Lakota Axe Rider
Lakota Axe Rider is Heavy Cavalry available from the Commerce Age through a Trading Post or Tambo on a Lakota settlement, or through a Native Embassy. It offers a mobile melee option for raids and flanking.
Recorded values
- Available
- Commerce Age · Trading Post or Tambo on a Lakota settlement; Native Embassy
- Training
- 30 sec · 15 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 365 hit points · 10% ranged resistance · 6.75 speed · 12 line of sight
- Hand attack
- 21 damage · 1.5 attack interval
- Siege attack
- 15 damage · 6 range · 3.0 attack interval
- Trample attack
- 11 damage · 2.0 attack interval
Role, availability & values
It has 365 hit points, moves at 6.75 speed and has 10% ranged resistance. It costs 40 Food and 110 Wood and takes 30 seconds to train. Its attacks deal 21 hand, 15 siege and 11 trample damage. Access depends on the map settlement or Embassy.
Matchup & timing
Use Axe Riders to reach exposed targets or pressure a flank, then retreat before anti-cavalry units can pin them down. Their cost is weighted toward Wood, so compare it with the Lakota’s other production needs. Protect the access point if a Native Trading Post is required.
Cost, statistics, and training limit
The Lakota Axe Rider is a Commerce Age native warrior recruited from a Trading Post or Tambo built beside a Lakota settlement, or from a Native Embassy. Each costs 40 food and 110 wood, takes 30 seconds to train, and the settlement limits the player to ten. Native warriors do not use population, which lets the Axe Rider add army strength after the usual population cap has become a constraint. Its base profile has 365 hit points, 10% ranged resistance, speed 6.75, and line of sight 12. The hand attack deals 21 damage every 1.5 seconds. It also has a 15-damage siege attack at range 6 every 3 seconds and an 11-damage trample attack affecting an area of 3 every 2 seconds. These values make it a fast, low-population melee cavalry option with useful building pressure, but its wood-heavy cost competes with housing, infrastructure, and other wood-intensive units.
Combat role and counterplay
As heavy hand cavalry, the Axe Rider excels at closing on light infantry, counter-skirmishers, and artillery. Its speed allows it to reach vulnerable ranged units quickly, and the lack of population cost makes a Lakota settlement's unit cap its main production limit. It must still cross the battlefield under fire before dealing melee damage; ranged cavalry can kite it, while heavy infantry, ranged shock troops, and Ninja are listed as unfavorable opponents. Do not send it alone into a prepared gun line or against units with anti-cavalry multipliers. Pair it with ranged units that can weaken heavy infantry and protect its approach. Against artillery, use its speed to engage from the flank, but avoid taking unnecessary volleys while crossing open ground. Its siege attack lets it pressure a building once the area is safe, though its principal value is still as a mobile cavalry attacker rather than a replacement for dedicated siege weapons.
Native warrior upgrades and version history
Lakota Warrior Societies upgrades Axe Riders to Elite in the Fortress Age for 100 wood and 75 coin in the Definitive Edition, granting 25% more hit points and damage. Champion Lakota is the next step: it costs 400 wood and 300 coin and adds 35% hit points and damage after Warrior Societies has been researched. Legendary Native Warriors later upgrades them to Legendary for 50% more hit points and damage; it costs 1,500 food and 1,500 wood. African civilizations receive native warrior upgrades automatically and without cost, while other civilizations research the appropriate technology at the Capitol, State Capitol, or Town Center according to their faction. Since The WarChiefs made the Lakota a playable civilization, the old Lakota Axe Rider was replaced in the minor-native roster by the Cheyenne Rider, while the playable Lakota gained the differently named Axe Rider. The old native unit's name and role therefore belong to the pre-expansion minor settlement system and should not be confused with the Lakota roster unit.
Technology interactions
Several improvements can alter its durability, speed, or production. Cavalry Cuirass and Comanche Horse Breeding each increase hit points by 10%; Cree Tanning, Navajo Weaving, Tar Kilns, and the applicable Gadaa System provide smaller health bonuses. Cherokee War Dance can increase speed, while Lakota-specific Horsemanship improves its wall siege multiplier and training time. Native technologies such as Cree Kinship or Cheyenne Horse Trading can substantially reduce training time when available. These modifiers vary by civilization and map alliance, so the unit's baseline cost and statistics are the clearest comparison point; a Native Embassy or settlement may provide a different practical access route from a standard military building.
Recruitment cards and practical use
Home City support can supplement settlement production. The Native Treaties card can ship three Lakota Axe Riders when the player has established a Trading Post on a Lakota settlement; the card is shared by several civilization groups, so its availability depends on the selected faction. Cavalry and Native Warrior cards can also improve relevant combat attributes where that civilization has access. Because the settlement imposes a ten-unit limit, cards and the Native Embassy are useful ways to make the unit part of a larger army without consuming population. On maps where a Lakota settlement is contested, first protect or secure the Trading Post area; otherwise the unit's nominally efficient cost does not translate into dependable reinforcements. The Axe Rider is especially effective when used to flank ranged infantry or race toward exposed artillery while the rest of the army draws fire. Once the opponent fields heavy infantry, light ranged cavalry, or ranged shock troops, switch to screening and avoid direct engagement. The historical change is also important for reading older guides: the Lakota Axe Rider discussed here is a minor-native unit from the base-game settlement system, whereas the playable Lakota civilization's Axe Rider is a separate unit introduced with The WarChiefs.
Lakota melee Cavalry for a fast flank
The Lakota Axe Rider is Commerce Age Native heavy Cavalry recruited from a Trading Post or Tambo on a Lakota settlement, or from a Native Embassy where available. It costs 40 Food and 110 Wood, takes 30 seconds to train and is limited to ten per settlement. The Axe Rider has 365 hit points, 10% ranged resistance, speed 6.75 and sight 12. Its 21-damage hand attack fires every 1.5 seconds, while its Trample attack deals 11 damage over an area of three. A 15-damage Siege attack lets it contribute against buildings if the opponent’s army is displaced. The unusual Food-and-Wood cost can make it useful when Coin is reserved elsewhere, but the Wood cost competes with Houses and production structures.
Protect the Native access point
Use Axe Riders to engage exposed ranged troops or threaten a flank while the main force holds the center. Their health and Trample area help them disrupt a compact formation, but ranged resistance is only 10%, so concentrated gunfire is dangerous. Keep the group away from anti-Cavalry Infantry and avoid fighting under defensive fire. The settlement’s ten-unit cap limits the scale of the force, so preserve trained riders and select engagements where they can withdraw after dealing damage. Their short sight and reliance on a Native settlement make scouting important: locate the target before committing, and keep the Trading Post safe if more units will be needed. When the matchup demands ranged damage rather than melee pressure, choose a different Lakota or allied unit instead of forcing the Axe Rider into an unfavorable role.