AI lords are the computer-controlled rivals you face in Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, a remaster of the 2002 castle-building strategy game. Every lord brings a castle, an army and a set of tactics of their own, so each match plays out differently. Knowing how a lord tends to play helps you prepare before the fight begins.
Roster
Original Lords
Rat
A weak opponent with a loosely defended castle.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Applies little military pressure and is one of the weakest opponents.
- Castle
- Scattered wall sections, few towers, and no traps leave the castle poorly defended.
- Main Troops
- Spearmen and archers.
Snake
A cautious lord whose patchy walls leave openings.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Uses a mixed light force, but avoids decisive fights and is a poor combat leader.
- Castle
- An uneven mix of walls and moat, with small towers and no traps or defensive engines.
- Main Troops
- Archers, spearmen, fire throwers, laddermen, slaves, Arabian archers, and slingers.
Pig
An early attacker who favors macemen and crossbowmen.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Has a weak economy but attacks early, often testing defenses with small forces.
- Castle
- A narrow, elongated fort with large square towers at each end and wolf pits outside.
- Main Troops
- Macemen and crossbowmen.
Wolf
A strong commander behind thick walls and layered defenses.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Builds a powerful army and uses flexible attacks backed by siege weapons.
- Castle
- A large fortress with thick walls, tall towers, moats, wolf pits, and pitch ditches.
- Main Troops
- Archers, crossbowmen, Arabian archers, horse archers, swordsmen, pikemen, and boiling-oil engineers.
Saladin
An economic builder who attacks with a large army.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Runs a strong desert economy and waits until he can send a large force.
- Castle
- A broad fort with projecting round towers, mangonels, ballistae, Arabian archers, and usually a moat.
- Main Troops
- Arabian archers, horse archers, fire throwers, Arabian swordsmen, assassins, and slaves.
Caliph
A fire-focused attacker whose castle uses pitch ditches.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Uses fire raids and burning defenses as a central part of his attacks.
- Castle
- A rectangular fort with narrow walls, many lookout towers, fire ballistae, and pitch ditches.
- Main Troops
- Arabian archers, Arabian swordsmen, slaves, boiling-oil engineers, fire throwers, and horse archers.
Sultan
A modest fighter whose troops defend him loyally.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Relies on loyal troops to defend him more than on strong military attacks.
- Castle
- A weak circular fort with one small gate, one lookout tower, and no moat or traps.
- Main Troops
- Slingers, fire throwers, Arabian swordsmen, and Arabian archers.
Richard the Lionheart
A skilled siege leader with a strong military and average economy.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- A strong soldier who favors direct assaults and excels at siege warfare.
- Castle
- A classic rectangle with four corner towers; he may add a second wall line and uses boiling oil.
- Main Troops
- Pikemen, archers, tunnelers, swordsmen, and boiling-oil engineers.
Roster
Warchest Lords
Sheriff
A trap-using lord who mixes Arab and Crusader troops.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Uses both Arab and Crusader troops, with traps and fire attacks to protect his position.
- Castle
- A low outer wall surrounds workshops; a taller, thicker wall protects the keep, with towers and pitch ditches.
- Main Troops
- Macemen, crossbowmen, assassins, fire throwers, and slaves.
Emperor Frederick
A strong strategist who uses knights to disrupt sieges.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Builds a strong economy and sends knights on short raids against enemy siege engines.
- Castle
- A triangular fort with corner towers, sometimes a second wall, a moat, and wolf pits.
- Main Troops
- Archers, crossbowmen, swordsmen, and knights.
King Philip
A knight-focused lord with a lightly protected castle.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Seeks glory and tries to make knights the core of his army, but attacks inconsistently.
- Castle
- A short front wall protects the keep while a moat covers much of the rest; two square towers hold ballistae.
- Main Troops
- Archers, spearmen, and knights.
Abbot
An economic lord whose castle fields many monks.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Pairs a strong economy with a large group of monks, though he is manageable in battle.
- Castle
- A rectangular fort with forward square towers, a moat around the outer ward, and pitch ditches.
- Main Troops
- Archers and monks.
Emir
A strong economic lord backed by many archers.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Combines a strong economy with a large ranged force and a hard-to-take castle.
- Castle
- A circular, sun-shaped fort with projecting round towers, lookout towers, and boiling oil.
- Main Troops
- Arabian archers, horse archers, archers, Arabian swordsmen, and boiling-oil engineers.
Marshal
A capable fighter whose castle uses a moat and small towers.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Fights well but has a less developed economy than the other Warchest lords.
- Castle
- Builds separate enclosures for supplies and the keep, with small towers and a moat.
- Main Troops
- Archers, swordsmen, and knights.
Nizar
An assassin-focused lord behind a moat and wolf pits.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Uses assassins to slip past defenses and attack from close range.
- Castle
- A moat-ringed island fort with round towers, lookout towers, and wolf pits.
- Main Troops
- Arabian archers, assassins, and slaves.
Wazir
An aggressive lord with horse archers and fire defenses.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Uses fast horse-archer raids and assassins to keep pressure on opponents.
- Castle
- A triangular or star-shaped fort with round towers, lookout towers, pitch ditches, and boiling oil.
- Main Troops
- Arabian archers, horse archers, slaves, Arabian swordsmen, fire throwers, and boiling-oil engineers.
