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Here is my Lightning Fast French Hussar Rush, or LaFFHR. As a strategy this isn't "amazing" but I'd like to challenge anyone who thinks they have a faster hussar time.

Overview:
Allows for a ~5:30 (great plains) 8 hussar rush that will win countless 2v2s

Sets up a basic FF eco

Cards Needed:
3 Coureur du Bois
3 Hussar
4 Coureur du Bois


Other Recommended Cards:
Cavalry Improvement cards
700 Resource cards
Team Sawmills
8 Crossbows

Discovery:

Have one Coureur collect only the food crates then have him go hunts, have the other 4 go hunt. Que up a cdb as soon as possible. You can lure hunts close to TC if you want, but I usually find it makes little difference for a lot of micro.

Only make 4 cdbs from TC so you are at 9/10 population, then ship 3 cdbs to put you at 12/10 population. DO NOT build a house before you age to Colonial.

Age Colonial (Quartermaster) when you have 800 food, you are going to have a little TC idle time between having made all 4 cdbs and getting 800 food usually.

In transition:

Take 4 cdbs and put them on gold. Take another cdb (from hunts) and have him collect the rest of the crates, then have him build a house near the middle of the map, about 1/3 of the way from edge to edge. Then put him on wood near trees by your house.

Que a cdb at TC when the house is built.

Colonial (this takes some micro):

Ship 3 Hussars

Collect wood crates with one gold cdb, have the qued cdb at TC go to crates as well.

At 200 wood collected:
Start building a stable with your forward cdb, try and find a good defensive spot.

After another 100 wood:
Build a house with the gold cdb who went crates, the qued cdb should come in about now, have him collect the last 100 wood crate and then build a house with him and the gold cdb. Have one then go gold, and one then go wood.

AS SOON AS YOUR FIRST HOUSE IS BUILT QUE 5 HUSSARS
This is the most important part of the strategy, and can make a difference of up to 20 seconds sometimes.

Ship 4 cdb or a 700 resource card, I would recommend 4 cdbs. Keep making cdbs at TC, use a 2/2/1 Gold/Food/Wood ratio for new cdbs.

With your 3 hussars and 5 you created go raid stray hunts or destroy unprotected houses, with good micro you can do some devastating damage to their early game. Run from musks and pikes, kill xbows and other cavalry (you will have both numbers and strength)

Make another 10 hussars or so and keep making cdbs, go fort if you get beaten back or are comfortable doing so, and go double rax to make musks and xbows if they try and counter you with a weak eco.

Key Points:

Works well with a teammate making ranged infantry

Not a great 1 v 1 strategy

You should NEVER have down time where you find yourself waiting to build something because you don't have enough wood, or waiting to que hussars because a house isn't up.

Microing hussars is your first priority, use shift clicking and knowledge of TC range and basic angles to keep them out of harms way.

Use against any team you want, it really doesn't matter BUT it is a good idea to go Fort quickly against British or Ottos (musks own hussars) for skirmishers

Only build a market if you have enough wood, if you waste some of your quartermaster wood your rush isn't going to be as successful

Use your forward base to shelter hunting cdbs. Try to find a forwad spot near hunts and trees, this is very important because it makes your cdbs extremely hard to raid. With this in mind, usually have your 3rd group of hunts be the one near the FB. I can't tell you how many games I've lost because over half of my food cdbs get raided. It really is extremely important. If you don't think so, just remember that you are raiding their hunting villagers and hopefully killing many. Anything you do to them they can do back.

This also helps if you teammate decides to FB along with you. Some outposts and raxes can really turn raiders away.

I'll try and get a recording up soon, because it will make a lot more sense in some places visually

Thank you for all the suggestions and criticisms to make this strategy even better!

[This message has been edited by ztejas (edited 12-11-2010 @ 01:45 PM).]