What counters Ayyubids in AoE4?

Archers, Crossbowmen, Spearmen, Men-at-Arms. Scout the first Wing: Reinforcement means Raiders at 4:15

Is Ayyubids a good civ in AoE4 right now?

Ayyubids wins 50.5% of ranked 1v1 games across all ranks (about 35,907 games), which puts it in tier B on our tier list.

What are the unique units of Ayyubids?

Atabeg, Bedouin Swordsman, Bedouin Skirmisher, Dervish, Desert Raider, Trade Caravan, Camel Lancer, Ghulam, Manjaniq, Tower of the Sultan. Desert Raider: Versatile camel rider who can switch between ranged and melee modes. Camel Lancer: Heavy camel with a powerful charge attack. Dervish: Mounted religious unit with a powerful heal ability. Manjaniq: Unique Mangonel which can use an Incendiary mode to deal damage in a greatly increased area. Tower of the Sultan: Behemoth siege weapon crewed by archers and equipped with a battering ram

When is Ayyubids strongest?

4:30 — Desert Raider harass from the Reinforcement Wing until minute 7 · 10:20 — Castle: Camel Lancers with healing Dervishes

Ayyubids guide: strengths, counters and build orders

Abbasid variant with Camels and Desert Raiders, ages up with House of Wisdom Wings

Tier B · 50.5% win rate Atabeg Bedouin Swordsman Bedouin Skirmisher Dervish Desert Raider Trade Caravan Camel Lancer Ghulam Manjaniq Tower of the Sultan

Strengths

Desert Raiders switch between ranged and melee, strong in Feudal
Camels reduce damage of nearby enemy cavalry by 20%
Flexible Wings: villagers, resources, free units or upgrades
Golden Age gives +10% gather rate and faster research
Strong siege: Mangonels and the Sultan's Tower

Weaknesses

No boar hunting, all food is berries and sheep
The army needs a lot of gold
Wing choice is final; the Economic Wing dies to a rush
Infantry is weak in Imperial

How to counter Ayyubids

Scout the first Wing: Reinforcement means Raiders at 4:15
Mass Archers and Crossbows against Desert Raiders
Don't fight Camels with cavalry, use Men-at-Arms
Hit the Mills on berries early
Kill the Mangonels and Sultan's Tower with cavalry

Units that work well: Archers · Crossbowmen · Spearmen · Men-at-Arms

Layla's in-game tip: Archers and Spears against Raiders, and don't fight Camels with cavalry

Power spikes and timings

4:30Desert Raider harass from the Reinforcement Wing until minute 7
10:20Castle: Camel Lancers with healing Dervishes

Strongest armies per age (simulator)

Open-field fights in Layla's battle simulator against standard armies of the same cost. Score = resources needed per enemy resource (lower is better; 1.0 is an even trade).

Feudal Age

Bedouin Swordsman0.38
Bedouin Swordsman + Hardened Spearman0.58
Bedouin Swordsman + Archer0.64

Castle Age

Bedouin Swordsman0.45
Bedouin Swordsman + Veteran Spearman0.63
Bedouin Swordsman + Crossbowman0.74

Imperial Age

Bedouin Swordsman0.49
Bedouin Swordsman + Elite Spearman0.64
Bedouin Swordsman + Elite Crossbowman0.73

Civilization bonuses

Camel units reduce damage from nearby enemy horse cavalry by -20%.
Mills constructed near Berry Bushes create Orchards, increasing Food capacity by +100.
Gather from Berry Bushes +25% faster but cannot gather from Boar.
Berry carry capacity increased +3.
Land Traders are -33% cheaper.
Docks are -50% cheaper.
Advance to the next Age without the need for Villagers by upgrading wings on the House of Wisdom.
Choose from 8 different Wings with each unlocking a powerful bonus without requiring any additional upgrade.
The bonus provided by a Wing grows in power when researched in later Ages.
Access special bonuses when entering a Golden Age by constructing buildings within the House of Wisdom's influence.

Landmarks

House of Wisdom (built in Age 1; 50W · 30s) Contains civilization technology for the Ayyubid Dynasty. Ayyubids advance in Ages through the House of Wisdom. Construct wings to advance to the next Age and…
Prayer Hall of Uqba (built in Age 4; 5000F 5000W 5000G 5000S · 600s) Build and defend a Wonder to secure victory. Rival civilizations will be aware of its construction and seek to destroy it.

Ayyubids build orders

Stables and Raiders into fast CastleaggressiveFeudal 4:10
Feudal pressure with Dervish into CastleaggressiveFeudal 4:15

How Layla reads build orders out live

Ayyubids matchups

Best matchups

Hardest matchups

All matchups

vs French55.9% · 8,834
vs Jeanne d'Arc55.8% · 1,180
vs Rus55.2% · 2,899
vs Chinese54.4% · 2,655
vs Mongols54.4% · 2,832
vs Japanese54.1% · 4,010
vs Sengoku Daimyo53.5% · 1,019
vs Jin Dynasty52.3% · 1,511
vs English51.2% · 8,638
vs Holy Roman Empire51.1% · 3,275
vs Byzantines51% · 2,548
vs Abbasid Dynasty50% · 2,033
vs Malians49.6% · 2,315
vs Ottomans49.1% · 3,399
vs House of Lancaster49% · 2,168
vs Golden Horde48.4% · 2,492
vs Order of the Dragon46.3% · 4,153
vs Tughlaq Dynasty46.2% · 1,042
vs Delhi Sultanate45.9% · 1,517
vs Knights Templar45.7% · 7,418
vs Macedonian Dynasty45.2% · 3,443
vs Zhu Xi's Legacy43.7% · 2,433

FAQ

What counters Ayyubids in AoE4?: Archers, Crossbowmen, Spearmen, Men-at-Arms. Scout the first Wing: Reinforcement means Raiders at 4:15
Is Ayyubids a good civ in AoE4 right now?: Ayyubids wins 50.5% of ranked 1v1 games across all ranks (about 35,907 games), which puts it in tier B on our tier list.
What are the unique units of Ayyubids?: Atabeg, Bedouin Swordsman, Bedouin Skirmisher, Dervish, Desert Raider, Trade Caravan, Camel Lancer, Ghulam, Manjaniq, Tower of the Sultan. Desert Raider: Versatile camel rider who can switch between ranged and melee modes. Camel Lancer: Heavy camel with a powerful charge attack. Dervish: Mounted religious unit with a powerful heal ability. Manjaniq: Unique Mangonel which can use an Incendiary mode to deal damage in a greatly increased area. Tower of the Sultan: Behemoth siege weapon crewed by archers and equipped with a battering ram
When is Ayyubids strongest?: 4:30 — Desert Raider harass from the Reinforcement Wing until minute 7 · 10:20 — Castle: Camel Lancers with healing Dervishes

Data from the open game data (aoe4world/data), patch 16.2.10884, public ranked statistics, and Layla Coach's battle simulator. Layla Coach is an independent tool, not affiliated with Microsoft, Relic Entertainment or World's Edge.