Vikings: the complete tribe guide
Teuton aggression with denser crop - the Berserker's post-battle kills, every Viking troop against its opposite numbers, and what a Thrall and Valkyrie hammer is worth.
Updated 21 September 2026
Vikings are the newest tribe covered here, introduced in special-server formats where they initially replaced Teutons rather than simply joining them. The design deliberately echoes Teuton aggression but changes the economics through crop-dense cavalry, Berserker attrition and water-focused mechanics.
Every unit below links to its page in the unit database, and every comparison opens in the Unit comparison with both sides already chosen. The whole roster is on the Vikings page.
The hero, and the water identity
Viking mechanics are strongly tied to special servers where water travel and ships matter, and the tribe's special building improves that water-based force projection.
The drawback is structural rather than numerical: one of the tribe's most distinctive mechanics depends on server formats where the water system exists at all, and Vikings are not simply available as a standard option on every regular Wonder of the World server. Check what your own world offers before planning around it. The hero's own equipment is in the hero database.
The wall
The Barricade is the Viking wall. Like the Teuton Earth Wall it trades multiplier for durability, which suits a tribe whose army is usually somewhere else.
Troops, and what they are up against
Thrall
Cheap volume offence and a farming tool - the Viking answer to the Clubswinger, and the comparison worth running.
| Unit | Attack | Attack / 100 res | Crop | Cost | Speed | Carry | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ThrallVikings | 45 | 17.0 | 1 | 265 | 7 | 55 | this troop |
| ClubswingerTeutons | 40 | 16.0 | 1 | 250 | 7 | 60 | Compare |
| BowmanHuns | 50 | 13.5 | 1 | 370 | 6 | 30 | Compare |
| SwordsmanGauls | 65 | 12.1 | 1 | 535 | 6 | 45 | Compare |
| ImperianRomans | 70 | 11.7 | 1 | 600 | 7 | 50 | Compare |
Shield Maiden
Cheap infantry-focused defence: the bulk a Viking defensive village produces.
| Unit | Def inf | Def cav | Def / 100 res | Crop | Cost | Speed | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield MaidenVikings | 50 | 30 | 12.5 | 1 | 320 | 7 | this troop |
| SpearmanTeutons | 35 | 60 | 14.0 | 1 | 340 | 7 | Compare |
| PhalanxGauls | 40 | 50 | 14.3 | 1 | 315 | 7 | Compare |
| Ash WardenEgyptians | 55 | 40 | 11.3 | 1 | 420 | 6 | Compare |
| ShieldsmanSpartans | 85 | 45 | 12.3 | 1 | 530 | 8 | Compare |
Berserker
70 attack for two crop looks inefficient beside one-crop infantry with the same attack - and that reading misses the mechanic entirely.
A Berserker killed while attacking kills one defender back, after the battle. The losses are spread over the surviving defenders in proportion to how many of each type survived, and no wall or Watchtower reduces it. The economics therefore depend on what it kills: 100 Berserkers lost against a stack of expensive defensive cavalry destroy far more value than the same 100 lost against Slave Militia.
Our Battle simulator resolves the normal battle first and then applies those post-battle casualties to the surviving mix, so the trade can be priced rather than argued about.
| Unit | Attack | Attack / crop | Attack / 100 res | Crop | Cost | Speed | Carry | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BerserkerVikings | 70 | 35.0 | 9.7 | 2 | 725 | 5 | 75 | this troop |
| AxemanTeutons | 60 | 60.0 | 12.2 | 1 | 490 | 6 | 50 | Compare |
| SwordsmanGauls | 65 | 65.0 | 12.1 | 1 | 535 | 6 | 45 | Compare |
| ImperianRomans | 70 | 70.0 | 11.7 | 1 | 600 | 7 | 50 | Compare |
| Twinsteel TherionSpartans | 90 | 90.0 | 11.3 | 1 | 795 | 6 | 50 | Compare |
Heimdall's Eye
A one-crop infantry scout, closely paralleling the Teuton Scout. Scouting explains how a scouting battle resolves.
