Overview
For the Aztecs, war is a divine duty – the only guarantee that the sun will rise again. To fuel the Gods, you must appease them with blood. As warriors fall, their tonalli, or life force is released. The stronger the foe, the more tonalli they hold. This tonalli is gathered by the Aztec’s hero unit: Warrior Priests and religious buildings including Temples, Great Temples, and Tzompantli Towers.
Using tonalli, Priests can become possessed by your Major God, transforming into a temporary avatar of divine power capable of decimating enemy Myth Units before being consumed by the Gods.
Beyond the chaos of combat, ritual sacrifice fuels the Aztecs’ divine economy. Settlers may be offered at the Temple to create surges of favor. In later ages, entire groups of units can be sacrificed at the Great Temple, unlocking unique and powerful perks.
The Aztecs do not ride horses; instead, they field fast, ferocious infantry that control the map and the tempo of battle. The War Hut trains core counter-troops, while the Noble’s Hut produces elite nobles, units like the Eagle Knight or Jaguar Warrior.
Lacking heavy walls and siege engines, the Aztecs rely on “Fear and Illusion” tactics. They employ deception to control the field. Quimichin Spies and Ocelotl Warriors can vanish into stealth, holding key positions unseen and striking when least expected.
Major Gods
Quetzalcoatl
God of Wind, Arts, and Wisdom
Focus: Warrior Priests and Nobles Hut Warriors
God Power – Tailwind: Target a group of friendly units to boost their movement speed for a short duration.
Tezcatlipoca
God of Obsidian, Darkness, and Sorcery
Focus: Defense and Myth Units
God Power – Obsidian Mirror: Target any player to secretly copy their Archaic Age God Power.
Huitzilopochtli
Lord of War and the Sun
Focus: Conquest and Expansion
God Power – Blood Pact: Target any unit to grant it immense power for a short duration. When the effect ends, the unit dies, granting you favor.
Quetzalcoatl
God of Wind, Arts, and Wisdom
Focus: Warrior Priests and Nobles Hut Warriors
God Power – Tailwind: Target a group of friendly units to boost their movement speed for a short duration.
Tezcatlipoca
God of Obsidian, Darkness, and Sorcery
Focus: Defense and Myth Units
God Power – Obsidian Mirror: Target any player to secretly copy their Archaic Age God Power.
Huitzilopochtli
Lord of War and the Sun
Focus: Conquest and Expansion
God Power – Blood Pact: Target any unit to grant it immense power for a short duration. When the effect ends, the unit dies, granting you favor.
Minor Gods Spotlight
Coatlicue
Mother Goddess of the Earth
Focus: Buildings and Siege
Myth Unit: Ayotochtli
God Power – Earth Monster: Target a location to summon Tlaltecuhtli, the Earth Monster. It erupts from the ground repeatedly to swallow groups of units, trapping them underground before regurgitating survivors.
Coyolxauhqui
Goddess of the Moon and mystery
Focus: Devotion and Upgrades
Myth Unit: Tzitzimitl
God Power – Starfall: Target a location to bombard enemies with falling stars. Tzitzimitl star demons occasionally emerge from the craters to fight for you.
Huehuecoyotl
God of Music, Dance and Mischief
Focus: Traps and Stealth
Myth Unit: Chaneque
God Power – Lullaby: Target a group of enemies to put them to sleep. Any damage dealt to sleeping units will wake them up immediately.
Itzpapalotl
Goddess of war and obsidian
Focus: Tonalli and Nobles Hut soldiers
Myth Unit: Obsidian Butterfly
God Power – Purge: Target an enemy military unit to mark it for sacrifice. The unit is suspended in the air, and after a short delay, all nearby enemies of the same type are destroyed.
Malinalxochitl
Goddess of snakes, scorpions and black magic
Focus: Poison and curses
Myth Unit: Maquizcoatl
God Power – Infestation: Target a location to summon an Infested Nest that periodically spawns Scorpions that obey your commands
Mictlantecutli
God of the Dead and the Underworld
Focus: Warrior Priests and death
Myth Unit: Tunkuluchu
God Power – Volcano: Target a location to raise a mighty Volcano. It obliterates buildings as it rises, and bombards the surrounding area with molten rock.
Patecatl
God of Healing, Fertility and Pulque
Focus: Settlers and healing
Myth Unit: Centzon Totochtin
God Power – Agave Bloom: Target a location to spawn a sacred Agave. Gather it for food or let its sacred energy heal your nearby units.
Tlaloc
God of Storms, Rain, and Maize
Focus: Economy and Great Temples
Myth Unit: Ahuizotl
God Power – Pillar of Tlalocan: Target a location to call down the Pillar of Tlálocan, obliterating fortifications on impact. The statue remains to defend the area with water strikes until destroyed.
Xolotl
God of Monsters and Deformities
Focus: Myth Units
Myth Unit: Soul Guide
God Power – Corrupted ground: Target an area to corrupt the earth. Defeated enemies here will be reborn as vile abominations that fight for you.
Coatlicue
Mother Goddess of the Earth
Focus: Buildings and Siege
Myth Unit: Ayotochtli
God Power – Earth Monster: Target a location to summon Tlaltecuhtli, the Earth Monster. It erupts from the ground repeatedly to swallow groups of units, trapping them underground before regurgitating survivors.
