State flag of the Electorate of Saxony, 1356-1806. The central coat of arms combines the green crancelin of the ruling House of Wettin and the red crossed swords of the Imperial Arch-Marshal, their hereditary office within the empire.

Availability: Rise to Glory DLC
Focus: Late/Balanced, 18c. Musketeer, Cuirassier
Playstyle: European

Let’s say that you want to play a late-game, Musketeer-focused nation like Prussia or Denmark, but don’t want to make the sorts of early-game sacrifices those countries impose on you. Let’s also say you really like Cuirassiers while we’re at it. How would a faction like that work? Well, you don’t have to wonder about it because Saxony is here to answer that question.

I’ve seen a few people badmouth Saxony because it doesn’t have quite as big of a late-game power spike as other nations focused on 18c. Musketeers, but I think they’re missing the point: Saxony offers strong 18th century armies without suffering any early-game penalties, and it can build those armies faster than other late-game powerhouses. It’s also the only nation in the game with a unique Cuirassier variant, which definitely helps them stand out from the pack.

If you like 18c. Musketeers and Cuirassiers or just want a flexible and fun country that can kick butt in the late game while still holding its own early on, Saxony is a great nation for you.

+ Armored 17c. Pikeman
+ Saxon Musketeer–Same training time and fires faster but slightly worse in melee
+ Saxon Grenadier–Better at shooting than standard Grenadier
+ Cavalry Guard–Cuirassier that’s better in melee but has slightly less bullet armor
+ Balloon to reveal the map
+ Tech cost discounts:

• Early 17c. Pikeman upgrades (Barracks)

- Tech cost penalties:

• 17c. Dragoon defense upgrades (Stables)

As mentioned before, Saxony doesn’t suffer any early-game penalties despite being a late game-focused nation. In fact, they actually have a slight early-game advantage over most European nations thanks to their discount on early Pikeman techs.


A typical early-game pike fight (albiet with the AI failing to use mercs correctly). In these clashes, a single upgrade difference can be critical in deciding the outcome.

This bonus doesn’t make Saxony a top-tier rushing nation and I’d put any nation with a unique Pikeman over them, but it’s still a nice bonus and it makes them much more viable in low-peacetime games than their fellow late-Musketeer countries, who usually have to pay more for their Pikeman techs.

Other than that plus their unique units and a few negligible cost tweaks to a couple of unit upgrades (for example, their 17c. Dragoon defense upgrades cost a tiny bit more, which is…not very meaningful at all), Saxony plays like a standard European nation.*

*The classic Basic Nation Differences guide reports that Saxon Musketeers used to consume less coal and iron while firing, but this has been removed in subsequent updates.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 40 food, 45 gold, 40 iron max: 40 food, 22 gold, 20 iron min.
Training time: 4.5 seconds
Range: 16.88
Reload speed: 4.38 seconds max: 2.14 seconds min.

+ Fast reloading
+ Trains at the same speed as normal 18c. Musketeers
+ Becomes good in melee with upgrades
+ Can be amassed quicker than other strong Musketeers
- Lower melee attack than normal 18c. Musketeer
- Melee upgrades are expensive
- Not as individually powerful as other 18c. Musketeer variants

The Saxon Musketeer is low-key one of the strongest Musketeers in the game. That might sound a little odd since they don’t look like it, but their unique blend of quality and quantity allows them to outnumber stronger foes and outshoot faster-training ones.

At a glance, the Saxon Musketeers’ stats don’t immediately pop out at you. In fact, they look like normal 18c. Musketeers that traded away a bit of HP and melee attack for +5 ranged damage. That’s cute, and the extra damage helps kill armored units a bit faster (felling a fully upgraded 17c. Pikeman in 5 hits as opposed to 6), but it’s not very exciting compared to what, say, Prussian and Danish Musketeers are offering.


Knee-deep in the dead: Saxon Musketeers engaging Russians in a fierce gunfight. (This was actually a mistake on my part since I let my opponent get on my flank, then panicked and ordered my army to attack them rather than reforming or retreating to better ground. Despite my blunders, the Saxons were able to carry the day with their high rate of fire and large numbers allowing them to absorb heavy casualties.)

