head to head
vs
Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsvsWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings leans Optimization (Grand Arena); Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II leans Execution (Grand Arena).
Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 7
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II leans harder on execution: Hero ability activation and squad retreat timing are mechanically demanding
Reads7 vs 7
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 6
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings leans harder on optimization: Build orders refined over two decades
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.