Knight — Counters, Stats & Civ Bonuses

Knight — Counters, Stats & Civ Bonuses

The Knight is countered by Pikeman, Camel Rider and Monk. It is a cavalry unit of the Knight Line, and it wins against Battering Ram, Bombard Cannon and Crossbowman.

Class

Cavalry

Line

Knight Line

Available to

All civilizations

Cost

60 75

The Knight Line

• Knight
• Cavalier
• Paladin
• Savar

Knight stats

Hit points

100

Melee attack

10 / 1.8s

Pierce attack

0

Range

0

Melee armour

2

Pierce armour

2

Speed

1.35

Line of sight

4

Training time

30s

What counters the Knight?

Hard counters beat the Knight decisively and win even at a cost disadvantage — usually through bonus damage, area damage, conversion or a speed advantage it cannot escape. Soft counters win the fight too, but only with good numbers and positioning.

• Pikeman hard Strong attack bonus vs. cavalry
• Camel Rider hard Strong attack bonus vs. cavalry
• Monk hard Conversion – Knights are expensive and worth it
• Mameluke UU hard UU (Saracens) – Ranged anti-cavalry with massive bonus
• Flaming Camel UU hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry (+50)
• Genoese Crossbowman UU hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry (+5)
• Kamayuk UU hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry (+8)
• Camel Archer UU soft UU (Berbers) – Ranged, but no bonus vs. cavalry
• Shrivamsha Rider UU soft UU (Gurjaras) – dodges projectiles, but no bonus damage

What does the Knight counter?

One representative per unit line — the whole line behaves the same way in this matchup.

• Battering Ram hard Rams have negative melee armor
• Bombard Cannon hard
• Crossbowman hard Fast in melee – archers have low HP and almost no armor
• Elite Skirmisher hard High damage, Skirms have no armor vs. melee
• Imperial Skirmisher hard
• Mangonel hard Melee – 0 melee armor, barely hits moving single targets
• Scorpion hard Fast – siege weapons have almost no melee armor
• Steppe Lancer hard Clearly wins the melee duel – more armor and HP
• Champi Warrior soft Heavy cavalry; Champi has 0 melee armor
• Eagle Warrior soft High melee damage
• Long Swordsman soft Superior in open field

Unique units the Knight beats

• Gbeto hard Fast, high HP – closes in; Gbeto has 0 armor
• Huskarl hard High melee damage
• Mounted Trebuchet hard Fast, high damage
• Rattan Archer hard Melee vs. low melee armor
• Samurai hard Bonus only applies vs. infantry – cavalry closes in
• Tarkan hard Clearly wins the melee duel – more armor and HP
• Chakram Thrower soft Fast enough to catch it; tanks the low melee damage
• Condottiero soft Cavalry overruns infantry
• Ghulam soft Cavalry vs. infantry
• Hussite Wagon soft Melee charge breaks wagon fort
• Jaguar Warrior soft Cavalry beats infantry in open field
• Karambit Warrior soft Wins every duel – but massed Karambits trade cheaply
• Kona soft
• Liao Dao soft Melee superiority
• Shotel Warrior soft Overwhelms quickly
• Throwing Axeman soft High damage

Other units the Knight beats

• Siege Tower hard Fast – siege weapons have almost no melee armor
• Slinger UU hard Melee vs. a ranged anti-archer with low armor
• Trebuchet hard

Civilizations that improve the Knight

20 civilizations have a bonus or unique technology that affects this unit.

For the strategy behind these matchups — when to build counters, how to mix them and which civs do it best — see the Cavalry Counters guide.