Casse Guide H/H

Casse is my favorite barbarian faction to play. I play H/H and it’s great fun. I got bored and decided to put together a guide for the early-mid stages of the Casse campaign. I’ve read the other guides, and they’re wonderful, if not a little short – hopefully, this may help new players. Or not. There are a million ways to do things in EB, and this is just mine…

PS – please excuse my lack of pictures. If I get bored again (which happens a lot), I’ll load some up.



First off, after sending your diplomat across the channel, disband your fleet (duh), as it’s expensive and you don’t need it. However, don’t get rid of any military units just yet.
Once your diplomat is on the mainland, sell map information and trade rights wherever you can, and find an ally or two – preferably not the Aedui, though.

Play defensive. A huge army of Eleutheroi is about to fall on your head from the north, and you’re going to need all the men you can get, as you’re greatly outnumbered. You can do either one of two things – set up your army on a hill, or send them all into your city. It should be relatively easy to route them either way, as the warriors of the Casse are the best trained and organized of the tribes of the Isles of Tin.
Defend a hill: Probably the better of the two solutions. Send your army into the wilds and set them up on top of a hill, then wait. When the Eleutheroi attack, they will have a grueling uphill battle on their hands. They should be slaughtered easily.
Sally forth: The initial army of Eleutheroi is pretty stupid. I waited in my city and let them attack me – then sallied forth and lured them close to my towers with my general while sending my main force out the side door to form up near the walls. Though I wouldn’t count on this strategy to work all the time, it’s wonderful when it does. Their army ends up separated and disjointed, and you have the extra attack of those towers.

After you repel this initial attack, you’ve got plenty of breathing room. Disband all your infantry except one unit of Botroas, preferably the one with most experience, if they’ve earned any in that first battle.

Everybody knows the drill from here. Build up your capital (starting with economic buildings like roads and farms) and start conquering the rest of Britain and Ireland. I’d suggest going for the east coast of Britain first (except Caledonia, of course), as these settlements already have ports built, and trade between these three provinces will feed your fledgling kingdom. They also let you train Cwmyr, the first available champion unit.

Once you have the entirety of the British Isles under your control, disband your least experienced units (as many as you can) and make at least four ships (try to get an admiral).
Deal with those marauding pirates as soon as possible, preferably before you hit the mainland and make war with the Aedui. They become a real thorn in your side if you don’t, blocking ports and whatnot, and you won’t have the money to waste on a navy if you’re tied up battling the Gaels. Once they are dealt with, disband your navy save one for transportation purposes. (Duh again).

Now expansion to the mainland can begin – and it gets much more interesting. Armoriae is probably a safe bet for your initial attack, since the Aedui, more often than not, haven’t gotten around to conquering it yet. Even if they have, it’s a good starting point – it has the only naval port in Gaul, and its southern border is protected by a river. Build a fort at the bridge and garrison it with one of your cheapest units (shortswordsmen)

Your island-bred army is pretty impractical now, since sending them across the channel to be retrained again and again wastes valuable time and leaves you vulnerable. Disband all but your most experienced and send the rest back to the Homeland for rebel patrol.
Your main army for now will consist exclusively of units trained in Gaul – don’t worry, they’re wonderful, and you still get Calawres.

Expand eastward with your freshly trained Britano-Gaulish army. The northern coast of Gaul is easily defended by land, being cut off from Middle Gaul by rivers and dense forests. Also, your sea trade gets booming. The Aedui now find themselves at war on two fronts, north and south (the Arverni) – they make easy prey!

It’s pretty much smooth sailing after you take Bratosporios – all trade in the Northern Seas must now pass through your domain, and you can start making a hefty buck.
Slaughter the Gaels, but keep a close eye on the foul Germans with your spies – after the Sweboz have put all the Germanic tribes beneath their yoke, they will most likely pour into Gaul like locusts. If you deal with the Aedui fast enough, it may prove useful to implement a preemptive strike…

It would be nice, at some point, to have a time of peace, so you can disband half your armed forces and exploit your excellent sea trade, but that’s all up to you and the AI. Most likely you will be at war with somebody for years and years to come. Choose your allies carefully, and don't forget your strongest asset – gold! Good diplomats are just as useful as an army if you have enough cash amassed (only at critical times, of course), and they’re much, much cheaper.


IN BATTLE

Island Army: Pretty straightforward. Lots of javelins – always empty your throwing spears into the enemy ranks before engaging. If you’re being attacked, have them fire at will. Poorly trained and inexperienced enemies will often break even before they hit your battle line.

Mainland Army: Line of heavy infantry with missile cavalry and heavy cavalry in support, archers flanking. Not as many skirmishers or spearmen until you conquer the Belgae tribes. Might be useful to keep a unit or two of experienced Mala Gaeroas around to deal with Aedui generals. Pretty easy to figure out.

Archers: Best when used as flanking troops after the main battle lines are engaged, as they won’t cause very many casualties attacking the enemy’s front, and they don't have all that many arrows. Send them around to the left, where the enemy is most vulnerable, and empty your arrows into their backsides. You see? Many more casualties.

Champions: Expensive, but vital. Once you start making bank, you can train a lot more of them, but initially you want to keep them spread out along your battle line, preferably with their flanks protected – they’re a lot more expensive to retrain, and you don’t want to loose that eagle in a battle – far better to loose some spearmen.

General: Never never engage troops with your general unless it’s absolutely critical. Chariots will be fixed in .8, but as of 7.4 your general is a morale booster and little else as far as battlefield tactics are concerned (though that eagle is wonderful – I believe the Casse generals are the only ones with that extra umph of inspiration).
He’s also useful as a scare tactic – if you ride him around behind enemies while the battle lines are fully engaged, the mere sound of the chariot wheels will usually cause routs if implemented at the correct moment. Just be careful!

Chariots: Don’t use them. Ever. Not until .8 comes out. Duh.