As it turns out, neither of the Saxon Musketeers’ greatest strengths are shown on their unit card. The first is their fast rate of fire–faster than most Musketeers, though not quite to the same level as Serdiuks or Hajduks. A 0.16-second increase doesn’t sound like a lot, but coupled with their 30 damage it can make a critical difference by allowing the Saxons to put out damage faster than most ranged units.

Their second advantage is their training time: Unlike just about every other unique Musketeer, Saxon ones are produced in the same 4.5 seconds as standard 18c. Musketeers. In the time it takes a Prussian player to make 80 of his elite Musketeers, the Saxons can churn out 108 of theirs, allowing them to reach a critical mass of Musketeers sooner than other late-game nations.


Showing the emperor who’s boss: Saxon Musketeers pour fire into Austrian Cuirassiers as their army’s melee troops keep the doomed cavalrymen at bay.

In battle, Saxon Musketeers perform very well against all manner of foes. Their numbers, damage, and rapid reloading allow them to put out a lot of firepower very quickly, and their reasonable training time means Saxony doesn’t have to wait long to build up a strong force of them. Whereas Prussian Musketeers and French Chasseurs take a long time to build up, Saxon Musketeers have no such issues. I’d even argue that their normal training time is also a psychological boon because you don’t have to worry as much about your Musketeers taking losses.


Forward with courage! Pikemen and Roundshiers advance into battle as Cannons and Musketeers provide covering fire. The Cavalry Guards are moving up from the rear to join the attack.

Saxon Musketeers have two minor weaknesses. The first is that their melee attack is lower than that of a normal 18c. Musketeer, starting out at 7 and ending at 33. This isn’t a huge deal: 33 attack is still very good, and it’s better than what Danish or Bavarian Musketeers get (to say nothing of the many ranged units who lack any melee attack at all). Just know that you’ll need to invest a bit more into their melee upgrades before they start getting good.

The second problem is their 90 HP, which is 10 lower than a normal 18c. Musketeer's. Most of the time it’s a non-issue–they usually die in the same number of hits as a normal Musketeer anyway–but it does make them uniquely weak to Danish Musketeers whose 46 damage is just enough to kill Saxon Musketeers in 2 shots.


Lutheran-on-Lutheran violence: 108 fully upgraded Saxon Musketeers vs 87 Danish Musketeers, reflecting the difference in training time. In repeated shootouts, the Danes were able to consistently eke out decisive (albeit very bloody) victories.

This isn’t a hopeless matchup for Saxony, but it’s a unique case where one unit’s strength perfectly overlaps with another’s weakness. Tread around a Danish player with care in the late game (or better yet, use your stronger early game to take him out before he becomes an issue).

Even with these caveats, Saxon Musketeers remain a strong unit, and are one of my personal favorite Musketeers in the game, both for their surprisingly good performance and their spiffy green-trimmed coats. Don’t be fooled by their stat card; this is a dangerous unit and allows Saxony to stand among the elite of late-game nations.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 50 food, 60 gold, 40 iron max: 50 food, 30 gold, 20 iron min.
Training time: 6 seconds
Range: 17.81
Reload speed: 5.31 seconds max: 2.6 seconds min.

+ Great against buildings with last attack upgrade at Barracks
+ Very strong melee stats with full upgrades
+ Long range
+ Better at shooting than normal Grenadiers
- Slow training time
- Below-average rate of fire
- 20 less HP than normal Grenadiers
- Melee upgrades are expensive
- Underperform as mainline infantry compared to Saxon Musketeers

Saxon Grenadiers are one of the more unique Grenadier variants in the game, sacrificing HP for increased range and firepower. That certainly makes them more interesting, but I don’t know if it makes them more usable.

The problem all non-mercenary Grenadiers have is that they’re slow-training infantry optimized for melee combat, yet they become available at a point in the game where shooting is the most important source of damage. This logic still applies to Saxon Grenadiers who, despite their increased range and damage, still can’t put out the same amount of firepower as their Musketeer brethren due to their smaller numbers.


