The Avars are a so-so traditional hunnish horse army long settled in Pannonia, a peaceful region backed up against the edge of the shrunken map. Their task is to survive the short term onslaught of the Slavs, and build their power up to defeat the inevitable Frankish crusade—the Avars follow a lightning-worshipping pagan religion called Tengriism, which the Christian factions find intensely irritating. Over in the British Isles, Mercia is dominant in England, but starts surrounded by enemies—capturing the country is a pleasant challenge, even if they (again) have uninspired troops.
The Kingdom of the Danes have a raiding playstyle familiar to older gamers who played the much-praised Viking Invasion expansion. Jutland, their home province, is on the edge of the map and surrounded by allies, so it’s fairly secure. Their faction quirk is twofold: a set of missions that screw the entire nation, army and economy, unless you get busy sacking England; and a bunch of bonuses that make them really good at sailing, sacking, looting and raiding. Your first ten turns or so are spent slowly sailing across the Baltic to England’s fair shores and declaring war on anyone you meet, before sacking every coastal town and eating all their crops. This tedious start is ameliorated by their awesome troops—I mean, who doesn’t like a unit types like Berserkers or called simply “Big Axes”?
In the Northern corner of Spain, behind a line of razed provinces, sits the kingdom of Asturias—the easiest of the campaigns. Though their troops are merely yawnworthy, it’s easy to rebuild the burned provinces and suddenly have huge amounts of money and food rolling in, allowing you to pick off the isolated factions to your East and then take on the Emirate of Cordoba. The faction’s two quirks allow the razing and abandonment of their own settlements, in the face of an advancing enemy, and a hugely-increased ambush chance. Essentially, these guys do guerrilla warfare really well.