Guide

Introduction

Set is the most unconventional Egyptian god — a chaotic, aggressive civ built around converted animals, cheap infantry, and relentless map control. While Ra booms and Isis turtles, Set fights dirty: stealing animals, spamming myth units, and overwhelming opponents who aren't prepared for his unique mechanics.

Set rewards creativity and punishes predictable play.

Set Bonuses

• Animals can be converted by Priests — wild animals become controllable military units
• Pharaoh can summon animals for free — a constant stream of expendable units
• Slingers, Hyenas, and other units are cheaper
• Monuments generate favor faster
• God Power — Vision: Reveals the entire map for a short duration — scouting without risk
• Unique Tech — Feral: Improves converted animals' combat stats

Key Mechanics

Animal Conversion

This is Set's defining mechanic. Your Priest and Pharaoh can convert wild animals into controllable units. Tips:

• Send your Priest on an animal-conversion tour immediately at game start — keep him moving the entire game
• Convert deer, gazelles, boar, elephants — anything that moves. Even enemy herdables if you can reach them
• Converted animals cost nothing and take no population. They're free army
• Use animals as meat shields, raiders, and scouts
• The Pharaoh's summon ability generates animals near him periodically — keep him active

Vision God Power

Vision reveals the entire map. Best uses:

• Cast immediately at game start to see all gold mines, TC locations, and enemy starting position
• Plan your entire game based on map knowledge — where to expand, where to raid, where to wall
• In competitive play, some prefer saving Vision for a critical moment (finding hidden TCs, locating a Titan Gate)

Minor Gods

Age	Options	Notes
Classical	Anubis, Ptah	Anubis for aggression (Anubites + Plague of Serpents); Ptah for eco (Shaduf farms)
Heroic	Sekhmet, Nephthys	Sekhmet for Scarabs + siege; Nephthys for Scorpion Men + improved Priests
Mythic	Thoth, Horus	Thoth for War Elephants; Horus for infantry buffs (synergizes with Set's spam)

Build Orders

Standard Aggressive Start (~4:00-4:30 Classical)

1. Baboon scouts immediately (circle the map)
2. Priest begins converting animals on a wide arc around your base
3. All starting villagers to food (hunt)
4. 1 villager to gold immediately
5. First 8-9 total on food
6. 4-5 on gold by ~3:00
7. Build Temple with 1-2 villagers near base
8. Click Classical at ~4:00-4:30 (400 food + 250 gold)

During advance: Keep making villagers. Shift eco toward 8-9 food, 6-7 gold. Minimal wood for now.

Upon Classical

1. Build Monument near planned military buildings
2. Build 2 Barracks near the Monument (cost reduction)
3. Save 500 gold for a 2nd TC (Egyptian TCs cost only gold)
4. Keep Priest converting animals — they're your free supplement army
5. Spam infantry from Barracks: Spearmen vs cavalry, Axemen vs infantry, Slingers vs archers

Strategies

Anubis Rush

Advance with Anubis for aggressive map control. Anubites are fast jump-attack units that shred infantry and can raid villagers efficiently.

• Build 2 Temples for faster Anubite production
• Mix Anubites with converted animals as expendable meat shields
• Target enemy food gatherers and gold miners
• Use Plague of Serpents on enemy docks (water maps) or key resource sites
• Keep converting animals — every free unit is military you didn't have to pay for

Ptah Economy (Boom Style)

Advance with Ptah for Shaduf (cheaper farms) and a stronger economy into Heroic. Less aggressive but more sustainable.

• Use Shifting Sands defensively or to relocate enemy armies
• Build 2 TCs, spam villagers, mass farms
• Transition to Heroic around 8:00-9:00 with a massive economy
• Hit with Scarabs (Sekhmet) or Scorpion Men (Nephthys) for the kill

Animal Army Rush

A fun and unique Set-specific strategy:

• Send both Priest and Pharaoh on separate conversion routes at game start
• Stockpile 15-20 converted animals before engaging
• Research Feral for combat stat boost
• Attack with your free animal army while producing real military from Barracks
• The enemy has to spend real resources to fight what cost you nothing

Heroic Age

Sekhmet (Aggressive)

• Scarabs: Devastating siege myth units. 3 Scarabs with Eclipse active can flatten a base
• Citadel: Upgrades a TC into a fortress with +10 pop cap
• Bone Bow: Chariot Archers outrange TCs — absurdly good for raiding

Nephthys (Defensive/Anti-Myth)

• Scorpion Men: One of the best Heroic myth units in the game — tough, versatile, and strong
• Priest upgrades: Makes your Priests nearly immune to enemy myth units
• Ancestors (God Power): Combined with Eclipse, A+E is one of the strongest combos in the game

Mythic Age

Horus (Recommended for Set)

Horus synergizes perfectly with Set's infantry-spam identity:

• Greatest of Fifty: +15% hack armor + 100% bonus vs cavalry for melee units
• Spears of the Horizon: +30% HP, +10% attack for Spearmen — they become nearly unkillable
• Avenger: Powerful melee myth unit
• Tornado: Great god power for destroying clustered armies and buildings

Thoth (Recommended for Late Game)

• War Elephants: No real counter in large numbers
• Book of Thoth: +10% all resource gathering
• Meteor: Can destroy TCs or Titan Gates

Matchup Tips

vs Norse

Set is strong vs Norse. Your converted animals plus Barracks spam overwhelm their expensive units. Use Anubites to jump Hersirs and disrupt their favor income. Raid their hunt with animals — if Norse can't hunt, they starve.

vs Greek

More challenging. Greek heroes kill myth units efficiently, so don't rely too heavily on Anubites vs Greek. Focus on infantry spam and economy. Mass Slingers if they go Toxotes-heavy. Get to Heroic for stronger options.

vs Egyptian (Mirror)

Animal wars. Convert more animals than them (keep your Priest busy!). Vision at start gives you full map knowledge — use it to plan your TC placements and identify their gold. Whoever controls more gold wins the Eggy war.

vs Atlantean

Anubis is excellent here. Anubites' jump attack shreds Atlantean citizen-soldiers. Use animals to raid their eco constantly — Atlantean villagers are expensive, and every kill hurts. Push hard in Classical before they tech up.

General Tips

• Never stop converting animals. This is free military. A Set player whose Priest is idle is wasting their biggest advantage.
• Use Vision wisely. Full map knowledge at the start of the game lets you plan everything. Know where every gold mine and TC spot is.
• Monuments matter. Set's faster favor from Monuments means more myth units faster. Build them early and near your military production.
• Be unpredictable. Set has the most strategic flexibility of any Egyptian god. Rush, boom, raid, fast heroic — keep your opponent guessing.
• Don't neglect your economy. Animals are free, but you still need a real economy for Barracks units, upgrades, and age advancement.