The Onager is countered by Hussar, Light Cavalry and Cavalier. It is a siege unit of the Mangonel/Onager, and it wins against Arbalest, Elite Battle Elephant and Mangonel.
- Class
- Siege
- Line
- Mangonel/Onager
- Available to
- All civilizations
- Cost
-
160 
135
Onager stats
 Hit points | 60 |
|---|---|
 Melee attack | 50 / 6s |
 Pierce attack | 0 |
 Range | 8 (min. 3) |
 Melee armour | 0 |
 Pierce armour | 7 |
 Speed | 0.6 |
 Line of sight | 10 |
 Training time | 46s |
What counters the Onager?
The Onager is weak against units at close range.
Hard counters deal bonus damage against this unit — they beat the Onager even at a cost disadvantage. Soft counters win the fight through cost-efficiency or mobility, without a dedicated bonus.
| Counter | Type | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
 Hussar | hard | Fast – siege weapons have almost no melee armor |
 Light Cavalry | hard | Fast, can attack Onagers |
 Cavalier | hard | Melee – 0 melee armor, barely hits moving single targets |
 Mangudai | hard | UU (Mongols) – Attack bonus vs. siege |
 Monk | soft | Conversion |
 Bombard Cannon | soft | Outranges Onager (12 vs. 8) – but slow & inaccurate |
What does the Onager counter?
The Onager is strong against tight groups of units.
One representative per unit line — the whole line behaves the same way in this matchup.
-
Arbalest hard -
Elite Battle Elephant soft -
Mangonel soft -
Paladin soft
Unique units the Onager beats
-
Elite Blackwood Archer hard -
Elite Chu Ko Nu hard -
Elite Composite Bowman hard -
Elite Fire Archer hard -
Elite Genoese Crossbowman hard -
Elite Hussite Wagon hard -
Elite Longbowman hard -
Elite Plumed Archer hard -
Elite Rattan Archer hard -
Elite Temple Guard hard -
Elite White Feather Guard hard -
Elite Arambai soft -
Elite Ghulam soft -
Elite Janissary soft -
Elite Kipchak soft -
Elite Teutonic Knight soft -
Elite War Elephant soft -
Elite War Wagon soft
Other units the Onager beats
-
Elephant Archer soft
Unit lines the Onager has a damage bonus against
Civilizations that improve the Onager
17 civilizations have a bonus or unique technology that affects this unit.
Britons
- Warwolf (unique tech): Trebuchets deal blast damage and are more accurate
Bulgarians
- Blacksmith and Siege Workshop technologies cost -50% food
Celts
- Siege Weapons attack +25% faster
- Furor Celtica (unique tech): Siege Weapons +40% HP
Cumans
- Siege Workshop and Battering Ram available in Feudal Age; Capped Ram available in Castle Age
Dravidians
- Siege Weapons cost -33% wood
Ethiopians
- Torsion Engines (unique tech): Siege Workshop Units' blast radius increased
Huns
- Trebuchets fire more accurately at units and small targets
Japanese
- Kataparuto (unique tech): Trebuchets attack and pack/unpack faster
Jurchens
- Siege Engineers available in Castle Age
- Siege and Fortification upgrades cost -75% wood and research +100% faster
Mongols
- Drill (unique tech): Siege Workshop Units move +50% faster
Saracens
- Counterweights (unique tech): Trebuchets and Mangonel-line +15% attack
Shu
- Siege Weapons and Siege Warships move +10/15% faster in Castle/Imperial Age
Slavs
- Siege Workshop Units cost -15%
Tatars
- Timurid Siegecraft (unique tech): Trebuchets +2 range
Teutons
- Ironclad (unique tech): Siege Weapons +4 melee armor
Wei
- Traction Trebuchets and Lou Chuans cost -25%
Wu
- Sitting Tiger (unique tech): Traction Trebuchets and Lou Chuan trebuchet weapons fire additional projectiles
The Mangonel/Onager
- Mangonel
- Onager
-
Siege Onager
For the strategy behind these matchups — when to build counters, how to mix them and which civs do it best — see the Siege Counters guide.
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