA's and EA's. They don't have cats but they have fully upgradable heles. Infantry you say? What about this: 200 HP cents and long swordsmen.
Carthage doesn't have archers in bronze and cats in iron. Besides that they don't get scythe chariots so they are always gold dependant.
I usually play them like this: I go for a mediocre boom and always keep ironing in the back of my mind. In bronze age I use camels and hoppers in combination with stone throwers. In Iron there are a lot of posibilities. Usually I go for war eles and heles in combination with some raiding HA's. If I need fast hand-to-hand units I throw some heavy cavs in the battle. IMO Carthage is a fine civ and I sure gonna play them some more in the very near future.
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