A dark day for Wettin’s finest: 80 Saxon Grenadiers vs 108 normal 18c. Musketeers, reflecting the difference in training time. Whereas Saxon Musketeers consistently beat their normal counterparts, the Grenadiers always lost with around 70 Musketeers left alive.

Going for Saxon Grenadiers instead of Musketeers will result in you having a much smaller army that puts out less firepower, which is a bad idea when you’re facing a strong European musket army. It’s a real shame, since Grenadiers are supposed to be the elite of the army’s line infantry, but that’s how it is in Cossacks.

As with all other Grenadiers, Saxon ones can destroy buildings with grenades, and they become quite good at it if you research their last Barracks attack upgrade. This is expensive and time-consuming to set up, however, and you’d be better off using artillery to level towns in the late game so you can focus your Barracks on Musketeer production.

Still, their increased range and damage makes Saxon Grenadiers one of the better versions of the type. Only Bavarian Grenadiers can compete with them on that front (less range but more HP). If you really want to give Grenadiers a shot, Saxony is one of the better nations to do it with.

Base stats:

Full upgrades:

Cost: 140 food, 50 gold, 20 iron
Training time: 24 seconds max: 16 seconds min.

+ Extremely strong in melee when fully upgraded
+ Very high HP
+ Strong physical armor (swords, spears, arrows)
+ Very population-efficient
+ Benefit from armor upgrades at the Blacksmith and Academy
- 1 less bullet armor than Cuirassier
- High gold cost
- Very slow training time
- Stable upgrades are expensive

The Cavalry Guard is effectively a melee-focused, slightly less armored Cuirassier. They train even slower (16 seconds vs 15) and aren’t quite as resistant to bullets, but make up for by being one of the strongest melee units in the game, allowing them to quickly carve through your opponent’s blocking troops.

Stat-wise, Cavalry Guard are very similar to Cuirassiers, but with slightly more HP, attack, and protection against swords and arrows (though sadly not pikes, the most common type of melee damage). In return, they cost more gold, take a second longer to train (16 seconds vs 15), and have less armor against gunpowder weapons, including (most critically) -1 bullet armor. That still leaves them with an impressive max bullet armor of 13 which, combined with his HP, makes them only slightly worse at tanking bullets than Cuirassiers.

Shots to kill (full upgrades)

To use a bit more math, in just 4 minutes 3 Saxon Stables can produce 45 Cavalry Guard while every other European nation can make 48 Cuirassiers. Assuming they’re both fully upgraded and fighting normal Musketeers dealing 25 damage per shot, those 45 Cavalry Guard can tank 1,125 shots while the 48 Cuirassiers can tank 1,344 shots. That’s still an impressive showing from the Cavalry Guard–better than other armored cavalry like Swedish Reiters and Heavy Sipahis–but less than what other nations are getting out of their late-game heavy cavalry.

(Note, however, that against Musketeers dealing more than 25 damage, Cavalry Guard become just as individually tanky as Cuirassiers. You’ll still have fewer of them to take hits, but they still do relatively better.)

So Cavalry Guard are worse than Cuirassiers at tanking bullets. How do they fare in melee? After all, the whole point of giving up a bit of armor is that they’re better in hand-to-hand combat. So are they?


A clash of modern-day knights: 45 fully-upgraded Cavalry Guard vs 48 Cuirassiers, reflecting the difference in training time between the two units. (Note how the Guard attack with a thrusting stab as opposed to the Cuirassiers’ overhead chop, which is a nice little touch.)

It depends on their upgrade level. At base stats, Cavalry Guard perform about as well in close quarters as Cuirassiers, and a head-on fight between the two can go either way. They do okay against other units too, but are liable to get overwhelmed by swarm cavalry such as Light Sipahis or Light Reiters. However, the more upgrades you research, the better they do, until…


Loyally serving the House of Wettin since the Middle Ages (not that anyone can prove it): Aftermath of the above fight.

