Civilization · 1v1

Byzantines

Tier D#54 win rate of 56 civs

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Winrate: 47.2 %#54 of 56
Since last patch: +0.7 ptsvs previous patch
Pick rate: 2.4 %#14 of 56
Games: 27,213
Avg ELO: 1018

Format

1v12v2 3v3 4v4 Team All modes

Map

Period

ELO

Duration

At a glance

EloBest Elo range1600-1799920 games50.2 %

minBest game length50 to 60 min4,517 games49.8 %

Winrate by patch

Winrate by ELO bucket

Winrate by game duration

Patch changes

Official patch notes that mention or affect Byzantines

9 recent notesBuff 8Balance 1

Update 185872

Sep 22, 2026

BuffBalance Changes / Byzantines

Cataphract

(Elite) Cataphract bonus damage vs. Infantry increased from 9 → 13, Elite 12 → 18.

Update 185872

Sep 22, 2026

BuffBalance Changes / General

Champion

Champion bonus damage vs. Shock Infantry increased from +8 → +9.

Update 185872

Sep 22, 2026

BuffBalance Changes / Byzantines

Varangian Guard

Gain access to (Elite) Varangian Guards.

Update 185872

Sep 22, 2026

BuffBalance Changes / General

Man-at-Arms

Infantry Man-at-Arms bonus damage vs. Shock Infantry increased from +2 → +3.

Update 185872

Sep 22, 2026

BalanceBalance Changes / Byzantines

CataphractLogisticaVarangian Guard

Logistica effect changed from Cataphracts deal trample damage, +6 vs. Infantry → Cataphracts and Varangian guards deal trample damage.

Update 185872

Sep 22, 2026

BuffBalance Changes / General

Long Swordsman

Long Swordsman bonus damage vs. Shock Infantry increased from +6 → +8.

Update 185872

Sep 22, 2026

BuffBalance Changes / General

Two-Handed Swordsman

Two-handed Swordsman bonus damage vs. Shock Infantry increased from +8 → +9.

Update 169123

Feb 17, 2026

BuffBalance Changes / Byzantines

Dromon

Fire Ships and Dromons attack faster civilization bonus increased from +20% → 25%.

Update 162286

Dec 2, 2025

BuffBalance Changes / General

Gambesons

Gambesons cost reduced from 100 food 100 gold → 50 food 100 gold.

Parsed replay profile

How Byzantines is played, and how to answer it

1v1 replay signals from the 1200–2000 Elo Arabia and Arena samples. These insights stay hidden on team-game pages until a comparable TG corpus exists.

Arabia playstyle

The openings and units most frequently observed with this civilization.

Most played openings

Spears + skirmishers256 player observations51.6%

Archer rush181 player observations47.5%

Scout rush83 player observations38.6%

Skirmisher opening56 player observations55.4%

MAA → Archers55 player observations45.5%

Common army units

SkirmishersObserved in 568 games

ArchersObserved in 448 games

MonksObserved in 421 games

Spear lineObserved in 392 games

Camel ScoutObserved in 344 games

MangonelsObserved in 253 games

Answers to Byzantines on Arabia

Openings are ranked by their overall performance against this civilization, regardless of what the opponent opened with. Open one to see the matchup detail.

Best openings against this civ

Best unit counters

Battle elephants71.4% winrate · 21 games

Rocket Cart65.2% winrate · 23 games

Rams62.7% winrate · 153 games

Fire Lancer60.9% winrate · 23 games

Bombard cannons59.5% winrate · 79 games

Monks55.6% winrate · 367 games

Top maps for this civ

#	Games	Winrate	Elo
1	12,202	47.4%	1074
2	4,663	46.8%	874
3	2,603	46.4%	1168
4	1,603	47.2%	973
5	1,003	47.0%	949
6	885	47.6%	962
7	867	52.1%	943
8	813	50.2%	962
9	762	44.9%	965
10	748	44.7%	1005
11	451	48.8%	957
12	173	41.6%	962

Matchups vs other civs

#	Games	Winrate	Edge vs 50%
1	185	58.4%	+8.4 pts
2	149	56.4%	+6.4 pts
3	279	54.1%	+4.1 pts
4	791	53.5%	+3.5 pts
5	628	52.9%	+2.9 pts
6	94	52.1%	+2.1 pts
7	206	51.5%	+1.5 pts
8	350	51.1%	+1.1 pts
9	505	51.1%	+1.1 pts
10	539	50.5%	+0.5 pts
11	824	50.1%	+0.1 pts
12	380	50.0%	0.0 pts

At a glance

Winrate by patch

Winrate by ELO bucket

Winrate by game duration

How Byzantines is played, and how to answer it

Most played openings

Common army units

Best openings against this civ

Best unit counters

Top maps for this civ

Matchups vs other civs

Other civilizations