Depends on what you want, they are a lot of good civs but some of them are slightly different and fit into different overall strategies.
Just saying early war isn't that specific
people have different ways of going about it.
If you want to just have a powerful unit and not really have to think to much go with Rome, like someone said you just pump them out and ppl die, they are pretty hard to counter, but the leaders kinda got nerfed.
What is early too you also?
like 10 turns or a 100 heh
Darius is good money wise but that's just because his traits are ******ed, I despise the Immortal, people love it, I hate it, it obsoletes extremely quickly and even though it gets a +50% vs. Archers I find if the archers are promoted in a capital you take heavy heavy losses and if it's on a hill or holy your better off just leaving it be because your gonna lose more then it's worth, it's also just about one of the easiest units to counter.
Boudica is a absolute monster in military matters but she lacks anyway to support her economy so you have to be good with money and running a decent economic infastructure.
It changes based on if you want to run a CE/SE also.
My absolute favorite warmonger is Shaka of Zululand, he's the one people don't give enough credit
He's like the powerhouse no one talks about so he wont get nerfed haha
If you wanna talk about synergy and early warfare/rushing you can't do much better then Shaka, he's a beast and if the AI is using him on Aggressive AI on a higher difficulty.. watch out.
Shaka:
- Traits -
Aggressive: This allows him to build his Unique Building which replaces a barracks at half cost, it also allows him half speed drydocks in the later game, but what your looking for is the free Combat I promotion which allows him to instantly specialize his units with City Raider, Medic, Shock, Cover etc.
Expansive: This allows him to get workers out with a 25% bonus to hammer production which translates into earlier hook up of copper and quicker chopping to rush build your army, he also is allowed granaries at half cost which allows him to start using the slavery civic effectively in addition to the chopping to really spit out some elite units before anyone else.
- Unique Unit / Unique Building -
Unique Unit: His Unique Unit is a Spearman that gets 2 Movemant and a Mobility Promotion, this allows you to have a excellent mobile medic or spit out a few and rush into there borders over any terrain and cut off any strategic resources they may be in the process of hooking up, makes an excellent pillager. (This unit is very strong in its own right, unlike the praetorian though it takes more subtlety and tactic)
Unique Building: His Unique Building replaces the barracks but grants an additional -20% to city maintenance, this is huge in the early game since most people wont be able to access this kind of ability till Code of Laws, you'll be conquering a lot of land through warfare as Shaka and this allows you to maintain those cities instead of just razing them, very, very powerful building. (Considered one of the strongest UB's in the game.)
When you look at Shaka on paper he seems just average, he looks decent but nothing that really pops out at you and that's what makes him so great, most people don't complain about Shaka because most people don't know how to use him right
- Starting Techs -
Hunting: Most people don't like to start with Hunting but with Shaka it fits perfectly, it allows him an early scout to pop a few huts for gold to finance your early expeditions, it allows him to quickly find his enemies and it also opens up his Unique Unit right out of the gate to further increase the speed at which you can get it speeding across the map.
Agriculture: Agriculture is a pretty decent starting tech, your going to need it no matter what so it's nice to start with it, it also allows you to get your food production going immediately to start whipping and making good use and fast recovery of your whip and get the most out of your half cost granaries.
His strength doesn't come from a super powerful unit, or a super powerful building or trait combo, his power comes from his synergy, he's an absolute monster at early rushing. He doesn't rely on any one unit or any one trait, his power comes from all of it coming together perfectly, to one aim, early domination
I don't think I've *ever* lost a game as Shaka, if you try him remember if you don't take advantage of some early whipping/chopping and a good axe rush with a couple impi to use as pillagers your wasting him.
Using the Impi correctly will take some practice but once you figure the unit out it is quiet devastating, the speed at which it can reach the enemy is what makes it powerful, its mobility and its lack of a real counter to its pillaging, a axeman cant catch it and a horse cant kill it.
Shaka just has such great synergy he can dominate as a nation not as a single unit, you'll be powerful through the entire early stage of the game, you don't just commit yourself to one strategy, you can just play a game geared towards early rushing with the happy knowledge you can do it faster and better then the other guy.
Someone recently Quecha rushed me while I was playing Shaka, he thought it was a good strategy.. He admittedly got to me before I could get any copper hooked up, but because Shaka is Aggressive he was essential just matching my warriors 1:1.. You could do that with any aggressive leader most players don't build archers so it was totally pointless, I just massed warriors lined them up and fortified them and used them to guard a worker while it hooked up copper and then he ran for the hills.
Thats whats good about Shaka, there is nothing risky about using him, you play and you win, your just more efficient at pumping out units and maintaining a stretching empire then anyone else in the early game.
Granted, if you run into Rome you better know what your doing
Just use Shock axes match um up 1:1 and you should be fine, also use the Impi to pillage his iron mines and break his roads around his cities/Iron just keep him crippled and he will become a docile creature, your shock axeman you can get out of the gate should be enough to fend of praetorians and he'll sue for peace just to get your Impis out of his land, it's very annoying to have Impis running across your territory destroying everything.
weaker against archers and ziggeruats allow you keep those cities. If we don't consider unrestricted leaders then Gilgamesh is still pretty good but basically forces you to rush to get the most out of it. Boudica of Rome will allow play always war wants you get iron working though you'll have to raze pretty much everything.
