The Purpose of the Journey:
Recently there has been a lot of commotion within the BT2DC community concerning Battlewagons. I decided to help the community out with a useful guide on how to counter and deal with Battlewagons with Elves. Join me in my journey to defeat the "Battlewagons are overpowered" myth!
Your Knapsack's Tools:
You’re in luck fellow Elven players. Why? Because you chose just the right faction to decimate the notorious Battlewagons. How, you may ask? Well in these various ways:
Heroes
The first counter you should consider are heroes. They deal the most damage, can withstand the Battlewagon's attack with their high health, and are easily maneuverable. These characteristics are shared with Battlewagons themselves (attack and ease of use).
Lorien Archers
The second counter you’ll have are Lorien Archers mixed in with Mithlond Sentries. Lorien Archers are quite good against Battlewagons when they are buffed up with Rallying Call and Far Sight, while preferably having hero support or leadership.
Your BrainLastly your brain is a very potent weapon against Battlewagons. Don’t be afraid to use a stealthed Mithlond Sentry. Attack from different angles to trap the Battlewagons. Think logically and infer the situation as the game progresses. If you can see through his moves and think ahead, then the Battlewagons lose their ease of use and suddenly require much more micro from your opponent. Losing a Battlewagon is a huge momentum loss and an economic strain for your opponent.
The Obstacles and Challenges Ahead (Early Game):
The heroes that are available to you are Arwen and Haldir. Given the match up, Haldir is a much better first hero choice than Arwen, but be wary: if Arwen is not produced first she is better not produced all game, because she won’t gain any levels during middle to late game. Haldir is an extremely effective counter against Battlewagons. If they stay far away, shoot arrows. If they come close, use your sword and hope for critical and splash damage. His leadership compliments your Lorien Archers quite well and gives your opponent something to fear.
During early game you should scout through Farsight or even Builders and check if he’s doing a four Mine build or a two Mine build, or something different altogether. If he’s going for a more booming strategy, go for three Lorien Archers and creep three creeps while making Mithlond Sentries and more Lorien Archers while you creep. This is essential in order to adequately counter his Battlewagons and Axe Thrower combination.
Remember, if you can destroy his Battlewagons early game, it is a huge victory on your part because that’s when his economy really starts to falter and falls behind. He will be wasting resources and will be unable to buildup Battlewagons in numbers.
The Hardships (Middle Game):
At this point a lot of people get confused on what to do. More Mallorn Trees? More heroes? More units? The safest route to take is double Barracks while expanding. If you’re feeling confident and want a more direct answer to Battlewagons, then you should save up for Legolas and use his Hawk Strike wisely. Be warned, he has worse armour than regular light heroes, and Battlewagon Men of Dale can take advantage of that. That is why he should always be coupled with Haldir and/or units. He can make good bait for a stealthed pike due to his fast speed. Thranduil can also be useful, with his better armour and stealth, but has a heftier price tag.
In this stage of the game Battlewagons start to shine. If you haven’t been adjusted to his playstyle then you’re going to get shat on by easy to use Battlewagons, but if you can read his moves and think ahead, you can really put a dent in your opponent's mind and economy. Remember that Battlewagons are also backed up with armies, so try to take the army before you aim for the Battlewagons, which shouldn’t be too hard considering Lorien Archers are killing machines. Keep your Mithlond Sentries out of reach until they are needed and use powers and heroes to help the killing and gain some ranks, giving you a better chance to deal with Battlewagons.
The Climax (Late Game):
If you played middle game properly then you should be seeing less and less Battlewagons for two reasons: one being that he is losing hope and you are gaining confidence, and the other being that they lose much of their effectiveness and need an army escort to make a move. If he remains persistent or for some reason during middle game you didn’t manage to kill any or just one or two, then you have a few options. If your region is stable and your economy is rolling and it’s a stalemate because both of you negate each other in the big battles, then go for Silverthorn Mirkwood Archers. They are amazing at destroying anything especially Battlewagons and even more so when coupled with Rallying Call and Far Sight. If you are struggling from constant harassment and have a weak economy, you can either get more units in an attempt to stop the harassment, or get more heroes. The latter option is better because they are more direct counters to Battlewagons. Try to get both a hero spam and Silverthorn Mirkwood Archers if at all possible.
The End:
Well, we had a great journey, and as far as I can tell, we have fulfilled the purpose of our journey. It’s time to part our ways once more and hope we meet again fellow Elven players!
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