Hello there! I am here to share my own personal list of what I deem to be the top five cavalry civilizations in this game. For clarification sake, in here, I define "cavalry" as "any unit from the Stables". This means that mounted units that are not trained on the Stables( Like the Horse Archer ) will not be considered as cavalry( On this case, mostly because I talked about then in lenght on my top 5 archer civilizations list, and I dont want this list to feel too much like a rethread of that list ). However, this bonus will both be looking at the units theirselves, and whatever else the civilization may have that supports it, so, say, if a civilization has a great combo involving a Stable unit and a Archery Range mounted unit for a example, it might still make it into the list. With that said, lets get started:
#1: Yamato.
... I guess this will probably be a unpopular choice here, considering how many people hate the Cavalry-line? But, hear me out here: You see, the Cavalry-line is actually quite powerfull on the early Bronze Age, as it is fairly hard for most civilizations to just have a counter to it sitting on their base right away. The Yamato have both a great economy, making then able to boom up to the Bronze Age very quickly, and also cheaper Cavalry to go with it. So, this does gives then a mighty early Bronze Age Cavalry rush.
Though the Cavalry-line loses momentun on the Iron Age, honestly, I think even Cataphracts are not as bad as people make then out to be, especially after they got buffed in Definitive Edition. I think they are kind of underrated. And the Cataphract/Horse Archer combo, which the Yamato seem to be built around, is similarly a underrated combo that is excellent for hit-and-run tactics.
#2: Shang.
Now, I am mostly a Randon Map player. As such, this list is made, mostly with Randon Map in mind. On this game, because of how weak the Scout is, cavalry only becomes a factor on the Bronze Age. ... Well, can any of you think, off the top of your heads, of a civilization that can hurry to the Bronze Age faster then the Shang? With that said, they have both fully upgraded Cataphracts and Scythe Chariots, so their cavalry will still be viable through the game... Not as good as the Yamato, though, which is why they are below then. Though they are probably about equal in terms of early Bronze Age cavalry rushes.
#3: Persians.
Now, I know what some of you must be wondering: Why are the Persians, this low on the list? Well, you see... Persian economy sucks. It really does. It really, really does. Admittedly, their bonus speed for Elephants is a awesome bonus that helps out Elephants by a lot against some of their counters( Again, like the Macedonians, namelly priests ), but not only does this bonus only becomes relevant later then the Macedonian bonus, but also any time you would gain because of the extra speed of the Elephants is lost because of their complete lack of Bronze Age and Iron Age market technologies.
Interstingly, as of Definitive Edition, they now have Wheel and Coinage, but their speed bonus was lowered to 20%. I-Think-That it was because the developers didnt wanted then to be such a super-specialized Deathmatch civ... But either way, it was not enough... Also, I may have been slightly unfair on their economy in one aspect: IF there happens to be a lot of hunt avaliable in the map, they might be able to make a decent boom to the Bronze Age. Probably not as good as the rest of this list, but good enough for then to still, all in all, deserve to be on this list.
#4: Egyptians.
You know the Yamato Cataphract/Horse Archer combo on the Iron Age? Well, the Egyptians get something very similar right from the Bronze Age, in their Chariot+Charior Archer combo. So, again, some of you might ask, why are the Egyptians so low on this list?
Well, I am about to spout off some unpopular opinions here: I see the "Standart" Chariot( Not the Chariot Archer, though ) as not as good as a rushing unit as the Cavalry-line, as it is easier to start training Short Swordman right away( Wow... I just realised... This unit is actually good for something on this world ) then to shift into Hoplites or Monks. The Chariot-Archer-Is, admittedly, one of the best raiding units one could ask for, but by the end of the day, it is that: A raiding unit. It is not going to win the game by itself, and it is not very good at tackling highly fortified areas, what means that if the opponent has been using a turtle strategy so far, it wont be Chariot Archers that will be the ones to finally force it out of its shell. In many ways, the Egyptians could be seen as almost strictly a Bronze Age civilization, as most of their bonuses kick in on the Bronze Age, and they lack most powerfull Iron Age units. And yes, I know, Scythe Chariots, Chariot Archers and monks all have neat synchrony with eachother, but by the end of it... That is kind of all they have.
#5: The Palmyrians.
Other then rivalling the Shang for their Bronze Age boom, the Palmyrians also have faster Camels. They are this low on the list, though, because their lack of Cataphract and Metallurgy renders their heavy cavalry quite weak on the Iron Age, and in my opinion, no, the Armored Elephant is not good enough to make up for it. But I am aware this is not a big deal for everyone.
