head to head
vs
Medieval: Total WarvsVandal Hearts II
Medieval: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Vandal Hearts II leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Medieval: Total WarVandal Hearts II
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 2
Medieval: Total War leans harder on execution: Real-time battle control rewards quick unit handling
Reads2 vs 3
Vandal Hearts II leans harder on reads: Predicting AI move order matters but follows scripts
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
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.