Command An Army counters
Nobody wins this game by bringing the most expensive troops. They win by bringing the right ones. This is the counter chart with the reasoning kept in, so you can adapt it when the balance patch lands.
The core loop
There is no strongest unit in this game, only countered ones. The core cycle is shield beats spear, spear beats cavalry, cavalry beats ranged. Break-shield damage (Mace, Halberdier, Hammer) and ranged fire are the two keys that break it.
- SpearmanShieldmanPolearms beat cavalry, but they have no answer to shields.
- CavalrySpearmanCavalry slaughters ranged units, but charging polearms head-on is suicide.
- ArcherCavalryRanged units work against most ground troops, and fear only cavalry closing the distance.
- ShieldmanRangedBreak-shield units (Hammer, Mace, Halberdier) beat shield lines, but ranged units treat them as targets.
Fixed problems, fixed answers
These are the four situations that decide most matches, with the answers that actually came up in gameplay.
The enemy holds a full row of Spartans with circle formation up
Do this- Mace plus a charge, to scatter the formation
- Halberdier breaking it with block damage
- Samurai once the enemy ranged units are cleared
Not this- Fighting it head-on with Berserker
- Charging it with Lancer
- Sending Mercenary or Spearman in alone
Confidence: community
Enemy Flaming Archers are burning straight through my frontline
Do this- Lancer or Scout Rider swinging behind to decapitate them
- Absorb the first volley with shields, then push
- Move your own ranged units behind cover
Not this- Walking Berserker or Samurai into the burn from the front
- Leaving archers in the open
Confidence: community
A stack of spear militia, 30 at a time
Do this- Meet it with another spear stack
- Open with Mace or Spartan, then charge in
- Thin the numbers with ranged fire before contact
Not this- Charging cavalry into the spear stack
Confidence: single
A high-DPS Samurai push
Do this- Focus it with Flaming Archers and Crossbowman
- Flank it with Lancer
- Hold it with a shield line while ranged units work
Not this- Trading low-star melee into it
Confidence: community
Unit by unit
Why this chart keeps moving
The game patches weekly, and one balance pass can invert a matchup: Fire Archer attack range was cut from 405 to 300 and it went from untouchable to merely the best ranged option. That is exactly the kind of change that rewrites the answers here, so treat every entry as a dated snapshot rather than a law.
You can test any claim on this page in a single match. Bring the suspected counter alongside the unit it is meant to beat, order the counter to attack, and see whether the trade goes your way with equal star costs on both sides. If it does not, the chart has aged and the page needs correcting, which is what the contact address exists for.
Counter FAQ
- What beats a stack of Spartans?
- Mace with a charge to break the formation, Halberdier for block damage, or Samurai once the enemy ranged units are cleared. Do not send Berserkers or Lancers into them head on.
- What beats Fire Archer spam?
- Lancer or Scout Rider flanking into the back line, or a shield line that eats the first volley while your own ranged units work. Fire Archers lose to cavalry once they are reached.
- Is there one best unit?
- No. The core loop is shield beats spear, spear beats cavalry and cavalry beats ranged, with shield-breakers and ranged fire as the two ways to break that loop.
- Why do you label some matchups as single source?
- Because one creator stated them in a gameplay breakdown and no second independent source confirms them. They are useful, but they are not settled facts, and the game is patched weekly.