Post by bonbonvert on Oct 17, 2018 7:12:41 GMT
Good Morning everybody,
As I restarted to play again the good ol' 8th, I come again with the state troop choice. As to remember the spearmen, hallebardier and swordsmen. I'd like to know what are your thought on them.
My way of thinking :
Spearmen :
Are cheap, can make great busses (5 wide), but won't kill anybody. Can make a great central unit, a good holding flank unit as a regiment. As a detachment, just using 5 make the cheapest chaff unit we can have, half the price of an eagle, and with luck 1 survive the close combat and is steadfast because of the parent unit (assuming he's close enough). That's the theory.
In Practice, i've noticed as central unit they are really weak, too expensive to be like a goblin tarpit and will never earn it's points back in killing. They NEED a real hammer like demigryff (i hate them, because i think they don't have their place in the empire fluff) or a great cavalry unit (which are damn expensive, and really not killy). They are definitively too expensive in my opinion, but they can look really hisorically accurate (that's why i play them)
Their best use in my opinion is as busses of 35-50 as a flank protector with 2x5-10 archer detachement, or a 15-20 detachement of hallebardier.
Hallebardier :
Have S4, which is AWESOME! Can make great horde (40-50 bodies) but this unit comes expensive, with the character we need to keep it on the battlefield, and make them more killy (warrior-priests). Everytime i used them, they fled in the 2nd or 3rd close combat round, cause they lost their steadfast. Their 6+ save (sometimes 6++ cause of luminark) save maybe 4 of them, but still 10+ dies per combat round. So as a central unit, i was generally disappointed (hence my preference for the spearmen, 2x40)
Their use as detachement can be good (as i haven't tested them yet) in a 15-20 detachement (3-4x5). Brings 10 S4 attack on the flank and disorganize (in theory) the ennemy unit. But may be tricky to be used, because the ennemy will charge them instead of the parent unit. Some feedback would be welcome.
Swordsmen :
These guys are damn expensive for a human, die a little less than other troops but still die as human like to do : quickely. Too expensive to be too numerous (more than 40 is damn expensive) can be a good flank protector as a 5 wide bus, and kill less than spearmen. I see no use of them a detachement, too expensive to be chaff, too weak to kill something (even if historically, they were great flank harraser and protector)
I don't have a real practical use of them to be honest.
As a conclusion :
I like the 2x40 spearmen as a center, maybe hallebardier as detachement, all supported with archer detachement to let time for our cannon to soften the big nasty ennemy unit. And of course cavalry to charge and harrass the flank of engaged ennemy unit.
How do you use these troops (if you actually use them)?
As I restarted to play again the good ol' 8th, I come again with the state troop choice. As to remember the spearmen, hallebardier and swordsmen. I'd like to know what are your thought on them.
My way of thinking :
Spearmen :
Are cheap, can make great busses (5 wide), but won't kill anybody. Can make a great central unit, a good holding flank unit as a regiment. As a detachment, just using 5 make the cheapest chaff unit we can have, half the price of an eagle, and with luck 1 survive the close combat and is steadfast because of the parent unit (assuming he's close enough). That's the theory.
In Practice, i've noticed as central unit they are really weak, too expensive to be like a goblin tarpit and will never earn it's points back in killing. They NEED a real hammer like demigryff (i hate them, because i think they don't have their place in the empire fluff) or a great cavalry unit (which are damn expensive, and really not killy). They are definitively too expensive in my opinion, but they can look really hisorically accurate (that's why i play them)
Their best use in my opinion is as busses of 35-50 as a flank protector with 2x5-10 archer detachement, or a 15-20 detachement of hallebardier.
Hallebardier :
Have S4, which is AWESOME! Can make great horde (40-50 bodies) but this unit comes expensive, with the character we need to keep it on the battlefield, and make them more killy (warrior-priests). Everytime i used them, they fled in the 2nd or 3rd close combat round, cause they lost their steadfast. Their 6+ save (sometimes 6++ cause of luminark) save maybe 4 of them, but still 10+ dies per combat round. So as a central unit, i was generally disappointed (hence my preference for the spearmen, 2x40)
Their use as detachement can be good (as i haven't tested them yet) in a 15-20 detachement (3-4x5). Brings 10 S4 attack on the flank and disorganize (in theory) the ennemy unit. But may be tricky to be used, because the ennemy will charge them instead of the parent unit. Some feedback would be welcome.
Swordsmen :
These guys are damn expensive for a human, die a little less than other troops but still die as human like to do : quickely. Too expensive to be too numerous (more than 40 is damn expensive) can be a good flank protector as a 5 wide bus, and kill less than spearmen. I see no use of them a detachement, too expensive to be chaff, too weak to kill something (even if historically, they were great flank harraser and protector)
I don't have a real practical use of them to be honest.
As a conclusion :
I like the 2x40 spearmen as a center, maybe hallebardier as detachement, all supported with archer detachement to let time for our cannon to soften the big nasty ennemy unit. And of course cavalry to charge and harrass the flank of engaged ennemy unit.
How do you use these troops (if you actually use them)?