Romans vs Byzantines

Playing Romans against Byzantines? Here's the best Romans unit to counter every unit Byzantines can field — only the units your tech tree can actually build. Every figure is drawn from the game's attack bonuses and armor classes, so it stays accurate to the live balance.

61.8%Romans win rate vs Byzantines

Romans are favored95% CI 58.6–64.9% · 903 ranked 1v1 gamesFull win-rate breakdown →

Romans hard-counters 16 of 17 units Byzantines can field. Each of their units is on the left; the best unit you can build to counter it is on the right.

Byzantines

Counter as Romans

Infantry

• MilitiaScorpion+1–2 vs Infantry
• SpearmanCavalry Archer+2–4 vs Spearmen

Archers

• ArcherSkirmisher+3–5 vs Archers
• Cavalry ArcherSpearman+15–32 vs Cavalry
• Skirmisherno hard counter you can build

Cavalry

• CataphractUniqueSpearman+16 vs Cavalry
• CamelSpearman+12–26 vs Camels
• KnightSpearman+15–32 vs Cavalry
• Scout CavalrySpearman+15–32 vs Cavalry

Siege

• Battering RamMangonel+12 vs Siege Weapons
• Bombard CannonBattering Ram+40–50 vs Siege Weapons
• MangonelBattering Ram+40–50 vs Siege Weapons
• ScorpionBattering Ram+40–50 vs Siege Weapons

Naval

• Demolition ShipSpearman+9–17 vs Ships
• Fire ShipSpearman+9–17 vs Ships
• HulkSpearman+9–17 vs Ships
• War GalleySpearman+9–17 vs Ships

Matchups in AoE2 also come down to strategy, economy and the map — this ranks the unit-counter tools Romans brings against Byzantines, not a guaranteed win. The counters are computed from the game's own data, so there's no table to fall out of date when the game is patched.