With now the Sofa transition, those Sofas are going to be dealing with your archers very quickly and Sofa raids can be so annoying, especially when you're out on the map trying to get the resource.

French should go for a fast age-up without wheelbarrow to get knights quickly because Malians spiral out of control if you don't land early damage.

Making a limited number of knights and more archers is a responsible choice against Malians because they will double down on Donzos.

Placing a Red Palace on the 8K gold vein next to the sacred site is excellent against an opponent who makes invisible units.

You need Arbalétrier to effectively counter Sofas; regular archers just aren't going to cut it.