Total War: Pharaoh Mycenae

Total War: Pharaoh Mycenae
Name:	Mycenae
From Game:	Total War: Pharaoh
Culture:	Mycenaean
Playable:	Yes

Mycenae is a major Aegean faction in Total War Pharaoh, led by Agamemnon. This faction was added by the Dynasties update, and you need to have Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties installed to play this faction. (You don't need to have the original game installed as well, unless you want to be able to play campaigns without the expanded campaign map and features of Dynasties).

Agamemnon, king of Mycenae

Overview

Agamemnon is king of Mycenae, the legendary commander who led the combined Mycenaean armies in the siege of Troy. The Mycenaean kingdom is well-suited to expansion through military victories - playing as a legendary military commander, leading swordsmen and javelin infantry, can feel somewhat similar to starting as a Roman faction, in one of the Total War games set in the age of classical antiquity.

The faction roster of Mycenae includes cheap militia sword infantry as well as good quality axe and sword infantry. You have cheap javelin infantry and armoured archers, but the archers require an upgraded skirmish barracks to recruit and they don't have composite bows. This means that you have plentiful melee units in the early campaign, and powerful melee units later on, but your faction roster lacks long-range skirmishers. If you upgrade the native barracks in Sparta, you will be able to recruit Renowned Armoured Slingers, providing long-range skirmishers.

Starting Position

Agamemnon begins with two regions in each of two provinces. In the province of Achaea, the major city of Mycenae supplies food, and the minor city of Tiryns provides bronze. To the south, in the province of Laconia, the major city of Sparta supplies food, while the minor city of Cythera provides stone. You can also construct buildings to supply wood in either or both of your major cities. At the start of the game, you don't have a region providing wood or bronze.

The starting armies of Agamemnon includes a unit of Palace Guards (elite two-handed spearmen), and a unit of Elite Mycenaean Axemen. Unusually, Mycenae starts with two generals - Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus, and each leads a small army. You start at war with Corinth to the east, and they have two armies in the field.

Strategies for Mycenae

Your first goal is likely to be to defeat your initial enemy, Corinth. You may be able to defeat the first army and capture Corinth in the first turn, by using both of your starting armies together (one reinforcing the other). However, this may lead your armies vulnerable to a counter-attack by the second Corinthian army, so you would need to avoid taking too many casualties in your first turn.

After defeating Corinth in the east, you will be in a relatively safe position - until the Sea Peoples invasions begin. You have a non-aggression pact at the start with Pylos, the faction to your west, and to the south is open water. After taking Corinth and defeating the second Corinthian army, your forces would be in a good position to march on Athens, to the north-east of your home regions. Athens is a major city, so you will need a substantial army. Fortunately, your sword and javelin infantry are cheap, and you can recruit from two provinces. Other possible targets for northern expansion in the early campaign include Cyparissos (a city which supplies wood), and Aegion (a city which supplies gold). Taking Cyparissos and Aegion would mean that you have an income of all five resources (food, wood, stone, bronze and gold).

Your starting god is Zeus, and your capital city includes the grand temple of Zeus, providing a lot of Favour with Zeus at the start of the game. Shrines to Zeus increase happiness and lower construction costs. If you send an army to pray at a shrine of Zeus, they get a temporary bonus of higher morale and lower fatigue. The usefulness of these benefits for your regions and armies mean that it's worth building shrines of Zeus early on.

Agamemnon is a good choice for pursing the position of Wanax, the supreme ruler in the Aegean royal court, as he starts with a royal decree which gives him +50% Legitimacy from battles.

After initial expansion, the Mcyenaean kingdom is likely to need to defend its coastal settlements against the invading the Sea Peoples. Forts, as well as buildings in cities which provides additional garrison, can be useful.

Legacies

As a Mycenaean faction, you can choose between the legacy of Atreus the First Wanax, and Perseus the Hero. The Atreus Legacy is about completing objectives to gain Dominance, which you can use to swing diplomatic deals in your favour, for court actions and to boost your Legitimacy during civil wars. The Perseus Legacy is about building your strength through Unity, acquiring allies and vassals, and having access to global recruitment in which you can recruit units from the rosters of your allies and vassals.

The developers explained the legacy of Atreus in a developer update: "The first Aegean Ancient Legacy mechanic is named after Atreus, who is believed to be the slightly mythological father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Essentially, it rewards the player for playing aggressively and allows them to crush weaker factions without going through the motions of conquering each and every settlement through the intricacies of diplomacy. The flow is as follows: Declare War, then complete objectives against enemy factions, such as Defeat Faction Leader, Conquer Capital, Raid Resources, Sack/Raze target region, Defeat specific Hero, etc. This allows you to accumulate Dominance which you can spend on Diplomacy, Court Actions, Royal Powers and some limited-time Legitimacy."

The Atreus legacy seems to be particularly well-suited for an expanding power such as Mycenae.