Standard Army

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“	A flexible army of archers and hand cavalry.	”
—In-game description

The Standard Army is a Chinese banner army in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties that can be trained at War Academy and Fuchuan, or automatically spawned for free by the Summer Palace Wonder. It consists of three Chu Ko Nu and two Steppe Riders.

Strategy

The Chu Ko Nu is an archer unit effective against heavy infantry that has slightly more speed than an average archer, and a much higher multiplier against heavy infantry than a normal archer unit. The Steppe Rider is effective against light infantry, such as the Skirmisher, and has a x2 multiplier against non-heavy infantry, making it more cost effective than other hand cavalry units like the Hussar.

The Standard Army is highly cost effective against its counters, and if micromanaged well, is a strong option for the Colonial Age. The Steppe Rider starts to lose effectiveness in the Fortress Age as it is replaced by stronger cavalry units; Iron Flails and Meteor Hammers.