Spanish
Gunpowder & MonksTeam Bonus
Trade Units generate +25% gold
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"The Spanish are a gunpowder and monk civilization with faster builders, gold from researching technologies, faster-firing gunpowder units, and unique mounted units."
Civilization Bonuses
- 1
Builders work +30% faster
- 2
Receive +20 gold for each technology researched
- 3
Blacksmith upgrades cost no gold
- 4
Gunpowder Units attack +18% faster
- 5
Cannon Galleons fire more accurately at moving targets
Unique Units
Unique Technologies
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Other Civilizations
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
Spanish are a gunpowder-and-Monk civilization defined by economy efficiency and unique mounted units. Their Builders work +30% faster (enabling lightning-fast Castles, Wonders and Town Centers), Blacksmith upgrades cost no gold, and they receive bonus gold for each technology researched — a steady economic edge. Their gunpowder units attack +18% faster, making their Hand Cannoneers and Bombard Cannons unusually strong. The Conquistador unique unit is a mounted gunpowder raider (a hand cannon on horseback), and the Missionary is a mounted Monk. Spanish are flexible, economical, and dangerous in both gunpowder and Monk play.
History & balance
Spanish were introduced in The Conquerors and have always combined gunpowder strength with economic efficiency. The no-gold Blacksmith bonus and gold-from-technologies bonus give them a flexible economy that other gunpowder civs lack. The Conquistador — a mobile gunpowder unit available from the Castle — has been a defining and sometimes feared unit, balanced around its high cost and gold dependence. The +18% gunpowder attack speed makes Spanish Bombard Cannons and Hand Cannoneers among the best in the game. Their builder bonus has made them the classic Wonder-victory and fast-Castle civilization.
In pro play
Spanish are a flexible pick, strong on closed maps and in team games. Pros use the +30% builder speed for fast Castle drops and Wonder timings, and the gunpowder attack-speed bonus makes their Imperial Age gunpowder army elite. The Conquistador rush from the Castle is a powerful Castle Age play that punishes unprepared opponents. The Missionary supports a mobile Monk game. The no-gold Blacksmith and tech-gold bonuses give Spanish a smooth economy that sustains gold units well. They reward players who exploit the fast-build and gunpowder synergies.
How to counter it
Spanish are gold-dependent (Conquistadors, gunpowder), so denying gold weakens their whole game plan — raid their mining and force a Trash War, where Spanish are merely average. Conquistadors, though strong, are expensive and fragile to Skirmishers and massed archers; don't feed them cavalry. Their gunpowder is countered by mobility (Light Cavalry, Mangudai) that dodges shots, and by archers that outrange Hand Cannoneers. Against the Conquistador rush, get Skirmishers and walls up early. The general principle: starve their gold and out-tempo the fast-build economy before their gunpowder spike arrives.