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Idle Villager
On this page
  1. What it does
  2. Strengths
  3. Weaknesses
  4. Strong counters
  5. Situational counters
  6. What it counters
  7. Why matchups work
  8. Line, cost, and age
  9. Upgrades
  10. Mistakes
  11. Supporting units
  12. Civ exceptions
  13. Related

Counter finder

Mangonel

Verified

siege · Siege Workshop · castle Age

Blast siege. Deletes clumped archers and Scorpions. Friendly fire is real.

Idle Villager is current for Update 177723, with minor updates through 180059. Facts on this page were checked on 2026-09-19. Counters are not unconditional. Numbers, upgrades, terrain, and micro change the fight.

What it does

Drop one behind your army vs archers or Scorpions. Micro the shot. Do not fire through your own Knights.

Strengths

  • Area damage.
  • Beats Scorpion packs if it fires first.
  • Cuts trees (Onager and up).

Weaknesses

  • Friendly fire.
  • Cavalry.
  • Minimum range.

Strong counters

Strategic advice built on verified armor classes and unit access. Not unconditional.

  • Knight · cost-effective · can win in equal numbers

    Cavalry dive is the default. BBC is the Imperial siege answer.

    • Pikes next to the Onager.
    • Celt fire rate can punish a slow charge.

  • Scout Cavalry · cost-effective · needs numbers, surround, or micro

    Hussars are the cost-effective dive.

    • Halberdiers.
    • Mangudai sniping from outside.

  • Bombard Cannon · cost-effective · can win in equal numbers

    BBC outranges Onagers.

    • Not available for Khmer, Britons, Mongols, or Celts in this set.

Situational counters

None published in this category yet.

What it counters

  • Scorpion

    Onagers one-shot clumps. If both packs fire, the wider blast usually wins.

  • Ballista Elephant

    Onagers hit the clump. A single Onager does not beat a dozen elephants.

  • Archer

    One Mangonel shot can pay for itself against a clump. Equal numbers of Mangonels vs archers is the wrong framing.

  • Spearman

    Blast vs a pike clump. Overkill if you already have archers.

  • Longbowman

    Onagers punish the clump that Longbows like to stand in.

  • Hand Cannoneer

    Onagers delete the clump. Micro required.

Why matchups work

High melee blast vs low-HP clumped units. Scorpions have low HP. Cavalry outrun the projectile and crush the Mangonel.

Line, cost, and age

Verified fact from the aoe2techtree dat extract. Base stats, no civ bonuses.

Mangonel line stats
UnitAgeHPAttackRangeArmorCost
Mangonelcastle5040 melee70/6160w 135g
Onagerimperial6050 melee80/7160w 135g
Siege Onagerimperial7075 melee80/8160w 135g

Upgrades

  • Onager / Siege Onagerimperial Age

    Khmer and Franks and Britons miss Siege Onager. Mongols and Celts have it.

  • Siege Engineersimperial Age

    Range and building damage. Byzantines miss it.

Common mistakes when fighting it

  • Firing into your own army.
  • Leaving Onagers unguarded vs Hussars.

Supporting units

Civilization-specific exceptions

These sit on top of the generic matchup, not inside it.

  • Celts

    Siege fires 25% faster, Furor Celtica +40% HP, Siege Onager available.

    verified fact

  • Khmer

    Onager yes, Siege Onager no. Siege Engineers yes.

    verified fact