How to beat
Maliansas Abbasid Dynasty
Matchup tips
Mass melee blob is not that great against Malians historically. Their army is all ranged, even the Donso are ranged, and Donso have more effective HP than standard spears, so they don't die as quickly.
Against a Freeborn attack, keeping your TCs condensed is worse; having a spread out TC can provide smuggled economy that keeps you functional while your main base is being dove.
Building Camel Archers against an anti-range unit like Freeborn Warriors is comical.
Abbasid could potentially try three TC, but I feel like that just gives the timing Castle Age to Malians a little bit too much.
Ghulams are a perfect answer to archers, but they don't trade effectively against Sofas. Sofas have bonus melee damage against infantry, and with their high melee armor, they are nearly perfect against Ghulams.
As Abbasid, avoid Pro Scouts against Malians; a Military Wing opening is strong because you can use the forward gold for pressure.
As Abbasid, avoid opening with a ram against Malians because Warrior Scouts get bonus damage against siege.
As Abbasid, you should try to extend the Feudal Age with pressure, like opening Military Wing into Town Centers, because Malians will be focused on getting pro scouts online.
Musofadi Warriors are not effective against mass archers.
Poison arrows make Malian archers better against armor, but they struggle against mass archers, especially Abbasid composite bow archers.
It can't just be Musofadi Warriors and Freeborn; there's a good answer to that with Camel Riders. Those can deal pretty well with the Musofadi warriors. On top of that, Camel Archers also do bonus damage against the Musofadi Warriors.
If you're getting just a couple of either Camel Archers or even Camel Riders up, you can get the upgrade for the Abbasid where the camels get more movement speed, then you're able to actually catch up to these Warrior Scouts and kill them.
Malians Unique Units
Malians Landmarks
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