Aztecs (Age of Empires II)/Strategy

The Aztecs are an Infantry and Monk oriented civilization.

Strengths
Their free Loom frees up gold in the Dark Age, allowing them to train five militia without having to task any villagers to mine gold. This, combined with their faster military buildings, allows them to perform a Dark Age rush more effectively than other civilizations.

Their unique technology, Garland Wars, increases the attack of all infantry by four. This gives all of their infantry massive attack compared to those of other civilizations. Their unique unit, the Jaguar Warrior, benefits greatly from this. The Jaguar Warrior already has a large attack and a bonus against other infantry. When coupled with their unique technology they can defeat any other infantry unit in the game. Their Monks are also the best in the game. The Aztecs can research every single Monastery technology, and their monks receive extra hitpoints every time one is researched. In some situations, this bonus is of somewhat questionable value, but with all monk technologies researched an Aztec monk has ninety-five HP.

Any relics captured by the Aztecs or their teammates generates gold 33% faster, which is very helpful if the player's team has a lot of relics. In the late game, they have access to Siege Rams and Siege Onagers.

Weaknesses
The Aztecs' total lack of cavalry or gunpowder puts them at a huge disadvantage in the late game. While Eagle Warriors make decent cavalry substitutes in the Castle Age and early Imperial Age, they don't have a lot of HP so are easily outmatched by Paladins and they cost a lot of gold, unlike Hussars. While Aztec Pikemen have greater basic attack than other civilizations' Halberdiers, they are nowhere near generally as effective against cavalry. This further compounds the problem of the Aztecs' lack of cavalry.

The Aztecs have the weakest navy in the game as they are the only civilization which cannot make Galleons and cannot create Demolition Ships either which causes them to be extremely weak on water maps in the Imperial Age.

They also have a relatively weak defence because they are unable to build Keeps or Bombard Towers. Also, Aztecs lack Architecture, Hoardings, and even Masonry.

Strategy
Aztecs have a very effective five Militia Dark Age rush (drush) as they get Loom for free, and military units create faster. A standard drush consists of three Militia, so Aztecs get a large advantage here, especially when the opponent is also drushing. In a 1v1, Aztec players should almost always drush, as it is one of their key advantages and makes up for potential struggling later on.

Aztecs have a powerful economic advantage because of their Villager carrying bonus, and if the player choose not to drush, this combined with the extra gold can make a large economic difference. This helps make up for the fact that Aztecs lack Scouts in the Feudal age. In the Castle and Imperial Age, an aztec player must use Monks, Eagle Warriors, Jaguar Warriors and Champions as needed. Monks can deter Cavalry charges with proper support, Eagle Warriors are great against Archers and for raiding, and Jaguar Warriors can easily defeat other Infantry, especially Champions who have a bonus against Eagle Warriors. The player must mix Siege Onagers and Siege Rams in its  army for better results.

In team games, Aztec players should generally try to play in the pocket position (between two allies), focus on economic booming, and try to get to the Imperial age as fast as reasonably possible. Once in the Imperial age,  the player must focus on gold production (relics are good because of the Aztec team bonus) and mass-produce large numbers of Garland Wars boosted Elite Eagle Warriors for raiding. If the opponent is using lots of heavy Cavalry, the player must make Monks to convert them, as Cavalry can quickly overrun Eagle Warriors. The main strength of Eagles is their speed and resistance to arrow fire, allowing them to run under Castles and Town Centers with impunity. It is important to not let the game drag on too long, as there is very little Aztecs can do in the Post-Imperial Age.

Aztecs should try to keep their feet dry where possible, as they have indisputably the worst Navy in the game. Lacking Galleons, Cannon Galleons, and Demolition Ships, their only hope is to take over the water before the foe can get the Galleons upgrade. On primarily sea-based maps, it is vitally important to control the water from early game, since War Galleys stand no chance going up against an army of Galleons. Fire Ships are good for taking the water and holding it, since Aztecs fortunately get Fast Fire Ships and all the relevant technologies.

If the player is  forced to go defensive as Aztecs,  he or she must use Monks and building walls. Lacking Masonry, Architecture and Hoardings their Castles go down extremely fast, and should never be relied on for defense.

Strategy changes in The Forgotten
Despite the loss of their free loom bonus (replaced with +50 gold at start), the Aztecs are still a good rushing civilization. Their new unique tech Atlatl Improves the range and damage of their Skirmishers, making them one of the best Skirmishers in the game.

Strategy changes in African Kingdoms
The Eagle Scout is now available in the Feudal Age, meaning Aztecs have the option to spend their 50 extra gold on two eagle scouts instead of a five milita drush. Eagle scouts have a very long build time in the Feudal Age, but Aztecs partially circumvent this with their 15% faster military production. Despite being very expensive, the eagle scout is an impressive unit in Feudal Age warfare, countering Archer, Skirmisher, and Spearman lines (in total cost but not taking into account gold scarcity later on). Considering their counter, the Militia line are very rarely seen in Feudal, that mostly leaves Scout Cavalry as their only contender.