Roster
Definitive Edition Lords
The Jewel
A patient attacker who waits until she has a heavy army.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Builds strength before attacking, waiting for a large force of knights and swordsmen.
- Castle
- -
- Main Troops
- Knights and swordsmen.
The Sentinel
A layered defender with a mixed army.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Combines different troops and layered defenses, becoming more dangerous over time.
- Castle
- Dense, layered lines of defense.
- Main Troops
- Crossbowmen, macemen, and demolishers.
The Nomad
A fast raider who relies on Camel Lancers and Skirmishers.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Launches fast early raids before opponents can finish their walls; his own defenses are weak.
- Castle
- Weak defenses.
- Main Troops
- Camel Lancers and Skirmishers.
The Kahin
A steady builder who fields tough Bedouin troops.
- Availability
- Base game
- Play Style
- Builds steadily and fields a slow, durable army that punishes passive opponents.
- Castle
- -
- Main Troops
- Eunuchs and Heavy Camels.
Roster
Post-Launch Lords
The Crocodile
A patient lord who waits for an opening before raiding.
- Availability
- Free update
- Play Style
- Waits for opponents to become vulnerable, then sends raiders against them.
- Castle
- -
- Main Troops
- -
The Canary
A defensive lord who makes attackers fight through traps.
- Availability
- Paid DLC: The Canary & The Trader
- Play Style
- Avoids field battles and uses traps to wear down attackers.
- Castle
- Trap-heavy defenses along the approach to the castle.
- Main Troops
- -
The Trader
An economic builder who spends his wealth on an army.
- Availability
- Paid DLC: The Canary & The Trader
- Play Style
- Builds a large economy and buys a strong army, attacking when he can afford it.
- Castle
- -
- Main Troops
- -
The Sergeant
A direct military opponent who favors force over tricks.
- Availability
- Paid DLC: The Sergeant & The Lioness
- Play Style
- Prefers direct military strength to tricks and defensive schemes.
- Castle
- -
- Main Troops
- -
The Lioness
A balanced lord with a resilient Arab and Bedouin army.
- Availability
- Paid DLC: The Sergeant & The Lioness
- Play Style
- Balances her economy with a hard-to-break army.
- Castle
- -
- Main Troops
- Arab and Bedouin troops.
Baldwin
A patient defender with Crusader and Bedouin troops.
- Availability
- Paid DLC: Baldwin & Bullseye
- Play Style
- Builds calmly and relies on strong fortifications and a mixed army.
- Castle
- Strong fortifications.
- Main Troops
- Crusader troops and mercenary Bedouins.
Bullseye
A defensive lord who packs crossbowmen into his castle.
- Availability
- Paid DLC: Baldwin & Bullseye
- Play Style
- Prioritizes defense and fills his castle with crossbowmen.
- Castle
- A compact, crossbow-heavy defense.
- Main Troops
- Crossbowmen.
The Surgeon
A patient defender in a huge, tower-covered fortress.
- Availability
- Paid DLC: The Surgeon and Baibars
- Play Style
- Waits for attackers to tire against his fortress, then counterattacks.
- Castle
- A huge castle covered with towers.
- Main Troops
- -
Baibars
An aggressive lord who attacks in repeated waves.
- Availability
- Paid DLC: The Surgeon and Baibars
- Play Style
- Keeps fortifications to a minimum and sends repeated waves of attacks.
- Castle
- Minimal fortifications.
- Main Troops
- -
Where the AI Lords Come From
The AI lords arrived in layers, which is why the roster feels so big. The original lords came first, the Warchest lords followed, and the new lords at launch came with Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition itself. Lords added in later updates and paid DLC packs came after that, so the list has kept growing since launch.
How the AI Lords Play
Every lord has an approach of their own, and that approach shapes how a match goes. Some lean on a strong economy, some rely on walls and defenses, and others push with raw military strength. A plan that beats one lord can fall apart against another, so learning a lord's style is the main way to prepare.
Skirmish mode is where you take on the AI lords directly, so it's the place to get a feel for each style.
Post-Launch AI Lords and Paid DLC Packs
The Crocodile arrived with the free Autumn Update and waits for an opening before raiding. That lord can also be played in Skirmish mode.
The paid DLC packs each add a pair of lords, starting with The Canary & The Trader. The Canary avoids field battles and relies on traps, while The Trader builds a large economy and buys a strong army.
The Sergeant & The Lioness came next. The Sergeant prefers direct military strength, while The Lioness balances the economy with a hard-to-break army of Arab and Bedouin troops.
Baldwin & Bullseye followed. Baldwin builds calmly behind strong fortifications, backed by Crusader troops and Bedouin mercenaries. Bullseye puts defense first and fills the castle with crossbowmen.
The Surgeon and Baibars is the pack after that. The Surgeon waits behind a huge, tower-covered castle for attackers to tire, then counterattacks. Baibars keeps fortifications minimal and attacks in repeated waves.
FAQ
Do I have to pay to face every AI lord?
No. The base game's lords, including the ones added at launch, cost nothing extra. The paid DLC packs are the only add-ons with a price.
Do I need the base game to play the paid lords?
Yes. Each paid pack is an add-on, so you need to own and install Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition before you can play any of those lords.
Which AI lords are the hardest to beat?
The Wolf and Saladin are the benchmark for a tough fight, so they're the ones to try when you want a real test. Beating them is a good way to measure how far your skills have come.