diff --git a/src/game/engine/src/modules/ai/simple_heuristic_ai.gd b/src/game/engine/src/modules/ai/simple_heuristic_ai.gd
index 89767782..61528fb8 100644
--- a/src/game/engine/src/modules/ai/simple_heuristic_ai.gd
+++ b/src/game/engine/src/modules/ai/simple_heuristic_ai.gd
@@ -455,13 +455,11 @@ static func _decide_production(
 		if not rush_unit.is_empty():
 			return _prod_unit(city_index, rush_unit)
 
-	# Priority 0: Emergency garrison — no military at all means the next
-	# enemy stack wins uncontested before any wall is finished. A single
-	# warrior buys ~10 turns of breathing room at a fraction of walls'
-	# cost (20 vs 70). Only triggers when the player has zero military
-	# units across all cities, which in AoD arena matches is the turn-1
-	# state since starting roster is founder + scout (no combat unit).
-	if military_count == 0:
+	# Priority 0: Early military floor — reach 2 warriors before committing
+	# to walls (70 prod, ~35 turns) or founder (70 prod). Two warriors at
+	# 20 prod each get us to a baseline garrison by ~T20 at 2 prod/turn,
+	# so walls land around T50 with a usable army rather than T35 with none.
+	if military_count < 2:
 		var emergency_unit: String = _pick_buildable_military_unit_id(
 			city, player
 		)