The Franks

The Franks

The Franks have the best cavalry in the game, but with all the counters to cavalry in the game, that doesn't mean much. Nonetheless, Frankish Paladins combined with Champs to prevent possible counters is a pretty formidable force. Add onagers and some trebs, and you've got an army that could easily win you the game.

In addition to great paladins, the Franks have cheap castles, which means you should be using at least some castles offensively. One trick is to rush in with paladins while your villagers stand behind and quickly work on castles close to the enemy base. Castles are the ultimate in defense keep in mind, better than bombard because they can produce units to defend themselves, so definitely put those cheap castles to good use.

Other than that, you shouldn't need to worry about much if you substitute champs for throwing axemen, since they are roughly the same price, but champs do more damage and can take on camels (a paladin predator). Just be weary of the Teutons who eat throwing axemen for breakfast with their large army and the Saracens, whose camels annihlate Paladins. Throwing axemen should do the job for mamelukes.