…they become true melee powerhouses, consistently beating both Cuirassiers and those other cavalry that gave them trouble before. They also make mincemeat out of all those 17c. Pikemen and their variants running around. In fact, the only melee units that can reliably beat fully-upgraded Cavalry Guard are Ukrainian Register Cossacks and Scottish Sword Clansmen. Russian Don Cossacks can also do it if the Russian player gets a lot of them. (On the plus side, all three of these units have little to no bullet armor, making them easy prey for your Musketeers.)

On the actual battlefield, Cavalry Guard fulfill the heavy cavalryman’s usual role as the army’s armored shock troops, destroying enemy melee units and soaking up gunfire that would otherwise hit your Musketeers. They die a little faster to enemy bullets than Cuirassiers, but they also cut through the enemy’s blocking troops and expose his Musketeers more quickly than most other horsemen. They’re also fantastic against foes without many Musketeers like a Scottish bow-and-pike army or pretty much any Algerian force, though the same could be said for all heavy cavalry.

Even with all that, the slightly lower bullet armor and slower training time makes it hard to think of Cavalry Guard as an upgrade over Cuirassiers. Instead, they’re more of a side-grade with different strengths and weaknesses. They’re fun to use and their inclusion in the roster makes Saxony more unique than some other late-game nations (looking at you, Denmark and Bavaria), but don’t feel obligated to take them just because of their novelty. If you think Hussars or 18c. Dragoons would serve you better, use those. However, if powerful melee shock troops are your cup of tea, the House of Wettin’s elite Cavalry Guard will serve you well.


Overrun: Cavalry Guard spearhead a general advance of the Saxon army. Having just crushed the Piedmontese left flank, the Guards surge on toward their exposed artillery and Musketeers.

NOTE: This section assumes you’re only playing with Saxon units and buildings. That means it largely ignores capturing, although the advice given can easily be applied to games that allow it.



A moderating voice in a war-torn continent: An early Saxon base.

As already mentioned, Saxony is slightly above-average in games with peacetimes of 0 to 10 minutes thanks to their discount on early Pikeman techs, allowing them to easily keep up with or even outtech other nations relying on generic 17c. Pikemen. This is a complete inversion of the usual trend where late-game countries have to pay more for their Pikeman upgrades, and it really helps Saxony stand out as a faction. I’d feel reasonably comfortable starting with Saxony in a low-peacetime game, even though they aren’t as good as early-game powerhouses like Poland and the Islamic nations.

Their performance is more middling when peacetimes are 15 minutes or longer, which is when 17c. Musketeers replace Pikemen as the infantry of choice. Saxony’s discounts don’t apply to these games, and because of it their performance drops to normal; not bad, not great.

In either case, Saxony follows the standard European build orders.


Imperial entanglements; rushing an Austrian base.



Diplomats with a sharp sword: A mid-game Saxon base (with some typical 18c. Pike spam going on).

Things only get better once Saxony reaches the 18th century and gets a few 18c. Barracks up. After the customary brief 18c. Pikeman spam to pad out their army, Saxony can switch to their unique Musketeer, which trains at the standard 4.5 seconds. Not only does this remove the threat of being overrun by countries with normal 18c. Musketeers before you have enough of your own–something nations like Prussia and Denmark suffer from–but it also allows Saxony to join in and carry out some mid-game aggression of its own. If you have a choice of targets, prioritize taking out other strong late-game factions. That’ll ensure you have less competition in the next era.

That said, Saxony still isn’t one of the kings of the mid-game, and needs to watch out for countries like Ukraine that are at the height of their power.



Champion of Lutherans in the Empire: A late-game Saxon base.

This is when Saxony is at its best. With large armies of fast-shooting Musketeers, mercenaries, artillery, and your choice of cavalry and 17th century infantry, Saxony becomes a real threat on the European stage and has the edge over most other nations. Now the countries that used to scare you like Poland and Ukraine are trembling in fear of your Lutheran legions.

Not everything is rosy, of course, and there are some factions that can challenge you at your peak: Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria, and to a lesser extent France can also put up very strong late-game armies, arguably moreso than you. Like Saxony, they boast powerful unique Musketeers whose long range and/or high damage can give even your men trouble. On the plus side, those unique Musketeers train slower than yours and are thus harder to replenish, so if you can attrite them and thin their ranks, you can potentially reclaim the advantage. At the very least you can stand up to them at their height, which is more than most other countries can manage.


