Worked out · AoE3: DE 100.19.18309
Army builds for every civilization
For each of the 24 civilizations, three plans worked out from the game's numbers: colonial pressure (fight in the Colonial Age with two units and the Colonial shipments that bring more of them), fortress push (age up twice and fight in the Fortress Age with three units, shipments and upgrade cards) and economic boom (send the economy cards first, reach the Industrial Age and fight with its three-unit army). Each has the army that answers the most enemy units for the same resources, the age-ups that hand over the most, the cards to send in order and a full deck. Strongest Fortress army: Chinese (Arquebusier, Qiang Pikeman, Steppe Rider; beats 91% of 119 units).
This section as JSON: /raw/builds.json
| Civilization | Colonial pressure | Fortress push | Economic boom | Fortress edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chinese |   75% |  91% | 91% | ×2.23 |
 Spanish |   74% |    89% | 89% | ×2.12 |
 Dutch | 65% |  98% | 98% | ×2.1 |
 French |  87% | 98% | 98% | ×2.1 |
 Italians | 87% | 98% | 98% | ×2.1 |
 Danes | 87% | 98% | 98% | ×2.1 |
 Portuguese | 87% |  98% |  98% | ×2.04 |
 Hausa |   96% |  96% | 96% | ×2.03 |
 Haudenosaunee |   88% |  98% | 98% | ×2.01 |
 Ethiopians |  96% | 96% | 96% | ×1.98 |
 Aztecs |   87% |  95% | 95% | ×1.97 |
 Germans |  66% | 87% | 87% | ×1.96 |
 Lakota |   97% |  98% | 98% | ×1.94 |
 Mexicans |   97% |   98% | 98% | ×1.93 |
 Russians |   91% |  99% | 99% | ×1.91 |
 British | 87% | 87% | 87% | ×1.91 |
 Swedes | 65% | 87% | 87% | ×1.91 |
 United States |  97% |  98% | 98% | ×1.9 |
 Poles |  65% | 87% | 87% | ×1.9 |
 Maltese |  77% | 97% | 97% | ×1.88 |
 Indians |   77% |  84% | 85% | ×1.74 |
 Ottomans |   79% | 94% | 94% | ×1.72 |
 Japanese |   78% |  92% | 93% | ×1.71 |
 Inca |   52% |  96% | 96% | ×1.59 |
How this is worked out
An army is the mix of the civilization's own regular units that, training the right one against each enemy unit, has the highest average edge (geometric mean) over every regular unit of every civilization out by that age. Edge = √ of the strength ratio for the same resources by Lanchester's square law (strength = (resources ÷ cost)² × damage per second × hit points). The percentage is the share of enemy units it beats; Fortress edge is that army's average.
Base stats: upgrades, civilization bonuses, range, speed, area damage and abilities are not modelled. These plans are what the numbers favour, not build orders from top players.