Banner Army
A Banner Army is the Chinese military production system from The Asian Dynasties and Definitive Edition. Instead of queuing every unit separately, the War Academy produces a fixed mixed group of units as one banner.
How it works
Each banner has its own composition and resource cost. This creates automatic combinations of frontline and support units, but the player cannot alter the ratio within a chosen banner; Home City shipments and additional buildings provide other roster choices.
Player decision
Choose a banner by the whole group it produces and the matchup it needs to cover. Scout before queueing, then add a different banner or shipment if one unit class is missing.
How a banner army works
A banner army is a fixed group of units produced as a single selection at a designated building. The player chooses the army type, pays its listed resource cost where applicable, waits for one training or spawn timer, and receives the whole formation together. This simplifies production and ensures the group contains units with a planned role, but it removes the ability to queue only one member of the formation. Most ordinary banner armies contain at least four soldiers and use population for every member, so the player must have enough free population when the group appears. A unit mix with Cavalry or Artillery can be expensive even when the army is convenient to order. The mechanic is especially associated with the Chinese and Japanese in The Asian Dynasties; later Definitive Edition content also uses it for several Fort and Revolution rosters.
Chinese armies from the War Academy
The Chinese War Academy offers six fixed formations. In the Commerce Age, the Old Han Army costs 255 Food and 180 Wood, takes 27 seconds, uses six population, and contains three Chu Ko Nu with three Qiang Pikemen. The Standard Army costs 255 Food and 170 Coin, takes 27 seconds, uses five population, and combines three Chu Ko Nu with two Steppe Riders. The Ming Army costs 345 Food and 120 Wood, takes 27 seconds, uses five population, and contains two Qiang Pikemen with three Keshiks. In the Fortress Age, the Territorial Army costs 285 Food and 255 Coin, takes 29 seconds, uses six population, and fields three Changdao Swordsmen with three Arquebusiers. The Forbidden Army costs 480 Food and 360 Coin, takes 29 seconds, uses eight population, and contains two Iron Flails with two Meteor Hammers. The Imperial Army costs 480 Food and 255 Coin, takes 29 seconds, uses seven population, and fields three Arquebusiers with two Iron Flails. The formations have different costs and battlefield roles; check population and the enemy's composition before choosing a queue.
Chinese Castle armies and the Summer Palace
A Chinese Castle trains the Mongolian Army and Black Flag Army. In the Definitive Edition profile, the Mongolian Army is a Commerce Age group of two Keshiks and two Steppe Riders, costs 230 Food and 170 Coin, takes 29 seconds, and uses four population. The Fortress Age Black Flag Army contains four Changdao Swordsmen and two Meteor Hammers, costs 380 Food and 360 Coin, takes 73 seconds, and uses eight population. These current values differ from older versions, which changed their composition, cost, and population. The Summer Palace Wonder can spawn Chinese banner armies automatically rather than charging the normal direct training cost. Its spawn timers differ by formation: early armies arrive in roughly two and a half minutes, while the Forbidden Army takes longer. This trades a resource queue for a slower, continuing stream, so protect the Wonder and account for the population that each arrival will occupy.
Japanese Dojo formations
The Japanese Dojo automatically produces one of five banner formations. Its Commerce Age choices are five Yumi Archers in a Yumi Army (134 seconds, five population) or five Ashigaru Musketeers in an Ashigaru Army (148 seconds, five population). Fortress Age options include three Samurai (154 seconds, six population), three Naginata Riders (154 seconds, six population), and three Yabusame (170 seconds, three population). These are spawn timings rather than ordinary resource prices for the completed group; the Dojo's automatic production system is the reason the Wiki table marks several listed resource costs as redundant. The roster lets the player select a stream suited to the current army, but the long arrival times mean a Dojo cannot instantly answer a surprise raid. Choose the formation before the next battle and keep the building safe long enough to deliver it.
Consulate, Fort, and Revolution access
Consulate armies are banner armies for the Asian civilizations, including the Chinese, Japanese, and Indians. Their allied units arrive as a preset group, so the player's choice of Consulate ally also determines what kinds of formations can be requested. Definitive Edition adds related systems elsewhere: United States Forts can train banner formations such as State Militia, Regulars, Sharpshooters, Hussars, Carbine Cavalry, Gatling Guns, Legion Dragoons, Prussian Uhlans, Magyar Hussars, and Legion Grenadiers. Mexicans can gain Fort access after revolting to Texas with the Texan Forts card. Brazil's Revolution produces Voluntarios da Patria from Town Centers as a nine-unit group. These are civilization or Revolution routes; they do not make the Chinese army list available to every faction.
Upgrades and cost adjustments
Several technologies and Home City effects modify banner-army cost or production time. The Shogunate Wonder and the Banner School, Acupuncture, and Bakufu effects can shorten training or spawn times. Native technologies apply according to the unit classes inside the formation: a bonus that affects both Infantry and Cavalry training time works fully across mixed armies, while a bonus aimed at only one class is less effective when the formation mixes both. A cavalry-only or Infantry-only group can receive the full relevant class effect. Cost reductions are calculated from the affected units' base costs rather than simply applying one army-wide percentage without regard to its contents. Review the army composition before assuming a technology affects the full bundle.
Strengths, limits, and tactical use
The bundled queue saves production-building clicks and creates a ready-made force with complementary unit types. It is useful when the player wants a standard composition, needs to reinforce from a distant Castle, or wants an automatic stream from the Summer Palace or Dojo. Its rigidity is the central tradeoff: the player cannot buy only the Pikemen from an Old Han Army, for example, and the whole group consumes its full cost, timer, and population. A banner can also arrive too slowly for emergency defense. Scout before selecting the next group, compare its built-in counters to the enemy army, and reserve population for the complete formation. For a quick response, individually trained units can be more flexible; for a planned reinforcement cycle, the preset army can keep a consistent composition in the field.
Fixed mixed formations across several civilizations
A Banner Army is a named group of units produced or spawned together rather than a single soldier. China has eight unique Banner Armies: six are trained at War Academies and two at Castles, and the Summer Palace can spawn them automatically. Japan has five Banner Armies that the Dojo produces automatically. The United States and Mexico also field Banner Armies through Forts, while Brazil’s Revolution has its own banner option. Each formation has a specific unit mix and role.
Choose the banner for the missing battlefield role
Banner Armies can save production attention and deliver a ready formation, but they do not let the player select every unit independently. Learn the composition before committing resources or population. A banner that supplies anti-Cavalry infantry may still need ranged damage or siege; a ranged group needs a screen. The producing building, age and civilization determine which banners are available. Keep Chinese, Japanese and Federal American or Mexican banner rules distinct, and use the linked civilization and unit entries for exact statistics.