| Unit | Def inf | Def cav | Speed | Crop | Cost | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heimdalls EyeVikings | 10 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 350 | this troop |
| ScoutTeutons | 10 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 360 | Compare |
| SentinelSpartans | 40 | 22 | 9 | 1 | 445 | Compare |
| PathfinderGauls | 20 | 10 | 17 | 2 | 380 | Compare |
| SpotterHuns | 20 | 10 | 19 | 2 | 380 | Compare |
Huskarl Rider
Balanced defensive cavalry with no severe weak side - which is rarer than it sounds, and the reason Vikings are not one-dimensional.
| Unit | Def inf | Def cav | Def inf / crop | Def cav / crop | Def / 100 res | Crop | Cost | Speed | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huskarl RiderVikings | 95 | 100 | 47.5 | 50.0 | 9.2 | 2 | 1,055 | 12 | this troop |
| Resheph ChariotEgyptians | 120 | 150 | 40.0 | 50.0 | 7.5 | 3 | 1,800 | 10 | Compare |
| HaeduanGauls | 60 | 165 | 20.0 | 55.0 | 5.7 | 3 | 1,965 | 13 | Compare |
| Elpida RiderSpartans | 120 | 90 | 60.0 | 45.0 | 7.3 | 2 | 1,440 | 16 | Compare |
| PaladinTeutons | 100 | 40 | 50.0 | 20.0 | 7.0 | 2 | 1,005 | 10 | Compare |
Valkyrie's Blessing
160 attack for two crop: exceptionally dense attack per crop, and one of the main reasons Viking late-game hammers are interesting.
| Unit | Attack | Attack / crop | Attack / 100 res | Crop | Cost | Speed | Carry | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valkyrie’s BlessingVikings | 160 | 80.0 | 9.8 | 2 | 1,625 | 9 | 80 | this troop |
| Teutonic KnightTeutons | 150 | 50.0 | 9.8 | 3 | 1,525 | 9 | 80 | Compare |
| Equites CaesarisRomans | 180 | 45.0 | 8.3 | 4 | 2,170 | 10 | 70 | Compare |
| MarauderHuns | 180 | 60.0 | 10.2 | 3 | 1,760 | 14 | 80 | Compare |
| Corinthian CrusherSpartans | 195 | 65.0 | 8.4 | 3 | 2,315 | 9 | 80 | Compare |
Ram and Catapult
The Viking siege chassis closely mirrors Teuton siege. The key difference is the absence of Brewery amplification behind it.
| Unit | Attack | Attack / 100 res | Def cav | Cost | Crop | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RamVikings | 65 | 3.8 | 80 | 1,720 | 3 | this troop |
| RamTeutons | 65 | 3.8 | 80 | 1,720 | 3 | Compare |
| Battering ramRomans | 60 | 3.3 | 75 | 1,830 | 3 | Compare |
| RamSpartans | 65 | 3.8 | 80 | 1,705 | 3 | Compare |
| Unit | Attack | Attack / 100 res | Def cav | Cost | Crop | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CatapultVikings | 50 | 1.8 | 10 | 2,760 | 6 | this troop |
| CatapultTeutons | 50 | 1.8 | 10 | 2,760 | 6 | Compare |
| Fire CatapultRomans | 75 | 2.5 | 10 | 2,990 | 6 | Compare |
| TrebuchetGauls | 70 | 2.2 | 10 | 3,130 | 6 | Compare |
Jarl
15-30% loyalty per hit, so five Jarls give 75-150% before modifiers - the same high-variance range as the Hun Logades, without the Command Center to add a sixth. Administrators: loyalty and conquering villages has the arithmetic.
| Unit | Loyalty per hit | Cost | Crop | Speed | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JarlVikings | 15-30% | 114,300 | 4 | 5 | this troop |
| LogadesHuns | 15-30% | 117,600 | 4 | 5 | Compare |
| SenatorRomans | 20-30% | 140,450 | 5 | 4 | Compare |
| ChiefTeutons | 20-25% | 114,300 | 4 | 4 | Compare |
Settler
Very close to the Teuton expansion profile. Settlers and founding villages covers culture points and slots.
| Unit | Cost | Carry | Crop | Speed | Side by side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SettlerVikings | 20,000 | 3,000 | 1 | 5 | this troop |
| SettlerTeutons | 20,000 | 3,000 | 1 | 5 | Compare |
| SettlerGauls | 18,100 | 3,000 | 1 | 5 | Compare |
| SettlerRomans | 19,000 | 3,000 | 1 | 5 | Compare |
Defensive strategy
Shield Maidens provide cheap infantry-focused mass while Huskarl Riders provide balanced mobile defence. Vikings are primarily aggressive, but the defensive cavalry is good enough that the tribe is not forced into it.