Coyolxauhqui
Goddess of the Moon and mystery
Focus: Devotion and Upgrades
Myth Unit: Tzitzimitl
God Power – Starfall: Target a location to bombard enemies with falling stars. Tzitzimitl star demons occasionally emerge from the craters to fight for you.
Huehuecoyotl
God of Music, Dance and Mischief
Focus: Traps and Stealth
Myth Unit: Chaneque
God Power – Lullaby: Target a group of enemies to put them to sleep. Any damage dealt to sleeping units will wake them up immediately.
Itzpapalotl
Goddess of war and obsidian
Focus: Tonalli and Nobles Hut soldiers
Myth Unit: Obsidian Butterfly
God Power – Purge: Target an enemy military unit to mark it for sacrifice. The unit is suspended in the air, and after a short delay, all nearby enemies of the same type are destroyed.
Malinalxochitl
Goddess of snakes, scorpions and black magic
Focus: Poison and curses
Myth Unit: Maquizcoatl
God Power – Infestation: Target a location to summon an Infested Nest that periodically spawns Scorpions that obey your commands
Mictlantecutli
God of the Dead and the Underworld
Focus: Warrior Priests and death
Myth Unit: Tunkuluchu
God Power – Volcano: Target a location to raise a mighty Volcano. It obliterates buildings as it rises, and bombards the surrounding area with molten rock.
Patecatl
God of Healing, Fertility and Pulque
Focus: Settlers and healing
Myth Unit: Centzon Totochtin
God Power – Agave Bloom: Target a location to spawn a sacred Agave. Gather it for food or let its sacred energy heal your nearby units.
Tlaloc
God of Storms, Rain, and Maize
Focus: Economy and Great Temples
Myth Unit: Ahuizotl
God Power – Pillar of Tlalocan: Target a location to call down the Pillar of Tlálocan, obliterating fortifications on impact. The statue remains to defend the area with water strikes until destroyed.
Xolotl
God of Monsters and Deformities
Focus: Myth Units
Myth Unit: Soul Guide
God Power – Corrupted ground: Target an area to corrupt the earth. Defeated enemies here will be reborn as vile abominations that fight for you.
Myth Unit Spotlight
Centzon Totochtin
The Centzon Totochtin are a group of divine rabbit spirits in Aztec mythology associated with pulque and the effects of intoxication. Said to number four hundred, they represent the many different and unpredictable outcomes. Rather than symbols of pleasure alone, they reflect Aztec concerns about excess and imbalance.
- >Grows in number by fighting, eating farms, or berry bushes.
Axolotl
The Axolotl are legendary creatures, often associated with water, regeneration, and transformation. It is a type of aquatic salamander native to the lakes around Tenochtitlan and is linked to the god Xolotl, the deity of lightning, death, mutation and twins.
- Can summon shields to heal allies and crush enemy ships to regenerate hitpoints.
Chaneque
Chaneque are small, mischievous spirit beings. They are often described as forest or household spirits who play tricks on people, hide belongings, and sometimes lead travelers astray.
Despite their prankster nature, Chaneque are also considered protectors of nature and sacred places, embodying the mysterious and playful aspects of the natural world.
- A small beam-shooting creature that transitions into a stationary turret with higher attack, defense and range
Shorn One
The Shorn Ones are the highest-ranking warriors of the Aztecs. They are good against most enemies, but especially strong at taking out enemy infantry.
Shorn Ones excel at spearheading late game assaults, tearing through enemy front lines, and holding defensive positions. Their prestige as the ultimate Aztec warrior comes with a high resource cost, population cost, and training time. They are few on the battlefield but pose a threat the enemy cannot afford to ignore.
- Can stun and reduce enemy damage with its Terror Whistle.
Eagle Warrior
In Aztec warfare, Eagle Warriors embodied both nobility and lethality; warriors who struck before the enemy could even prepare.
Eagle Warriors are powerful, mobile ranged generalists effective against most Human Units. With high attack range, speed, and mobility, they excel at kiting. Unlike more specialized units, they perform well without strict counter-matchup planning, and upgrades further boost their speed and damage.
- Elite Ranged soldier. Good against everything it can reach, especially ranged soldiers.
Warrior Priest
Warrior Priests are the common Aztec hero unit. They collect tonalli, dropped by defeated units, to supplement favor generation, and can construct religious buildings. They fight at close range and are especially strong against Myth Units given their Hero status, but they are also effective against Human Units.
Warrior Priests are necessary in any Aztec strategy, as they reduce reliance on the Teixiptla as the sole Myth Unit counter and contribute to Favor generation through tonalli absorption.
- Hero. Good against Myth Units. Can build religious buildings. Collects Relics.
Wonder Age
Each pantheon in Age of Mythology: Retold has the ability to construct one unique building, it’s Wonder of the World. Wonders are expensive and take a long time to build but mark a pantheon as one of outstanding achievement. Building a Wonder counts significant points towards your pantheon’s score, and may result in a win, depending on the victory conditions for a game.
Constructing a Wonder advances the pantheon to the Wonder Age, where the Gods will reward you with great world ending power:
- Increased Favor generation.
- Cheaper God Powers and faster Cooldowns.
- Increased Myth Unit and Titan Attack Damage and Hitpoints.
- Increased Myth Units and Titans Speed.
- Titan Gate: Can be rebuilt multiple times.