1 Big SoD vs. Several Smaller SoD's?

[Mudcrab]

I favour multiple stacks unless it's an early rush. If you try for more than 1 on an early rush, you eat too much time, and you lose advantage of the rush.
Minumum standard for multi stacks is dependent on diplomacy :
A - if you got your target to fight another war with an AI, then 2 stacks of city attackers/garrison. Your target should have spent its main Stack on the other AI.
B - if you cannot get them to declare, then 2 stacks; one defenders/pillagers and one city attackers/garrison.
Option A is self explanatory. The target does not have a strong counter stack because it was used against the other AI, so you can concentrate on taking citys with a combo of siege, city attackers and city garrisons.
Option B requires the target to be mislead into attacking the defensive stack while the city attackers/garrison moves to their target. Use the defenders stack on suitable defensive terrain with suitable promotions, and try to make them come from the opposite or diagonal of the city stack. You will proabably need to move the defender stack a few moves into AI territory, and you will probably need to sacrifice some individual units by moving them out of the stack as bait. I have noticed a few times a defender stack being left alone until I dangle the bait. The pillagers are best used for bait, especially a few old horse archers or chariots (low XP value if killed).

 

[pfo]

The goal should be to maximize your units.

If you want to take 3 cities from an enemy, and you have a huge stack, breaking them up into 2 stacks to hit two cities at a time might be advisable. Only do this if you are very certain that breaking up the stacks won't make them too vulnerable.

If you have a huge stack and slowly go into their empire with it, you might be wasting turns, because many of those units might not even be necessary to take a city. Multiple stacks will also require your enemy to break up their defensive stacks, or give you an easier chance at taking cities.

I've found that a two pronged, possibly three pronged assault can really devastate an enemy.

 

[Xellos-_^]

The goal should be to maximize your units.

If you want to take 3 cities from an enemy, and you have a huge stack, breaking them up into 2 stacks to hit two cities at a time might be advisable. Only do this if you are very certain that breaking up the stacks won't make them too vulnerable.

If you have a huge stack and slowly go into their empire with it, you might be wasting turns, because many of those units might not even be necessary to take a city. Multiple stacks will also require your enemy to break up their defensive stacks, or give you an easier chance at taking cities.

I've found that a two pronged, possibly three pronged assault can really devastate an enemy.

that works only after you smash the enemies own SoD. Smash the enemy SoD then split up into multi stacks

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Tech-advanced units make the AI cower a bit too. I've gone 2-3 pronged attacks to save time. I especially prefer doing that with non-mounted, because otherwise wars on normal can take an eternity.

Ironically once you have the outlay of a navy, intercontinental strikes can be FASTER than wars on land, since it's often possible to drop freshly produced mini-stacks on multiple flanks, after you big one murdered the SoD. Time traveling the seas is negated, sometimes completely, by time saved trudging through enemy culture.

 

[Xellos-_^]

Tech-advanced units make the AI cower a bit too. I've gone 2-3 pronged attacks to save time. I especially prefer doing that with non-mounted, because otherwise wars on normal can take an eternity.

Ironically once you have the outlay of a navy, intercontinental strikes can be FASTER than wars on land, since it's often possible to drop freshly produced mini-stacks on multiple flanks, after you big one murdered the SoD. Time traveling the seas is negated, sometimes completely, by time saved trudging through enemy culture.

i agree about the sea travel but then you have to built a lot galleons and frigates to protect the galleons which cuts back on your land units. i rather but a massive slow land army and only a few navel unit to protect against a attack form the sea.

 

[say1988]

Whatever is safe and most efficient to kill the enemy. There is a minimum safe size for each foe, and a maximum size where troops are just idle, the more you can send in that range to different parts of the enemy the better. Early on though economics tends to dictate just one or possibly a second small stack.

 

[Dhaulagiri]

A seperate pillage mini-stack is pretty effective. Use 2 mounted units and 2 defensive units and send it deep into enemy territory while your main stack(s) is bogged down with seigeing cities and healing. Pillage every resource. Even non-strategics can be traded for iron/horses/ivory. It really weakens their resistance for your main stack. It also hurts other AI's that were trading for those resources.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

i agree about the sea travel but then you have to built a lot galleons and frigates to protect the galleons which cuts back on your land units. i rather but a massive slow land army and only a few navel unit to protect against a attack form the sea.

No...the transportation is a sunk cost here. If your initial landing isn't big enough to last, then you'll just lose your invasion stack to superior AI numbers and have to start over. If it IS big enough, then you don't need special effort to land in new places.

Note: At the expense of losing more units due to amphibious attacks, it's usually possible to destroy the AI naval SoD the turn you declare, which is a often very favorable K/D as a result despite heavy amphibious losses.