Evony Martinus Build Guide: Highest Buff Free Mounted General

Martinus is the highest buff free mounted general in Evony, provided you assign a combat dragon to his march. His signature skill, Customary, delivers a 45% mounted troop attack increase alongside mounted defense and HP boosts when marching with a dragon. Fully developed through specialties and 10-star ascension, Martinus reaches an offensive ceiling comparable to premium event generals without requiring cash purchases.

Martinus vs. Roland: Choosing Your Free Cavalry Lead

The decision to build Martinus depends entirely on your dragon availability. If your combat dragons—such as the Celtic Demon or Fafnir—are committed to ranged or siege marches, Martinus loses his primary advantage. In that scenario, Roland serves as the stronger alternative because his buffs function with any spiritual beast.

If you have an unlocked dragon from the Pasture or Wonder to pair with your cavalry march, invest in Martinus for maximum attack output. If dragons are unavailable, choose Roland.

Tavern Recruitment and Ascension Requirements

Martinus appears directly in the Tavern pool for gold recruitment. To recruit him and collect duplicate copies for ascension efficiently:

• Tavern Level: Upgrade your Tavern to at least Level 27 before refreshing. Level 30 or higher offers significantly improved historic general odds.
• Resource Reserves: Keep 50,000 to 100,000 gems and at least 300 million gold ready before starting a refresh session. Each Martinus copy costs approximately 38 million gold.
• Ascension Copies: Maxing Martinus at 10-star ascension requires 16 total copies (640 general fragments) and a steady supply of Blood of Ares. Convert duplicate Martinus cards into fragments immediately rather than dismissing them.
• Blood of Ares Sourcing: Gather Blood of Ares through daily activity chests, Server vs. Server (SvS) events, and the Trial of Knights. Commit these materials entirely to Martinus before developing a second ascending general.

Skill Books and Assistant General Pairings

Because identical skill book effects do not stack with matching main skills, Martinus cannot equip a standard Mounted Troop Attack skill book if his innate skill already provides that stat line under the same conditions.

Recommended Skill Books for Martinus

• Mounted Troop HP
• Mounted Troop Defense
• Mounted Troop Speed or March Size (use Monster Mounted Troop Attack if dedicated purely to monster hunting)

Assistant General Pairings

Roland cannot serve as an assistant to Martinus because their core mounted skills conflict and cancel each other out. Pair Martinus with an assistant whose skill activates cleanly alongside Customary:

• Zhao Yun: Provides flat mounted attack and survivability without disabling Martinus's primary skill.
• Li Jing: Offers reliable cavalry buffs and early-game accessibility.
• Aethelflaed: Recommended specifically for monster rallies and boss hunting to increase monster damage and march capacity.

Equip your assistant general with the skill books Martinus cannot carry, such as Mounted Troop Attack (provided it does not conflict on the assistant) along with March Size or Troop Load.

Equipment and Specialty Priorities

Maximize Martinus's combat scaling by aligning your gear crafting and runestone investments:

1. Equipment Progression: Transition from King gear into Dragon gear, followed by Ares and Achaemenidae sets, before working toward Parthian or Civilization pieces.
2. Refines: Target mounted troop attack percentage on his weapon and ring, rolling for values of 20% or higher per attribute slot.
3. Specialty Order: Maximize the first three specialty trees—Mounted Troop Strike, War God, and Cavalry Coordination—using standard runestones to secure high-value flat percentages. Reserve your Immortal runestones until those three are complete, then finish his fourth specialty to unlock his final attack and march size enhancements.