The Horde Rides West

The Horde Rides West is the fourth scenario of the Genghis Khan campaign in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings.

Starting Conditions

 * Starting Age: Castle-age-reseach.jpg Castle Age
 * Starting resources:, , ,
 * Population limit: 75
 * Starting units:
 * Subotaiicon.png Subotai
 * 6 s
 * 5 s
 * 2 Wolf-icon-aoe2.jpg Hunting Wolves
 * 2 s

Objectives

 * Subotai must survive
 * In the north, deploy Subotai's horde to conquer Russia.
 * In the south, the Khwarazm shah is expecting a gift. But it is assassins he will find in our Trade Carts. We must deliver the carts to the shah quickly, before he breaks his alliance with us.
 * Defeat the Khwarazm Empire.

Hints

 * Your two armies are divided and will not be able to meet until they reach Samarkand.
 * If your assassination attempt fails, the leadership of the shah will guarantee that the Persians are a much more deadly enemy.
 * The Persian are expecting their gift. If they do not receive it soon, they may eventually declare war on you.

Player

 * Player (Mongols): The player starts with two small bases - Subotai's in the north, Khan's in the east.

Allies

 * Khwarazm (Persians): Initially allied, Khwarazm becomes the primary enemy once the assassins killed the Shah. He has a large fortified city in the south with a couple of Castles. He mainly attacks with Paladins, Cavalry Archers, and War Elephants.

Enemies

 * Merkids (Mongols): The Merkids have a small base west of Subotai's base in the north. They are inactive and after killing their two Cavalry Archers, they resign and give all their buildings to the player.


 * Russians (Slavs): The Russians are the primary enemy in the north. They attack with small groups of Men-at-Arms and Battering Rams, occasionally adding Boyars and Knights. Their base is small and without walls, although with one Castle.

Strategy
Both Genghis' and Subotai's forces begin separated by a cliff, and it is only possible to unite them after advancing towards the Persian citadel. Subotai attacks Russia (Goths) while the Khan must first deliver a gift to the Persian Khwarazm shah within 30 minutes - but the presents are actually assassins hidden inside two trade carts, which will attack the Shah until he dies. Then the objective changes defeating the Persians. If you take too long delivering the cart, the Persians will attack you anyway; they will also attack if they spot military forces from your camp. It is best to build the military of Genghis' camp first since the Persians will be much more aggressive than the Russians. The Russians will only send in small waves of infantry which can be easily repulsed. There is also a Merkit camp near Subotai that will immediately surrender when their two cavalry archers are killed, providing several buildings for the player. After building up a sufficient force in the South, assassinate the Shah and sweep the Persians off the map. It's best to build a large anti-cavalry force as the Shah's army consists primarily of Paladins and War Elephants. After the Shah is defeated the combined forces of Subotai and Genghis should then clear the poorly defended Russians with little trouble.

Notes/Trivia

 * After bursting from their trade carts, the assassins will not be attacked by the Persians until they kill the Shah. Take advantage of this by killing all of the Shah's ceremonial troops (who incidentally also comprise most of the Persian Army), then slaughter the Shah without fear of retaliation. The two assassins alone can thus cause serious damage before your troops even arrive. Additionally, only the Castles and Wonder need to be destroyed to defeat the Persians, so consider destroying them before assassinating the Shah. This can best be accomplished by building Siege Workshops in the Persians' base and creating Battering Rams.
 * If you fail to assassinate the Shah the Persians immediately gain 2000 food and gold, and choose to build 40 villagers instead of 25. It is still possible to beat them, albeit much more difficult.
 * In real life the Shah escaped the Mongol destruction of his Empire and he eventually died, rather ignobly, of pleurisy on an island in the Caspian Sea near the port of Abaskun.