head to head
vs
Medieval: Total WarvsThe Settlers II: 10th Anniversary
Medieval: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Settlers II: 10th Anniversary leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Medieval: Total WarThe Settlers II: 10th Anniversary
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 2
Medieval: Total War leans harder on execution: Real-time battle control rewards quick unit handling
Reads2 vs 2
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 2
Medieval: Total War leans harder on variance: Battle dice, loyalty and event cards add noise
Optimization8 vs 8
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.