For the Arch-Marshal: Saxon Musketeers push forward behind a thick screen of Pikemen and Roundshiers.

Inter-Lutheran conflict: Saxon Musketeers trade volleys with their Danish co-religionists during the storming of an enemy town.

Saxony's map preferences will be familiar to those who like late-game combat. Large maps where players start further from each other, long peacetimes that prevent rushes, map settings like Mediterranean that create chokepoints, lots of starting resources that let you jump into the 18th century immediately; settings like these favor late-game nations at the expense of early ones, and Saxony does quite well with them, albeit not quite as good as a few other countries like Bavaria and Prussia.

Unlike those countries, however, Saxony also performs acceptably on more aggressive maps. Their generic European 17th century units are perfectly serviceable if unremarkable, and their discount on Pikeman upgrades helps them out in fast-paced games. I wouldn’t take them into a 1v1 against really strong rushing nations, but I’d feel comfortable choosing them for a random map, moreso than any other faction focused on 18c. Musketeers.


A second Lechfeld: A large Saxon army builds up its strength with reinforcements while shelling a Hungarian town.

In team games, Saxony can play the role of late-game heavy hitter while still offering decent combat power in the critical early phase, making them a good pick for players who want to be a valuable asset throughout the entire game. Do be mindful of nations like Prussia, Bavaria, and Denmark on the opposing side; countries with a higher late-game potential than you, but a slower build up and weak early game. If you can do so while still supporting your team, try to kill or cripple them before they hit their power spikes.


No personal union this time: A massed charge of Polish Winged Hussars is met with a torrent of lead from Saxon Musketeers while Pikemen and Cavalry Guard move in to crush the survivors. (The Hussars would’ve done better to ignore my Pikemen and charge through them to kill as many Musketeers as possible, which also would’ve stopped the latter from firing by forcing them into melee, but the AI isn’t that smart.)

A collection of great Saxony games and tutorials showing how to skillfully play the nation. If you have any video recommendations, send me a link through Steam or YouTube (username 1Korlash) or Reddit (Effective_Can72)!

1. The first of two classic guides from top player colorfit. A must-watch for people looking to dive into multiplayer or just get better at the game.
https://youtu.be/XP19ocvOIg0

2. The second colorfit guide, this time covering how to micro your armies in battle. Again, a must-watch.
https://youtu.be/t6JE59Gnesk

3. An old replay, again from colorfit, showing an epic comeback as Saxony in a 4v4, 10-minute peacetime game. (Also, note how Hungarian player Thorgal recovers after being driven from his starting base; a good lesson on how to behave in such situations.)
https://youtu.be/zWnHhosRJEM

4. Another old colorfit replay, this time a 1v1 with Saxony and Bavaria with a million starting resources and a 10-minute peacetime. Notably one of the few instances I've seen of Grenadiers being used successfully in high-level play.
https://youtu.be/hwjWop2KVQY

5. Yet more colorfit, this time a 4v4, 0-peacetime game. Features Saxon Musketeers going up against their Bavarian rivals.
https://youtu.be/QbPZ1NTf8aA

6. A 4v4, 15-peacetime game by colorfit. This one showcases how to use 17th century units, which is an invaluable skill for not just keeping yourself alive until the late game but potentially winning the match before then.
https://youtu.be/BWKAO2thzOQ

Modern state flag of Saxony, sill sporting the Wettin crancelin in its center, which over the centuries has become associated with the Saxon people as much as their former rulers. The more common civil flag of Saxony simply removes the coat of arms while keeping the white and green stripes.

That's everything for Saxony! Of all the late-game, Musketeer-focused, Prussia-esque nations that have been released for the game, the Saxons are easily my favorite since they differ the most from the others thanks to their Cavalry Guard and early-game pike bonus. I still like Prussia slightly more (partly because I prefer Hussars to Cuirassiers), but I have to admit that Saxony is the more flexible nation in terms of what maps they're good on.

What do you think of Saxony? Did you learn something or find something I missed? Let me know in the comments.

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