Offensive strategy
The rhythm resembles Teutons: early aggression and farming, then a large late-game hammer built to smash important targets. Thrall + Valkyrie produces a Teuton-like offensive stream with much better crop density. Berserkers add a second axis of damage by removing defenders after the battle rather than by breaking more wall.
The numbers: the Viking hammer
Three shapes on the same 100,000 crop, with the Teuton hammer it is modelled on for reference:
| Army | Troops | Attack | Resources | Days to train |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thrall + Valkyrie’s Blessing | 50,000 + 25,000 | 6,250,000 | 53,875,000 | 119.6 |
| Clubswinger + Teutonic Knight | 50,000 + 16,666 | 4,499,900-28% | 37,915,650-30% | 77.1-36% |
| Berserker + Valkyrie’s Blessing | 25,000 + 25,000 | 5,750,000-8% | 58,750,000+9% | 119.6 |
Thrall and Valkyrie is about 39% stronger than the Teuton equivalent on the same crop - the Teuton row is 28% behind it - for about 42% more resources and about half as long again in the queue. That is the trade the tribe is built on: Viking crop density against Teuton cheapness. On a cropper that is full, the Viking version wins; on an account whose limit is resources, it does not.
The Berserker variant reads as 8% weaker and 9% dearer, and the table cannot price what it is for. Those figures are the normal battle only. The extra defenders each lost Berserker takes with it are worth whatever those defenders cost - which against a stack of Haeduans or Resheph Chariots is a great deal more than the 8%. Run the real fight in the Battle simulator, which applies the post-battle kills to the surviving mix, and compare the resource value destroyed rather than the attack column.
The numbers: which Viking defence
| Army | Troops | Def inf | Def cav | Resources | Days to train |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield Maiden | 100,000 | 5,000,000 | 3,000,000 | 32,000,000 | 168.9 |
| Huskarl Rider | 50,000 | 4,750,000-5% | 5,000,000+67% | 52,750,000+65% | 207.2+23% |
| Shield Maiden + Huskarl Rider | 50,000 + 25,000 | 4,875,000-2.5% | 4,000,000+33% | 42,375,000+32% | 103.6-39% |
Huskarl Riders trade 5% of the infantry defence for 67% more cavalry defence, and cost 65% more resources for it. Shield Maidens are the cheaper infantry wall; Huskarls are the only one of the two that covers cavalry properly.
The mix is what most Viking defensive villages should actually produce - a third more cavalry defence than Shield Maidens alone, for a third more resources - and it trains in 39% less time than either on its own, because the Barracks and the Stable are working at once.
Strengths, weaknesses and common mistakes
- Strength. The densest offensive crop in the game outside Sparta, and a hammer that does not need a Brewery to justify itself.
- Strength. The Berserker mechanic, which turns attrition into a weapon against expensive defence.
- Strength. Balanced defensive cavalry, so the tribe can hold ground when it has to.
- Weakness. The water mechanics depend on the server format, and the tribe is not offered everywhere.
- Weakness. More expensive than the Teuton tribe it resembles.
- Mistake. Judging Berserkers on the attack column. That is the one unit in the game whose value is mostly after the battle.
- Mistake. Assuming a Viking hammer is a Teuton hammer. It costs more and it is worth more; the account has to be built for the bill.
Where to go next
- The seven tribes compared by the numbers - every tribe's best attacker and defender.
- Battle simulator - Berserker post-battle kills, modelled.
- Event order: what happens first in the same second - what happens in which order when the attack lands.
- Army calculator - price the whole hammer, buildings included.