Blood on the River Bank

Blood on the River Bank is the fourth scenario in the Sundjata campaign in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms.

The goal of this scenario is to take over control of the Niger river and destroy all of Sumanguru's military camps.

Ally

 * Malian Trade Outpost (Malians) is the lumber trade hub in this region. It only consists of a Dock protected by two Watch Tower and two Galleys.

Enemy, potential Ally

 * Fakoli (Malians) are vassals of Sumanguru but seek to break free of his yoke. They train Crossbowmen, Light Cavalry, Mangonels and Battering Rams in their city in the south.
 * Mema (Berbers) also obey Sumanguru but only because he holds their leader's daughter hostage. They train Long Swordsmen, Knights and Battering Rams in their base in the north.

Enemy

 * Sumanguru (Ethiopians) is the main adversary in this scenario and controls the entire western side of the map with his numerous military camps. He doesn't have an economy but will continuously produce Shotel Warriors, Halberdier, Heavy Camels, Scorpions and Trebuchets, as well as Galleons to control the river.

Strategies/Tactics
Sundjata starts with a very small base and no military in the eastern half of the map. To muster an army quickly in crucial, because Fakoli and Mema will attack very early. Because this map is extremely open, resources are spread out and Sumanguru has Trebuchets, Sundjata has to rely mostly on his military rather than fortifications for defense. As a Malian Warrior soon comments, there is very little wood to be found on this map, so lumber shipments are necessary to supply Sundjata with wood. Before any shipments can arrive however, the five Guard Towers along the river have to be destroyed. Once this is done, 3 Trade Cogs will spawn regularly in the south of the river and will slowly make their way north to the Malian Trade Outpost, netting 300 wood each upon arrival there (only as long as the Dock remains standing). After some time the Trade outpost will offer to double the capacity of the cogs to 600 wood per shipment for an investment (tribute to grey) of 2500 food. This might seem much, but can definitely pay off in the long run, with the additional wood invested into farms. Of course Sumanguru wants to sever his archenemy's wood supply and constantly tries to sink the Trade Cogs and destroy the Dock in the trade outpost. To prevent this, the player should build a fleet on his own. A few docks near the Trade Outpost, optionally protected by a Castle draws attention from said outpost, giving it some grade of protection. A Galleon fleet not only secures the lumber shipments, it also can severly disrupt enemy soldiers trying to cross the river via shallows. Sumanguru's northern Dock is not protected by Towers so it can be taken out pretty early, limiting his ability to pump out Galleons, as he can't replace any buildings. His other two Docks are located in the west at his main base and protected by Towers, so Cannon Galleons can faciliate in destroying them. Once river control is wrestled from Sumanguru, most of his camps can be attacked from the river. In the meantime terrestrial defense shouldn't be neglected however.

After some time both Fakoli and Mema express their desire to break free from Sumanguru's rule. Fakoli demands a tribute of 1000 gold and after that a Castle in their town to be protected from Sumanguru's wrath. Their demands should be met as soon as affordable, as not only will their attacks cease but they also prove to be a useful ally. Before paying the tribute the player should consider researching Banking at the Market, especially if they want to invest in doubled lumber ship capacity.

Mema has a different request: Their princess is held hostage by Sumanguru in a fortress west of their base, so they can't act against him. The fortress can be attacked from the water, but the princess is taken over once all fortifications are destroyed, at which point she can be killed by remaining enemy soldiers (upon her death Mema will declare war on Sundjata again) so it is better to at least support the assault by land. Once she is freed and returned to the Mema Castle, they will switch allegiance to Sundjata, and regularly a Gbeto is spawned at their barracks (this trigger can bug out, creating one Gbeto per second).

With the two lesser enemies now on Sundjata's side, Sumanguru can be taken care of. With gunpowder finally enabled Hand Cannoneers can make short work of Sumanguru's infantry, but they should be protected by more beefy units like Champions, as they have very low hitpoints. Gbetos have a high movement speed and a ranged attack which deals melee damge and are thus a good counter to Siege Weapons as well as ships but like the Hand Cannoneer they are very fragile and have to be defended from the equally agile Shotel Warriors. Halberdiers are also an option against Heavy Camels, but they get clobbered by Shotel Warriors. Against fortifications, Bombard Cannon are recommended over Trebuchets as once the Trebuchets are deployed, Sumanguru will fire at them with Trebuchets on his own, while his are protected by the besieged Castle. Like mentioned before, the attack on most of the camps can be supported or even fully conducted from water.

Once all military buildings of Sumanguru are destroyed Sundjata is victorious again.