IMPORTANT EDIT: I somehow forgot Macedonians lacked Nobility, what is a huge deal for me. That is why they got booted off the list.
#1: Yamato.
... I guess this will probably be a unpopular choice here, considering how many people hate the Cavalry-line? But, hear me out here: You see, the Cavalry-line is actually quite powerfull on the early Bronze Age, as it is fairly hard for most civilizations to just have a counter to it sitting on their base right away. The Yamato have both a great economy, making then able to boom up to the Bronze Age very quickly, and also cheaper Cavalry to go with it. So, this does gives then a mighty early Bronze Age Cavalry rush.
Though the Cavalry-line loses momentun on the Iron Age, honestly, I think even Cataphracts are not as bad as people make then out to be, especially after they got buffed in Definitive Edition. I think they are kind of underrated. And the Cataphract/Horse Archer combo, which the Yamato seem to be built around, is similarly a underrated combo that is excellent for hit-and-run tactics.
#2: Shang.
Now, I am mostly a Randon Map player. As such, this list is made, mostly with Randon Map in mind. On this game, because of how weak the Scout is, cavalry only becomes a factor on the Bronze Age. ... Well, can any of you think, off the top of your heads, of a civilization that can hurry to the Bronze Age faster then the Shang? With that said, they have both fully upgraded Cataphracts and Scythe Chariots, so their cavalry will still be viable through the game... Not as good as the Yamato, though, which is why they are below then. Though they are probably about equal in terms of early Bronze Age cavalry rushes.
#3: Persians.
Now, I know what some of you must be wondering: Why are the Persians, this low on the list? Well, you see... Persian economy sucks. It really does. It really, really does. Admittedly, their bonus speed for Elephants is a awesome bonus that helps out Elephants by a lot against some of their counters( Again, like the Macedonians, namelly priests ), but not only does this bonus only becomes relevant later then the Macedonian bonus, but also any time you would gain because of the extra speed of the Elephants is lost because of their complete lack of Bronze Age and Iron Age market technologies.
Interstingly, as of Definitive Edition, they now have Wheel and Coinage, but their speed bonus was lowered to 20%. I-Think-That it was because the developers didnt wanted then to be such a super-specialized Deathmatch civ... But either way, it was not enough... Also, I may have been slightly unfair on their economy in one aspect: IF there happens to be a lot of hunt avaliable in the map, they might be able to make a decent boom to the Bronze Age. Probably not as good as the rest of this list, but good enough for then to still, all in all, deserve to be on this list.
#4: Egyptians.
You know the Yamato Cataphract/Horse Archer combo on the Iron Age? Well, the Egyptians get something very similar right from the Bronze Age, in their Chariot+Charior Archer combo. So, again, some of you might ask, why are the Egyptians so low on this list?
Well, I am about to spout off some unpopular opinions here: I see the "Standart" Chariot( Not the Chariot Archer, though ) as not as good as a rushing unit as the Cavalry-line, as it is easier to start training Short Swordman right away( Wow... I just realised... This unit is actually good for something on this world ) then to shift into Hoplites or Monks. The Chariot-Archer-Is, admittedly, one of the best raiding units one could ask for, but by the end of the day, it is that: A raiding unit. It is not going to win the game by itself, and it is not very good at tackling highly fortified areas, what means that if the opponent has been using a turtle strategy so far, it wont be Chariot Archers that will be the ones to finally force it out of its shell. In many ways, the Egyptians could be seen as almost strictly a Bronze Age civilization, as most of their bonuses kick in on the Bronze Age, and they lack most powerfull Iron Age units. And yes, I know, Scythe Chariots, Chariot Archers and monks all have neat synchrony with eachother, but by the end of it... That is kind of all they have.
#5: The Palmyrians.
Other then rivalling the Shang for their Bronze Age boom, the Palmyrians also have faster Camels. They are this low on the list, though, because their lack of Cataphract and Metallurgy renders their heavy cavalry quite weak on the Iron Age, and in my opinion, no, the Armored Elephant is not good enough to make up for it. But I am aware this is not a big deal for everyone.
IMPORTANT EDIT: I somehow forgot Macedonians lacked Nobility, what is a huge deal for me. That is why they got booted off the list.
[This message has been edited by Draco_Wolfgand (edited 05-03-2018 @ 09:13 PM).]