Trade Cart
Base values, before Blacksmith upgrades. The Blacksmith raises attack and armour for infantry, cavalry and archers — Blast Furnace, for instance, gives "+2 Attack for infantry & cavalry". Late in a game, the real numbers are higher.
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Trade Cart
FeudalThe coach's briefing
Commander, the Trade Cart is your infinite gold source. Set a trade route between two markets, and the cart generates gold per trip based on distance. Longer routes = more gold. In team games, trade with allies for maximum distance. In late game when gold mines deplete, Trade Carts become essential. Build 20-30 for sustainable gold income.
STRONG AGAINST
You win these trades cost-effectively.
WEAK AGAINST
Avoid these fights or bring support.
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Strategic Analysis
Tactical Identity
Infinite gold generation through trade
Tactical Playbook
Distance Matters
Gold per trip scales with distance. Trade with the farthest ally market or your own distant market.
Late Game Essential
When gold mines run out, trade carts are your only gold source. Start building them before depletion.
Protect Trade Lines
Enemies love to raid trade routes. Wall trade paths or patrol cavalry along them.
Critical Point
No combat ability. Raiders can destroy your entire trade line. Always protect your trade routes.
Understanding The Stats
Trade Carts are your late-game economy. Without trade, you run out of gold and can't make gold units.
No Attack
Cannot fight at all
No Armor
Completely unprotected
Moderate HP
Can survive a few hits
Fast Speed
Decent mobility for trade trips
Coach's Tip
70 HP can survive a few hits from scouts. But 2-3 hussars will destroy your entire trade line in seconds.
Mechanics & Bonuses
Attack Bonuses
| Target | Bonus Dmg |
|---|---|
| No damage bonus: this unit deals the same damage to every target. | |
Armor Classes
Key Upgrades
Castle Age
Civilizations
* 1 civilizations have access to this unit.
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
Trade Cart is a noncombat economic unit that travels between allied Markets to generate gold. It costs 100 wood and 50 gold, trains in 51 seconds, has 70 HP, 0 attack, 0 melee armor and 0 pierce armor, with 1.25 speed and 7 line of sight. The route, not the cart itself, is the asset: a longer safe path produces more value, while an exposed road turns a slow production investment into a predictable target. Protecting trade means managing vision, distance, and the timing of enemy raids. The road is the real investment.
History & balance
The Trade Cart condenses the idea of a caravan moving wealth between markets into a single readable unit. It creates a second economy whose strength depends on geography: the route is valuable because it is long, but length also creates more places to intercept. That tradeoff is a deliberate part of the game's economic design. A player who invests in carts is not merely buying gold; they are asking the map to become a defended corridor and accepting that the corridor can be attacked. Geography decides the return.
In pro play
Place allied Markets as far apart as the map safely allows, then queue carts only after checking the route from both ends. Keep a few mobile units near the most predictable turns, use outposts or vision to spot raids, and do not send every cart through one narrow gap when a second route exists. The 51-second train time means a long idle period is expensive, but blindly replacing dead carts is worse. Protect the corridor with the army you already need for the next timing, rather than building a decorative escort with no plan.
How to counter it
The classic mistake is attacking the enemy base while leaving the trade route untouched. There is no official combat Weak vs category for a Trade Cart because it has 0 attack, 0 armor, and a transport role. The practical counter is denial: use fast cavalry such as Scout Cavalry or Light Cavalry to intercept the route, keep vision on the Market exits, and force the opponent to spend wood replacing carts instead of army. Raid the corridor, not only the destination. Losing trade without knowing the right denial timing? AoE Coach reads your matchup and gives you the composition + timing.